Here we go again! One Year Update!

[luvflorida]

A few things we learned the first time around, and a few questions!

We had a house built in 2011 and we have just sold that house. And quickly, too! Went on the market on a Thursday, prospective buyers looked at it the following evening, and it went under contract that weekend. Crazy! We have purchased a house lot in another area, but they haven't broken ground yet on the new house, so we will be in limbo for a few months. We didn't expect our house to sell that fast!

So...back to the drawing board. We've always purchased existing homes, so 2011 was the first time we actually started with an empty lot and built from the ground up. At least now we feel like old pros! For the house we just sold, we spent over six hours and two days at the home gallery choosing options. For our new house, we went last week and were done in four hours!

Here are a few things we learned the first time around, and things we'll do differently. The new house is going to be a single story, as opposed to our two story house. We didn't downgrade in size much, though. It will be around 2300 square feet as opposed to 2500. The kitchen island will be counter height and not tall, like the one we have now. Exactly what I want! We also went with the gourmet kitchen (double ovens, french door refrigerator, built in gas stove.)

We learned we didn't need an outside fan on the patio. It didn't really add much of a breeze, so we hardly ever used it. We never once used the separate garden-style tub in the master bathroom, so this time we're installing a large, tiled walk-in shower and no tub in the master bathroom. We will have the water softener/conditioner system installed when the house is being built, instead of adding it later. I quickly learned that I hated my new Levelor blinds with the continuous loop, and will not be installing those again! We're not doing the full granite backsplash this time, and will instead do tile or something else after the house is built.

Now, a few questions: I love the french doors (patio doors) we had installed in this house, but they weren't an option in the new house. We will have regular sliding doors that lead to the patio. If you have sliding doors in your house, what kind of window treatments do you have covering them? I know there are a lot of options (curtains, blinds, panels, etc.) and ways to cover the doors. What do you like or not like about your door coverings?

Also looking at other window treatments. I'm not a fan of curtains, though. What do you like or dislike about your window treatments?

Thanks so much for any help or ideas! Oh, and yes, we are going with an inground pool this time! Just too hot around this part of the country not to! Safety will be the biggest concern (with young grandkids running around) so we will be researching fencing, alarms and anything else we can think of to keep everyone safe. If anyone has any particular safety fencing/alarms that they like, I'd love to hear about them!

Thanks so much for any suggestions!

 

[joviroxx]

I have panels on my sliders. I can't stand vertical or horizontal blinds and Im over the honeycomb blinds. We actually got them at Ikea. They run on tracks at top and bottom. I love them , not just because they look nice, but because they were CHEAP lol.

Funny about the tub. I LOVE my tub and use it all the time. Not having one in the master would be a deal breaker for me.

I also agree with you about the island height. My island is double height, lower for the sink and counterspace and then a higher part for the counter/stools. I HATE it. I want a one height, large space for my island .

 

[ChristmasElf]

Congrats on your house selling so quickly!

I know how nerve racking building a new house can be, so hopefully that will be a smooth process as well.

Personally, I would reconsider not installing a tub in the master. We hardly ever use ours, but occasionally its nice to just sit and enjoy the hot water!
Plus, for resale value-you just never know if you will be selling again in the future and people always want that tub in the master.

Too bad on the french door option. Why won't the builder offer them as an option I wonder. I'm not a huge fan of the sliders as the french doors are a "crisper" look IMO
In the past on sliding doors, we have hung vertical blinds. But they can be a hassle if they aren't pulled to the side when you want to open the sliding door. (I HATE when the kids would just walk through them to get out to the pool without opening and pulling them all to the side)
Maybe a set of sheers with a heavier curtain on just the one side would work.

We have french doors out to the pool in this house and I have the sheer panels on the doors and love them. Easy to clean and no bends in the panels!

 

[jen0610]

Woo-Hoo!!!

House building part deux!!

 

[trip]

When we replaced our sliding glass doors, we replaced them with sliders that have blinds inbetween the panes of glass. No need for any curtains. With ours, they only tilt from completely closed to completely open. Some types are available that can roll up the blind.

 

[7165red]

OP, I suggest installing a tub in you master bath, I agree it could be a deal breaker for a buyer. I love jet tubs. trip, did you have Pella blinds on you sliding doors? I had them in my last house and I felt they still needed window treatment. Joyiroxx, I am not familiar with panels, where can I see a picture of them. OP, good luck!

 

[luvflorida]

I have panels on my sliders. I can't stand vertical or horizontal blinds and Im over the honeycomb blinds. We actually got them at Ikea. They run on tracks at top and bottom. I love them , not just because they look nice, but because they were CHEAP lol.

Funny about the tub. I LOVE my tub and use it all the time. Not having one in the master would be a deal breaker for me.

I also agree with you about the island height. My island is double height, lower for the sink and counterspace and then a higher part for the counter/stools. I HATE it. I want a one height, large space for my island .

We have an IKEA near us, so I'll check out the panels. Thanks!

We have a week or so in which we can make changes, but we're both pretty committed to the no tub and the walk-in shower. We'll give it some more thought, though.

We have the double height thing going on at this house, and I don't like it, either. The new house will have a regular counter-height island in the center of the kitchen with nothing else on top (no sink, stove top) with drawers and cupboards on one side.

Congrats on your house selling so quickly!

I know how nerve racking building a new house can be, so hopefully that will be a smooth process as well.

Personally, I would reconsider not installing a tub in the master. We hardly ever use ours, but occasionally its nice to just sit and enjoy the hot water!
Plus, for resale value-you just never know if you will be selling again in the future and people always want that tub in the master.

Too bad on the french door option. Why won't the builder offer them as an option I wonder. I'm not a huge fan of the sliders as the french doors are a "crisper" look IMO
In the past on sliding doors, we have hung vertical blinds. But they can be a hassle if they aren't pulled to the side when you want to open the sliding door. (I HATE when the kids would just walk through them to get out to the pool without opening and pulling them all to the side)
Maybe a set of sheers with a heavier curtain on just the one side would work.

We have french doors out to the pool in this house and I have the sheer panels on the doors and love them. Easy to clean and no bends in the panels!

We will have a tub in one of the other bathrooms, but I know what you mean about having one in the master bathroom, too. Although, I don't even want to think about resale. I swear this is our last move!

Yes, I love our french doors. Not sure why it isn't an option in the new house. The sales agent said they only do the sliding doors on this particular model. I want to find something that's easy to deal with on the sliding doors, but will look nice.

Woo-Hoo!!!

House building part deux!!

Should I? Not sure how many people would be interested, but I did enjoy doing the last one. Personally, I LOVE reading threads where posters share pics and things going in their lives, but maybe everyone isn't as curious (nosey?) as I am.

 

[tvguy]

Cheap-skater here.......thinking about how much you spent on commission on selling homes frequently.

 

[Princess Dolly]

I love our counter height peninsula. When we remodeled our kitchen last year we got rid of the two levels and expanded it out. We use it as our kitchen table now. Love it!

On most of our windows we have plantation shutters. I think the only windows without them are our master bedroom and second bedroom. All the other rooms have them including the bathrooms. They are expensive up front but I think really worth it over time because you don't have to worry about them breaking.

On our living room sliders we have plain old vertical blinds. Actually they are still leftover from the previous owner because I can't decide what I want to do there. I'm going to look into the panels. We never close them though because we don't have anyone behind us, they are always pulled to the side.

On our master bedroom sliders we have verticals that are sheer fabric over vertical vanes. Great because they still offer some privacy even when tilted open and you get the nice flitered light. Here's a pic of something similar:

When we redid our master bath I thought about getting rid of the big garden tub but left it because of resale. We were still able to expand our shower into a walk-in and keep it.

Good luck!

 

[jen0610]

Should I? Not sure how many people would be interested, but I did enjoy doing the last one. Personally, I LOVE reading threads where posters share pics and things going in their lives, but maybe everyone isn't as curious (nosey?) as I am.

If I get a vote, please do. I would LOVE, love, love to build a house, but I highly doubt that we will ever get to do that. So I get to live vicariously through those types of posts.

With reference to the master tub. If you didn't go with a corner garden tub, which is a 60x60 space:


http://www.menards.com/main/plumbin...c-60x60x19-drop-in-bathtub/p-78232-c-5871.htm

And instead did a deep regular tub, which is a 80x44:

http://www.menards.com/main/plumbin...sage-zen-7236sd-tub-only/p-1892700-c-8347.htm

would that still leave you with the space to put in a larger walk in shower?

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Here are my recommendations from having worked for a builder and building 2 separate houses:

• Go back and look around at the living spaces and have them install lights for accent and lighting, there are never enough lights.
• Decide if you want to install extra outlets outside, maybe up in the eves for Chrismas lights?
• There are usually tons of outlets in new homes, but do a review to make sure there are outlets where you expect to have them.
• Look into cable and phone wiring, adding outlets during a build is really econimical.
• If your going with the oversized shower, make sure the tile looks great, there will be some buyers who don't want a tub.
• Take the next week or so to research what it would cost to put in higher end finishes from an outside contractor rather than through the builder. The markup is pretty high on the chichi stuff.
• If they offer built in bookshelves, take them! Those usually don't go for much of a premium.
• Don't waste your money on an upgraded dishwasher, builder dishwashers are always crappy, go with the basic one and take that money to an appliance store and get a good one on your own.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, I'll post back if I can think of anything else!

 

[zurgswife]

I remember the last build. You must be a glutton for punishment to do it so soon.....

Good Luck the second time around.

 

[luvflorida]

Cheap-skater here.......thinking about how much you spent on commission on selling homes frequently.

We are doing all we can to help revitalize the real estate market.

No, it's not fun having to pay commission fees! At least when we sold our house in Maine, the agent (the second time around) was a friend of ours and she gave us a discount on the commission fee. It eased the pain a little bit! We don't make it a habit, though, to buy and sell so often. It's just a recent thing!

On most of our windows we have plantation shutters. I think the only windows without them are our master bedroom and second bedroom. All the other rooms have them including the bathrooms. They are expensive up front but I think really worth it over time because you don't have to worry about them breaking.

When we first moved out here, one of the houses we rented had plantation shutters on all the windows. They did look very nice, but they didn't seem to let a lot of light in. The only way to get a lot of light, was to open the whole casing, and I found it to be kind of awkward and heavy to move the entire thing. Maybe it was just that particular style they had installed?

Here are my recommendations from having worked for a builder and building 2 separate houses:

• Go back and look around at the living spaces and have them install lights for accent and lighting, there are never enough lights.
• Decide if you want to install extra outlets outside, maybe up in the eves for Chrismas lights?
• There are usually tons of outlets in new homes, but do a review to make sure there are outlets where you expect to have them.
• Look into cable and phone wiring, adding outlets during a build is really econimical.
• If your going with the oversized shower, make sure the tile looks great, there will be some buyers who don't want a tub.
• Take the next week or so to research what it would cost to put in higher end finishes from an outside contractor rather than through the builder. The markup is pretty high on the chichi stuff.
• If they offer built in bookshelves, take them! Those usually don't go for much of a premium.
• Don't waste your money on an upgraded dishwasher, builder dishwashers are always crappy, go with the basic one and take that money to an appliance store and get a good one on your own.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, I'll post back if I can think of anything else!

All good things to think about! Thanks so much! I think the tile for the shower would be the same tile that is used for the floor. The sides would be 18"x18" square tile and the floor of the shower would be smaller pieces. Does that sound right?

I remember the last build. You must be a glutton for punishment to do it so soon.....

Good Luck the second time around.

Well, one of the good things is I never got around to hanging a lot of stuff on the walls because I couldn't decide how I wanted to put certain things. Now I don't have to worry about it. Always looking on the bright side!

Honestly, we didn't think we'd be selling and buying again so soon, but you never know where life is going to take you. We never thought we'd ever be living in Arizona either, but there you go! To us, the important thing is being close to our grandkids and our own kids, and this move does that for us. Who knows what the future will bring, but hopefully, it won't bring any more moves!

When we moved to Tucson, our older daughter and family were 40 minutes away, our son was testing the waters in the Vegas area, and our younger daughter started college at the University of Arizona. Now, our son has built a house in the Las Vegas area, our older daugher and family is living in the Phoenix area, and our younger daughter is in Los Angeles. This move puts us closer to everyone. We also love the area we're building in. It is much better suited for our own needs as well. Not as far out in the desert as the house in Tucson! Hopefully, everyone will stay put for awhile! But if they don't, well, I think we'll just do a lot of traveling instead of moving again!

 

[luvflorida]

If I get a vote, please do. I would LOVE, love, love to build a house, but I highly doubt that we will ever get to do that. So I get to live vicariously through those types of posts.

With reference to the master tub. If you didn't go with a corner garden tub, which is a 60x60 space:


http://www.menards.com/main/plumbin...c-60x60x19-drop-in-bathtub/p-78232-c-5871.htm

And instead did a deep regular tub, which is a 80x44:

http://www.menards.com/main/plumbin...sage-zen-7236sd-tub-only/p-1892700-c-8347.htm

would that still leave you with the space to put in a larger walk in shower?

Thanks! I'm pretty sure we're going without a tub in the master bathroom, and at this point, resale is far from our minds! We had a tub with jets in our house in Maine, and at first, it was great, but after awhile, I hated cleaning that thing! Also, if we do the walk-in shower and no tub, we'll gain a linen closet in the master bathroom.

 

[Princess Dolly]

We get plenty of light from our shutters. The wider the slats/louvers the more light you will be able to let in when you tilt them. Also I have them so you can have the top and bottom sections tilted different degrees.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Just wanted to say have fun building!!!

As far as window treatments I LOATHE blinds because they collect dust and dog hair....bleech.

I prefer shades and curtains. Not only can you block out light 100% but you can OPEN the shades and then you can have a 100% view.

I hate sliders with a passion. As far as window treatments, I would do sun blocking drapes if this is going to be a slider in constant use. Verticals will end up on the ground.

 

[Aimeedyan]

I'm totally with you on the no-tub in the master. We had a big garden tub in our last house (which we also built) and over a 7 year span, used it TWICE. Just collected dust and dog hair. We bought this house partially because it didn't have a tub in the master - just a large shower! SO NICE.

We have sliding doors in our new house and we opted to not cover them with anything. But... we have a large lot with lots of trees so nobody can see in. I have to say it's been awesome to not have to find a solution for the doors!

Our house is older with pretty molding around the windows so I'm opting against any treatments on several of the windows. At least right now.

Good luck!

 

[horseshowmom]

OP, I suggest installing a tub in you master bath, I agree it could be a deal breaker for a buyer. I love jet tubs. trip, did you have Pella blinds on you sliding doors? I had them in my last house and I felt they still needed window treatment. Joyiroxx, I am not familiar with panels, where can I see a picture of them. OP, good luck!

I have to agree with this (although I freely give you permission to do what you think is best for you! ).

We looked at a house that a retired couple had built. They lived in it a year and a half, and the gentleman died very unexpectedly. After a little while, the widow decided to move. The house was very, very nice (lots of pluses that I loved). When they built it, they put a large, beautiful shower in the master BR because they knew they never used a tub. We never use one either, but I was concerned about resale "just in case" I ever needed to sell. The realtor said that was a big part of why it hadn't sold yet. Everybody said that same thing. That was two years ago, and it still hasn't sold.

I do agree with you wholeheartedly about a one story vs. a two story. My daughter and her husband are in the beginning stages of discussion regarding building a new house, and she's leaning toward a 2 story house. It is highly unlikely that this house will ever be sold, and they will probably be in it until they are old and gray (his family owns several hundred acres, and it will be built on his part of the family property). I've been encouraging her to go with a one story, but she thinks they would like a two story.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I do agree with you wholeheartedly about a one story vs. a two story. My daughter and her husband are in the beginning stages of discussion regarding building a new house, and she's leaning toward a 2 story house. It is highly unlikely that this house will ever be sold, and they will probably be in it until they are old and gray (his family owns several hundred acres, and it will be built on his part of the family property). I've been encouraging her to go with a one story, but she thinks they would like a two story.

I am telling you. We are in a story and a half and while I LOVE the house, I really do, it is not our "retirement" home.

The stairs are long and steep and in no way do I want to be in this house when I am in my 60's.

 

[North of Mouse]

Congratulations on building a new house!

We, too, built this one after normally buying new, but already built (have been transferred a few times).

OP, one thing for sure - *don't* leave out the garden tub in the master bath. We have a Jacuzzi tub and have *never* used it in 11 years - crazy I know We are just shower people. But it needs to be there for resale.

Also, I would put the french doors with blinds between - had the regular, and the vertical blinds were the only fair *fix* and didn't like them.