building a house

[disneyatheart]

Hello everyone

I'm new to the community board, but thought since everyone has been so helpful with all my WDW related questions, I thought this would be a good place to post my "other" questions.

My husband and I will be building a new custom home. We have NEVER done this before, nor have any of our family members. Do you have any websites/books that you recommend that help us with researching appliances, windows, cabinets, flooring, etc.....and for the best price.

We are Consumer Reports subscribers and have already purchased many books (too many to list). Ideally, any websites that can direct me to the best bargin for quality materials, etc. would be great.

Thanks in advance!

(Oh......we just have to squeeze a WDW trip in before we begin this big process (only 4 more days).......and then hoping to squeeze one in after the process.....that is if my husband and I survive this venture....and if there is still money available.

 

[ToyStory Fan]

Consumer Reports is a good place to start for the stuff that will be inside your home, but for the building materials... I'd discuss with your contractor, or better yet do some research to find the best contractor/builder in your area and go from there. There are alot of nuances that go into building a custom home that good contractors know and the crappy ones don't (or at least not yet). This makes it difficult (no matter how much reading you do) to be sure you are getting all of the best material and best build quality.

I know gardenweb.com has a few forums that might work for this, but the layout is junk and difficult to navigate.

A few suggestions I can make are be prepared to make modifications from your original plan (trust me it will happen) don't underestimate your costs and try to think about some way to future-proof the house (for example if you are not going to network the house for PC's or you are not planning on running an intercom system throughout the house), once the walls are closed up it is very difficult to run wires, especially if you have 2+ floors. I'd suggest running "drops" (these are PVC pipes that run from the attic to the basement) at a few points tih an opening on each floor to make it easier to run wires later on should you find the need. This comes in particularly handy when setting up computer networks or home theaters.

Good luck, it is a big task to take on, but as long as you take your time and have a good relationship with the builder things will work out fine.

 

[Boo'sMom]

Try the National Association of Homebuilders....a ton of info there for consumrs, and be sure to check for a local association *usually by state* to check out your contractor (if you're using one)

www.nahb.org

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I don't have any sites but I have things I would have done differently...
1) Put in better flooring, and neutral or darker at that. There are so many things to do for a new home that this comes last. The builders grade has worn out & it is been 3yrs. (Kicking myself now)
2) Vaulted some of the downstairs.
3) Brick front, it's just better all around.
4) Put in the taller and wider garage door size...oh yea (my dh kicks himself over this one)
5) Built more in the mindset of "selling". Meaning how to get more value if you had to sell. We built a home that was a tad over the cost of other homes that were built.
6) I wish I did a ranch home instead of a 2-story.
7) Gas fireplace instead of wood burning.
8) If I did a 2-story I would put in 2 airconditioning units.
9) Paid more attention to window placement.

Good Luck!!!

 

[Cinders]

Be sure to really look into the lighting the contractor will be installing. B-I-L has built 2 houses and ended up having DH wire in extras before the drywall went up because the lighting for the kitchen was horrible. Also, do walk throughs in the evenings when the construction workers are gone for the day. We went in one Sunday and found someone had a thing for oranges and they'd been leaving the rind all over the house and had tossed several under the staircase(where it would have been walled in). We took all their food garbage and piled it on the radio they had left in the house and left a note on a sheet of drywall for them to take their garbage out to the dumpster. After the house is done and you do your walk through with the contractor take a very bright light with you and set it on the floor of each room. This really shows you how well done the seams in the drywall were done.....or not done. B-I-L had his living room redone twice at the drywallers expense before they got it right.

 

[Mishetta]

Just as was posted last, STAY ON TOP OF THOSE CONTRACTORS!! They don't care if they screw something up that you'll have to live with! Go each & every day if you can. A problem can be corrected easily & without too much frustration if you catch it right away...otherwise, you'll end up living with the mistake!

We had thought about building again this past year but I don't think our high blood pressure would survive another trip with contractors!

Stay strong & focused & start drinking now!!

 

[ahutton]

We have not built custom, but have done 2 with the same builder. I agree with what someone mentioned above - when it comes to your floors pick a shade or two darker than the sample you like. When it is spread around it will be much lighter. As a result, in our first house the carpet was almost white (big nightmare, a dog and two cats) so when we did our new house we were really excited, but still should have gone darker (we've added two kids to the mix) and as a result we have already pulled up 80% of the carpet and are reflooring. And we've only been in this house for 2 years.

Also - if something doesn't look quite right on a walk through have them fix it, and keep fixing it until it is exactly how you feel it should be. We've spent a lot of time in this house fixing poor subcontractor work.

Each time you visit take a legal pad and pencil and keep a running list of problems you see. That way you can review it when you return and make sure everything is done.

 

[WeirdEyes]

My suggestion is make sure you clean the house after it is framed and BEFORE the sheetrock (or drywall) goes up. If you do not, you will have trash in your walls. My DH and I cleaned out our whole house one day doing this. The contractor couldn't believe we did it, but I didn't want McDonald wrappers in my walls! LOL

Oh and another thing....if you can, pick out EVERYTHING BEFORE you get quotes from contractors. This makes it sooo much easier than having to go by the "allowances." You will know EXACTLY how much your house is going to cost and will not be surprised when you want to spend $2500 on lighting and only have an allowance for $1500. We did this and our contractor said that we were the most awesome owners that he's ever built for. He said that doing the allowances is nightmare when people want more expensive stuff and then they don't want to pay for it. Our neighbors are still fighting with their contractor because of this.

Good luck!

 

[disneyatheart]

Thank you everybody for all the great tips!!

This has been a 3-4 year planning process for us. We have interviewed many other custom home owners about the process and why they choose their contractors. We also asked various tradespeople as they came into our current home to fix common problems as to who to and not to go with. We did some of our homework by deciding what we wanted (brand of appliances, countertops, cabinetry) in our house as well. Currently we bid the project to a couple of contractors thinking we would throw out the high, low and decide between the two middle contractors who we thought we could work with the best. We live in a small town and we are sticking with only those contractors who have been building in the area for 5-10 years and are committed to the community.

Any other suggestions would be great!

Take care