Question for those who have built a new house.

[tkyes]

What would you do differently?




Looks like DH are taking a big jump and building a house!! I would love to hear some thoughts on what people would or wouldn't have done in their houses. Also any tips or advice would also be wonderful.


Thanks


Tamie

 

[stinkerbelle]

1. Put your money into where you spend most of your time. We dumped most of our money into the kitchen and lower living areas. (hardwood flooring, better carpet, stainless steel appliances, etc...) Upstairs we got the "standard" in carpet - nothing spectacular.

2. If you want the bigger tub - get it NOW! Our tub had to be brought into the house before building the bathroom walls!

3. We didn't "build it ourselves" per se...we bought a house that hadn't even been built yet (the ground wasn't even leveled)...but we had walked through other houses that our builder had done...and we were impressed with the work. Make sure you have a good rapport with your builder.

4. Above all - don't expect the builder (if you are working with one) to finish the house RIGHT on time...ours was 2 months late (and he STILL needs to come back and fix a few things...yeah, we closed in november). Also - if at all possible...visit the site as much as possible. My DH was at the house almost every day...even sometimes strapping on a tool belt and helping out. He got to be very friendly with the crew and it made the process that much smoother. (plus - he caught errors sooner rather then later)

I know this is pretty vague - but if you have any other questions - just let me know!

 

[twinmomplus2new]

I wanted two things that were very easy to have and let the builder talk me out of them.


I wanted the washer /dryer on the 2nd floor with the bedrooms, after all 90% of your laundry is generated up there. He had a millon reasons why we should not do it. My Dh gave in and I curse every time I cart the laundry up and down the stairs.

Secondly I wanted to turn the staircase so it came to a landing rather than a straight shot. He would not do it. Again had it not been my first experience witha builder, I would have held firm. I know now he was simply following a set plan and just did not want to deviate from that one bit. It would have taken more work from him. If I had to do it again, I would know better and Insist on what I really wanted.


It is a very big investment and you should have some design imput! Good luck.

 

[JayCT]

Tamie - That is great news. I have always wanted to build and am thinking about doing it in the near future. I would love to see what respones you get. I believe that planning is the best thing to do and work with a good builder. Try not to go with a trendy design that will be outdated in 20 years. Also, spend your money on the bones (quality framing, foundation, plumbing and electrical), you can always add the cosmetics later as you have money. It will be a long project, but when completed, I think you will be happy with the results. Jay

 

[Bichon Barb]

Upgrades that we did right:

Lots of hardwood floors downstairs
Family room carpet upgrade
Gas dryer and stove instead of electric

Things we didn't think of:

I WISH WE HAD HARDWOOD STAIRS AND NOT CARPETING!!!
(We've been here for about 3.5 years, and with two dogs and two kids, the carpet on the stairs looks terrible. I can't wait to rip it out and put in hardwood.
We never thought about putting in ceiling fixtures (lights) upstairs. So all the bedrooms have lamps. We still haven't hired someone to come in put in light fixtures.

 

[stinkerbelle]

Originally posted by Bichon Barb
Things we didn't think of:

I WISH WE HAD HARDWOOD STAIRS AND NOT CARPETING!!!
(We've been here for about 3.5 years, and with two dogs and two kids, the carpet on the stairs looks terrible. I can't wait to rip it out and put in hardwood.

Sorry Barb - but I totally have to agree with you! It's so much easier to just swiffer the hardwood stairs then it is to vaccum them! I HATED vaccuuming the stairs in our old house, so I really pushed for wood stairs! Totally worth it!

 

[ducklite]

I wish we had thought about some of the upgrades before we applied for the financing to have less out of pocket in cash. Between upgraded landscaping, upgraded front door, California style closets, built-in bookcases, some kitchen upgrades, etc., etc, we've had to put out about $30,000 in cash that I would have rather put into the mortgage.

Anne

 

[alexandmaddie]

Hi Tamie! Where are you guys building? Who is your builder? We built with Pulte in Woodbury 5 years ago. We had a really good experience.

I also have to agree with putting in as much hardwood on the first floor as possible. We upgraded all our carpeting in our entire house and our family room carpeting is still trashed. We tried to be very careful (no shoes in the house etc...) but it still happened. I can't wait to rip it out and do hardwood throughout the entire first floor.

I wish we would have put in a laundry tub in the basement. Pulte didn't and it's something I really wish we had. We have a small utility sink in our laundry room, but it doesn't really cut it for washing the dog, cleaning painting stuff, etc...

Our garage door comes directly into our laundry room and I really wish we had more space there. If you can do any cubbies or built ins in your laundry/mud room I would.

I know there are more things I would do differently, but I am drawing a blank at the moment. Have fun building your house!!

Krista

 

[scarlett873]

congrats!!

our home was built with a reputable builder here in town...they have tons of communities in the area so we got to see the majority of houses that they build. they knock these homes out in 43 days tops. they've got this down to a science!

we put our money into getting the most square footage that we could. we splurged on a few upgrades, things we couldn't do ourselves later. my splurge was my staircase! i've always wanted the wooden staircase railing. dh's splurge was a gas hook up added outside for a gas grill. and our mutual splurge was the garden tub in the master bath. other things we wanted to do, but agreed we could do them later on (like hardwood floors, faucet fixtures, shutters, interior doors, etc) since the builder wanted so much to do them for us.

the one thing we wanted to do but just couldn't was putting the washer and dryer upstairs. the builder wanted extra money that we weren't prepared for up front in order to do that. i WILL have that in my next house though...

we knew going into this house that we most likely wouldn't live there the rest of our lives, god willing, and that this was our starter home. we love our house though!

congrats again!!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We are going on almost 4 years, moved in Aug 2000. My list is long......

1) As I sit here looking at the $13,000 we are about to put in for our flooring...I would have totally upgraded our flooring.
The "upgraded" builders grade carpet lasts 2yrs, FYI.

2) I would have gotten 2 air condition units for our 2-story. We had to go back and fix that.

3) My DH is completely KICKING himself as he DID NOT put in the highest garage door (height & width) #.

4) Not sure on this one but instead of the white painted wall board (floor moldings) & 6 panel doors, would have had them stained....maybe.

5) White kitchen cabinets instead of honey colored oak. I am sick of the honey colored oak and now I am stuck.

6) I would have put in the "plant shelves" and vaulted some of our downstairs.

7) I would NOT have put gray into my color scheme as I found out it is impossible to match.

8) Would have put my bedroom on the other side of the house & changed window and door placements upstairs. (Our fault, we custom built and made that mistake)

9) I would have upgraded our bathtub to included that very expensive "Jet Tub". That would have been heaven!!!!!

10) Hired someone to paint the ENTIRE house (interior) before moving in.

Things I love I did!!!

1) All new matching appliances...

2) Upgraded my dishwasher to included the stainless steel tub.

3) I have a screened-in deck. LOVE IT!

It has been ALOT of work to get this place to feel like 'home'. I think I am finally settling in. Now we are getting flooring, next landscaping, and then finish the basement....it never ends!

Good Luck!

 

[AllyandJack]

When I built, I went with almost everything "standard." I added a deck and a water line (get the water line for the fridge since it's great to have ice and water out of the fridge!). I got the standard flooring and fixtures. Not only was it less out of pocket, but it has been so much fun making the house into what we wanted it to be. Of course, my husband is in construction, so installing hardwood flooring has been easy. The builder wanted about $10,000 to upgrade to hardwood. We have been able to install it for about half that ourselves. The builder wanted double what the fixture cost to install it. Plus, if you ever sell the house, you can just stick on the generic fixtures and take the good ones with you to the new house! Again, if you're not a handy person, you probably don't want to take on the endeavor. We're painting and putting in ceramic tile now - again, all for half of what the builder wanted. We're extending the deck and having granite countertops installed. I think we saved a lot of money up front (especially since we were paying for our wedding at the time) and you really don't know what colors you want until the furtniture is in place. Plus, it's a lot of fun to be able to take your time and make the decisions and it's fun to spend a Saturday "working on the house." Home Depot is my favorite place in the world. Although it would be nice to have everything done, I know I would have missed doing this work myself (or at least helping my husband do it!). Everyone is different and this has been my experience....if you either can't afford, can't decide or simply don't want to spring for the extras, all is not lost. If you get the standard stuff, it is always possible to not only make it what you wanted, but you might find that it could turn out better!

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Meriweather]

We upgraded all flooring and carpeting.
We have been here 18 years and are just replacing the flooring now.....mostly just because I want something different.

We put in 2 water heaters....one upstairs, one for downstairs.

We are tall and had all counters raised 2" higher than normal.

We came out to the building site often.......even though we lived about 50 miles away. Kept up with the builders.....told them right away if we wanted something changed....and insisted that they did it.
DH played "bad" guy and I brought donuts and played "good" guy.

My extra was a full basement....DH's extra was a detached shop.

 

[Bob Slydell]

I wish we would have gone with the 3 car garage.

 

[floridafam]

My Mom and Dad just finished building their second home. They had the chance to do things they didn't think of the first time.

They are planning on being in this house forever so they had the door openings made wider in case they need wheelchairs when they are older.

They came up with a lot of different ideas and contracted a bunch of work out for less than what the builder wanted to charge.

One thing they did was get stainless steel countertops. I thought I would hate it but it looks really great in the kitchen.

The gentleman who did the countertops is a family friend and he also used corrugated steel on the side of the cabinets, the island and the kick plate in the kitchen. He also used it going down their stairway. It looks AWESOME! It is the same stuff they use for barn roofs and it lasts forever. You buy it in big sheets and it is dirt cheap. Their house is really contemporary so this may not work for you.

They also put the laundry on the main floor.

One thing I told my husband I would do if we built a house is install automatic faucets in the bathrooms-the kind that turn on automatically when you put your hands under them. I just think this would be really nice to have.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

#1 mistake we made... going to Vegas during the last couple weeks before the house was done. We usually went out to the site everyday, so we could keep a watch on things and make sure no errors were made... but toward the end we thought "What could go wrong at this point?" and that is when the builder painted the whole inside of our house with the wrong paint. And also they did a crappy job on our closets. All the shelves were too skinny and the rods were hanging at weird heights I didn't like. So in hindsight we should have waited to take a vacation AFTER we moved in.

Things I'm really glad we put in:

Marvin windows - more expensive but soooo much nicer to have.

Custom cabinets - almost didn't do it, but very much worth it!

Stainless steel appliances - more expensive, but they are so much nicer to look at and anytime we have company people always comment on them.

Ceramic tile - much better than linoleum... and looks nicer.

Good Luck with building! It's a total living nightmare, but worth it in the end.

 

[robsmom]

building a house can be fun but frustrating. We did not "custom build" so we had a model built with our selections of carpet, flooring etc. unlike an above poster we made the upgrades before the mortage and mortgaged them. here are my thoughts:

Do different:

1. Kitchen - I went all white which looked beautiful in the sample but a white kitchen floor was a big mistake. we are going to have a new floor put in next week - wood laminent.

2. Laundry - I too would love it on the second floor but there are pros and cons. closer to the clothes but we usually spend more time on the 1st floor. What I really don't like in my house is that the laundry room is also the "mud room' entrance from the garage. If I was designing, I would really like a separate room that i could close the door to.

3. white rugs - not my best choice!!

4. paininting. we got builder eggshell with builder white trim all throughout the house. didn't have a choice on this. didn't repaint at start because of "nail pops" that occur. then we didn't paint because everything looked so clean and new and there was lots else to do. 7 years later and I justed added the 1st color - makes such a big difference having a little color in my life.

5. walk in pantry - would love to have one.

Would do the same:

1. upgrading bathrooms to ceramic tile floors. they continue to look nice 7 years later.

2. butler's pantry - have a great one between kitchen and dining room - not huge the width of two cabinets with glass cabinet on top, counter top and one deep two doored cabinet below. Love this space to entertain and love the extra storage. it was carpeted to be part of dining room but when i change the floors next week I am changing it to the laminate wood floor of the kitchen because it gets alot of wear and tear.

3. my closet - is huge and totally full and used- invest in closet space. also try to get closet organizers with shelf/drawer/ shoe rack space. At first I had lots of hanging space but really needeed
shoe racks and drawers/shelves for sweaters.

4. office/playroom - love this separate space - keeps the family room clean and uncluttered. put it close to where you live, kitchen/family room if you can afford the space.

have fun.

 

[pjlla]

I agree with so many of the posts here.

Number one.... put your money into things that are DIFFICULT or COSTLY to change later.... like overall square footage or layout. We made our overall house size two feet bigger each way than the original plan called for and we are GLAD we did. But we wish we made it even bigger!!

Carpeting/flooring, counters and such are easy and relatively inexpensive to change later. But changing the overall house size or layout is costly!! We opted to pour our limited funds into permanent things like the floor plan and size, knowing that eventually we could change the carpets with no problem.

Number two.... go with mostly neutrals! (Unless you have a beloved piece of furniture that needs a specific color to coordinate with it). You can always change your paint colors/ carpeting colors later, after you have been there a while.

Number three..... listen to any advise that your contractor/subcontractors will give you, but in the end, if you REALLY want something, be firm about it. I wish I had listened to the kitchen design guy about the layout of one corner of our kitchen, but on paper it really looked fine. Well.... a few years and a few thousand dollars later, it is the way it should have been in the first place! But I was firm about a few other things and I was glad I was!!

Number four.... MORE CLOSETS!!! Need I say more!

Number five....I agree with the pp who says to visit the building site as often as possible. When the upstairs of my house was framed, the framer was walking me through what the layout of the second bedroom would be. Basically, you go in the door and around a jog to the left for the bedroom. I noticed that if we moved the door to the left and eliminated that "jog" area, we would be able to have a LARGE linen closet in the hallway and it didn't eliminate any vital space in the bedroom. To this day I don't know what the builder was thinking with that layout and I don't know WHAT I would have done all these years without that closet.... it is very large, holds all my kitchen and bedroom linens, plus a vacume cleaner and some misc. stuff!! We were able to correct several things like that by being there often!

Number six..... take lots of photos and video as the house is being framed, plumbed and wired. You can use them to refer back to later if you need to know where a pipe runs or where a wire runs, etc. It has come in very handy as we have made various renovations/ changes.

Number seven..... be VERY SURE that you understand what the contractor is explaining/doing and that he understands VERY CLEARLY what you are asking for. Even if it means drawing pictures!! I very clearly asked my builder for bi-fold closet doors, instead of regular hinged doors. I thought he understood me.... and he did, sort of. I got ONE bifold door per closet.... I always thought bifold doors were used in pairs. So I have two 10-12 foot closets that have 4-5 foot openings!! What a waste. I suppose we will eventually change that (someday!).

Number eight..... keep a few thousand dollars aside for "incidentals" if at all possible. I think that the weekend we moved in we spend $1000 at Home Depot!

Very best of luck to you with your house building! We are celebrating 10 years in our house next month! The time has flown by! ..............................P

 

[FINFAN]

The others have pointed out just about everything I could think of, except....lot exposure. our kitchen/family room is in the back of the house and that side faces North. I am a sunlight person and I can not TELL you how depressing it is to have to have all the lights on in the kitchen in the middle of the day! I prefer a soutwest exposure on the back of a house. Some do not because of the sun heating up the back and high AC bills. It is pers. pref, but I would def. take it into consideration. Also, we checked up on the house 2-3 times a week, but not when the contracter/workers were here. They can really cause a problem w/your house if you irritate them by looking over their shoulders...ie: years ago a neighbor(irritating woman) was having some serious plumbing problems, turns out there were crushed pop cans clogging a main pipe....guess who put it there? I would also upgrade to the best /easiest windows you can afford....that is one expensive change to make if they are not keeping out the cold/moisture etc. I would also make sure all your floor nails are skrewed in not nailed...this may help avoid squeaky floors later on. We also widened all our hallways to 4ft to allow for any oversized furniture, and to avoid hitting the walls , and widened each room opening to 5 ft minimum t allow light to enter as much as possible. We could not afford a fireplace at construction, but did have the footing put in to support the weight of a full brick one. When we did put the FP we were glad as we chose to go to the ceiling which is 24' high...weighs a ton. We also went w/a full basement, no crawlspace, as DH is 6'3" and little spaces are useless. If you do go w/a crawl, have it cemented...some homes just have gravel stone...radon gas and bugs can really become a problem . We also had the carpenter come back on his own time near(we paid him of course) the completion of the house to put a basic floor in the attics and to install closet organizers. Made moving in a lot easier to have storage already set up. Another thing we stuck to our guns on was the complete cleaning of the basement. You will not believe how dirty/muddy/grimy that becomes....we were able to put a quick coat of cement paint on the floors/walls. We have never finished it...and it is a dungeon now, but for a while ther it looked pretty good! Congrats on your decision...which room is going to be the WDW one?

Pam

 

[Duchie]

We've built twice now. Both experiences were pretty good but we've learned a few things along the way:

1) Yep - wish I'd done hardwood stairs. We have it in the kitchen and I really wish we'd done the entire downstairs.

2) Don't close until your "punch" list is DONE. This will take patience but we've learned it's MUCH easier to get them to fix things before you close (when they are anxious to get your money) then after (when they already have it.)

3) Upgrade the garage. Add about 5' in depth (for storage, a workshop, freezer, whatever) and increase to a 3-car if at all possible.

4) Don't go with textured walls. Upgrade to totally smooth walls. Our builder told us it's so much cheaper to do the texturing so most builders are going with this method. But it's such a PAIN to paint or wallpaper or patch nail holes.... UGH!!!

Enjoy your new home!!!

 

[Blondie]

You've already received some great advice!

When we went to the carpet dealer to pick out our carpeting, a tip that the salesman gave to us is if you can't afford to upgrade to a better carpet, upgrade your padding to get better wear, so we did do that.

Other than that, I'd upgrade the kitchen counter tops to Corian or something similar.

Another thing we did was bargain. We already had (at the time) a relatively new fridge and range. The builder was going to supply that, but instead I asked him if we could have the money that was going to be spent on the appliances put towards something else like a skylight in the master bathroom, better exterior light fixtures and an extra window in the master bedroom. The builder went along with the idea!

Good luck and have fun!