Tips for building a new house

[WDWMom]

First and foremost, find a reliable builder. Get several references and look at homes they have built. Ask about their warranty program. Most are for 1 year from move in. Also find someone to help you with matching things like countertops, wall color, carpet. We have paint store in town that will do it for free if you are buying your paint from them. It was great to be able to bring in tile, carpet and laminate samples to match up with paint samples and get someones opinion.

Other than that, I could write a book. DH is a builder and we have built 3 homes of our own. I love the process, but it is also demanding. Good luck. If you have specific questions, feel free to pm me.

 

[eeyore65]

One more thing I thought of..if you are in Florida - consider one extra bay for your garage. If you have two cars, build 3. We have so little storage with no basement and hot, hot, hot attics, the storage comes in handy.

We also did one bay of the garage extra tall and I am using a pullied shelf to put my christmas decoration boxes up there.

We also put a deep large laundry sink in the garage and this is great for DH who likes to work out there. I also have DS throw stinky gym clothes there and I gather them to take to the laundry - which is upstairs next to our master bath.

Another thing I can't emphasize enough is walking through again and again as theya re building. It is amazing that you can forget a light switch or outlet here or there. Play out your day and you can catch some of these mistakes.

I also agree with making decisions early. I thought my DH was crazy for having me pick tile before the slab was poured, but I was happy about one less pressured decision later on.

It is fun and stressful all at the same time. And boy does the money fly out the door!

 

[moburg]

So any that have built a new construction home recently, can you offer tips, advise, warnings, ideas, concepts and rationalizations, obscure findings, etc. The more the merrier.

If you do decide to build, get into the details with the builder. They will let you pick a plan, and then give some options (carpet, linoleum, tile, siding, etc). But go deeper than that!

Brand/model of each appliance they will install.
Textured or non-textured walls.
Installing bathroom hardware(towel racks, etc) or not.
Location of light switches/outlets.
Type and size of water heater (I recommend tankless)
Brand/model of garage door opener.
Type of roof shingles.
If you are considering a security system, have the house prewired during construction.
Ditto if you want to run speaker wire for a surround sound system.

Lots of other things too, but basically, do not ever think that some detail is too small. Bring it up and bring it up early, before something is done!

And monitor the construction closely! Catch the mistakes early before correcting those mistakes will cause problems.

 

[Chicago526]

Think "green". Especially when it comes to insulation (not just fluffy stuff in the walls, but windows and doors, too) and energy efficiant appliances and HVAC systems. It costs more upfront, but over the long haul energy prices are only going to go up (the recent oil crash not withstanding) and if this is your "forever home" you'll be enjoying cheaper utility bills in your retirement, when your income is fixed.