building a house

[bigjohn]

So the wife and I are looking at building a house... yeah, I know. 

 

We have the lot and it's been surveyed and we've been working with a guy designing our house plans and now we are shopping those out to builders.

 

Not looking at anything TOO extravagant but definitely not a shack either.  We'll have a main level and a walk-out basement (finished), probably 3000-3300 total square feet.

 

Anyone here built a home lately?  Material-wise we're looking at mainly some cedar shakes siding, stonework and maybe a little brick, hardwood floors (main level) with stamped concrete in the basement.  Three car garage (got to have a place for the boat) and nice fixtures...you get the idea.

 

We've got three builders working on some bids and should be hearing back within the next week or so.  Just wondering what to expect as far as price per square foot etc.  or any other hints you have (those who have been through it).

 

 

[Anybodyhome]

I contracted my retirement home and supervised the building in 2009. I concentrated on using materials that are energy efficient as well as relatively low maintenance. For example, instead of cedar shake siding, consider Hardi-Plank cement board siding.

 

Unless you've done 100 homes, there's no way your budget remains intact and you'll have to make some cuts somewhere. Do not cut costs by ordering less energy efficient windows and entry doors. As a matter of fact, spend some extra time selecting windows- the single largest heating and cooling losses in homes are thru and around windows. Insulation is another consideration as are your appliances. If you can afford the initial cost, go for an on demand water heating system versus a standard hot water tank.

 

HVAC is yet another cost efficiency not to over look. Spend the extra few buck on a variable speed HVAC system. The less expensive and efficient systems, especially heat pumps, have a single speed- on or off. The more efficient models employ a variable speed fan that uses less energy to run when the thermostat detects only a couple degrees of cooling or heating are required.

[bigjohn]

Awesome-- great stuff.  I have already talked to one builder and I'm sold on tankless water heater and bumping up the insulation and window quality. Really, among my main concerns is energy efficiency (I know those costs will do nothing but rise in the coming years) and having enough space for our needs/wants.  The wife wants the finer things (but that's ok too).

 

 

[SmokinwithWilly]

Another thing to seriously plan for is trending. There are always new and exciting trends in kitchens/bathrooms. Don't get sucked into the hype. Find something you can live with for the next 10-15 years. I can't tell you how many people ive dealt with that are willing to spend 10-15k to get rid of something they now hate because they followed a fad.

The other thing to really spend on is insulation. Our former house was over insulated with r50 blown in the attic, r24 blown into the walls including interiors, and r30 in the floors. In winter, with temps averaging in the teens, our electric was 70-80 a month and our neighbors was 200-300. Summer was the same way. You make up the cost in a hurry.

[PandaPancake]

The only advise I can give you is don't hire someone with an engineering or math degree to do any work for you. My poor mom probably spent twice as much in tile than she should have because her sons kept arguing that the degree of the angles weren't quite right.

[thefuzz]

Depending on the builders overhead, you can expect anywhere from 100-180 per square foot.

 

If you get a bid from a "custom builder" under 100, I would be very suspect, and ask for some references, and make sure they built within the last 6 months.

[Niner National]

Just curious, what do you do with 3300 square feet? I cannot even begin to understand how someone uses (not has, but actually uses) that much space.

[Big A]

Foam insulation is one of the best investments you can make. Just finished my house 2 years ago just a little bigger than that and spent tons of time researching all the newest and best things. I tried to use really good materials and focused on efficiency. Like the others said, the biggest savings long term will be variable speed ac's, double paned windows with good r value, insulation, and tankless water heaters. You can even go a little further with AC and get a zone system with dampers so that each room can have its own thermostat and different temperatures, no need to keep the 3 guest bedrooms at 75 all day when nobody is in them, some other things I did that weren't a huge investments were central vacuum, distributed audio and sound, surveillance. Even if you don't get any of the equipment, running the wires when walls are open is a tiny investment an dap will actually add value to your house in future. I contracted all the work myself and even did a decent portion of the build and most contractors won't be as concerned with every little detail like you will, so don't be afraid to contract out and supervise your own build.

Hard I plank is a great idea, spending a little extra now on better materials will be one of the best pieces if advice you can get.

[bigjohn]

Thanks Big A. Yeah I've been really forward with our designer and the builders we have already talked to about going a step up on the insulation and heating/ac units, windows etc.  Would rather spend that money up front and make it back on cheaper electric bills and maintenance.

 

Originally I wanted to leave the basement unfinished (I have some fishing buddies in the construction biz and we could hang sheet rock etc.) but she talked me out of it.  Probably a good thing, because I'd never have time to do it with my work schedule and I know it'd be a source of friction until it was done. 

 

 

[Big A]

I spent a ton of time researching online and learning many of the newest things being done on the cutting edge of new construction and wanted to share a few sites:

The forums board called AVS is great info for anything a/v related, there is a great section on a/v distribution installation that will give you ideas on how to easily prewire your house for anything from security surveillance, central sound, distributed video, etc. also they are sections on home theater build and security installation,p. While many of the systems can be expensive, sticking the wire in wall while building is a tiny investment of just a few hundred dollars of wire. Not only will you have everything nicely prewired if you ever want to install any of these systems, but just ore wiring your house will make it more valuable and a strong selling point to any perspective buyers. You get advice from a lot of people that did it all themselves or contracted themselves, and will mention little general construction details they would have done differently if they had to do it again.

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/36-home-v-distribution/

Great place to get wire and accessories really cheap

http://www.monoprice.com

Great site for anything from keyless locks, cameras, speakers, outlets, etc. pretty much anything electronic for a house

http://www.smarthome.com/_/index.aspx

Great prices for central vac systems. Had plumber help me install mine, but was pretty simple to do

http://www.thinkvacuums.com

[Big A]

High end cables for low end cost

http://www.bluejeanscable.com

[ckad79]

I don't live in North Carolina. Well, Virginia to be exact but recently had a home built. It wasn't 100% custom but we got to choose a floor plan, pick out tile for the bathroom, flooring, siding colors, brick, etc. It wasn't everything, but we got to be somewhat creative. For instance, we requested that his and her closets became one closet, but they still wanted to keep the final home practical in case we (the buyers) couldn't close (for any reason) and they needed to put a home that they could move fast on the market. In other words, I couldn't demand anything crazy that wouldn't appeal to your average buyer like neon green carpeting.

 

Basically, we were agreeing to purchase the home upon competition.

 

My brother had an entire house built from scratch though on an empty lot, but the difference was he had to pay for the entire home before construction started. The good part was the builder wasn't in a hurry to get paid because he already was paid, so nothing was rushed. Some of the work done on my house (in comparison) was done sloppy because there were these deadlines to meet.

 

As far as the process of building, our contractor had poor communication but did manage to get everything done. The problem IMO was, a lot of the subs he brought in have been slow to fix their own work. For instance, our A/C was on the fritz but under warranty by the company who installed it. They fixed it, but the process was slow with x-number of people involved. That is what bugged me.

 

The best would be to find a contractor with his own plumbing guy, own electricians, etc. That isn't likely to happen unless you want to spend twice as much (I'd imagine). I use to own an exterior home improvement company and can tell you that there is a reason why so many companies will 1099 independent contractors to work on properties. :)

 

Best of luck and remember to ask lots of questions and stay on top of things. For instance, I remember requesting foam inside our walls for insulation and wanting to be at the property during the day they sprayed to make sure it actually went in the walls. Otherwise, I would not have known.

[Hawk]

does it get cold enough there for heating?  I know AC is a must.

 

in floor heating is the way to go if you need heat though.

[Ja Rhule]

Just curious, what do you do with 3300 square feet? I cannot even begin to understand how someone uses (not has, but actually uses) that much space.

I got 2,850 square feet ranch house. My house is very open with 12 foot ceilings. I don't think it's too big honestly. I actually told my wife I wish we had an extra bedroom (we got 4).