Tx-Ag2010 said:

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Nagler said:

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All good tips thanks!

Another question, our builder has included money in our quote for appliances. Is that something worth buying through them? Will they get a better deal than going to a Home Depot or Lowes? Is the only benefit that it rolls into the mortgage?

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Personally I wouldn't use the builder to purchase the appliances. They might get a slight discount, but its unlikely this will be passed on to you.

I would shop sales around the Memorial Day/July 4th/Labor Day/Black Friday. Most places will let you delay delivery of the appliances until closer to your build completion date.

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If you purchase your own appliances, make sure your cabinet guy has the specs well in advance.

This is one of the most informative threads I've seen. Thanks to all!

Nagler said:

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All good tips thanks!

Another question, our builder has included money in our quote for appliances. Is that something worth buying through them? Will they get a better deal than going to a Home Depot or Lowes? Is the only benefit that it rolls into the mortgage?

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I believe certain appliances must be in place prior to loan processing and/or issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy (like a gas cooktop or range).

I'd be careful and make sure that's coordinated before you do anything. The builder may require that they provide the appliances. You'd also be forgoing the builder's warranty services regarding the appliances (builder isn't going to warrant what they haven't supplied).

We just built and here are a quick list of things we did that we love:

1. Hot and cold water spigot outside for hoses.

2. Plumb for outdoor kitchen (water and gas) even if you don't end up putting one in now.

3. Deeper garage

4. Actual stairs to the attic from inside the garage, instead of the pull down ones. My wife has too much Christmas stuff and I am not getting any younger.

5. Light switch in master bedroom beside bed that turns on all outside lights. You wont have to get up and walk through the house to turn on exterior lights if you hear something outside.

6. Safe Room

7. Put in a transfer switch for a generator, even if you don't put a generator in yet. This will save you a ton of money if you ever decide to do one. They wire the electric panel through the transfer switch and then into the electric meter. If you don't put it in now they will wire from the panel into the meter and you will have to go back and change it, which will add several thousand dollars. Go ahead and have them plumb for it as well. If the gas and electric are within 10 feet of each other it is much cheaper to install a generator.

8. Outlets everywhere and then some. Make sure you put them in the eaves as well for lights.

9. Central Vacuum (we absolutely love ours...get the hide-a-hose system where the hose retracts in the wall and you don't have to carry around a bag with a hose in it). We also added a kickplate that allows you to sweep up a pile and kick a switch on the plate that sucks it right up without having to bend over and sweep it into a dust pan. We also have a hose for the garage just for vacuuming cars out.

10. Plantation shutters, budget for them and your wife will love you forever. They are easy to maintain and clean!

11. Up lights on the house

12. LED lights throughout

13. Put outlets in the wall to mount TVs, etc.

14. Speaker wiring and security camera wiring...you can probably do this yourself after it is framed up and before walls start going in. If you wait till after they insulate it will be harder to do.

15. Spray foam, spray foam, spray foam!

16. If you are thinking of having a pool, ask them what you can do to prep down the road to save money. Run plumbing, electrical, etc. If you think you would want a hot tub when they build the pool, have them run a gas line and stub it out where you would want your pool equipment.

17. If you want a pool and can afford it in the original build, do it. It is much easier to have them do it while they are building and much less headache to move grass, sprinklers, etc.

18. Think about adding a carport in addition to your garage. We did a metal building shop and did an eave extension on the front to add a 20x30 carport area. You can never have enough covered parking spaces.

19. Tankless water heater

20. Plenty of attic flooring for storage...with the spray foam it will be tolerable to be up there, even in the summer.

21. Think about closet organization ahead of time...it will sneak up on you and you will be working with the trim guy and not prepared.

22. Think about all the kitchen cabinet stuff you might want (spice racks, cookie sheet racks, utensil holders, trash cans in the island, etc)

23. Think about ceiling heights. We had a couple areas on our plans that we didn't realize the ceiling heights and we would have changed that. We thought it was 10 foot throughout with exception of the living and dining area. We have 11' ceilings in the kitchen and out on our patio and we would have gone with 10' instead. It would have saved a little. If going with 10' ceilings go with 8' doors...they look great.

That's all I can think of right now...I am sure there are a ton of other things. Enjoy the process and don't let it stress you out. If the bride is set on certain things, just try to roll with it. There will be certain things that are must haves for you as well and it makes it easier to get them. LOL

Good luck with the build.

Mas89 said:

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Take off work and watch/help every day. Only way to get it done right.
And make the garage half the sq ft size of the house.

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I know this was a joke, but dang if it aint accurate. It was so frustrating coming home to either no work done, or something they messed up on. Oh and a garage 3/4 of the size of the house. LOL

Great lists on this thread.

Electrical outlets. The plans will give you a standard set-up. You want MINIMUM 50% more. Builders put them in the middle of the wall. Put some in corners as well. Put a few in the pantry. Double the number in the garage

Make your garage 3-4 feet deeper that the plans.

Outlets in the eves if not standard operated by a switch in the house for Christmas lights.

Claw foot tub instead of spa tub.

Use landscaping allowance for irrigation and fence. Plants are way overpriced by builders. Like double.

If you have a gun safe, plan ahead.

Make a closet reinforced for tornado shelter.

Have the builders electrician install the electrical hookups for future pool, solar, generator, and barn. Much cheaper to add when building.

A bunch of great ideas on this thread. This is one that I hope is "stickied" on the Outdoor Board and can be built upon for future use. Some other things to consider:

1) Install a whole house audio system. We put in the Lynx system from Home Theater Direct, and we have thoroughly enjoyed using it. We have four sets of speakers outside, including the front porch. Tie all of your television sets into the Lynx system for Pandora or XM stations.

2) The hot water bib for outside use is a great idea. I've got one and it comes in very handy for our large BBQ cooks. I actually have two bibs, and one of my next projects is building an outdoor shower at the second bib location.

3) Give your wife 100% of the vote on all things aesthetic. You are going to lose all of those arguments anyway, so there is no need to give an opinion if you have one. If she wants your opinion, politely give it. I made one simple rule before construction started: no orange anywhere in the house, and she knew there was no debate on that request.

4) Build a large shower in the master bathroom. I would not go any less than 36 square feet, and I would have multiple shower heads. Cameras are optional if you're into home movies. Reevaluate your need for a bathtub(s): will you ever use it?

5) Depending on your location, consider a built-in storm shelter. Ours is rated for F5 tornadoes, and it serves as a pantry for all of our dry goods.

6) Consider a baseboard heater in your bathrooms. It is great to turn it on when the weather is cold in the mornings and your programmed thermostat has not kicked in for the morning.

7) Keep track of EVERYTHING going into the construction of your house. Make a binder to put in those photos of the open walls. Keep track of your paint colors, your tile selections, where you purchased everything, and who installed it. If it goes into the house, have a reference for it in your binder. Five years from now when you are trying to touch up paint where your head board destroyed the wall behind it, you'll have the information readily available.

8) Consider a reverse osmosis water faucet in your kitchen. Consider a pot filler over the stove.

9) Other frills: television mounts and connections in your bathrooms, shoe racks in closets, gas assist for fireplaces, preinstall power and plumbing for outdoor kitchen, etc.

We also had the contractor pour the slab and install the plumbing for our pool house. We have slowly been finishing it as funds become available, and we are about done after three years. I just need to build the bar for it!

Quote:

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5. Light switch in master bedroom beside bed that turns on all outside lights. You wont have to get up and walk through the house to turn on exterior lights if you hear something outside.

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Pointless with smart switches.

"Alexi/Siri - turn outside off."

And its done.

Have the garage wired for car chargers. If it won't add too much, have the boxes for it, as well - odds are, in the next 20-30 years, you'll at least have a plug in hybrid.

Not sure if it makes sense, for a house, but in a commercial freezer, there is a slab, then several layers of a type of foam, then another slab poured on top of it. The top slab is actually free floated off the walls, so it can go up and down. Building something similar for a house, may be a good idea.

Not sure, but it would be a way to insulate the bottom of a slab house.

Lots and lots of really good advice here. After building a house 6 years ago and still dealing with lots of issues, I will definitely be spending lots of time and money on foundation design and proper installation on any future builds.

I'm an engineer and a disciple of Building Science Corp. (buildingscience.com). I usually attend a few of their workshops every year. I'm also involved with the Air Barrier Association and several other building science oriented trade organizations. As others have mentioned earlier, full insulation encapsulation is an excellent method. However, your insulation *probably* doesn't also function as your air barrier. Almost all spray foam homes (as far as I know) are insulated with open cell spray foam which does not form a true air barrier. Its sort of a misconception that a spray foam house is a tight house. Closed cell foam can be a good air barrier when installed correctly - but this pretty much only used on commercial applications. There's also been lots of air quality concerns associated with spraying foam inside the envelope (between exterior sheeting and sheet rock). I think my next house will be done with exterior insulation with a separate air barrier as is demonstrated in the "perfect wall" design from BSC. Note the location of the air barrier moves depending on the climate. Even if you did decide to go with a more traditional in wall insulation method, consider something like Aerobarrier to really seal up the house tight.

You hear people say that a house needs to breathe - and that's true. You just want to control that and not let it "naturally" ventilate. A good ventilation strategy is a critical component of your HVAC plan as our houses get tighter. I highly recommend separate equipment for dehumidification and ventilation. It can be tied into your central AC system, but don't expect your traditional AC system to do all the work. Even if you are using variable speed equipment, consider adding dedicated equipment for dehum and ventilation. ERVs and dedicated dehum ventilators are very cost effective when installed as original equipment and will really help take a load off your central cooling system. Definitely, make sure there is space in your house plan to install the units in a accessible area where they can be easily maintained. Use metal duct with external insulation wherever possible and minimize flex duct connections to 5' or less in length. This will mean making sure your plan includes pathways to run your properly sized ducts. RUN ALL DUCTS INSIDE THE SEALED ENVELOPE!!! and don't ever ever ever put ducts and/or your AC unit in an uninsulated/unsealed attic.

Other things I've learned through personal experience:
- Make sure you have a good drainage plan that keeps water away from your foundation
- install good, heavy duty power in your garage and make sure there's space to add more if you might want a pool/hot tub down the line.
- Tyvek is not an air barier, its a vapor barrier and only if its properly installed. There's better materials and methods available
- If you are using an architect, ask them about hiring an envelope consultant, especially if you have a complicated layout with lots of exterior surface transitions from one plane to another. That's where leaks are most likely to show up.
- Ask who your builder will use as sub contractors. Cabinets, trim, drywall, texture, painting, floors - all those surfaces you see will be a nightmare if your builder goes cheap here. In the future I will want to talk with these subs personally and possibly get references.
- Make sure you're being realistic with your budget. Don't try to drive down that $/sq ft number too hard. Quality costs money and you're better off building less sq footage at a higher quality than the opposite.

Take your expectations and drive them through the floor.

That way you'll come out sane.


Maybe...


slight chance...


ever so slight...

Never, ever, pay anyone until they are done with the job you hired them for.

Be sure to have 1" drain lines installed for the AC.

Bradley.Kohr.II said:

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Be sure to have 1" drain lines installed for the AC.

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That's a good tip. I think code requires 3/4" but they will clog with the black algae stuff. Still a good idea to pour some bleach down the lines once or twice a year. Again, a good reason to keep your unit out of the attic and in a closet where it's accessible.

Electric radiant floor heat with programmable thermostats.

Renovated our home and had it installed under tile and bamboo floors.

NIIIIIICE especially in areas with a real winter.

Just build a plain old cookie cutter so when your future ex gets it in the divorce you won't be pissed at all the time and thought you put into your "forever" home...

Tagged for later

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Nagler said:

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All good tips thanks!

Another question, our builder has included money in our quote for appliances. Is that something worth buying through them? Will they get a better deal than going to a Home Depot or Lowes? Is the only benefit that it rolls into the mortgage?

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This is a very good (& common) question.

As a homebuilder 362 days a year my appliance pricing is better than what you can get on your own. Those three days where it isn't our pricing is about even (but mine includes delivery, install etc).

I HIGHLY recommend buying anything that requires any sort of install from your builder; at a minimum get the range/cooktop, oven, microwave, dishwasher, & vent-hood from your builder.

Plug-in only stuff like washer/dryer, refrigerators, etc get those from home depot.

I have had clients who have tried the box store thing in the past and had some pretty serious warranty issues, leaving them without a particular appliance for long periods (months). The benefit of buying from your builder, even more so than my pricing being better than yours, is my warranty is awesome. I have had similar struggles with appliance manufacturers, but my homeowner will never see it; if we aren't getting the response we need we will (&have) just replace the appliance for the customer & fight the appliance guys on our own time.

I'd like to add one thing to this discussion, from one custom home builder's perspective. There is a lot of great info on this thread, stuff that will help you & your builder build your perfect home. There are also, however, a lot of comments that seem to be pretty adversarial to your builder. Just my opinion here, but if you feel like you have to bring in third parties to verify that you aren't getting screwed or that any savings (like appliances) will not benefit you, then you need to find a different builder. The build process should be a team effort, & it should be fun; it's not supposed to be a dogfight or a second job for you. Thats not to say 3rd party inspectors etc are bad (I actually have a 3rd party come in prior to sheetrock just to get another set of eyes on things), it all depends on why/how its done. If you are going to go that route I would at least give your builder a heads up that you are bringing out a 3rd party guy so it isn't a shock when they show up on site.

It is unfortunate that there are builders out there that have made some folks feel this way, but there are plenty of honest hard working contractors too, & they are pretty easy to differentiate between & find.

Saltwater Assassin said:

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Nagler said:

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All good tips thanks!

Another question, our builder has included money in our quote for appliances. Is that something worth buying through them? Will they get a better deal than going to a Home Depot or Lowes? Is the only benefit that it rolls into the mortgage?

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This is a very good (& common) question.

As a homebuilder 362 days a year my appliance pricing is better than what you can get on your own. Those three days where it isn't our pricing is about even (but mine includes delivery, install etc).

I HIGHLY recommend buying anything that requires any sort of install from your builder; at a minimum get the range/cooktop, oven, microwave, dishwasher, & vent-hood from your builder.

Plug-in only stuff like washer/dryer, refrigerators, etc get those from home depot.

I have had clients who have tried the box store thing in the past and had some pretty serious warranty issues, leaving them without a particular appliance for long periods (months). The benefit of buying from your builder, even more so than my pricing being better than yours, is my warranty is awesome. I have had similar struggles with appliance manufacturers, but my homeowner will never see it; if we aren't getting the response we need we will (&have) just replace the appliance for the customer & fight the appliance guys on our own time.

I'd like to add one thing to this discussion, from one custom home builder's perspective. There is a lot of great info on this thread, stuff that will help you & your builder build your perfect home. There are also, however, a lot of comments that seem to be pretty adversarial to your builder. Just my opinion here, but if you feel like you have to bring in third parties to verify that you aren't getting screwed or that any savings (like appliances) will not benefit you, then you need to find a different builder. The build process should be a team effort, & it should be fun; it's not supposed to be a dogfight or a second job for you. Thats not to say 3rd party inspectors etc are bad (I actually have a 3rd party come in prior to sheetrock just to get another set of eyes on things), it all depends on why/how its done. If you are going to go that route I would at least give your builder a heads up that you are bringing out a 3rd party guy so it isn't a shock when they show up on site.

It is unfortunate that there are builders out there that have made some folks feel this way, but there are plenty of honest hard working contractors too, & they are pretty easy to differentiate between & find.

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Bob, is that you?

Yessir!

1) High leg and a 30A or 50A receptacle in the garage for specialty use
2) Epoxy floor in the garage- I love mine
3) Make the garage deeper than you think. Our 3 car garage is too shallow to park my truck in.
4) Dedicated receptacle for garage fridge/freezer
4a) More receptacles in the garage than you think you need
5) Cabinets with under cabinet lighting for over you workbench in the garage
6) High quality LED lighting in your garage
7) Plumb in air drops at all 4 corners of the garage routed back to your compressor
8) Insulated garage doors with a split system if you want a climate controlled garage
9) Lutron Castea lighting controls- we have these controls for our front porch, drive way floods, back yard lighting, and some interior lighting. The Lutron app is user friendly and can be controlled from anywhere.
10) Oversize the pantry
11) Oversize the laundry room
12) Receptacles in the master closet
13) Do not let your HVAC sub tie the condensate line into a bathroom sink. Inevitably, the line will clog up with crap and flood a bathroom. Have them tie into an adequate drain line or run their own drain.

Tip number 1 - Build on a lake, river, or lots of land.

Tip number 2 - Use a designer if you are not in love with an architects portfolio (architects tend to follow a certain style and be too rigid to think like you/spouse will.)

Tip number 3 - take your time. rushing decisions is nice if you are on a time crunch, but a custom house is better built over time. Expect 10-15 months depending on scope.

JJMt said:

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It is unfortunate that there are builders out there that have made some folks feel this way, but there are plenty of honest hard working contractors too, & they are pretty easy to differentiate between & find.

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It may be easy for another contractor to differentiate and find, but my experience is that it's not so easy for a lay person. Do you have any recommendations or advice for us laypeople on how to find the good contractors and tell which ones are bad?

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Great question!

When I meet with prospective clients my first request is that we just have a cup of coffee & talk; when you build a house you are going to be borderline married to your builder, so I think the first step is just seeing if you like each other & would feel comfortable spending A LOT of time with that person. It sounds silly, but I feel very strongly about it. All of the below items can be addressed during this sit down.

- Communication: This is the single biggest issue on most builds that go sour: poor communication. If a dispute comes up on the job most likely you are not being unreasonable and your builder isn't being shady, the two of you simply did not communicate very well on that matter. This is absolutely crucial during the bid phase. Look for a bid/proposal format with as much info as possible. For example: our proposals are typically around 100 pages long. This isn't done to be confusing, it is meant to be informative. We line item every cost in the budget and how/why we came up with that number. We use that proposal throughout the process, we take it with us to selections. When a client picks out their counter-tops they have our budget showing what was bid, therefor they know if they pick out a level 7 Quartz and the bid shows a level 5 that there will be a cost delta. We include material and appliance specs, light fixtures, doors, estimated schedule, everything. Not everyone does this, but the point is to make sure that what you desire & what is proposed are the same and that there is a process of some kind in place to ensure that.

- Organization: how is the job monitored? You will be making a ton of decisions and there will be a small mountain of paperwork documenting everything, how is this stored? Is it spreadsheets sent via email? Is there a portal or online project management tool that you have access to? Is it old school with a hard copy folder?There is not a right or wrong answer here, just make sure there is some kind of plan and it works for you.

- Contract delivery method: Look for as much transparency as possible. It is becoming more and more common to use cost plus contracts that are 100% transparent.

-Change order process; when is a change order necessary and how is it priced?

- Warranty; both length/coverage & the process for getting warranty work done. I think most builders in Texas have a standard 1/2/10 warranty. 1 year for everything, 2 years for mechanical systems (HVAC, electrical, & plumbing), & 10 year structural. It is also good to know if that warranty is underwritten by a third party or not.

- Deposits; what type of deposits are required and when. A deposit for pre-construction services, in my opinion, would be a red flag (the exception being a deposit to hold a lot that the builder owns). Build deposits, required prior to commencement of actual construction are more common (just check with your lender that they will count towards your percentage of a construction loan if you are using one).

- Ask for references/referrals. Building is a very personal relationship, so see what the relationship was like with past clients. Bear in mind you can always find someone who is disgruntled to some degree, but if you talk to 3 or more past clients you should be able to get a feel for the general trend.

- Ask trades about home builders if you can. The building world, especially custom homes, is a small community. You can tell a lot, in my opinion, about a builder by how they treat their trades. Personally I firmly believe that you take good care of your customer by taking good care of your trades (meaning that you pay them on time, have the job ready for them when you call them out, and generally be reasonable to work for).

- The feels: trust your gut after your meeting; 9 times out of 10 your gut will lead you in the right direction. If you have a good feeling about the builder after your meeting or not is important.

- Remember this when you are hiring a builder; we are in customer service, period. We are building houses, but priority one should always be customer service. There will almost always be issues of some sort on a custom build, the response to those issues will ultimately determine whether your building experience is a pleasant one or not. This is where the customer service aspect comes into play the most.

- Finally: don't get in a hurry. Custom homes are not production homes; fast is very rarely better in regards to quality.

Hope this helps.

Good luck & have fun!

Anyone who's built/finished building recently have any updated tips? We are going with Highland in North DFW. Biggest concern is that we are going to be staying 4 hours away with the in-laws while it's being built. So it's gonna be hard to check up on the house on a frequent basis.

Reached out to a house inspector for pre-slab, pre-drywall and finished inspection.