re: Advice for a first time home builder

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so I decided I would try to save some money in the long run.

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You’ll save some money by not hiring a contractor but you’re also going to lose maybe more money by not knowing what you’re doing.

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I decided I would try to save some money in the long run.

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Did you decide to build to save money over buying an existing home too?

IMO whatever you save you're going to earn in time and aggravation especially if LA is anything like Missouri right now. Construction's been booming and materials and people to do the work are in short supply.

If I might add another issue he will encounter.
In the new home construction business, there are a LOT of crappy fly-by-night crews. The good ones have more work than they can do steadily fed to them by the GC's that trust them. They won't have time to fool with scheduling around a 1-time self-contractor, and will blow him off at a moments notice because they know he is just that...a 1-time deal.

As you said, don't do it unless you already have inroads in the construction/architecture field. You will spend more money and waste more time than it will ever be worth, and probably wind up with an inferior product.

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EA6B

Have whoever does it add hot water with mixing valve to a outdoor hose connection, wonderful for washing dogs, or other things outside during cold weather.

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Very solid thought. A few additional things I have learned:

1) Have at least three or four exterior hose bibs, not one or two. One of them needs to be close to your garage door, not 30' around the corner.

2) If your garage is large, install an exterior door. You don't want to need to open/close the large metal garage door just to go in and out of your garage.

3) You cannot have enough electrical circuits in your home that are dedicated. Maybe not one-for-one, but all dedicated and semi-permanent appliances and equipment installations need their own dedicated breaker insofar as possible. Example - the upright freezer or beer fridge in your garage doesn't need to be on a general garage loop circuit. Microwave, dishwasher, and refrigerator should be dedicated by code. But make everything else you can dedicated also given space in your breaker box. Even the outlets at a computer desk in your den. And so forth.

4) Speaking of electrical outlets... you need at least two or three on every exterior wall. GFI of course, that are NOT wired to your kitchen, bath, or garage. And have at least two on every exterior wall under roof such as porches, patios, etc.

5) Future proof some installations. That is, at entertainment walls and at least one location in major bedrooms, install an empty electrical box with a 1/2" or 3/4" blank conduit leading to the attic or basement. It makes snaking wires in so much easier in the future. And you will. Similarly at your electrical panel, stub out at least TWO blank conduits of at least 1 to 1-1/2" size - one leading up to your attic or basement, wherever your main wires are run - and another stubbed to the outside yard well clear of your house and under potential concrete or walkways. Take a picture of where these terminate, and even better, install a nylon twine for a future pull rope. You will thank your lucky stars later on for spending this extra $25 and an hour for pvc conduit to do this. Trust me on this one.

6) If your house will have a slab foundation, think about your water lines that emerge up from the slab. Insulate all lines under the slab and wrap them in plastic wrap - no matter if they are copper, pex, pvc, whatever. And even if your plumber thinks you are crazy. Furthermore, where these lines penetrate through the slab, double up your insulation. They can always cut a little bit of this off, but since the plumbers will place these lines before the slab is poured, measurements can get off. Your framers will really appreciate even 1/2-1" of possible movement in your water lines to make sure the lines come up properly in the wall per design.

7) I'd consider moving a wall or adding square footage in order to get a set of staid up to attic and storage space instead of an access portal or pull down stairs. This is another thing you will never regret spending a little bit more on, particularly as you get older. And while you are thinking about it, plan on either flooring your attic or installing 2x lumber "walkways" to get to distant areas of your attic space. Again, you will never regret doing this. Make sure you tell your framer to a) frame up attic bracing specifically so you can get around, and b) save 2x lumber scraps to use for walkways. It doesn't have to look pretty, just be sturdy and about 16-18" wide. Same for plywood and OSB scraps, use for general attic flooring in a double thickness.

8) Steel mesh and rebar is incredibly cheap for what you get. Whatever is designed, double it and place it everywhere to prevent cracking of concrete. And even with rebar, use fiber in your concrete and never drop below 3000 psi mix. An extra $100-150 worth of steel rebar carefully placed can prevent a tremendous amount of foundation settling and cracking. Well worth the price.

9) If you live in the South, you are prone to extreme weather. If you do not have a built-in generator, wire in a heavy duty 240v exterior outlet (similar to an RV hookup outlet or similar, preferably with matching NEMA twistlock to your generator) and a transfer switch. This will allow you to disconnect from the grid and back feed your entire house with a generator, through your breaker box. This is where all those dedicated circuits come in handy. The cost of doing this will pay for itself may times over if you use it only once. And odds are, it will be many more times than that.

Anyway, just some extra thoughts.

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Don’t be married and do it. It’s the ultimate relationship strain I’ve heard.

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This is dumb as F


If you’re worried about it lost the things you’re more focused on vs things she’s more focused on

Paint colors
Floor plans
Floors
Trim

Just diveit it to what’s most important to each of you and go from there

Built house 5 years ago.
Had zero problems and I was general contractor.
My builder helped me a lot

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8) Steel mesh and rebar is incredibly cheap for what you get. Whatever is designed, double it and place it everywhere to prevent cracking of concrete. And even with rebar, use fiber in your concrete and never drop below 3000 psi mix. An extra $100-150 worth of steel rebar carefully placed can prevent a tremendous amount of foundation settling and cracking. Well worth the price.

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Still gonna crack. Settling is all this staves off, which is more way important. Just so OP doesn't freak out about some light surface cracks. You have given great advice, just figured I'd expound on this tidbit briefly.

EVERY SUB I used came to me after the job (keep in mind, we had a contract) and said “man I really didn’t bid this right, this one is going to cost me money”. It was a lie every time except for my surveyor. He quoted me a price and worked his arse off. He said he’d honor his quoted price. I felt bad and paid him double.

The rest of the jackasses got “let this be a lesson to you on how to bid jobs”. They didn’t like that coming from a 27 year old.

One word of advice... pay some alarm guys to rough your house in with alarm contacts. They’ll do it for a few hundred dollars and it’s worth it.

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MoarKilometers
Advice for a first time home builder

Still gonna crack. Settling is all this staves off, which is more way important. Just so OP doesn't freak out about some light surface cracks. You have given great advice, just figured I'd expound on this tidbit briefly.

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I agree, wasn't really talking about featherline stuff but the 1/8" gaps where one side is 1/4" lower than the other side. :- D

I'm thinking that IF I ever build another house, it is probably going to have ICFs (insulating concrete forms) at the walls. Those things are incredible for the cost to benefits.

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I'm thinking that IF I ever build another house, it is probably going to have ICFs (insulating concrete forms) at the walls. Those things are incredible for the cost to benefits.

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I watched someone build one of these shortly after I built my house. I remember stopping by to check it out a few times with my dad, a retired GC. Seems really neat, but I loathe installing furing strip to hang drywall or run wiring. Whenever my state gets recreational, my indoor facility will be made this way, purely for security and hvac efficiency.

Given your name, you a glazer?