re: Building a House

We plan to renovate the house that we are in.

Update the Master suite, living room, kitchen, laundry, garage and build an outdoor porch

These are extremely loaded questions hahaha.

I have my unlimited GC license here in NC and used to build high dollar homes and left it for a steadier commercial gig representing one of the universities here on construction.

It all depends on what you want out of the house and your budget and size.

Wood floors are nice but in my opinion LVT plank or laminated floors have come a long way and are bullet proof with the same looks. Wood floors is now all for the hey look at me I have wood floors.

Find a reputable GC and see if he does design as well. In-house design will save you some cash.

Easy way to gain more sq. ft. for money is to stack the house. So if you want a lot of room and don't care about multiple floors thats an easy way to go.

I love tankless HW heaters! Central vac is stupid. Look for remnant pieces for bathroom counter tops. Quartz is amazing but expensive and low maintenance. Granite is bulletproof but requires some maintenance. A good in between most don't know about is solid surface and not as durable at granite but easily fixable compared to both with dents and scratches.

If you have specifics ask away I have answers.

quote:

---

This is quickly becoming the desired choice after seeing what's on the market, so, for those that have done it :

Advice?

What would you do again?

What would you do different?

What wouldn't you do?

What would you absolutely do?

---

Personally I got tired of the process quick. I wouldn't want to build again unless I could do turn key.

BUTTTT if I had to
I would...... handle the paint myself again.... easy to do and you can get a lot of it done at night and on weekends. Will save you some $$$ if you know what you are doing.

I would build bigger closets.... you can NEVER have too much storage.
I would finish out my game room and the attic. Both were things I said I would do myself and both keep getting pushed aside for other projects.
I would pay more attention to the outside stuff that I wanted.... like outdoor kitchen.... porches. sidewalks....etc.
Be sure you have a water spicket on every side of the house, even if you think you'll never need one there.
Power outlets.... more than you think... especially in the garage and outside.
Wood burning fireplace.... my biggest regret. Contractor talked us into a gas one and I FREAKING HATE IT!!!!!!!

Pay attention to your budget.... contractors like to go over at every juncture and then play dumb about it at the end like it was your fault.
Don't assume it's their job to save you money.... it isn't. They don't care as long as they get paid.

HAVE FUN!!!

quote:

---

frustrating direct vent POS we have. I hate it

---

you having problems with it or you just hate the fixed glass?

We are building now and should move in the first of April

Builder and Subs go by your plans, if you want something a certain way, it needs to be in the plans. We ran into several instances of where we communicated to the builder changes but, the subs weren't told.

Get a timeline from your builder, this way you know when decisions have to be made. Nothing like getting a call at 730 to make a decision by 8 because they will be there starting.

You will not come in under budget.. So there is no sense worrying about it.

What you are quoted is not what you will end up paying, you will pay more. One because they bid builder grade and you found custom grade, Two because prices go up twice a year..

Put a 3-4" pipe under any concrete slabs you have that you may need to run wiring or water under.

Go ahead and prep for irrigation for your beds. Shut off valves that are capped so you can tie into them later.

Ask about hidden costs, we have 8 different paint colors, after 2 the painters charge $200 per color. We did not know that...

Shop around online, you can find stuff cheaper

get a 0% credit card that gives you cash back. Use it to purchase everything, then pay it off with your construction account. 300k house you can make $4,500 free money at 1.5% cash back...

Run at least a 1.5" PVC in the wall behind every TV/stereo setup. And run that same PVC where the modem/internet/cable will be. When technology changes all I do is pull up my shite out of the PVC pipe and run new stuff in.

Also there are no visible wires anywhere because of this

I just finished a home theater and I did the same thing there.

We just went wireless in the entire house and saved all that mess

quote:

---

designed my master shower where it does not need a glass door.

---

I can't stand showering in showers that don't have doors. I can't even stand it when I'm showering and the door is opened. I need all that steam and heat to stay in there with me.

quote:

---

I designed my master shower where it does not need a glass door. Saves money on the glass door and constant cleaning of the door.

---

Why not a shower curtain? Hope your neighbor isn't a Peeping Tom