If you built your own house how did you decide on a plan and everything else?

[Ottakee]

We are still impatiently waiting for MDOT to let us know how much money they will give us for our house and little hobby/horse farm.

 

Our desire is to build on 13 acres if we can at all afford it. My friend is a home designer and has come up with a nice plan for us. I just have a very hard time visualizing her plan on paper to "real life". I am trying to figure out how things will flow, traffic patterns, where to put stuff, if there is enough room......or too much room, etc. We also need it to be handicapped accessible to at least 1 bathroom, bedroom and the main living areas which complicates things.

 

The dreams I have include a deck off the master bedroom with a hot tub with privacy screen and then a sitting area---ideally screened in but my dream is also to have an inlaw apartment in the lower level which means we need a walk out basement. The 2 just don't mesh. Then again there is our budget---yet to be determined but I am sure we will really need to watch the costs as we need to buy the land, clear about 5 acres of it, build the house and then build a barn and put in pastures for our horses.

 

Then once we dedice on a plan, how do you figure out all the little details from which style light switches you want to paint colors, plumbing fixtures, door knobs, types of hinges, etc. There just seems to be SOOO many choices and I am not a designer at all. If you give me 4 choices, I can pick the best one but given 104 choices I just get overwhelmed. I am more of a function over fashion type person--just give me easy to clean, durable, basic stuff and I am happy.

[Mommyfaithe]

Well, dh and I built our own house and a lot of the decisions were made with the GAC Factor. (give a cr@p factor) It is sort of how we decide everything pretty much. If he likes one fixture and I don't really GAC...then he gets to pick. I usually don't gac about much...but I insisted and still do on white appliances and bathroom fixtures. He chose wall paint and faucets. There are so many things to decide...right down to types of hinges, finishes, window sizes...etc. big and small. You have to be sure what you really feel like arguing about...and if your GAC is low and his is high...fine...the other way...fine. It usually works out woth us that I feel strongly about very different things than dh when it comes to construction and decorating.

 

Faithe

[Ottakee]

I like your philosophy. It is more that my husband doesn't care about anything more than the floor plan and his pole barn with hoist and work area. I am more worried about ME having to pick out everything and not being able to decide and make the best decisions and get functional but yet stay in a budget.

[Liz CA]

Well, this can be causing a few late nights. I am a rather simple-minded person and live more or less by the philosophy, if it works, I don't need a more expensive version of it.

I could not understand that an acquaintance of ours could mull over a laundry sink for weeks - after all it's a utilitarian item in a laundry area...

 

Think about what is important to you. I am a list maker. There are the must-have's , would-be-nice-to-have-depending-on-price, and don't-really-care-if-I-have-it.

Try to pick out all your must-have items. If you cannot live with anything other than a Hoen faucet, pick it out, write the model down, etc. When it comes to the less important things, I'd go by recommendations or go the "middle of the road" pricewise. Not the cheapest, not the most expensive.

My dh decided on stuff like what kind of pipes, water heater, etc. We talked about what was important to each of us and what was in the budget or not.

[tntgoodwin]

Maybe you could hire an interior designer to help you choose?

[Melinda in VT]

We built an addition last year, and I completely understand what you are saying about choices. I found it helped me to be decisive if I structured my choices so as to give myself as few options as possible at any given step.

 

For example, rather than walk into a flooring store and say, "what kind of flooring should I get?" and wander around looking at carpet and tile and wood and laminate, I asked myself if I wanted carpet or tile or wood or laminate flooring in X room.

 

Then I went to that flooring area and got an idea of possible prices and picked my price range.

 

Then I decided what color family I wanted.

 

Then I looked at tiles only in that price range and color family.

 

With cabinets, I looked around and saw the major style families. Rather than picking a specific cabinet style, I first picked the style family and then only considered cabinets within that style.

 

Oh, and I know this is not good on the budget, but I didn't look at multiple stores. I asked around, got advice on which stores had good customer service and reasonable prices and then I picked one store and made the best choice from that store. (Now, based on recommendations, I did pick one store for tile, one for wood, and one for carpeting, but I wasn't comparing tile in multiple stores, for example.)

 

Otherwise, I get overwhelmed and take forever to decide, and when I figure in the cost of indecision and hours spent shopping that I could have been working, the savings aren't that much.

[kamom]

We've built a lot and are working at an addition again. Since dh has been doing it for most his life, I just let him decide on stuff unless I have an opinion. Like I would really like a large window in this certain room etc. I mainly choose the wall colors and we both usually decide on stuff like counter color or floor color.

[Ottakee]

Those are some great ideas. The builder we hope to use has a very good reputation and between him and my friend who designs houses we can get some help. I like the idea of picking ONE place to look for flooring, etc. and then just going with it. While not the cheapest, I think we would get all appliances from a smaller locally owned place as they have GREAT customer service, great installation, etc.

 

I need to be budget minded but not so much that I skimp on quality and end up with problems because someone cut corners and didn't install things right, etc.

 

I doubt I can afford a designer but my friend is pretty good with design and loves to pick out stuff (and spend MY money :-) ) so she can help. There is also a parade of homes coming up that I would go to to get ideas of colors, styles, etc.

 

Really though I am mostly a "if it functions well, I am happy" type person. It also needs to be SIMPLE and EASY to clean.

 

The only thing that I want that my friend can't really understand is a HUGE 2 people shower with a little seat. I have no desire for a tub and a bathtub jacuzzi just isn't deep enough to make it worth my while but I want a huge shower that dh and I can enjoy together so that might be our splurge item. Then again we could do it under the guise of a "handicapped friendly" shower for possible future needs :-O

[PeterPan]

Well is this friend going to use 3D software to let you see and walk through the house? There are programs that can do that, and some obsessive people (read: I wish I had done this) over on the Gardenweb forums do this with their plans. I didn't, and I will say it's HARD to go from that flat drawing to what the room will look like. And if the rooms are very different from what you're currently in, it can be even harder. We went from a very small house to a more moderate house, and things didn't transfer. What seemed HUGE on paper wasn't when you got in it, kwim? If you don't do that, you at least want to take a copy and make little pieces of furniture to scale.

 

Our architect originally drew in a deck on the master, but we opted for a bigger master, bigger bath. One person I talked with (a kitchen designer actually) told me people don't use those decks as much as they anticipate. You know yourself best though.

 

Ok, next shock. Building goes in order. Some of us are global people, so we sit here pondering where the pot will go and in which drawer so we can decide how big the island is. Once this starts, all the decisions will be made in the order things are built. So your builder (which in our case was my dh) is going to come and say I need to know xyz. If you're lucky he gives you a little notice.

 

To make the paint colors easy, you have a few options. One, you can hire someone to do it. Two, you can pick a single color for basically the entire house. (BTW, find out the cost of each new color before getting your heart set.) Three, you can narrow things down by chosing one coordinating palette scheme from a paint company or a palette from a place like Pottery Barn. Seriously, I SO wish I had done this. I lost way too much sleep over paint. Do you like the colors Pottery Barn uses? Go to their store and ask for the little sample deck of paint colors. Take that, and chose all your colors from there. They have spring palettes, summer palettes, fall palettes, etc. If you're lucky, they'll have some lying around that you like. Or go to paint store and pick one card/booklet and use that to pick all the colors in your house. The only place you diverge is the teenagers. Give your older kids some say. Require them to have a starting item, say a rug, shower curtain, or bed spread, and then pull the colors from that. Done. If you want a different color in your master, same deal, start with an item.

 

Lighting. Well lighting depends on your budget. In our area there's a really, really nice lighting place that sells some really expensive stuff and some stuff that's the same as Lowe's, but they sell at discount and offer free in-home assessments where they actually come out, see your place, and help you create a plan. If the place will help you create a plan, you'll be very glad you did. We didn't (found this place to late in the process), and let's just say I wasted a lot of time on it. Now there I was talking about a showroom that offers it as a service to try to sell you. There is also a professional lighting consultant where you pay. They're higher end, with higher end goods and fees. I'm just saying to see what comes for free or minimal cost. They might throw out ideas you hadn't considered. Other places will sit down and look at your blueprints and guide you. What they can't tell from that are your ceiling heights, etc.

 

Ok, kitchen design. This was my big bugaboo. I found someone I figured was qualified, and I had her look at the drawings BEFORE they were finalized and before construction started. She moved doors, windows, etc., so it was pretty big. Now my kitchen works. Actually it screams. But whatever. I'm a bit pesky about that. It's just something to consider. A kitchen designer can cost about $100 an hour and be worth the money for a short consult if you do a lot of cooking or have specific needs. Don Silvers' book "Kitchen Design with Cooking in Mind" will get you thinking in that direction as well.

 

If you want things to end up a certain way, indeed you have to start thinking ahead and plan it all out. For instance, I wanted to be able to stand at my island and chop veges while seeing my kids. I also wanted to see a small tv from that location so I could watch the evening news while making dinner. I wanted the frig to my left to cook my most comfortable flow (veges from frig onto counter, wash, chop). To get that however I had to make sure the CABINET to the left of the frig was DEEP ENOUGH to accomodate that tv and wide enough not to put it close to the heat and grease from the stove. Little details. I knew what I was putting in each cabinet. I don't even have any gadget cabinets or anything (they're almost all drawers, love, love this). But it was all the thought that went into it. For no extra money, did you know you can have your counters made deeper? Silvers says to do 30" (you pull them from the wall, put a side panel to hide, and make your counters deeper), but my arms are too short to reach that. Instead I made my perimeter cabinets 27" deep (that's to the face of the cab, not including the door). The counter extends another 1 1/2", making the tops a total of 28 1/2" deep. Doesn't sound like a huge difference, but it is when you're trying to work. My island countertop is 31" deep on the working area. The bar side is raised (which I don't like to eat at, blech, shorty that I am), and I spec'ed it to fit my dh's legs when seated.

 

You don't get ROOM to do all that if you do it in hindsight, kwim? So there is a sense in which things that are important to you (fitting a certain piece of furniture, something functioning a certain way) have to be figured out ahead. But things like light switches and outlets, well those you just go with the flow. Your electrician will come in and be there with you and the builder. It all goes really fast, with the marker flying, marking things on the studs. Then you take pics of everything (including your reinforcements for toilet paper holders, etc.) before the drywall goes up. Lots and lots of pics, especially of stuff that gets hidden later. Anyways, the main thing is to know where you intend to use stuff. Are you going to do wired or wireless internet? Any form of surround sound? Christmas lighting on a switch? Things can go really fancy and high end with technology, that's for sure, lol. Christmas switches are such an easy thing to do and make your life pleasant later. Pick all the outlets you want wired for Christmas (tree, exterior wreath, window candles, whatever), and then having the electricians put them onto *1* switch. You'll love it. It's a simple luxury.

 

Oh, in my kitchen I put this stuff, it's called plugmold. I learned about it on gardenweb on the kitchen design forum. It's super cheap and INSANELY practical. Comes in white and cream, blends in with my backsplash, but it means I have a strip of outlets running the entire lengths of my main counters. How cool is that! I can work anywhere!! Super cheap, super functional.

 

If you're looking for appliances, I'm uber-happy with my Kenmore elite stuff. I got KitchenAid dishwashers. Sometimes I wish I had done one as dish drawers and one as regular. Sorry, yes I got two. It's my one luxury. I'm an extremely messy person, and this covers for it, lol. But you know, it was one of those things I said I wanted. I have no hot tub, nothing fancy particularly elsewhere, but I have *2* dishwashers! :)

 

Ok, I'll you another cool trick. It's real popular to have a full refrigerator and full deep freeze (fridgidaire makes some) and build them to LOOK like the more expensive sub-zeros. If you have some wall to consider this, you could. However my more humble Kenmore Elite bottom freezer is SO much quieter, I think it would have been snazzy to do two of those side by side. If you have room and do a lot of produce, you might consider it.

 

We have a separate laundry (not in the mudroom), and we left the doorway wide, with no door actually. That's sort of inconvenient with noise, but we did it to allow for rolling carts. They sell them all over, but I actually googled and found a real hotel one. If there's room, your builder can put in a counter for folding. Again, just something to think about. These are things that don't cost a ton extra but add a lot to functionality, kwim?

 

On finishes, someone told us to stick with *2*, which seems to have worked well for us. Or at least nobody has complained, lol. I have a bit more old world taste, where dh leans new. So we have brushed nickel and antique bronze, and we just mix them in a balanced way.

 

Look for your faucets and sinks online. I saved an insane amount of money that way.

 

We're really happy with the Cadet 3 toilets we got, but you should look for reviews of the current best toilets. You don't have to spend a ton of money on swanky ones to get a good toilet. Panasonic has the quietest bathroom heater fans. When you find a website selling the Panasonic fans, you'll get clued into a lot of other goodies. I was surprised how often the upscale goodies could be found in a more regular version (affordable), once you knew it existed and what you were looking for.

 

If you don't want to make lots of decisions, let the builder. They could do this with their eyes closed. The hard part is picky people who want everything just so, make changes, change their minds, etc. Figure out ahead of time what's REALLY important to you and what you don't really care about. I remember this time my dh was asking me which way I wanted the exterior lights installed (in a line or ???). As if I cared! LOL I should have told him to do what he wanted and walked away. :)

 

Hmmm, anything else? You do know the standard advice in building is to find a reputable builder and then go take a LONG VACATION while they do it? :)

[nono]

I've built two homes. The first time, I was 30. I used a 3D program (WAY BACK THEN :lol:) to help my then dh visualize the rooms. It was really good! I think it was 3D Home Architect. I wonder if that is still around? I made all the decisions for everything. It wasn't hard. Tell the vendors exactly what you said -- "Give me 4 choices, and unless I can't stand all 4, I won't ask you for any additional ones."

 

The second time around, I was 44. My builder was 28.(!) My Dad and his grandfather had worked together years prior, and I knew his family and his tastes. That was a big help, because he added some very tasteful architectural details to the home while it was being constructed, and he was willing to make a decision when I didn't have a strong preference. Even better was that the foreman on the job was quite creative too, and also willing to make a decision when I wasn't feeling strongly (in other words, both options were going to be good!). This house is a real collaboration in the good sense of the word. So I guess I'm saying you don't have to do it all, if you make it clear to folks it's OK for them to have an opinion and guide you. Just make sure, in general, you like their taste. ;)

[Ann@thebeach]

I was also going to suggest using of the 3D programs-they are very useful and helpful in seeing how things flow from room to room.

 

As far as the fixtures, lights, etc. Just go some home stores and start looking around. Get a few decorating mags and looks through them. Find some things you like and stick with the same themes for the bathrooms and use the same basic light fixtures in all the halls, etc. Try not to look at each room as a different room to buy for.

We got all the same ceiling fans/lights for the kids rooms and then something a little nicer for the master.

 

Don't try to get overwhelmed with all the different choices, just zero in on what you like and don't get swayed by the trendy stuff, unless you want to change it all out in a few years. ;)

[PeterPan]

Hehe, I'll just contradict here and say I went with a few things that were more daring and am glad I did. Of course maybe no one else thinks a blue floor in the kitchen was daring, but the ladies I talked with were aghast. Looks fabulous. So does the BLACK tile I put in my mudroom. And a light fixture, a really well-chosen splurge that reflects your taste, can do a lot for a room. So don't be afraid to give it your personality and buy things you love. Some things will be ho-hum, but then you'll pop here and there with something special. Not trendy, just stuff that you really love that reflects your long-standing tastes.

[PeterPan]

BTW, everyone has their thing, and mine was that I wanted no stairs. I actually had him TURN the garage, lol, because he thought *1* step wouldn't be too much. I had told him none, and I meant NONE! I tried to think about accessibility issues, like whether I'd be able to get the laundry to the laundry room, live entirely on one floor with no steps, etc. I put a walk-in shower in the master. For resale, you'd want a tub there as well. In any case, it's something to think about. I was really pesky about that step thing and wanting NO steps going from the garage to the house, but it makes it so convenient now.

 

Oh, I don't know if these are standard now, but we have these doorknobs that are actually levels. (push down/pull up to open) They're very handy when you come in with your hands full! They were my dh's little find, and though I was surprised, I quickly agreed about the functionality.

[nono]

Those are some great ideas. The builder we hope to use has a very good reputation and between him and my friend who designs houses we can get some help. I like the idea of picking ONE place to look for flooring, etc. and then just going with it. While not the cheapest, I think we would get all appliances from a smaller locally owned place as they have GREAT customer service, great installation, etc.

 

 

If you are using a general contractor, s/he usually has all the vendors lined up, usually at discounts you wouldn't find yourself (at least that's been my experience building in 2 different states, though both in the Mid-Atlantic area). The only time you'd go to a second vendor would be if the contractor's vendor had absolutely nothing you wanted. And then, it might come out of your "allowance" or you might pay out-of-pocket.

 

Oh yeah, tell your builder to give you realistic, not builder's grade, allowances when giving you your quote to build. That way, you will have wiggle room throughout the selection process.

 

Using two different builders, and having them give realistic allowances, both homes came in within 4% of original quote.

 

Most importantly, HAVE FUN!!!

[PeterPan]

The only thing that I want that my friend can't really understand is a HUGE 2 people shower with a little seat. I have no desire for a tub and a bathtub jacuzzi just isn't deep enough to make it worth my while but I want a huge shower that dh and I can enjoy together so that might be our splurge item. Then again we could do it under the guise of a "handicapped friendly" shower for possible future needs :-O

 

Why doesn't she understand this??? This is a very common thing to want. Gardenweb has a bathroom forum. Google two-person showers. What you might like is to have two shower heads, one fixed (or a rain head that comes from the ceiling!) and the other a sprayer on a bar. That way it's easy to clean and spray down the shower. The bench is straightforward too. They can either build it in with tile or you can add a teak stool.

 

I suggest you think about exactly what you want. Two person means lots of things to different people. Depends on your size (not meaning to be nosey) as to how big two-person needs to be, kwim? And do you want it glass with a door or something where you can walk in, turn a corner, and be in the shower? I think those are pretty dramatic. Get what you want! As you say, it's the little things that make us happy. If this is your thing, figure out exactly what you want. Do you want a window? Do you want your closet/dressing area attached through the bathroom? Do you want a separate stacked laundry in there for just the master? These are all things you can do easily now at this stage, and they're very common, not at all unreasonable. Go for it. :)

[Serenade]

It is very, very hard. We just finished building our home that we designed ourselves (with an architect, of course.) The whole process was nearly 2 years from start to finish. I think you've got to keep in mind that everything won't be perfect, no matter how hard you try. There are things that you won't realize until it's too late. For us, we can barely fit a bed in our master bedroom, for instance. Well, we can, there is plenty of space, but the placement of windows (too many, too low) and a fireplace with a hearth make the bed placement difficult. We are really regretting the space we cut off the bedroom, as well as all the windows!

 

Settling on all the colors, hardware, floors, tile, etc is absolutely nerve wracking. I'm not good with design, either, and I agonized over it. I will say that I am mostly pleased with the results, but I didn't let myself get bullied into making a quick decision. Make sure you get samples of everything (cabinets, paints, tiles) and cart them all around with you when you are picking everything else out. I wish I had done that from the start.

 

FYI -- we pretty much made the entire first floor of our house handicapped accessible, with wider doors, wallk-in shower, and ADA height toilet, among other things. We also put the bulk of our house on the first floor, even though that is a more expensive way to build. We would have liked to do the whole thing on one floor, but that was cost-prohibitive for us. But we have all the essentials on the first floor so that if we are incapacitated at all, we do not have to go up to the second floor.

[Ottakee]

FYI -- we pretty much made the entire first floor of our house handicapped accessible, with wider doors, wallk-in shower, and ADA height toilet, among other things. We also put the bulk of our house on the first floor, even though that is a more expensive way to build. We would have liked to do the whole thing on one floor, but that was cost-prohibitive for us. But we have all the essentials on the first floor so that if we are incapacitated at all, we do not have to go up to the second floor.

 

Do you have floor plans or measurements for the handicapped accessible bathrooms? I want to make sure that we have enough room with the right features---reinforced walls for the grab bars, room to manuver, etc. We might start out with a tub in that room as my dd that will have the bedroom next to this bathroom loves a bath but we would plan it so it would fit a walk in shower.

 

This is so hard to figure out. We want to plan ahead for the possible future but how far do we take it? We would ideally like a handicapped accessible MIL suite in the walk out basement level too but those bathrooms take up a LOT of room.

[....]

We are still impatiently waiting for MDOT to let us know how much money they will give us for our house and little hobby/horse farm.

 

Our desire is to build on 13 acres if we can at all afford it. My friend is a home designer and has come up with a nice plan for us. I just have a very hard time visualizing her plan on paper to "real life". I am trying to figure out how things will flow, traffic patterns, where to put stuff, if there is enough room......or too much room, etc. We also need it to be handicapped accessible to at least 1 bathroom, bedroom and the main living areas which complicates things.

 

The dreams I have include a deck off the master bedroom with a hot tub with privacy screen and then a sitting area---ideally screened in but my dream is also to have an inlaw apartment in the lower level which means we need a walk out basement. The 2 just don't mesh. Then again there is our budget---yet to be determined but I am sure we will really need to watch the costs as we need to buy the land, clear about 5 acres of it, build the house and then build a barn and put in pastures for our horses.

 

Then once we dedice on a plan, how do you figure out all the little details from which style light switches you want to paint colors, plumbing fixtures, door knobs, types of hinges, etc. There just seems to be SOOO many choices and I am not a designer at all. If you give me 4 choices, I can pick the best one but given 104 choices I just get overwhelmed. I am more of a function over fashion type person--just give me easy to clean, durable, basic stuff and I am happy.

 

 

We're having a house built right now. They're drywalling this week and putting up the brick/stonework.

 

We're going through a builder who had display homes, so we were able to walk through our "house" via the display home. It helped a LOT.

 

Also, our builder has a showroom for fixtures, carpeting, garage doors, sinks, counters, showers, lighting, etc...everything for inside the house. That's how we chose what we're getting.

 

We made a lot of changes from the display home. We're having 6 bedrooms put into our house instead of stuff like game rooms or common areas - which would have been wasted space for us. We have a big family and need the extra bedrooms. Also, we had an extra bedroom on the lower level with its own bathroom for in-laws to stay with us. My FIL is disabled (he had polio), so we made sure everything was accessible for him.

 

Good luck with your house!

[Serenade]

Do you have floor plans or measurements for the handicapped accessible bathrooms?

I don't have the measurements handy (I'm not at the house right now as we haven't quite moved), but there is a standard width that doors should be to be considered handicapped accessible. Our shower is a total walk in -- there is no barrier at all. One could roll a wheel chair right into it. There is a seat in the corner, with a handheld shower accessible, in addition to the regular wall shower. There is also a safety bar.

I want to make sure that we have enough room with the right features---reinforced walls for the grab bars, room to manuver, etc. We might start out with a tub in that room as my dd that will have the bedroom next to this bathroom loves a bath but we would plan it so it would fit a walk in shower.

It's good that you are thinking of safety bars and where to put them, since they can't go just anywhere. We had planned to put them in all bathroom except for the kids', but we were unable to put one in the guest bath because there was no place to put it other than the side of a cabinet, and that wouldn't work.

 

This is so hard to figure out. We want to plan ahead for the possible future but how far do we take it? We would ideally like a handicapped accessible MIL suite in the walk out basement level too but those bathrooms take up a LOT of room.

While it's true that it takes up a lot of room to make a totally handicapped bathroom, there are things you can do in a smaller space, to make it more accessible, like the higher toilets, grab bars and lever doornobs. Incidentally, ADA height toilets are getting to be more common now. I think that in the future, the majority of toilets will be this height. At least that's what I've been told. Anyhow, we only planned one handicapped accessible shower for the house. I figure if someone visits who is handicapped, they can use our shower.

[PeterPan]

Ditto what Seranade said. All the toilets in our house are ADA height. Toilets come both ways, so you just pick it, no biggee. Much more comfortable too btw. Little kids don't have a problem with a step stool, and adults are much more comfortable. Our bathroom counters are all kitchen counterheight too. (Regular bath vanities are very low.)

 

The architect should know the standards. Our doors are all 36" wide, making them accessible, but that's just because we had the doors for free.

 

And yes, I would add onto a master, not subtract, lol. We added on, and with that it looked like I *thought* it was going to look before. Ouch!

[LisaKinVA]

We are smack dab in the middle of building our 2nd house (for dh and I), though I've been through the building process a couple of times with my folks, and dh has been through this once with his.

 

We've been working on a house for over two years.

 

First rule, find a builder who will work with you, that is honest and reliable. Look at homes he has built (as much as possible), and find out what his "standards" are.

 

Second rule, go to open houses, new houses, any houses and look at space usage. It's a GREAT way to figure out what sized rooms would work vs. those that would be too small. (Also will help you determine siding colors/combinations you love & hate, bath colors, fixtures, etc.) Take pictures of things you LOVE.

 

Third rule, spend your money on the things that can't be re-done easilly (for example, insulation). Make sure plumbing and electrical are where you want them. If you plan on adding something later that requires plumbing and electrical, have it roughed in to make those later additions easier.

 

Fourth rule, RESEARCH options (HVAC, hot water, flooring, etc.) You can do a lot of this on-line, but it helps if you know what you want.

 

Fifth rule, decide on what (if anything) you will do yourselves (and make sure builder is okay with this). We are doing HVAC, finish plumbing, painting, flooring, cabinets, tile work, countertops, and bits and pieces of finish electrial, knobs and door handles. This is allowing us to get "quality" upgrades vs. standard spec for the same price. We are laying 3/4" x 5" #1 Maple hardwood throughout most of the house. We are laying it cheaper than the 3/4" x 2 1/4" gunstock oak the builder included in our house price... infact, we are laying it for less than carpet! $4.16 installed (pre-finished).

 

The virtual 3-D home plans can be nice... but after you've walked through hundreds of homes, it makes things easier to visualize. (I will also lie down, close my eyes and "work" in my kitchen, to figure out where things go.)

 

Try to make sure everything is done right the first time. Change orders are NOT good.

 

Finding a good loan may be your biggest hurdle.

[Ottakee]

Thanks for all of the tips.

 

We won't have to find a loan thankfully. Our current home is paid off and we would build with what the state gives us for this one. We dont' want a mortage.

 

There is a new wrinkle in this in that there is a house for sale about 2 miles from us that we might be able to get. It is not officially on the market but when I talked to the owner she said she would sell..........but at that point friends of mine (in the same situation with the highway) had already talked to her first about buying it. They though have likely decided to go with a different place which means this one might be open.

 

It is a 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath ranch with daylight basement. It is on a little over 6 acres and is already set up for horses---barn, pastures, run ins, etc. We would need to build a ramp for my mom's wheelchair and possibly open up a bath a bit for her to access. We would also need a pole barn for dh for his workshop, hoist for working on cars, etc. Even with that, it would likely be cheaper than building.

 

So, all that to say, we would still love to build but if we can get into a good, ready to go place, for less money that is also a strong option.

 

As to the builder, we have seen many homes he has built and he does a very nice job. My FIL used to be the building inspector for the township and he said that this builder was the best around for quality/price, etc. with never any building code issues. He has done our barn, decks, and garage for us and always came in under budget and ahead of schedule which says a lot.