Building a house??

[monkeygirl38]

For those of you have chosen to build rather than buy, what are the things that you wished someone had told you (I know this is a knock off from kristen nov02's thread Buying a house (http://www.hometalkers.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4094) but really a different subject....) before hand? We plan on starting September 1 and hope to move in by new years eve. It is a 1700 sq ft house with 3 bed, 2 bath, large living room, dining/kitchen combination, big laundry, and pantry room. It will have a 2 car garage w/door. Everyone says that if they could re-build their house, there are things they would change.....so I need your ideas!!!! What would you suggest for a new house? Please, all ideas are more than welcome!

[veda]

The only thing I've heard consistantly is that it took much longer than the projected time-frame to build, other than that I've heard alot of positives.

(sorry, just hear-say to offer, maybe others will have hands-on experience ;) & best of luck to you, fun project!)

[kristen nov02]

Dana.....We are probably planning on building a house now too. So I am glad you started this thread. We could any advice people have to offer as well.:)

[Deana]

Originally posted by veda
The only thing I've heard consistantly is that it took much longer than the projected time-frame to build
this was true for us (sorry, I know not what you wanted to hear). We starting building in Sept 2000, and we closed/moved in the first part of March 2001.
Here are some of my comments.
* Go to the house often (at least once a week). We caught several mistakes (not alloting for window box seats, outlet holes in the wrong places). You really have to stay on top of the builders.
* We (well, dh) went to the house one weekend before the drywall was up and totally rigged the sound system - he put in the wiring so that we now have surround sound and speakers in almost every room. He did it himself, but you can get a subcontractor to do it for cheap, if you are interested (don't tell your builder!!)
* we waited to do a bunch of landscaping. The first year we totally dedicated to sprucing up the inside (paint, almost all new fixtures)
*Don't upgrade your light fixture package (too much $$$), but them at Home Depot, etc. after you move in (if your hubby or someone you know can install them)
*Ask to see if the inside of your garage will be finished! We just assumed that our garage would be painted/finished and it wasn't (it's an upgrade - how stupid is that???)
*I wish we would have upgraded our flooring! It's going to be a major hassle to do it now (we want hardwoods). So if you are interested in a different flooring, I'd say go for it now (but don't price yourself out of the neighborhood with upgrades).
*Start looking for things on sale (like lawn stuff, garbage cans, etc.) so that you don't have to buy it all at once.
*When we moved in, we went out and spent a lot of $$ on blinds for almost every room. I wish we would have waited a little bit (and just bought cheap paper blinds or something temporarily), because now I'd like different window treatments for certain rooms.

Above all, have a blast! It was so exciting to watch our home develop.

[monkeygirl38]

Thanks Deana!! Those are wonderful tips! Any others??

One good thing is we are living next door to where we will be building! We currently live on my parents land and we bought the land next to it! That way, we can check on it everyday! I forgot to mention that the builder is my cousin! He has his own construction business and had done some really nice houses and restaurants in the area!

One of Jay's only requests for the house was hardwood floors in the Kitchen, dining, and entry way. The rest of the house will be berber carpet w/ceramic tile in the bathrooms.

Alright girls....keep the suggestions coming! Kristen nov02 and I need all the help we can get!

[Tearianna]

Hey Dana! I'm so excited that things are coming along. I wish I could see a floor plan!

Can I make one suggestion? :D

We bought a house last year, and have both hardwood and pergo (I call it faux wood) flooring. I LOVE the hardwood, but it is very, very, VERY hard to keep looking nice. The smallest things scratch it (for instance, we have scratch marks on in left from the cats walking across the room) and the tinsiest bit of water left on the floor will cause a mark that won't go away, unless you sand it down and restain it. SO ... I was just thinking that you might want to subsitute the hardwood in the kitchen with something that looks like wood but is easier to take care of!

[monkeygirl38]

Hey Jenn! You know I always value your opinion! When I said hardwood.....I really meant that stuff that looks like hardwood, but has a permanent finish on it that is supposed to last like 30 years or something....sratch and stain resistant! I guess that is kinda like the pergo you mentioned! We picked it out at Lowe's (the nearest Home Depot is about 1.5 hours away :( )

I don't know if I can get a picture of the plans on here....we borrowed them from a friend-of-a-friend who had them custom drawn....I would love to show them to you but they aren't on the net....I promise to takes lots of pics throughout the process though!

Who else?

[Csara]

This might sound dumb, but if you are having a 2 car garage, don't do the 2 separate door thing. It is SOOOO annoying. Basically D gave you great tips and not much to add, but I would reiterate on making sure the electrical outlets and phonejacks are where you want them. Also the pre-wiring for surround sound is a great addition. I can't think of anything else, but if anyone has more ideas, please share!!