Tips for building a home

[Mountain Man Hawk]

I'm looking into buying a home and I could use some advice. We have our first meeting with the builder next week to go over what we would like and to try to get an approximate cost estimate. I'm assuming we won't be able to get everything we want and still stay within our budget so I'd love some advice on what things are worth spending the money on and what things we could probably get by without upgrades and save some money. For example, in looking through pictures of a couple different houses this builder has done in the past, I was amazed at how much difference I noticed with the expensive upgraded windows with nice wood trim as opposed to the standard windows. I've heard windows can get pretty pricey but I think it might be worth it. Another example is the wood floors. I'm thinking I could save money by only having one floor of the house wood floors and the other floor carpeted. I also thought I could save money by not spending extra to get the extra wide panels in the wood floor. Anyway, any feedback from others that have been through the process would be appreciated in terms of which areas of the house to focus my budget. There's a part of me that wants to be real conservative and just plan on remodeling a few years down the line if/when we have more money. But obviously then you end up paying for things twice that way so it's not the ideal way to do things.

 

[Wahawk56]

Treat the soil for termites

 

[LuteHawk]

You are correct about windows. Get something like
Renewal by Andersen. Expensive and upgraded
windows pay off by lower heating bills. They also
help resale value.

 

[Hawkeyemc]

You are correct about windows. Get something like
Windows by Anderson. Expensive and upgraded
windows pay off by lower heating bills.

Tile is another place to either spend or go conservative. For your showers, do you want all tile showers with glass doors? Or a fiberglass shower with a shower rod. HUGE difference in cost and looks. Also granite countertops....what do you want in your kitchen versus your bathrooms versus you laundry room. You can get fake stuff for $800, or marble for $32k. And there are hundreds of choices between those.

Are you going to a builder that is building in neighborhoods with spec homes? If so, they will have pre selected options for you that allow you to go cheaper or more expensive. If you are going with a builder and do not have a spec home, then you have a lot more freedom to chose (and more work to do to make all those choices. In this instance, it may be worth your time and money to secure an interior decorator. The builder will tend to work with his pre selected contractors....get bids from them and then hire them. They will provide you with some limited options. Often times a designer can point you in the direction of lower cost alternatives that look identical and have similar durability. We hired one and she paid for herself with what she saved us on tile. Plus they can look at a 6" square of something and match it to something else that your untrained eye just can't do as well. But if you do hire a designer, do a fixed bid to watch that cost too.

Good luck!

 

[Wendy79]

Wire the house with cat5/cat6 and surround sound/built in speakers.

 

[Jewlick]

Wire the house with cat5/cat6 and surround sound/built in speakers.

I guess I don't understand why this would be necessary with today's wireless technology. I am sure there is a reason and I am not doubting it but just curious in what situation this makes sense.

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

Wire the house with cat5/cat6 and surround sound/built in speakers.

I know very little about electronics but it seems like everything is going wireless. Is it naive to think that in a few years speakers and everything else will all be wireless?

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

I guess I don't understand why this would be necessary with today's wireless technology. I am sure there is a reason and I am not doubting it but just curious in what situation this makes sense.

You must have typed this at the same time I was typing my response. I also assumed everything would soon be wireless.

 

[Wendy79]

Okay then. Don't wire it.

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

Tile is another place to either spend or go conservative. For your showers, do you want all tile showers with glass doors? Or a fiberglass shower with a shower rod. HUGE difference in cost and looks. Also granite countertops....what do you want in your kitchen versus your bathrooms versus you laundry room. You can get fake stuff for $800, or marble for $32k. And there are hundreds of choices between those.

Are you going to a builder that is building in neighborhoods with spec homes? If so, they will have pre selected options for you that allow you to go cheaper or more expensive. If you are going with a builder and do not have a spec home, then you have a lot more freedom to chose (and more work to do to make all those choices. In this instance, it may be worth your time and money to secure an interior decorator. The builder will tend to work with his pre selected contractors....get bids from them and then hire them. They will provide you with some limited options. Often times a designer can point you in the direction of lower cost alternatives that look identical and have similar durability. We hired one and she paid for herself with what she saved us on tile. Plus they can look at a 6" square of something and match it to something else that your untrained eye just can't do as well. But if you do hire a designer, do a fixed bid to watch that cost too.

Good luck!

The builder has a Model Home that we toured and just loved...and then when we told them we were interested they informed us that the model home has so many upgraded features that it costs nearly double the "base" package that they have quoted on their website. I saw some pictures online of the homes with few upgrades and it unfortunately gives the homes a completely different feel from the model home that we liked so much.

Thus the purpose of this thread - I need to figure out which upgrades to get and which ones to do without to stay within budget. I think one of our problems is going to be that the upgrades I can do without (ie bathroom and kitchen stuff) is the stuff that will be most important to my wife and vice versa.

If anyone has any info on which features would lead to a better resale value that would be interesting.

 

[The_Joker13]

I guess I don't understand why this would be necessary with today's wireless technology. I am sure there is a reason and I am not doubting it but just curious in what situation this makes sense.

For Internet a hard wire will always be faster than wireless. I'd recommend cat 6 for tv and desktop computer locations. It's something that is relatively cheap to do in new construction and quite expensive after the fact.

 

[Wendy79]

Thus the purpose of this thread - I need to figure out which upgrades to get and which ones to do without to stay within budget. I think one of our problems is going to be that the upgrades I can do without (ie bathroom and kitchen stuff) is the stuff that will be most important to my wife and vice versa. For example I'm not sure I can convince her the expensive windows are worth it..

Don't go cheap in the kitchen. You probably don't need to go full blown $30k granite kitchen countertops depending on the neighborhood, but a cheap kitchen in a decent neighborhood will make it tough to resell.

 

[TexMichFan]

Depends on what your plans are - if this is your retirement home invested in the windows and doors. If this is a house you plan on selling later then don't buy the best nor the cheapest.

My wife and I just built our retirement house we did not scrimp on structure, windows or doors. You can save some bucks if you are able or willing to do some of the work. We did all the inside painting, trim work, back splash tile work, stained the bar top, and laid our own floors except for the carpet we had put in the bedrooms. Definitely get some bids on the contractors work we saved money there a few times - $600 dollars just on the cost of the tile. Make sure you and builder are on the same page when it comes to left over materials such as lumber and tile - builders and contractors include at least a 10% overage and that materials will walk off with the builder or contractor if it is not used. I built a 12' picnic table, 4 deck chairs, a deck bar, a outside dining table for the deck, some shelves for the garage, 3 raised garden boxs 3X8 feet each, and my fish cleaning table with the wood left over. We did not include the crown molding in the scope of work for the house and will do that with my wife's cousin in July.

Most importantly decide on a budget and stick with it. Lucky for me my wife is the one pushing to save money.

 

[eightno2002]

Do the cat4/cat5 now. You are out very little and wireless is far from perfect, especially with dead spots in networks. M

 

[shawpaw]

If anyone has any info on which features would lead to a better resale value that would be interesting.

Don't go cheap in the kitchen and to a lesser extent the bathrooms, and go with wood floors in the living areas. You don't need marble everywhere (although it looks great), but go with granite or quartz counters and vanities in the kitchen and bathrooms, tile the floors instead of laminate in those rooms, etc. A new house will feel extremely cheap immediately otherwise.

 

[stout1]

TexMichFan is on the right track.

How long you are staying and your ability to do some work drives what you do.

I am decently handy, but I never wanted to open up walls to add or change something later. In my first house, I didn't upgrade some of the "hidden" items (windows, furnace, wiring) because I knew I wasn't staying long. I did put money in to adding square feet, putting in nice finishes and buying a nicer lot because those helped resale value.

In our second house, which was going to be a 30 year house, we bought a fixer in order to get more infrastructure for our money. We got acreage out of town with more square feet than we could afford because we didn't buy a pristine house. Now some may wonder how that translates to building new.

If you are going to stay long term invest in behind the wall stuff and infrastructure. If the difference between being on a 5 acre lot and a 1/2 acre lot is putting granite and marble everywhere, I would spend my money on 5 acres. I can live for 5 years without granite but I don't want to live for 30 years on 1/2 acre. I realize this isn't the same for everyone. If this is your plan, spend on better insulation, better windows, and square feet. Finishes are easy to change. Carpet is easy to pull for hardwood, laminate counters are easy to pull for granite. One caveat to this is showers and tubs. Put in nice showers and tubs, particularly if they involve tile, because those are harder to upgrade down the road.

Admittedly, I did make some mistakes buying my current long term house. In retrospect, I wish I would have prioritized acreage more, even if it meant a less desirable house for a while. One of the properties we were looking at was a 1970's brick ranch that was just terrible, but it had 10 acres. We passed, but what we should have done was buy it, live in the house for 5 years and then sell the house and an acre and build on the remaining 9. Kick myself every time I drive by it.

 

[ping72]

I fired the crew working on the house every 4-5 days and would only show each crew about 5% of the blueprints. That way nobody would ever know all of the hidden chambers, secret passageways, escape exits/tunnels, etc. Also, when you equip "that room" make sure you bring in the "furnishings" at night so nobody will know what's taking place in the future.

 

[BABiscuit]

I wired all the bedrooms and spots in the living and family rooms with cat5 or cat6, don't remember which. So far I have not used any of them, but I am sure as wireless technology becomes obsolete I will start to get more value from it.

I think it cost like $700 or $800 to add so it wasn't a big deal.

 

[Funky Bunch]

I wouldn't tip. It's not like they're working for less than minimum wage. Maybe offer up a couple of cold brews.

 

[linkshero]

Don't go cheap in the kitchen. You probably don't need to go full blown $30k granite kitchen countertops depending on the neighborhood, but a cheap kitchen in a decent neighborhood will make it tough to resell.

?

If you are spending $30K for granite countertops in yo kitchen, you either have a huge kitchen, you are doing it wrong, or you live in Bedrock.

 

[Wendy79]

Oh good lord. A $30k kitchen period. Or $50k. Whatever makes the most sense to you. The point is, OP probably doesn't have to go all out with the kitchen and bathroom (again, depending on the neighborhood), but if he goes cheap in those rooms, it will be tough to sell (or tough to sell without taking a hit) without a remodel.

 

[FranklinHawk]

Since it sounds like your upgrade budget is limited, rather than talking about specifics I would choose/prioritize like this:

1. Look at items that will be more difficult/costly to upgrade down the road (ex: countertops are much easier to replace later than windows, kitchen cabinets, etc. are)
2. Focus on areas where you will spend the majority of your time
3. Upgrades that will add significant value to the home
4. Items that you can pass on now and upgrade down the road when $$ are available without a lot of cost/construction (flooring, etc)

Oh, and the garage is too small!

 

[Pepperman]

I've built twice, and have owned 5 homes in total.

Be sure to get more than a base quote and allowances from the builder. People are SHOCKED at how much the finish you really want costs compared to what the builders will quote you for a base finish. Also, discuss in advance with your builder how change orders will work, and explain that you don't wish to get into fights with him. I realize many reading this who have not built assume it's all rosy and fun, but trust me you will be in the minority if you are still friends with your builder once the process is finished.

The most important rooms in the house are the kitchen and bathrooms. The master bedroom is also important. This is what people pay you for when they buy your house, and don't worry as much about kids' rooms because kids aren't going to buy your house from you. The kitchen happens to be the place where every party starts and ends, and people linger for most of the time. Spend money there and make it nice.

Unless you are a total tech nerd, I do not recommend all of the various wiring and tech-heavy options beyond ensuring each bedroom is jacked for cable/satellite. I know too many people who opted to spend on some of this junk and they NEVER use it. I'm talking about things like remotely operated lighting from a mobile phone, smart appliances, etc. Worthless to me and most of the population, but some tech buffs love that stuff.

Depending on how long you plan to live there, I'd consider geothermal and perhaps even some solar panels. We have geo, but builders told us not to do it (based on "current" energy prices and at least a 7-10 year payback period).

 

[theIowaHawk]

I wired all the bedrooms and spots in the living and family rooms with cat5 or cat6, don't remember which. So far I have not used any of them, but I am sure as wireless technology becomes obsolete I will start to get more value from it.

I think it cost like $700 or $800 to add so it wasn't a big deal.

Very cost effective, much, much more expensive to do later. You don't need a smart home, but running cat6 to each floor, or each room isn't for a smart home, it just allows for easy upgrading. Even for novice users, it is often advantageous to plug your network directly in to your tv, or to put a route on multiple levels for wireless.

 

[SoDakHawk]

In ground sprinkler system. My neighborhood is a new construction neighborhood. Most of us put in sprinkler systems, those that didn't initially have regretted it and have gone back and put one in.

With flooring, wood flooring was the best decision we made. Entire main floor living area and halls are 3/4" Oak with the bathrooms tiled and the bedrooms carpeted. The corner we cut is we installed the pre-finished oak hardwood rather than having bare oak put down and finished on site. I will admit, having a pro install and finish on site is the better product but we saved a ton on labor and it looks great, much much better than cheap laminate

 

[B1GDeal]

I have done this a few times... most recently last fall. I would say to put the $$$ in the kitchen and bathrooms (or very least the master bath). Get good windows... and price doesn't always equal best. As others have mentioned... changing flooring down the road is pretty easy. Oh, don't let the builder skimp on landscape. Most leave little for this, but the curb appeal is a big deal and just throwing some sod or seed down isn't enough. Make sure they do something on the outside to give it some appeal.

 

[Derekd3408]

Upgrade to granite countertops vs laminate for one. That upgrade in your average kitchen in Ankeny is around 4-5k. Well worth it for resale value and quality. Good cabinets make a world of difference as well. Pick quality built one's. In my house I went with oak everything, trim, solid oak doors, etc. Quality windows are a must. Master closet is an area everyone wishes was bigger, don't skimp there. Garage space is another.

 

[B1GDeal]

We went with quartz counters... far more color choices and can get some solids versus the crazy patterns on the granite. Holds up better than granite too. That said, the back bar counter is granite, but I picked a piece that was rugged/manly looking to match the wood bar top. Either of these people love and will add value to the house.

 

[coloradonoles]

Built houses for a long time in my younger years...

The 2 most important things when selling/buying a house are the kitchen and the master bath... so if you ever see yourself selling it later down the road those will be massive.

1 thing that not alot of people think about is your exterior walls, make them all 2x6 instead of 2x4, it will increase your R value and reduce heating/cooling cost in the long term.

Also use architectural shingles, NOT 3 tab!

 

[91hawki]

get good windows, integrity by marvin or some good pella.

2x6 walls and spray in the insulation. it will cost more, but your utility bills will be lower.

all these items will increase the value of your house should you ever sell.

contractors usually put in the cheapest HVAC stuff. Call your utility companies- see if they have any rebates going on.

also- be sure to consider 9 ft ceilings for your basement or 1st floor. makes the house feel much, much bigger..

 

[HallofFame]

I'm looking into buying a home and I could use some advice. We have our first meeting with the builder next week to go over what we would like and to try to get an approximate cost estimate. I'm assuming we won't be able to get everything we want and still stay within our budget so I'd love some advice on what things are worth spending the money on and what things we could probably get by without upgrades and save some money. For example, in looking through pictures of a couple different houses this builder has done in the past, I was amazed at how much difference I noticed with the expensive upgraded windows with nice wood trim as opposed to the standard windows. I've heard windows can get pretty pricey but I think it might be worth it. Another example is the wood floors. I'm thinking I could save money by only having one floor of the house wood floors and the other floor carpeted. I also thought I could save money by not spending extra to get the extra wide panels in the wood floor. Anyway, any feedback from others that have been through the process would be appreciated in terms of which areas of the house to focus my budget. There's a part of me that wants to be real conservative and just plan on remodeling a few years down the line if/when we have more money. But obviously then you end up paying for things twice that way so it's not the ideal way to do things.

I have built 3 new houses in the last 7 years and it can get very expensive very quickly. It is all personal choice so pick and choose what you want to upgrade. I am one week away from moving into my new home. Feel free to send me a message on here asking specific questions.

 

[ping72]

Contrary to some other posters, I would avoid granite. Everyone wants it now which means people will hate it in the future (if you plan to be there awhile). My prediction is that in 10-20 years granite kitchens are going to define houses from this time period and people will be turned off. Think of going in somebody's house and saying, "man, this house is straight out of the 80's, 70's, 60's, etc), it really needs remodeled."

I'd recommend some like slate that looks nice, is sturdy, easy to clean, and costs less.

 

[theIowaHawk]

Contrary to some other posters, I would avoid granite. Everyone wants it now which means people will hate it in the future (if you plan to be there awhile). My prediction is that in 10-20 years granite kitchens are going to define houses from this time period and people will be turned off. Think of going in somebody's house and saying, "man, this house is straight out of the 80's, 70's, 60's, etc), it really needs remodeled."

I'd recommend some like slate that looks nice, is sturdy, easy to clean, and costs less.

Granite and even stainless are already on their way out.

 

[theIowaHawk]

get good windows, integrity by marvin or some good pella.

2x6 walls and spray in the insulation. it will cost more, but your utility bills will be lower.

all these items will increase the value of your house should you ever sell.

contractors usually put in the cheapest HVAC stuff. Call your utility companies- see if they have any rebates going on.

also- be sure to consider 9 ft ceilings for your basement or 1st floor. makes the house feel much, much bigger..

Neither of those things will raise your resale, they can still be a good idea.

 

[Herky T Hawk]

My best advice is to not build a new home. Buy used and let the person who built it deal with all of the hassles of problems from the house settling, water damage from bad roof installation or ice dams, etc. When you build a house there is the great unknown of what is wrong with it. When you buy used, other people already figured that out, so you just have to do the normal maintenance or replacement stuff.

Otherwise if I didn't talk you out of it, here are some things that I would recommend doing or at least considering having built a new home 8 years ago and then moving out of it about two years ago into a used house.

1. Do not choose anything that is the current trend. So many houses build around 2005 have light wood floors/trim/cabinets, black appliances, ugly counter tops, etc. that were trendy back then. Stick to the stuff that will always look good. Stainless Steel appliances are timeless. Medium stain wood will never look bad. Other things like that. If you pick the trendy stuff you will have a very hard time if you have to sell in 10 years.

2. Do the Cat 5e or 6 cable to the media and office locations. Ensure you have one on every floor. The wired connections to your media locations will greatly help with video streaming since that will have much lower latency and higher bandwidth than wireless. You can always add additional wifi access points in the same network for each floor using those wired connections too if you find that there are dead spots when trying to use an iPad or other wifi-only device.

3. If you like watching movies, ensure that you have surround sound systems pre-wired. Wireless sound systems typically either suck, or are rather expensive. Also consider pre-wiring HDMI cables if you think you'll want a ceiling mount projector. Another option is to have them install a smart tube to the ceiling space along with an electrical box. That way you can run the HDMI cable on your own later on.

4. Try to figure out the things that won't come with your house. Most spec homes don't come with gutters anymore. So that is an example of an expense that you would have to consider adding on after the fact.

5. If your house is big enough you may want multi-zone HVAC. My old house only had one zone for the basement and two living levels with the thermostat on the first floor. That meant that I had to have the thermostat set lower than desired to ensure that the upstairs bedrooms were cool enough in the summer. That wasted a lot of electricity cooling the first floor and basement when I wasn't down there in the middle of the night.

6. I use my jacuzzi bath tub about once a year, so it is something that I could easily live without. I'd guess many people feel the same way about theirs.

7. Consider where you will want overhead lighting and where you will want ceiling fans and ensure that they are installed or have electrical boxes ready for them. Another consideration is that if you want a specific room to be painted a darker color, like the master bedroom, you may want more lighting in it to brighten it up without relying on lamps.

8. Think about where your bedrooms are in relation to the sun. East rooms = bright in morning. West rooms = bright in evening. South rooms = hotter rooms. The light you can eliminate with blackout shades and curtains, but you can't stop that side of your house from heating up without cranking the air. You may want your master on the north side.

9. If you are like my family, ensure that you have plenty of indoor storage space for holiday decorations/etc.

10. Build as big of a garage as you can. You may not need or desire three parking stalls, but you may want them to build it deeper so that you can put in a workshop or storage for bicycles/lawnmowers/etc. Think about whether you want a side access door. I don't use mine much but other people do. Also consider whether you want insulated garage doors and a gas heater in there. If so you'll want them to have a gas line ran. Here in Minnesota I have insulated doors but no heater. My garage stays just above freezing most of the winter which is nice when going to work in the morning and the temp is below zero. My in-laws have their garage heated, so the cars are typically about 50-60 degrees in the winter.

11. Run a gas line out to your deck or patio space where a grill will sit. It is something that you can typically only do when building the house, or at least before finishing the basement. You may decide that you want to have a natural gas grill in the future and doing it now should only cost a little bit.

12. If you're building a two-story, give serious consideration to building an upstairs laundry room. Think about where most of your dirty laundry is generated. You don't want to be carrying it down to the first floor or basement and back up again when it is clean. Also ask about how much it would cost to try to get both a gas line and a 220V hook up ready for the dryer spot to give yourself options in the future.

 

[Old_wrestling_fan]

Several good suggestions already...but one that I would add. If you ever think you would use in-floor heat...put the pex in the concrete now AND insulate underneath the concrete too. The additional cost now just to put the pipe in the floor, would be very minimal. It effectively cannot be added at any later time.

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

Thanks everyone for all of the responses. This is exactly the type of feedback I was looking for.

 

[Smalls4IA]

Several good suggestions already...but one that I would add. If you ever think you would use in-floor heat...put the pex in the concrete now AND insulate underneath the concrete too. The additional cost now just to put the pipe in the floor, would be very minimal. It effectively cannot be added at any later time.

I am a builder and I would recommend putting in radiant heat (pex water lines in concrete). Most building codes require 2 x 6 walls but there are ways around it. If your builder suggests anything less than 2 x 6 get a new builder. I have quartz countertops and love them. You don't have to seal them periodically like granite and most people don't know the difference. You can't make your garage big enough. Would not suggest anything with a depth less than 28'. Hard wire everything as suggested above. Don't go cheap on cabinets. Do not get vinyl framed windows they are crap. Suggest a good wood framed window (pella, anderson). Spend money in bathrooms as well. Flooring is personal preference. If you can afford it put in an erigation system. You will not regret it. Spray phoam insulation is great but expensive. Blown in is still great and better than batting. Last thing i would suggest is you don't put in any bedrooms smaller than 12' x 12'. Not a necessity but anything smaller is tight in my opinion.

To the guy suggesting not to build. Unless you can't handle dealing with building, you're dumb to buy because there should be equity in a newly built home that won't be there with a house bought at market value.

 

[packerHawk76]

Herky & Smalls....really good advice above.

Thx for participating

 

[Arbitr8]

Many people skimp on the lot size and location and concentrate solely on the home.

Get the biggest lot you can afford

Make sure the ground is level.

Try to get the front of the home facing west