Building a House

[ageecee]

anyone have experience in building a house? pros or cons?

Will be building in a year and want some opinions from people that have built before.


Did you let the builder subcontract the work or did you subcontract the work? Which is the best way to go?

 

[marine]

Depends a lot on how much time you have to put into this effort.

if you want turnkey operation and not much worries with it... let the prime do it all.

if you have the time and energy to be involved, be the prime yourself... and be ready to have your patience tested.

 

[ageecee]

Dont have the time or the patience. So im leaning towards letting the builder do it all.



Havent got the plans we wanted yet were still looking. Now we might build 2 story house so will look at plans for those type houses. Got the land already just need to put pad on it but need the plans finalized so we can build pad.




Do you ever sign a contract with the builder on the price he quotes you to build it from start to finish?

 

[marine]

Don't know too much about working with individual builders and your own land. I went the super easy route because I had zero time to put into it... found a lot/builder package together.

went in, picked out what I wanted in it, signed the papers, let them build it. that way i didnt have to float multiple loans/mortages on the land and home separately and deal with all that.
mortgage didnt start till i had the key in my hand.

At any point in the build process, I could have walked away from it all... and just given up my deposit.


Franky Wright will probably have some good info on this topic for you.

 

[ageecee]

Don't know too much about working with individual builders and your own land. I went the super easy route because I had zero time to put into it... found a lot/builder package together.

went in, picked out what I wanted in it, signed the papers, let them build it. that way i didnt have to float multiple loans/mortages on the land and home separately and deal with all that.
mortgage didnt start till i had the key in my hand.

At any point in the build process, I could have walked away from it all... and just given up my deposit.


Franky Wright will probably have some good info on this topic for you.

Thanks Marine..



Maybe Franky Wright will chime in with his experience. Im a year away from starting but want to learn as much as possible before then.

 

[MadJack]

Do you ever sign a contract with the builder on the price he quotes you to build it from start to finish?

absolutely!

been down that road 2 times and will never again. they try and nickel and dime you all the way down to the friggin nails they use.

make sure everything is in writing and all the add-ons too or you'll get screwed.

all the way down to what knobs you want on your cabinets, hardware on everything, padding for the carpet, plumbing fixtures and accessories, base and crown molding, molding around your windows and doors, the type/brand of windows you are getting, the shingles for your roof, dimmer switches, size of hot water heater (you want 80 gal min), electric fixtures are expensive as hell so make sure everything is in writing. get the idea? you want the whole thing in writing so there is no arguments down the line.

don't let him sucker you into accepting a "generous allowance" for everything because you'll get fcuked like i did both times.

take your time deciding what you want because they sure as hell will take their time building the house.

 

[MadJack]

i don't have much time right now but those 2 houses i built gave me a lot of experience of what to look for and what to expect.

i'll answer anything you want to know either here or in email.

anything to help.

jack@madjacksports.com

 

[ageecee]

absolutely!

been down that road 2 times and will never again. they try and nickel and dime you all the way down to the friggin nails they use.

make sure everything is in writing and all the add-ons too or you'll get screwed.

all the way down to what knobs you want on your cabinets, hardware on everything, padding for the carpet, plumbing fixtures and accessories, base and crown molding, molding around your windows and doors, the type/brand of windows you are getting, the shingles for your roof, dimmer switches, size of hot water heater (you want 80 gal min), electric fixtures are expensive as hell so make sure everything is in writing. get the idea? you want the whole thing in writing so there is no arguments down the line.

don't let him sucker you into accepting a "generous allowance" for everything because you'll get fcuked like i did both times.

take your time deciding what you want because they sure as hell will take their time building the house.

thats what i wanted to hear Jack. Didnt know if you signed a contract or not. If not they will come back and try and fawk u anyway they can. They say it takes about 9 months to complete the house. Is this about right?


What if i build 2 story house will 80 gal hot water tank do the trick? Do i need hot water tank for upstairs and down stairs?

Come on guys give me some more pointers.

 

[MadJack]

thats what i wanted to hear Jack. Didnt know if you signed a contract or not. If not they will come back and try and fawk u anyway they can. They say it takes about 9 months to complete the house. Is this about right?


What if i build 2 story house will 80 gal hot water tank do the trick? Do i need hot water tank for upstairs and down stairs?

Come on guys give me some more pointers.

80 gal, i guess depends on how many people in the house and showers taken at the same time i guess. there are 5 of us here and 80 gals is fine. i just remembered that because he tried slipping us a 40 gallon one and that never would have worked for us.

my first house took 6 months and this one took 7 months but both could have been finished a lot quicker but they move their men all around to other projects and sometimes my house had no work done on it at all for weeks.

 

[ageecee]

80 gal, i guess depends on how many people in the house and showers taken at the same time i guess. there are 5 of us here and 80 gals is fine. i just remembered that because he tried slipping us a 40 gallon one and that never would have worked for us.

my first house took 6 months and this one took 7 months but both could have been finished a lot quicker but they move their men all around to other projects and sometimes my house had no work done on it at all for weeks.

4 people here-2 adults and 2 kids


Did you go with the Energy 7 Plan?

 

[MadJack]

Did you go with the Energy 7 Plan?

what's that?

 

[ageecee]

what's that?

Its the Energy Star Plan-Has to do with products that use less energy, save money, and protect the enviroment.

 

[MadJack]

probably. rings a bell :shrug:

 

[ageecee]

Mostly its your appliances, heating and cooling, lighting, etc, etc

 

[marine]

Dunno how humid it gets down by you and how much you run the AC unit... but if you are building a 2 story house... i would recommend looking at two furnaces... 1 works the lower level, the other works the upper level.

will save you TONS on utility bills over the course of time.
that's the only thing I wish I woulda sprung for here with mine.

if you are going to be adding all the fancy stuff.. like jacuzzi tub and what not... get an even bigger water heater.

 

[Dice34]

They say it takes about 9 months to complete the house. Is this about right?

Once the foundation is dug and poured, houses can fly up..........3 to 4 months depending on how many men are working on it, especially when using nail guns (love those)....

but listen to jack, get it in writing or they'll snip your bag if you let em

 

[ageecee]

Dunno how humid it gets down by you and how much you run the AC unit... but if you are building a 2 story house... i would recommend looking at two furnaces... 1 works the lower level, the other works the upper level.

will save you TONS on utility bills over the course of time.
that's the only thing I wish I woulda sprung for here with mine.

if you are going to be adding all the fancy stuff.. like jacuzzi tub and what not... get an even bigger water heater.

This is South Louisiana it gets hot as hell and humidty is 100% everyday in the summer. AC runs all day long.

No fancy stuff and no jacuzzi.


Got a friend who built his house with the Energy Star Plan and he said his utility bill is $100 a month. WTF??

 

[ageecee]

Once the foundation is dug and poured, houses can fly up..........3 to 4 months depending on how many men are working on it, especially when using nail guns (love those)....

but listen to jack, get it in writing or they'll snip your bag if you let em

It takes about a month to frame the house and enclose it correct?

 

[Dice34]

It takes about a month to frame the house and enclose it correct?

absolutley not, but then again it depends how many men and how good they are at their job.. I was on site where we laid the floor joist and flooring. Day 1

Framed 2 story house with the roof trusses (12 hour day and there was 5 of us)- day 2

the colombians came in and sheeted the whole house on day 3

the thing with contractors is that they can go as fast or slow as they want, depending on what else they have going on....i

 

[AR182]

the only houses i had built were through planned communities where the buyer has to allow the builder to use his men....but i do have advice for you that i think is very important...

hire a private building inspector....& have him inspect the house after framing & right before final walkthrough.....

good luck.