New Home Construction Noob

[Aaron1085]

I own a rental house and have been around the block a bit, the wife and I are contemplating building a home in southern NH. For this, I have little experience.

 

Ideally we want to be in a lovely neighborhood, however it seems to get into a new construction neighborhood, all the lots are owned by a developer doing the cookie cutter home building method. In all fairness, I haven't reached out to a builder to see what their flexibility would be, but I have little faith in making many changes to some of their basic housing designs.

 

What have your experiences been with building / designing your own homes; buying land separately, doing a "package deal", etc? One builder who works with a realtor or what?

 

Thanks for the feedback.

[RyanbabZ71]

My biggest suggestion is to find out if there is an HOA (homeowners association) and if so what their rules are. Ours is pretty lax but my next home will be on some land and no HOA. I do t need people tell me what I can do and how to do it.

 

Also go for at least a 3 car garage (it still won't be enough)

 

 

Ryan

[Aaron1085]

Right. 3 car garage is a must; the wife and I agree on that which is key! I guess I'll talk to some more local realtors and see what the options may be. I agree with wanting to do what I want, with respect to my neighbors. We want kids and a culdesac, etc but definitely not the same house as the next guy and the next guy......

[RyanbabZ71]

I bought my house because of the garage. I need more space now (kids take up alot of space with bikes and electric vehicles) so an additonal pole barn would be awesome. Next house. Cant believe we have been in our current house for almost 9 yrs now.

[RyanbabZ71]

Few other items I would change

 

Make sure the laundry room is good sized. We have a washer dryer furnace and water heater all jammed in a small room. It's awful.

 

Try and get a wash tub (I would have it in the laundry room).

 

Water line to the garage

 

Fireplace (my 4 yr old wants one. He hates the cold. Said over Xmas we can build one)

 

 

 

 

Ryan

[loganbent]

Never built one myself, but am in the building industry and remodeling my own one slowly so here is what I'd say:

 

-Figure out your budget.....then plan for 15% overrun, and have additional money on top of that available if necessary if you're actually building one

-Find some builders you like, then try and get references from people who live in houses they built, find out what they think after a couple years and if they stood behind their work. If they haven't been around long enough to have houses a couple years old or won't give references I would be concerned, the housing downturn took a ton of people out of the business so the one's still around have a higher liklihood of being big enough to weather downturns and build a quality product, but you still need to do your research

-Don't skimp on the guts off the house, 2x6 or 2x8 walls at a min where you're at, buy quality windows, get more electric outlets/capacity than can possibly ever be used, etc, the stuff you can't see often makes/break the quality of a house. It's easy to go back and replace flooring, upgrade a counter top etc down the road, little more expensive to say "wish we wouldn't have insisted on 2x4 framing to save money, this house sure is cold"

-Run CAT5/6 ethernet cable to every room, multiple places in many rooms, even if you don't cut wall plates in document where it's at and leave it in the wall, so many things are being hooked to the web these days and wired connections work so much better than wireless

-Visit the job site often, you want to be recognized by the crews when you show up as the guy/gal who are moving in, if they can put faces to jobs they'll likely do a better job. You can visit without being in the way, and when you visit take plots of pictures! Take shots of framing/plumbing/electrical run locations and save them, later on when you have to have work done(or are doing yourself) it will make things much easier if there is a better idea of where things are

-Location Location Location-This one is up to you and your lifestyle, but understand where you want to live, what you want to do, what items are important to be close to, schools, parks, family etc, do you want more land and fewer neighbors but have to drive to get places etc? For me I live in the country on 7 acres and wouldn't have it any other way, some couldn't stand it....this one is more personal

[99silveradoz71]

Good points. My development had 2 builders at the time I bought. Ryan and a local. I went with the local and they were fairly flexible with changing some things(flipping the basement stairs so they're near the front door). Check to see if they'll let you insulate the garage if they don't do it. We did and also ran string to use pulling wire for additional outlets once I moved in. The up-charges for some things are ridiculous, so if you're able to set yourself up with the ability to do some things later and save $, it's not a bad strategy.

[gm4yrs]

From a flooring contractor's view, make room sizes 12x12, 18x18, and 24x24.

I have seen many homes, nothing worse that small narrow spaces.

Have a Great room, instead of two living / family rooms.

The other room is always unused, with "nice" furniture.

Plan your layout, without long hallways, more of a open concept.

I second the idea of a three car garage, 40 ft. wide and 30 ft. deep, all separate doors, 8 ft. height and 10 ft. wide.

I like the Great room in back, kitchen in middle and dining room in front, with a octagonal front.

Bedroom behind garage.

Use a hard surface, like hardwood or tile, for entry, hallway, kitchen, laundry, bath.

Carpet for Great room and bedrooms, lylon 35 oz. to 40 oz., tight twist, low 3/8 height, medium color.

Not light color, no white, no light grey, no light tan. Will show dirt, easily.

Land, I would look 2-5 miles, outside of town, with a 1/2 acre minimum. 100 ft. x 100 ft.

Allow space for rv. access. minimum 20 ft. each side.

Plan a low step design, 5 1/2" height max, with a full 12" step.

Some home builders have a zero height design, no steps at all. Even garage to house entry.

Elevate your land, 2 ft. above road, and check for flood level.

[Mike-1000]

It's pretty common these days for corporations to own the entire building process from development to sale. Other times a developer will contract with a single realtor who will then deal with one or a limited number of builders to do the actual building in that developement. Developments that are open to any builder are becoming more rare and larger lots or plots of land will likely allow more flexibility. This will all vary depending on location of course.

Your budget will probably be the biggest factor in determining how much a developer, builder or real estate agent will be willing to work with you. Remember, the point here is for each of these parts to make money. As long as you can show that your situation will allow that, you might find more flexibility than you expect.

I'm a big believer that location is important so I would start there. Once I found a development/location I liked I would then start talking about plans and builders and what restricions might apply in that development. Remember that as soon as you talk to the realtor (who may be set up on site) you will probably be locked in to paying their commission if you finally do build/buy there.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

Mike

[unit731]

New Hampshire.

 

If you hire a general contractor - then that person/firm handles all.

Most people with zero building experience go this route.

Then you have to learn about what sub-contractors the general contractor hires.

 

The most important item in any new house construction is the foundation.

Best to read up on this and learn as much as possible.

Water is the enemy of any new foundation. Make sure to double or triple up on any perimeter drains.

Make sure the foundation is sealed with the most current technologies.

 

The 2nd most important item is the venting of the attic. The roof. Without proper venting you will have icicles in winter time. Drive around NH any winter and view homes - some will have icicles - and some do not. The ones without the icicles were constructed properly.

 

The 3d most important item is the doors and windows. Never cheap out on this. Most brands make different grades - to remain competitive. You want the best grade.

 

Siding. As one who has painted and/or stained the same building over and over - if I had to do things all over again - I would have started in the very beginning with vinyl siding. Again, there are different grades of vinyl siding. So read up on this. Best to choose an earth tone or natural color.

 

Roofing. Metal roofs are the best. Again, there are different grades of metal roofing. Metal roofing can be quite expensive. But does last a lifetime. If stepping down to asphalt shingles - go with the more expensive - 30 or 40 year. Always choose 'architectural' shingles and not 3 tab shingles.

 

Heating. Choose oil heat. Wood stoves and fireplaces are fine in addition. Avoid propane heat at all costs. Propane is fine for stove and hot water if needed - just not the heating system. Choose a hot air heating system as opposed to hot water/baseboard heating. Much easier to add central air if needed later on. If you can afford central air conditioning - then by all means get it. Otherwise have the builder frame an opening in required rooms for wall air conditioners - to avoid taking up window space.

 

Smart Home.

Be sure to include all rough in wiring - Cat5e/Cat6 and RG6 in every room - and places for security cameras both inside and outside. Security cameras can be 'wireless' now - but they still require an electric outlet. Don't overlook all options. Home theater speaker wiring. Heat thermostat for smart thermostat - requires an additional wire then standard. Double the amount of wall outlets. The builder will only put in what code requires - and this is never enough.

 

I highly suggest taking time off work and attending the IBS trade show. At least one time before beginning any such endeavor.

 

LINK

 

[MTB]

Having just bought a house in one of those subdivisions that you are looking into I can give a few thoughts on what to look for...

 

1. INSULATION! The attic should be well insulated, along with the walls. The walls around a bathroom, and the great room need insulation as well, helps with sound.

2. If they use pex pipe in your construction make sure it is insulated. Even in the attic space above that 3 car garage... don't ask how I know...

3. Make sure if you buy a spec home that you have a reputable home inspector do an inspection before you take the keys, and that the builder fixes every thing he finds.

4. If you find a spec home that you like, take a tape measure and measure the outside of it and get a feel for the square footage before you make an offer...Lost the house of my wifes dreams at the apraisal phase because the house SQFT did not measure up to what the builder had advertised. Our offer was based on that. I would not pay the difference.

5. Spray foam insulation is an upgrade you will want, but make sure it does not make you upside down on the price/sqft of the house. Give in another area to get it.

[Aaron1085]

Awesome input guys, thank you very much. We are still a ways out in deciding the game plan (aka: the wife hasn't made up her mind) however I have definitely read some great on ledge to get me started.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD

 

 

[Aaron1085]

So we've spec'ed out the home we plan to build. We have a 3 car garage planned with standard 7' high and 9' wide doors. With that said, still kind of a tight fit (width wise) with my truck.

My wife and I were thinking perhaps 1 double door and 1 single door, however with the double, you lose the gap and space between two garage doors, actually limiting the width....

Any input?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

[sahls01gmc]

The actual size of the garage should not be any different. The garage door opening will vary, yes. With a double door, you more more than likely kinda park the cars in there somewhat crooked to take advantage of the size on the outsides. A 20 x 20 garage will always be the same size, no matter what garage doors you put on there. I think you will like the double doors better than 3 single doors.

 

My suggestion is to go with 8' doors. Framing requirements are almost the same, you just will pay a lil more for the taller garage doors.

[RyanbabZ71]

Go as big as you can. 3 cars is never enough. Make the 3rd car side as Long as the 2 car side.

 

 

 

Why I am building this now

 

 

 

Ryan