Building a new house

[KiYi]

Do a 15 year mortgage regardless and make sure you get the best rate you can now so you don't have to refinance later. I wish I would have went a little bigger in the living room and laundry room. I also wish I would have had the basement wired and rocked right away as it doesn't cost that much and is a pain later on. Very glad I went with a large garage and finished it right away. A sink in the garage is a must. Floor heat done right was one my smartest decisions. Lots of spigots outside are nice and electrical boxes also are nice. We went vinyl and it's not bad at all but for sound and strength I would probably spray foam the entire house if I were to do it over again.

 

[gunship]

1.) Floor drain in garage
2.) Garage heater (or at least run the gas lines/electrical)
3.) Hot/Cold water in garage
4.) Run flexible tubing in the walls between TV mount locations and electrical.
5.) Switched outlets near night stands
6.) Sprinkler system if you can swing it
7.) When/where in doubt, add an outlet.

The contract price of your house should have budget built in for things like lighting, sinks and faucets, etc. If you can, I would buy those things on your own and have the builder subtract those budget line items from the contract price.

 

[Hookin8easy]

You had mentioned getting your own "fixtures", if you're talking about lights check out lightingdirect.com, I did self builds on my last 2 houses and you really need to look there for lights if contractors will allow you to. Like said before, 11' garage walls-allows for plenty overhead storage even above the garage doors which I do recommend 10' wide 8' high, garage outlets!!! I have 3 circuits of 8, yes 24 outlets and it is so nice to have, they have to run the wire around anyway have them put them in, garage utility sink isn't that expensive and is a must for me, also no one mentioned having audio wired for patio speakers, don't have to get fancy with the Bluetooth and streaming now days just a speaker b to receiver is nice, cable in garage for a 55" or larger down the road. I completely disagree with the oversized furnace and a/c, over sized a/c will not get the run time needed to remove humidity and the oversized furnace will satisfy and cycle too quick destroying the heat exchanger, run time=efficiency just the way it is

 

[johnr]

Make sure you have plenty of outlets in the garage. I can't believe how many newer houses in our neighborhood (including mine) have only a couple of outlets in the garage. Also put in vents in your closet if possible. Keeps them fresher.

we just moved 6 months ago, and I can attest to this, my new place (built in 2000) has 4 outlets in the garage. Who the eff would be this stupid.
I have 2 freezers, and my beer fridge on a power strip, cause the north wall only has one fricken outlet.

a garage should have 20 outlets, and that might be short a few..

extra parking pad is necessary too, as time goes on, you acquire more stuff. We moved specifically cause the old place was out of places to park all our crap.

triple garage is full, and my double wide parking pad next to the house is completely full now too(camper, boat, trailer, and extra car). I am either going to have to get rid of some items or move again...

 

[ndbwhunter]

Again, thanks for all the great ideas. The garage will be equipped with two floor drains, and hot/cold water and a deep dual stainless sink. I plan on adding plenty of outlets. My current garage has at least 30 outlets, and that doesn't include all of the outlets in the ceiling. I was going to finish the garage on my own, but since it will be during hunting season, I opted to have it finished right away.

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You had mentioned getting your own "fixtures", if you're talking about lights check out lightingdirect.com, I did self builds on my last 2 houses and you really need to look there for lights if contractors will allow you to. Like said before, 11' garage walls-allows for plenty overhead storage even above the garage doors which I do recommend 10' wide 8' high, garage outlets!!! I have 3 circuits of 8, yes 24 outlets and it is so nice to have, they have to run the wire around anyway have them put them in, garage utility sink isn't that expensive and is a must for me, also no one mentioned having audio wired for patio speakers, don't have to get fancy with the Bluetooth and streaming now days just a speaker b to receiver is nice, cable in garage for a 55" or larger down the road. I completely disagree with the oversized furnace and a/c, over sized a/c will not get the run time needed to remove humidity and the oversized furnace will satisfy and cycle too quick destroying the heat exchanger, run time=efficiency just the way it is

Thank you for the lighting source. We plan on purchasing everything we can to help save some money. Light fixtures, faucets, and appliances are currently on our list.

 

[Hookin8easy]

I actually think they have a plumbingdirect.com too if I'm not mistaken

for appliances I used a web app called poach it, go and pick your appliances early then use the poach it app, anytime one goes on sale you will get an email, it searches the entire web. Mine all went on sale about 4 weeks before closing and saved me thousands

 

[ndbwhunter]

I actually think they have a plumbingdirect.com too if I'm not mistaken

for appliances I used a web app called poach it, go and pick your appliances early then use the poach it app, anytime one goes on sale you will get an email, it searches the entire web. Mine all went on sale about 4 weeks before closing and saved me thousands

Did they go on sale locally, or did you order online and have them shipped? I know some places will price match online competitors, but not many.

 

[CJR]

Two items I would recommend....when your walls are studded out put in tubing for a central vac unit. Super easy to do in an evening before the sheetrockers move in...other is to think about where your likely to hang your TVs and run power and cable higher on the wall so you don't see cords. And you can never have enough outlets.

 

[Hookin8easy]

Did they go on sale locally, or did you order online and have them shipped? I know some places will price match online competitors, but not many.

they did go on sale locally at best buy

 

[701FishSlayer]

Two items I would recommend....when your walls are studded out put in tubing for a central vac unit. Super easy to do in an evening before the sheetrockers move in...other is to think about where your likely to hang your TVs and run power and cable higher on the wall so you don't see cords. And you can never have enough outlets.

Serious question. I thought central vac was old school? Or are a lot of people still doing this?

 

[eyexer]

Icf walls in basement. In reality if i was build a new house it would be icf all the way to the roof line. I just did my basement and everything else my self 2 years ago and had a house moved on. It was a year of hell i fished 1 time and hunted a few times. The next time i move will be in a pine box or i have won the lottery and can pay some one to do all the work on my new ranch in Idaho

I would do ICFS all the way up too. With that being said you damn well better have a good concrete guy. I just went down to help a buddy with some siding on an all ICFS house and it was horrible. Walls an 1-1/2" out of plumb. House was major out of square. There are very few concrete companies that can pull it off. It reminded me why I had to start doing my own concrete when I was building houses. Not out of desire but out of need.

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Central Vac is making a comeback but I still would never mess with it. There is just no way to overcome the long length of pipe to the source. Only way to do it is with vast amounts of money lol. But to the OP's original question it all depends on your budget. I could make a very long list but it would depend on the money you want to spend. But if I had one absolute that I would do it would be as mentioned. ICFS basement. But I would also add 1-1/2" foam under my basement floor. Did this on my two new homes and would never be without it.

 

[Kentucky Windage]

Lots of great advice and ideas. We built in 2013. If I could go back, I would have made my end garage stall 3-5 wider between the garage door and exterior wall. There I not enough to room to store things and be able to wing a vehicle door open. I would have Also put a floor drain in each stall (I have only one in the center and water has to run from the other stalls across the floor) and had the wall mounted garage door opener. I would recommend floor heat, but that is an expensive animal but well worth it. It made my garage another room in the house.

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I also love my stairs going from my garage to the basement.

 

[eyexer]

I did stairs to basement from garage too. very nice. But my intention is to rent my basement. It has full kitchen, laundry, etc.

 

[CJR]

Serious question. I thought central vac was old school? Or are a lot of people still doing this?

We love ours. Not common to see but if it's new construction, I would do it in a heartbeat if you can install while the walls are still open. We put ours in in about 3 hours and had about 250 bucks into it (not counting head unit). The new units have tons of suction so the issues with long runs are a thing of the past. We have lots of hardwood and having a kick plate register (just tap it and it turns on so you can sweep right into it) is a lifesaver. Hung the head unit in the garage so can use it out there also. Definitely a must have at our house.

 

[Allen]

Serious question. I thought central vac was old school? Or are a lot of people still doing this?

I have a home with a centralized vacuum system built in. I have only used it once, maybe twice.

Dragging along 20 ft of hose is less fun than 20 ft of electrical cord.

Besides, that's why I have a Lynette.

 

[deleted]

Couple questions for you ICF guys......Are you doing them yourself with donated labor and if so, what do you figure it runs for the materials and concrete?
Are you doing 8 or 9 foot walls and what is the wall thickness by the time it's at the finished stage?

 

[eyexer]

Couple questions for you ICF guys......Are you doing them yourself with donated labor and if so, what do you figure it runs for the materials and concrete?
Are you doing 8 or 9 foot walls and what is the wall thickness by the time it's at the finished stage?

lots of variables. I always did my own. But that's what I did for a living for a number of years. Most basements I did were 8'. The blocks run $20-$25 a piece. They are usually 16" high by 4' long. I priced a house for a buddy this winter and the forms for an 1800 sq ft house and a large double garage, 4' deep (split level) ran about $6,000. They aren't cheap but well worth it. You get all the money back if you do it yourself. 4' walls are really easy opposed to 8' walls. The total thickness is usually around 10-12" depending on whether your using 6" or 8" blocks. I would never build a house for myself without using them.

 

[ndbwhunter]

Do you guys have any input on appliances? I'm hoping to buy everything during the 4th of July sales, but I can't seem to narrow down the lengthy list of brands. I really like the looks of the Samsung appliances, but I've been told that there is no one to repair them around here.

The LG appliances look pretty nice, and seem to have a decent warranty. They don't look quite as nice as the Samsung lines in the same price range though.

Any recommendations for other brands? In order to stay within my budget, and get decent quality, I need to purchase from somewhere that will be running some pretty good sales. Lowes big sale just ended, but they'll have another one over the 4th. Does Sears ever have good sales that exceed 30% mark downs?

 

[Bfishn]

Do you guys have any input on appliances? I'm hoping to buy everything during the 4th of July sales, but I can't seem to narrow down the lengthy list of brands. I really like the looks of the Samsung appliances, but I've been told that there is no one to repair them around here.

The LG appliances look pretty nice, and seem to have a decent warranty. They don't look quite as nice as the Samsung lines in the same price range though.

Any recommendations for other brands? In order to stay within my budget, and get decent quality, I need to purchase from somewhere that will be running some pretty good sales. Lowes big sale just ended, but they'll have another one over the 4th. Does Sears ever have good sales that exceed 30% mark downs?

I've been told directly from someone in the appliance business that they all suck, it doesn't matter which brand unless you go with the high end stuff (sub-zero, Wolf, etc.) All the normal brands are pretty much made to last 10 years. IMO your better off going with something that can be easily repaired locally. I went with whirlpool/whirlpool Gold 6.5 years ago and haven't had any issues yet. I bought mine at Best Buy for 20% off.

Refrigerator Tip - At least once a year take the cover off the bottom of your fridge and clean the condenser coils. I've been told that the build up on these is what causes about 75% of failures. At the very least you will extend the life a bit.

 

[ndbwhunter]

Any input on the best type of flooring to use in the entryway and kitchen? Was pretty much set on duraceramic, but after reading a bit more about it, I'm not sure that it's the way to go. Doesn't sound like it's all that durable.