Before building your house, what should you haven known/read

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wdr1
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Before building your house, what should you haven known/read

Post by wdr1 »

My wife & I are exploring the option to teardown our home & rebuilding. We plan to hire professionals, but I'd like to learn as much about the process as possible. It's one of the largest financial investments of my life, so it's worth my time to be informed. :-)

Are there books you'd recommend about the design or construction process?
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Clark & Addison
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Re: Before building your house, what should you haven known/

Post by Clark & Addison »

I don't have any book titles for you, but I have learned a lot on the GardenWeb forum linked below. It was just taken over by Houzz, but it still seems like a great resource.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/build/
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celia
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Re: Before building your house, what should you haven known/

Post by celia »

Understand the local building codes!

It always takes longer than planned.

Also, if you should live in California, I think you can no longer tear down all but one wall, design around the existing foundation, and call it a remodel. Instead, the property tax will be based on the value of the house when it is done.
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Watty
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Re: Before building your house, what should you haven known/

Post by Watty »

My wife & I are exploring the option to teardown our home & rebuilding. We plan to hire professionals, but I'd like to learn as much about the process as possible. It's one of the largest financial investments of my life, so it's worth my time to be informed. :-)
I would assume that you know that if you have a mortgage then your can't just tear down the house. The mortgage company will be notified when the demolition permit is issued and if they did not approve it you will likely end up having a lot of "interesting" interactions with their lawyers.

If the house is currently livable then you will have a lot of additional costs compared to buying or building a different house. These will include;

The loss of value of the old structure.
The cost of demolition
The cost of living somewhere else for a year.
The cost of landscaping the lot again.

From a financial standpoint it is hard to justify tearing down a functional house even if it is dated.
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saltycaper
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Re: Before building your house, what should you haven known/

Post by saltycaper »

During the building process, someone should be onsite regularly to make sure the home is being constructed according to specs. I've heard lots of stories of people paying for something they didn't actually get, or wouldn't have gotten if they were not onsite to catch the mistake. Using improper types of drywall in moisture prone areas, insulation rated lower than spec, improper grading and drainage, inferior types of pre-engineered lumber, you name it. They range from cheating the buyer over a small sum to major issues that would need to be disclosed upon sale if the buyer later found out and wanted to sell the home at a future date.

Not trying to scare you away from it. Most people seem to make out just fine. Trust but verify.
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eucalyptus
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Re: Before building your house, what should you haven known/

Post by eucalyptus »

Ideally, and expensively ....

We would have designed and selected everything before breaking ground.

The design process, for us, would have included an architect, interior designer, landscape architect and builder.

The more design you do, the better the result IMO.

Developing a very complete set of plans and elevations - including things like reflected ceiling plans, critical interior elevations, etc - forces you to consider every space. If you can design furniture layouts, so much the better. Selection of architectural finishes can be very time consuming but obviously also is essential.

Brace yourself for the at times hopeless perversity and waste of the home construction process - you will shake your head and wonder whether your home is the first house ever built. Mistakes will be made. Changes will have to be made. Just the way it goes. Construction is a sometimes messy process.

Find professionals with whom you have a good rapport, and who also are experienced in designing and building the type of structure you want. Hire a very experienced inspector (not the realtor type home inspector) to monitor construction, if you can find someone.

There's a lot of advice about home construction here, though this site tends to obsess over energy efficiency and the latest construction techniques when IMO what really matters is getting the subs to build the house as designed and in a timely and professional and cost effective manner. The cutting edge is not where you want to be, unless your pockets are very deep and you have a lot of time to devote to the project. You don't want cutting edge, you want what the local subs can actually build.
scone
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Re: Before building your house, what should you haven known/

Post by scone »

wdr1 wrote:My wife & I are exploring the option to teardown our home & rebuilding. We plan to hire professionals, but I'd like to learn as much about the process as possible. It's one of the largest financial investments of my life, so it's worth my time to be informed. :-)

Are there books you'd recommend about the design or construction process?
Unless you have some sort of incredible lot, e.g., oceanfront, this probably will cost you more than selling "as is" and moving. Other than that, if you don't have any experience, no amount of reading will really give you an adequate "knowledge base." Gaining the "eye" that tells you when something is wrong can only be gained by experience, such as swinging a hammer yourself and drawing plans. If you don't want to do that, you'll have to rely on your people skills to pick pros who won't rip you off.

That said, there are some good books on construction methods. Anything by Francis D.K. Ching, Robert Thallon, Larry Haun, or Charlie Wing will help you get started. The Codes for Homeowners book by Black and Decker is pretty good and easy to read. I've also used Code Check by Redwood Kardon for easy reminders, especially on the West Coast. Don Aslett and his daughter wrote a book on design for low maintenance: Make Your House Do the Housework. These books aren't perfect, but lots of good background info. Good luck.
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dolphinsaremammals
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Re: Before building your house, what should you haven known/

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

Watty wrote: From a financial standpoint it is hard to justify tearing down a functional house even if it is dated.
Unfortunately a lot of people do this, esp. building McMansions in older neighborhoods of much more tasteful smaller homes. Hopefully the OP is not planning on this.

Here's such a mess, a McMansion next to a beautifully restored craftsman bungalow near where I live:

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.781327, ... 3glxbQ!2e0

The bungalow people did a beautiful restoration of their house's interior shown below, and then the above happened:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK7_SM3sW-E
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wdr1
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Re: Before building your house, what should you haven known/

Post by wdr1 »

saltycaper wrote:During the building process, someone should be onsite regularly to make sure the home is being constructed according to specs. I've heard lots of stories of people paying for something they didn't actually get, or wouldn't have gotten if they were not onsite to catch the mistake. Using improper types of drywall in moisture prone areas, insulation rated lower than spec, improper grading and drainage, inferior types of pre-engineered lumber, you name it. They range from cheating the buyer over a small sum to major issues that would need to be disclosed upon sale if the buyer later found out and wanted to sell the home at a future date.

Not trying to scare you away from it. Most people seem to make out just fine. Trust but verify.
This is an interesting idea. I like the idea of independent inspector. As, despite how much I may try to educate myself, I'm sure I'll miss things that an experienced eye could catch.

Some of the architects mentioned they would regularly visit the site. My first thought was they could help with inspection, but thinking further, there are probably a lot of details that should be checked out of their scope.

Any advice on how to find an inspector like this? Would I just get someone who does home inspections?
uglystickrules
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Re: Before building your house, what should you haven known/

Post by uglystickrules »

I would have worked more closely with the county we live in to ensure things were in line with codes as well as hired an independent inspector, or at least had a third party review the work and materials. Also, chances are even after you use a third party inspector or have someone review the work, you won't figure out all the issues until you live in it. Make sure the contractor sticks to the contract and if you have a more activist loan officer that they are involved in the building process as well. It forces the contractor to make good use of the funds and not just spend how he sees fit.
Mingus
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Re: Before building your house, what should you haven known/

Post by Mingus »

I only want to add a few things:

When your home is designed, beat into your architects head you want floors that have a minimum of L/1000 for deflection. This number can not be too high, essentially. Few things are worse than walking on spongy feeling floors that sound hollow.

I'd also specify "Douglas Fir" framing for everything. Not mixed fir.

And spend a little bit more money on the walls and get either a single coat, or ideally a two coat veneer plaster. Qualified labor may not be available in your area. If they are, the cost is roughly 25 to 30% more than regular drywall. But extremely impact resistant, and smooth, or a troweled texture. Nothing is worse than orange peel heavily textured walls.
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saltycaper
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Re: Before building your house, what should you haven known/

Post by saltycaper »

wdr1 wrote:Any advice on how to find an inspector like this? Would I just get someone who does home inspections?
I'm not the best person to ask, since I was one signature away from buying new construction (already under construction when I saw it) after an extensive home search, walked away, and still rent. :happy Lost no money, but did lose a lot of time.

I would definitely NOT use a regular home inspector. They aren't accustomed to looking out for this level of detail. You need the equivalent of a resident engineer for home building. Find someone you trust other than the builder (the architect?) to provide recommendations. Get to know your municipality's codes inspector. They might be able to provide an idea as well. In my case, the township outsourced to a local engineering firm that was very helpful when I called them up cold and asked some general questions.
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ourbrooks
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Re: Before building your house, what should you haven known/

Post by ourbrooks »

Make friends with a builder and follow her/him around a day a week for long enough to see at least one job from start to finish. They're more likely to agree if (a) you promise to always buy lunch (b) say that you need more exercise and offer to lift and carry things and (c) tell them (truthfully in this case) that you're looking for a builder.

By all means, read all of the books you can, but seeing how things are actually done in the particular area in which you live can only be accomplished by going out and looking.
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black jack
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Re: Before building your house, what should you haven known/

Post by black jack »

This question has probably been asked before; search the site.

Threads asking about major remodeling may also have useful information: see for example http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... 1&t=136280

My dad built a house - that is, he acted as the general contractor. He knew something about manual labor - he'd been an auto mechanic, then an aircraft mechanic, before becoming an office paper-pusher. He figured he would save money being the general contractor, and perhaps he did - but the house still ended up going considerably over budget.

If I ever have occasion to have a house built for me, I will look carefully at modular homes - that is, houses whose parts are built in factories, then assembled on-site in a few days. It makes sense to me that, at least in theory, such a house would be of better quality than a stick-built house pieced together on-site over a period of weeks (or months) while the materials and workers are exposed to the elements.
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J295
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Re: Before building your house, what should you haven known/

Post by J295 »

We have owned three homes ... #1 modest DIY renovation (married, three little kids, assets of two nickels to rub together), #2 new construction per professional custom plans built by experienced builder, #3 MAJOR renovation with architect and designer (we were general contractor). We loved the creative process, but understand many people don't like the experience at all. A huge plus for us was having VERY DETAILED plans and specs for the projects (I'm talking down to the location, color, and style of the electrical outlets and covers). You don't just want a kitchen faucet in your specs, you want to specify exactly what you want (Moen #XXX in brushed nickel, etc.). This assists you not only financially, but emotionally as you aren't getting a call at 200 pm one afternoon telling you that you need to specify all the kitchen plumbing fixtures by 800 am the next morning because the plumber is coming out to the job site. You get the idea.

There is a lot to know, which I really don't think you can get from a book or series of you tube videos. Find an experienced architect that you like/trust. Pay him/her to consult with you about this project. Depending on the location and scope of your project, I have a top flight architect that may be someone you want to consider or reach out to for a recommendation (you can pm me if interested in learning more --he retired early and spent a number of years building homes for the disadvantaged in Central America, but now spends the majority of time in the states -- he worked on our project even though he no longer lives in our city).

Enough said. Good luck. We had so much fun on our projects, and I hope you do too!
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