Building your own home-- advice?

[myladyashalind2]

As some of you may know for the last 5 yrs we've been looking to purchase a new home. Our wish list isn't extravagant. Just a bit particular. And so far haven't been able to find it. We're at a point where the thought of purchasing the land and building the home has crept in. There is unknown territory for us. We've no idea where to start or what to expect.

Who's been there and has any advice they'd like to share?

(formerly My Lady Ashalind)

[zelticgar]

You've been home shopping for five years with no success and plan B is to build your own house? And you have no idea where to start? It sounds like a smashing good idea! :)

Seriously, i would think an easier alternative would be to buy into a new home development and pick out the options you want versus buying a plot and finding your own contractor. I have had a number of issues with flooring, window and landscaping contractors. I finally found a good contractor that has done some awesome work for us but he is a stand alone operator so larger projects are not his thing. I would be very nervous going with a contractor unless i had solid endorsements and the good one are usually expensive.

[myladyashalind2]

Zelt....

The easier alternative is not an option. ESPECIALLY being in a new home development! We want the privacy. That is something we won't compromise on! Unfortunately, most of the secluded, private homes (at least in this area) are Rancher, Rambler type homes. Not what we want.

Like I said...I'm kinda at my wits end. Tired of looking . I'm willing to compromise with some things, like being in a Rancher or Rambler. Even then, can't find anything that says okay this looks good. I can work with that.

[Wise Fool]

Duct tape. Lots and lots of duct tape.

[Ixodes]

We built about 7 years ago and had a great experience. Here is the outline we followed:

1) Figure out your finances and talk to your banker. You need to have a budget idea in mind as step 1. Your banker will guide you through the steps of getting a construction loan then conversion to mortgage once the home is complete. The banker can also be a good first resource on what builders in the area are good to work with.

2) Found a building site we really liked and purchased the land (we got the land about 4 years before we built). The lot we purchased was in a development so utilities were already there. Keep in mind that lot development will add expense (brining in utilities, septic, well, etc) so keep that in mind when you are looking at land.

3) Picked a builder. This was many months of word of mouth recommendations, visiting different builders, and (very important in our case) having the builder come out to the property to assess the potential. I have no idea how to pick a builder but was fortunate to have many people who gave good advice. We sat down with many different builders so we could compare/contrast before we finalized things.

4) Spent much time deciding on what kind of home we wanted to build. This is where you need to have some vision and be able to work with an architect (a good home builder should have an architect(s) with a good working relationship). We started by looking at lots of premade plans (the kinds you see in magazines), visiting open houses to look at different features, and figuring out features of other people's homes that we liked or hated. We wrote down all of this stuff then worked with the designer to figure out just what we wanted. By the time the final plans were drafted, we were set with a product we both wanted. This takes time so I encourage you to not rush it!

5) Make as many decisions as possible at the planning stage. There are so many choices about appliances, light fixtures, utilities, paint, flooring, siding, insulation, etc etc etc etc. If you can think about these things, critique them, and figure out exactly what you want in the planning stage, your life will be so much easier. It doesn't cost you to change your mind when your house is just lines on paper. Once the building starts, any decisions or changes will add instant money.

6) Start building, understanding that there will be surprises. The builder will come to you with all sorts of decisions to be made on the fly. This is just how it rolls. If you already have a solid plan in place, these on the fly decisions will be relatively minimal. If you haven't planned extensively, then you might get some unpleasant surprises when an off hand yes or no answer to a question while you're busy at work turns into adding thousands of dollars to your project. The less of these, the better. Keep in mind the number you sign at the bank, after all the planning is complete, is very likely not going to the number you end up with. Give yourself some elbow room from the start.

In our case, we spent years between getting land, getting a plan, and making decisions before starting the build. You don't need this much time but don't underestimate the sheer volume of choices you will need to make. Having these worked out early, before anything gets started, will pay off tremendously (both financially and in reduced stress). I can tell you that in our case the construction went smooth and we couldn't be happier with the results.

[myladyashalind2]

Ixodes -Thank you!!!!!!

This is a wonderful outline for us to follow. Got it all saved!

Half of step one is already completed. And has been...sheesh! Construction loan converts to mortgage..good to know.

I figured bring in the utilities , the well and septic would be added costs, if we went with a property without an existing home that could be torn down.

Home builders should have architect.........excellent. See, here I was thinking that I'd need to hire the architect and then find the builder.

There will be no rushing. I promise. Fortunately we've found a great rental and are "content" to stay until we find/build the home we want.

[lady narcissa]

I have no experience in single family home construction. My background is more in 60 story high rise residential buildings with hundreds of apartments in them. A lot of the stuff, whether you are building an individual house or a high rise building, however, are the same.

Ixodes has give you a lot of good solid advice so I won't repeat any of the things he already said.

But if you have no idea about contractors and architects in your community, start driving and walking around and see if you can find any semi new construction that you like. Talk to a realtor and ask if they can point you in the direction of any new homes to see examples of what is out there. If you find some you like (not to buy and move into but just in general), ask who built and designed those. See if you can talk to the owners and if they'd recommend the contractor/architect that built/designed it.

Also, if you are thinking about having a custom house built for you, one thing you should do is pay attention to how you live and move (like physically walk through and use the space) in your current house now. You have the opportunity to get exactly what you want so know what you want. Yes, an architect can ask you questions and help shape your vision for you but the more info you can provide at the beginning the better it will be for everyone.

So ask yourself questions (and write down the answers) like...What do you like about your current house, what do you dislike?

When you walk into your current kitchen what works about your current layout now? Do you wish certain rooms were adjacent to one another and that others were spaced far away?

What do you wish you had in your current kitchen? If you could rearrange your kitchen, how would you lay out your appliances?

How many linear feet of storage space do you have now? Is it enough? If not, how much more do you think you'd need?

Are you a family sensitive to temperatures? Is your current house too hot, too cold?

Is it a priority to have lots of light? Or do you like things closed in and private and cosy?

Those are just sample questions and only focused on the interior but those are the sorts of things you need to be asking yourself. You should consider making a list of all the rooms in your house now and listing the pros and cons of each room and what your wish list would be in the new house for similar sorts of spaces. And of course, list any rooms and uses your current house doesn't have or accommodate that you are going to want in the new house.

Ixodes mentioned the millions of decisions you will have to make once the construction starts. This is absolutely correct. So the more thought you put into it in advance about what you want and need, the better equipped you will be to make the decisions as they come along. And for every choice you are asked to make, ask how much it will cost and what your options are. They can always price everything and price options for you.

Budget is key so know what your priority is cost wise and what you are willing to sacrifice. This again goes to your list...list the things that are absolutely important to you and what you'd like if it fits in the budget but are willing to sacrifice. For example you know you absolutely want hardwood floors in the living room and you'd like them in the bedrooms but you'd be willing to downgrade to carpet in the bedrooms to save money if you need to.

I use interior finishes as examples because those are always the easy items to understand and they are the ones everyone focuses on and enjoys. But recognize if you are building a house from scratch that the larger portions of your budget are going to go to unsexy items no one will ever see. Things like concrete for foundation, pipes in your walls for plumbing, wires for electrical, and ductwork for your heating and air.

And I would advise you to not have any of this work done without good contracts! No doubt your contractor (and architect) will provide a form contract for you...spend a little money and have an attorney review them for you and make sure you are covered. Lots of people have custom houses built and it works out great for them. But for every happy story, there are nightmare stories. And many a lawsuit has resulted from these nightmares.

[myladyashalind2]

Ixodes.... This meant seem a stupid question..

The Builder will put in the kitchen and bathrooms or will I need another contractor for that?

Thank you Lady Narcissa! Some more great advice to save.

[lady narcissa]

The Builder will put in the kitchen and bathrooms or will I need another contractor for that?

It depends on what you hire them to do and what you put in your contract with them. They will do as little or as much as you want them to do. You could have them completely buildout your kitchen or they could leave it an empty shell only putting the electrical and plumbing in the wall for you. In that case you'd have to hire someone else to finish the kitchen or do it yourself. It would be completely normal for you to have them do everything which would include the kitchen and bathroom buildout.

If you hire a general contractor (GC) to build your house for you, including all interior finishes and fixtures, you will enter into a contract with them and pay them to do the work. The general contractor will then do some of the work themselves and then subcontract out the remainder out to other companies. You will only pay and be in contract with the GC, however.

So with your kitchen for example, the GC will either have on their payroll or will hire out the electrical and plumbing work that will go in the walls. They will most likely have on their payroll a carpenter how will install the cabinets. But they will hire another company to get any granite or ceramic tile you might want.

[Angalin]

MLA, I like Sarah Susanka's books on the Not So Big House. She has really good ideas about how we use space in our homes.

If you don't want a rambler or a ranch-style house, what kind of style do you have in mind? Have fun planning this all out! Ix and lady N gave wonderful, practical guidance - if ever I build a house, I will have to remember it.

[Ixodes]

MLA -- I said builder when I should have said general contractor. In our case the general contractor handled everything (he did the framing and managed subcontractors for electric, flooring, siding, heating, etc). We discussed each subcontractor and ultimately it was up to us to give a thumbs up or thumbs down. If we wanted a specific subcontractor, it was our choice. We trusted his advice but we did contact each subcontractor to go over options prior to the project. So we had our cabinets, flooring, electrical fixtures, insulation, siding, paint colors, etc all selected during the planning stages. You have as much say as you want. For example, we picked the floors specifically but allowed the general contractor to select which trim he felt went best. It worked out for us and it simplified the finances. The only people involved were us, the general contractor, and the bank. The payment schemes and dates were laid out for one company and everything worked smooth. You could arrange/manage subcontractors yourself but it gets more complicated for you.

There is considerable variability in what a custom builder provides for a project. In our case, he recommended a few architects and we sat down as a group to work out the plans. You may still need to pick an architect, it just depends on the general contractor.

As lady narcissa said, realtors are another source of information about contractors in the area. An experienced realtor will have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, which helps you pick.

[myladyashalind2]

Adding more to the "saved" info page..

Angalin....thanks for the book recommendation.

I want a Victorian. Not one of these new "modern" ones, but something that would look original from the era. I KNOW what I want the outside to look like. That vision is there. But I am all over the place when it comes to interior layout. There are some Victorians for sale around here, but they all seem to be located on the "Main street" areas or right on the street. Doesn't work for me when we want the secluded, private location.

[daskool]

Adding more to the "saved" info page..

Angalin....thanks for the book recommendation.

I want a Victorian. Not one of these new "modern" ones, but something that would look original from the era. I KNOW what I want the outside to look like. That vision is there. But I am all over the place when it comes to interior layout. There are some Victorians for sale around here, but they all seem to be located on the "Main street" areas or right on the street. Doesn't work for me when we want the secluded, private location.

You want to build your own place or buy an existing property? I'm confused?

[ThinkerX]

I grew up building things: garages, houses, rebuilding mobile homes, sheds, that sort thing. In most of these projects, I was the 'helper,' the guy standing on a ladder holding a 4x8 sheet of siding while another person ran the nail gun, but at one point or another, I did it all: foundation work, cement, framing, electrical, plumbing, and sheet-rocking (aka 'dry walling). Me and paint don't get along; I'm one of these guys who can cause a catastrophe just by looking at can of paint, and my plastering skills are...hmmm...'basic' would be the polite term.

That said, I bought land, built a house on it from scratch, and paid it off in five years on a joke of an income (under 20 grand back in 2000.)

(Sadly, I'm not tough enough to do it again.)

[myladyashalind2]

You want to build your own place or buy an existing property? I'm confused?

The idea was to purchase a home. However, in our old age we've gotten a bit picky. Neither of us want to settle on just any ol' house. Been there. Done that. Now we want the home that we want. For the last five almost six years, I've been looking and haven't been able to find the style of home we'd like in the location that we want. And I don't necessarily mean a small specific area of the State. We have a large radius we looking around. By location, I mean somewhere back off the road,secluded, very private and park-like setting. So we've gotten to the point where we're considering purchasing the land and building. One option is to purchase property with an existing home that can be demolished. We've seen a number of places available where the value is in the land. Not the home.

I grew up building things: garages, houses, rebuilding mobile homes, sheds, that sort thing. In most of these projects, I was the 'helper,' the guy standing on a ladder holding a 4x8 sheet of siding while another person ran the nail gun, but at one point or another, I did it all: foundation work, cement, framing, electrical, plumbing, and sheet-rocking (aka 'dry walling). Me and paint don't get along; I'm one of these guys who can cause a catastrophe just by looking at can of paint, and my plastering skills are...hmmm...'basic' would be the polite term.

That said, I bought land, built a house on it from scratch, and paid it off in five years on a joke of an income (under 20 grand back in 2000.)

(Sadly, I'm not tough enough to do it again.)

Wow. Very nice. Good for you!

[Alarich]

We are at the moment renovating and building: We bought an old house from 1842 which we are renovating from the scratch and we are adding a very modern structure to gain more space. Now our building experiences are of course "German" in the sense that there are different cultural and legal aspects to building a house, so my take will be probably a bit different. However, I believe that there are some general do's and don'ts that may apply to your situation as well.

I'll leave out the financing stuff, because I assume that it is too different in the USA.

First and important advice if you are building on a budget: always remember that prices are negotiated, not set. At every stage, get several quotes, compare, negotiate and then contract.

First of all you start with a building spot

This seems like a non-brainer, but choosing carefully is of utmost importance here, because it is quite literally the base of your house. Several factors you will have to consider:

- Location/area. Obviously, the location will determine the price and a huge chunk of the future value of your property: good public infrastructure is important (schools, roads, trains), but even more important is the relative proximity of a healthy job market. Obiously a quiet cottage dozens of miles out in the countryside has it's charme, too, but you need to consider the practical aspects of everyday life (commuting, shopping etc.)

- Access and utilities: Ixodes hinted at that already. Developed utilities are a major plus and an easy access to the building site will lower the cost and speed up the construction time.

- topography of the spot: Obviously we would all love that spot on top of the hill with the perfect view. However a flat building spot is much easier to build on. As soon as you start construction on a slope or a hill, building costs will soar, because not only will you have much more difficuld house statics to calculate but you will have to plan very carefully where and how the Terrain connects to the house, i.e. the outdoor installations will be more expensive too.

- geology of the spot: It sounds like a no brainer, but the importance of the geology is often underestimated: What kind of soil will you build on and how high is the groundwater level will again determine how to build, what to build (basement yes/no) and how much it will cost. If you build on ground that's very likely to settle a lot, you'll probably need a deeper foundation and more steel in your bottom plate. In Germany, a geological survey of the building spot (2-6 drill-holes) are recommended.

When you've found a good spot, you'll move on to the planning stage

I will differ from Ixodes in thar I would never recommend to find a builder first, because let's face it: the gc want's to build, that's how he makes money. Eliminating all competition this early in the game is bound to cost you. Besides, many builders will have a preferred way to do things which may or may not fit your wishes and so they will try to steer you towards a solution, that's easy for them. The "free" planning they offer is of course included in their Prices, you just don't get to see it.

I'd always start with the architect. Finding one is a major PITA, after the mistakes we made, I would recommend the following procedure if you don't have a good recommendation by word of mouth: You contact several architects in your city, describe roughly what you want and where you want to build, you ask for a quote for the planning (only) and some references, you rate the replies and you ask the top 3 for a very rough drawing of their idea and you pick the one who fits best with what you want.

We didn't do that and overpaid the architect by several thousand Euros as we found out later. We considered it a tutelage fee...

From the first floor plans, to a final product, it may take several months to get it right. Take this time, it will save you a lot of hassle later on. Remember: building a house is a very complex project, and every mistake you make in that phase will cost you tenfold later on.

Ideally, the planning ends with a building permission (if you need that in the US) and a very detailed estimate of the costs and specifications for tenders. On this base you can appoach builders get their tenders and compare them. I would not recommend doing this on your own if you are not in the construction industry yourselves. What we did and what saved our asses after the architect was not so great, was to hire a construction engineer with 35 years of experience as construction manager. He basically wrote the specifications for tenders and then went out to get quotes, negotiate prices (like a motherfucking demon after the lost soul) and most importantly, he supervises the entire construction.

It is IMO crucial to have an independent supervisor, a pro whose only job it is to supervise the things that you, as an amateur cannot. As much as you trust the builder or the general contractor, in the end, he will look out for his bottom line which means downplaying or covering up mistakes as much as possible. Many mistakes are easily covered behind a shiny surface and will come back, long after you've moved into the house. Example: concrete reinforcement your bottom plate: do you know how much steel it really needs and wether or not the steel laid was laid out according to the structural analysis of the house? Probably not, and once the steel is covered in concrete, there's no way to find out. Unless your house suddenly gets fissures and fractures from settling more that anticipated. That's why our construction engineer negotiated for every contractor a 10% security deposit, to be paid 5 years after we've moved in, to cover for potential claims to damages, i.e. they get 90% now, 10% in 5 years time (or we get a banking guarantee over the amount ).

So that's probably the most important decision we made in the planning stage: to have an Independent pro who would supervise and negotiate for us. It saved us a lot of money and stress. This is a good investment, IMO.

Now in the building phase there will still be tons of decisions to be made, but what we found (and still find) extremely helpful is to have our construction manager around as a counsel. Because most builders try to steer you towards the expensive stuff. The argument always comes down to "It's your house, surely you want this to look nice and last?". Believe it or not, there are often options that do both and are not expensive and having an independent opinion on that is very valuable.

Finally, I'd like to mention a few areas where you should go with high quality and those where you can save:

- as a general rule, you should not try to save on the spots that are hard to access or replace (roof, bottom plate, walls and insulation, electrical installations, heating, plumbing) because replacing or repairing those if there are faults in the construction or the material itself, are a PITA and very expensive.

- Kitchens, floors, painting etc. are stuff you can either do yourselves or hire someone who will not cost you a fortune.

- And as a last Point: save a few bucks from your budget for a bit of landscaping, because nothing is more frustrating than moving into a nice, new house and having to look out at a garden that resembles an open pit mine.

ETA

This

And I would advise you to not have any of this work done without good contracts! No doubt your contractor (and architect) will provide a form contract for you...spend a little money and have an attorney review them for you and make sure you are covered. Lots of people have custom houses built and it works out great for them. But for every happy story, there are nightmare stories. And many a lawsuit has resulted from these nightmares.

is excellent advice.

[zelticgar]

Nice post Alarich. Interesting point about engaging the architect over the GC. I know nothing so i would have just assumed you land the GC and have them handle the Architect. Lots of pitfalls in building on your own but people do it all the time.

Lady - You mentioned wanting a secluded Victorian. I am not sure what part of the country you live in but I am in New England. We have a ton of Beautiful Victorians in Massachusetts and NH but typically they are along main roads and are set up as a center piece. Most are on decent plots of land (1 to 2 acres) but the frontage is not secluded. I have seen set-back Victorians around but it is pretty rare that you would find one that is outside of someone's view. In our area the more common secluded home sites are farm houses. A secluded victorian would be awesome around Halloween :)

[Alarich]

Nice post Alarich. Interesting point about engaging the architect over the GC. I know nothing so i would have just assumed you land the GC and have them handle the Architect.

Depends in what you see in an architect: a necessary evil or a planning pro who will manage your building project. And if it's the latter, you'll probably want him to be independent from the builder to avoid conflicts of interest.

[wolverine]

How complex of a house do you plan on building? I was my own general contractor on our house 5 years ago and used to work for a general contractor during my summers while in college. We rarely needed an architect for design purposes. I saved a LOT of money being my own general but if you don't know much about the process it would be pretty tough to do. We have about 3000 sq. ft. house with a 3 vaulted rooms, ground entry that splits later on, and an architect was completely unnecessary.

[myladyashalind2]

Thank you Alarich!

Zelticar--- That's the problem I'm running into. We're in Maryland. A farm house is not off the table. Colonial's, Tudor's and maybe a Cape Cod would work. My biggest issue has been finding something that gives us the secluded, hidden away setting. Which is what I have here where I am currently, only this is a rental. We're 1/2 mile off the road on a 12 acre plot. Surrounded by trees with a stream. Surrounding the trees are pastures and croplands. I WANT THAT!!! should say we both want that.

Wolverine,

There are so many Victorian home plans available out there , we may not need an architect. Unless I want changes made to the purchased plans. What I'm finding with those available though is that they are too modern. Authentic Victorian homes did not have attached garages! And while hubby was great at putting out fires (Retired Firefighter!!) and a perfectionist when it comes to interior and exterior painting..... general contracting is not his forte. :) . We certainly know enough people, family and friends, that could fill that void.

In the meantime, I am still searching.