OT-Experiences in building houses

[barbarhow]

DH and I put our house up for sale this week and it sold immediately. Lucky us except we have yet to see anything on the market that we would want to live in. We are going to look at land on Monday and are pretty certain we want to build. Am looking for input on things that you would do differently or what worked, etc. What do you love about your new house, what would you change, etc. We are planning on about 2000 sf Colonial or traditional looking 3br/ 21/2ba. 2 car garage with space over it.
Thanks!
Barbara-mom to Jack 3/27/03
Tell me how much I'm looking forward to packing with a 14 month old in tow?????

****I especially want to know thoughts on breezeways-we live in Maine and the thought of DH, a sibling (one day) and all their friends traipsing in the front door in snowboots......ugh-I want a mudroom.

[Rachels]

My DH is an architect, so this one is pretty familiar to me. I think that what has mattered most to his clients is to really sit down and let a design evolve according to the way they live their daily lives. Often what people have in mind at the outset is a good framework, but as things shape up, it helps to make little changes and adjustments. So finding a flexible architect is important, I think.

That said, if I had my choice, I'd right away sign on for a big kitchen with an eat-in area for kids, and I'd be sure the rooms were open and spacious and not too long. Long rooms are tough with a baby, I'm learning, because by the time you put furniture in them, there's a head-bumping spot everywhere you turn.

How exciting! Have fun!

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[mama2be]

Barbara,
Congrats...we built our dream home 2 and half years ago and there are many things I would have done differntly. Nothing major but just little things that I bump into everyday that I just wish I bit off the bullet and did. some would have cost more and some would have cost less. Our builder charged 1/2 up front for any upgrades and our house is filled with upgrades everywhere...so with those strict rules on his part we couldn't do one thing I really wish we did-Brick the whole house. We bricked the front, and oddly enough there was a brick shortage in 2000 so to brick the whole thing and pay 1/2 of that up front was out of this world. We so wish we did it now and wish we negotatiated with the builder to mortgage that part. No painting, etc...

* BRick house (that's just me difffernt folks have differnt taste)
* Wish that the tile in my guest bathroom was not white-shows hair
* Our home is hardwoods and Berber...wish I had hardwooded thru out and tiled the kitchen in some pretty tile
* Wish I had tiled the laundry room it is hardwood

****** We have a step in shower tiled...I wish so much that I had put the device to trun on the water near the door when you walk in, where it is locatd you get splashed...with cold water!!!! this would have cost nothing I am certain.

* We have two stories of Gothic Windows in the back which I love...I took full advantage of "fun" pretty windows in the back...many people did not and said they didn't think about it...windows are not a budget breaker...The front of our home is very colonial...the back is far from but I wanted to look out over the golf course with huge windows!!!!

* I would have watched my roof line more...the way our roof is we can not really make the attic into a fun room one day, I wish I had done a pitch that was differnt so that we could have used it one day if we wanted...now we need to add tot he side vs "going up"

* My friends have their stove in an island where we all sit around while the hubby cooks...I wish we had done that...our stove faces a wall and thus as you cook you are not in the socializing...

*If you brick I woud recommend "qoining" (pronounced like "coin") the brick on the sides it is a pattern that is used on the sides of the house...you can see it under Tristan's web page in my signiture (I forgot where but Steve put our house on there)...

* Pick the colors you want inside and have those done by the builder to do it after is a handful and costly (we did have them done once built and everyone says they wish they had)

* Wish I had a screened inporch, there is no place toput one without changing the look in the back BUT I would utilize it so much!!!!

HTH!!!!

Hope that helps :)...Great rates right now to do such a thing

[memedee]

Built ins{eliminates the need for a lot of extra furniture} and looks great
built in china cupboard and built in drawers for kids rooms are two good places
also high ceilings feels airy and light
if you are in a cold climate a gas fireplace is very nice
and I also think a big kitchen is a must either with a center island or room for a big table
playroom over garage

[alleyoop]

Building a house! Oh, I am envious! I love projects!

We didn't build our current house, but one thing I love about it (that I don't think I would have thought of) is that the garage is somewhat separated from the bedrooms. This is great because you can open and close the garage door without waking a sleeping baby. Same goes with the laundry room.

One thing I don't like about this house is that I cannot see the living room from the kitchen. Always kind of bothers me when I would like to multi-task by watching DS play or see the TV and do dishes or prep dinner at the same time.

I have in the past built a house (in a subdivision, from a model) and I made one big mistake. I really skimped on the upgrades (tile the kitchen, better countertops, etc.) to save money, thinking I could always "do them latter." It is so hard, and so much more expensive to do those things when you are moved in. In retrospect, they would only have added dollars to the mortgage with the current interest rate. I guess it is always the balance of square feet vs. upgrades.

Now that I know how much little ones spit up, I wouldn’t put a stitch of carpet in the entire house. Hard surfaces that clean completely and washable rugs are going to be my mantra in our next abode.

I love the book "The Essential House" for it's creativity and ideas. I always thumb through it when I need to think 'outside the box' on how to deal with home spaces.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books
Unfortunately, I would say that it doesn't offer much help when you are dealing with the usual track house with square rooms and one light fixture in the middle of the ceiling. It is my dream to write the companion book, "The Essential Track Home" with ideas for how to spice up rooms that didn't come with built-in character.

Happy Building!!

[ddmarsh]

We built a house about 2 years ago and fortunately for us DH is a general contractor (he does commercial only but did our house) and so we did not have to deal with anyone else's limits, restrictions, etc. Even so there are some things I wish we had done differently.

Things I really like:

1. remote controlled gas fireplace, we get so much more use out of it than if you have to light it or even turn on regular gas It is also completely enclosed so there is no danger with kids.

2. hardwood floors in kitchen area - I love the way it looks and it is a dream to clean plus when dirty does not show much at all

3. all white kitchen - some people cautioned us against it b/c of children but I have not found it to be a problem at all

4. chose a design without a living room, just not practical with kids and not something we would have gotten much use out of

5. finished basement right away, it has been a lifesaver with our kids


Some I would do differently:

1. house and lot size - probably more than we needed (house is about 3800 sq ft and lot is 3 acres) - I really would prefer less to take care of but just didn't have a good conception of size

2. put on screened in porch right away - we are just doing this now

3. chosen a design without a dining room but a super large kitchen with eat-in area large enough for big table and a small sitting area


Have fun and relax, it can be stressful but just remember it's for a great out come :).

Debbie
Mommy to 3 DD's, 1 DD

[smilequeen]

We are planning to build our next one (I had to really talk dh into it). The style of houses where we live just doesn't satisfy me. The house we live in right now was brand new when we bought it and there are several things I would change if I thought it would be more than our "starter" house.

For one, where we live, basements are rare. You must be on a sloped lot to have a walk-out b/c there is simply too much rock in the ground. So our house is biggish (2400 square feet) but without a basement I really don't see it as appropriate for raising a family. There is simply not enough storage or play space. Perfect for 2 people, but add a child and we're going to have to make a lot of changes. So one child tops in this house for us. I would never again buy a house without a basement.

The kitchen. The builder chose ugly counters and it is very spacious without a lot of counter space...it's big enough for an island, but doesn't have one, it has a lot of open space. I'd make it my dream kitchen...hardwood floors instead of tile, different cabinets, granite counters and professional appliances.

Painting...we have a very open floor plan. With the exception of the bedrooms/bathrooms/laundry everythign is open. The corners are rounded, the ceilings are all vaulted. And he painted the whole house an ivory color. BORING. If he would have chosen a light taupe it would have been neutral but warmer looking. Now if we want to paint, we have to paint everything the same color at the same time, and it's too much of a pain since we intend to move, hence our whole house is boring white. We will be painting bedrooms/baths but that's it. So, pick your paint colors before you move in, whatever you do, do not paint everything white/ivory.

We also changed the landscaping...builders do not know how to landscape...we had to hire a landscaper to re-do everything the builder did incorrectly.

What I do like and would not change...the hardwood floors in parts of the house, the all brick and stone exterior, the big windows, the vaulted and raised ceilings and a lot of the detail work...arched doorways, columns, etc.

[lvp49]

We did the same thing three years ago. I agree with all of the posted advice. The best advice I got, and still believe to be true is - put the money into the things that you can not change later on, or would be too costly to change. Like we wish we had gotten the basement throughout the whole house. There is only a small section without it, but we regret not spending the $ 1000 now. (why it was even extra was a whole sleazy builders story) Or upgrade the windows instead of getting marble countertops. ( the counters are easily changed later) Our kitchen designer (try to meet with a certified kitchen designer Priceless!!) convinced us to upgrade the cabinets rather than the countertop. It was an excellent choice.

thats another thing: Be sure to establish good communication with the builder up front, and do not allow him to force you into making all decisions at one time. ie: you do not need to decide on the front door before they even dig the foundation!! Our builder made us decide on everything in one brief sitting, and then pretty much did not want to hear from us again.

Good Luck

[mama2be]

That's what we did thank god...we knew we could always go and change the counter tops later...we couldn't decide so they don't look grand now but I'm always on the hunt for the granite I want :)...

[flagger]

If you do lots of entertaining, get rid of the attached dining room or living room and enlarge the kitchen. Every party I have ever attended the majority of folks always end up in the kitchen.

Spend the money on upgrades you want as you can always roll it into your mortgage.

We have three rules when building a house.

1. Will it save me money over the long run? (Most energy efficient insulation, HVAC system, etc.)

2. Will it enhance its curb appeal when I want to sell?

3. Is it just because I want it. (We wired the all the rooms with the ability for the stereo/TV sound, plus volume controls)

Our next house will have phone/cable jacks everywhere it will also have CAT 5 cable laid out in case we do not want to go wireless with our computers.