Home building tips

[RadicalModerate]

Here's a tip based on remodeling experience (in the past, for others):
Design-in bathrooms that will allow for AT LEAST 30" wide doors (rather than the "traditional" 24" doors).
Although a personal residence is not subject to ADA standards, one can at least get a wheelchair through a 30" door without major modification of the entire bathroom to allow access. And very few people ever expect to wind up needing a wheelchair . . . including YOU.

(in my humble opinion this simple concept should have been built into minimal building codes a long, long time ago.)

Possible Objection:
"OMG, Trevor . . . We lost 6" out of two closets!!! Whatever shall we do???"
"There, there, Buffy . . . All is not lost . . ."

[loveOKC]

This is all great information, So who is going to put all this information together in a step by step format for novices like myself . I really want to build a house but would prefer having this kind of knowledge before I begin my quest.

[RadicalModerate]

Ever tune into This Old House or The Mike Holmes Exposé Hour (disclaimer: He's Canadian, eh? =)

Sorry . . . This is serious stuff.

Step 1: After you buy the lot upon which your dream house is going to sit, pay for a detail-oriented soil and drainage survey. (In order to know what type of foundation will spare you a lot of future grief/wasted money.) Or, better yet, pay for this before you buy the lot!

Step 2: (to follow after that there other stuff . . .)

Edited to Add (from a couple of now nearly antique presentations of the past):
In order to maximize the chances for success regarding your project, be sure to balance The Big Five:
Function, Form, Feasibiltiy, Financing and Faith.

("ad lib"/segue not directly in line with what is visually shown on the screen shot of the PowerPoint slide):

We all know that--for some "mysterious, cosmic" reason--Seven (7) is a better number of checklist items about which to be concerned. Yet, the 5th item, above, helps you deal with the other two: (6) (click) [Foul]-ups and (7) (click) Frustration.

P.S. Whatever "wisdom" about actually building a house I may have was gleaned from 35 years experience in the field. It isn't something you can get an App for . . . at least not yet! =)

[loveOKC]

Ever tune into This Old House or The Mike Holmes Exposé Hour (disclaimer: He's Canadian, eh? =)


P.S. Whatever "wisdom" about actually building a house I may have was gleaned from 35 years experience in the field. It isn't something you can get an App for . . . at least not yet! =)

Here is your million dollar idea.

[RadicalModerate]

Obviously, I'm not in this for the money . . . =)

Suggested Viewing:
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (Cary Grant, et.al)
The Money Pit (Tom Hanks? etc.)
Lots of PBS stuff (that was a shameless plug for CommieBroadcasting)

Suggested Reading:
The Honeywood File/The Honeywood Settlement by H.B. Creswell*
(c. 1926 British architect/lawyer/homebuilder "parodiary". A classic and hits all the bases.)

Oh! Forgot to mention that I am a TechnoLuddite . . . =)

*http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...honeywood-file

[SoonerDave]

Great stuff, Rad.

I certainly don't have 35 years of homebuilding experience, but I watched my mom and dad (both engineering types, my dad particularly so) build a home and my dad wrestle with the builder over a variety of specifics he wanted done a certain way, and with a few exceptions, did - like steel reinforcement over a covered patio, larger compressor than the builder wanted to install, larger elec circuit service box. Years later, saw some of the notes and calculations my dad had done - especially the heat loss calcs for AC computation - and realized there was so much that goes into home building no one person could possibly remember or comprehend it all. I took what I could from my folks' experience into the two homes I built, and fortunately developed a pretty good working relationship with my builder such that we only had a few dustups over issues.

The most important thing to keep in mind for any prospective home builder or buyer is to remember that spec homes used for showpieces are essentially useless in telling you what went into the home in terms of materials and skill. Some unscrupulous home companies will deck out a spec home to the nines because that's what impresses younger and/or less-construction-educated consumers, and leave them holding the bag and the mortgage for a dump of problems.

A friend of mine just went through the UBuildIt process and I loved the (frequent) invites to his job site to watch construction unfold. I was able to actually offer him some useful insights along the way, which felt really good. And I was very impressed with virtually every sub he used - the framing was some of the best, most precise work I've seen in most any home, to go along with some of the best quality lumber I've seen in home framing, too. That's almost certainly how I'd go about it were I to build another home in the near future (which, hopefully, isn't likely).

Get good, reputable subs; ensure your HVAC does a Manual-J load calc on the home to get a right-sized AC compressor; never skimp on garage electrical outlets, and get a commercial-grade service box if you can. I'm not yet a fan of the flexpipe used in the water lines, but I fear copper lines are either becoming cost-prohibitive or falling into disfavor for other reasons. Be sure the builder uses excavated (dug) footings for the stemwall. I like post-tensioned slabs in some circumstances, and they're becoming increasingly popular (in fact they may be standard or even code in some parts of Texas, but I'm not sure about that).

Like Rad said, there are so many variables, you'll never conquer them all. But if you can hit the biggies, you'll be that much better off when building is completed...

As an aside, I'm really concerned we're about to see (or are already seeing) the fly-by-night operators crawling in on the backs of cockroaches to start throwing up tinfoil homes for a pretty penny in response to all the tornado devastation. A retired builder acquaintance of mine told me he was getting calls that generated enough work for him to come out of retirement for a year or two and build some houses for folks, and he's the kind of builder (one of the few) I'd probably trust to build my home sight unseen. Almost .

[RadicalModerate]

The "quality-mindedness" of each member of each subcontractor's crew is what makes the difference in how the natural resources comprising a house result in either a possession worth paying for or a pile of wasted trees/etc. (that you will still be paying for, one way or another).

They--those tradesmen/tradeswomen--are the real "homebuilders".
Not the barber, banker, or elevated flipper who knows a little bit about shuffling imaginary money.
(no quote/brag. simply something that i just made up. yet true.)

Personal Aside: i got so personally picky one time, while i was on the lower end of the learning curve and high up on a scaffold--one about which OSHA would most certainly have voiced some qualms--in regard to fitting some (friggin') gable studs that the Master Carpenter i was working for had to say, "It's close enough, dammit. We ain't building a damn piano here."
(except he pronounced it "pie-ann-ee".)

P.S. to SoonerDave: Ever hear the old joke about "The Engineer and The Malfunctioning Guillotine"? =)

P.P.S. to loveOKC: Suggested Reading 2: "House" by Tracy Kidder (google it) (it confirmed everything good about learning to be a REAL Carpenter that i had already glimpsed on the journey to that goal. Now I prefer cooking. =)

[BlackmoreRulz]

Stay away from the corporate builders, their prices may be cheaper but so are most of their subs....

[SoonerDave]

Stay away from the corporate builders, their prices may be cheaper but so are most of their subs....

Unfortunately, this is good advice more often than not.

Even if the corporate builders aren't shifty, you have a tough time dealing with the same person any two times in a row; they deal with lowest-common-denominator/lowest-bid subs and often materials. You're just better off dealing with a builder directly if at all possible.

[ctchandler]

RM,
I have 24" bathroom doors and most of the new wheel chairs are designed to remove the large wheels (which are not needed in the home) and do go through a 24" door. I have experience in this area. Of course, if you have the opportunity to build a home with larger doors, it's still much more convenient.
C. T.

Design-in bathrooms that will allow for AT LEAST 30" wide doors (rather than the "traditional" 24" doors).
Although a personal residence is not subject to ADA standards, one can at least get a wheelchair through a 30" door without major modification of the entire bathroom to allow access. And very few people ever expect to wind up needing a wheelchair . . . including YOU."

[bluedogok]

Here's a tip based on remodeling experience (in the past, for others):
Design-in bathrooms that will allow for AT LEAST 30" wide doors (rather than the "traditional" 24" doors).
Although a personal residence is not subject to ADA standards, one can at least get a wheelchair through a 30" door without major modification of the entire bathroom to allow access. And very few people ever expect to wind up needing a wheelchair . . . including YOU.

(in my humble opinion this simple concept should have been built into minimal building codes a long, long time ago.)

Possible Objection:
"OMG, Trevor . . . We lost 6" out of two closets!!! Whatever shall we do???"
"There, there, Buffy . . . All is not lost . . ."

My wife is a Universal Design advocate, her job in Austin was for a non-profit and she ran the universal design/accessible home modification program for them, so I have heard a lot of the issues. I'm mainly commercial architecture so I deal with the ADA (or TAS when doing projects in Texas) constantly. Her attitude is that if you are building new there is absolutely no reason to build your home for accessibility, especially as the population ages and people live longer. One of the things they worked with a lot was modifications to keep people in their homes as they aged. She designed her parents house in Monahans (which sold last month) while her mother was fighting cancer and having the accessibility built in helped after her father had his first stroke 9 years ago. He was able to live in the house until early this year after bladder cancer surgery, he never got well enough after that to return home before passing in June. When we do build a new house it will be designed using universal design principles....of course I will HAVE TO design it that way

She did deal with some of the national builders on new homes, especially in the DFW and Houston areas.Their whole scheme is a base model house and then pile on the extras, that is how they operate. Any changes from the norm they charge you for, in her work of dealing with contractors all the time the nationals are good about charging you but not giving you any credits. They would say they couldn't give a credit on slab items when the lot hadn't even been scraped yet, change a door opening size required another up charge when there weren't even studs on-site yet. Just be wary of builders charging for things like this.

RM,
I have 24" bathroom doors and most of the new wheel chairs are designed to remove the large wheels (which are not needed in the home) and do go through a 24" door. I have experience in this area. Of course, if you have the opportunity to build a home with larger doors, it's still much more convenient.
C. T.

I hate 24" doors and have no accessibility issues, I see no reason to have them anywhere. Maybe a linen closet or something would the only use for them.

[ctchandler]

Bluedogok,
But, what do you do if it's what you have? I don't particularly like 24" doors, but I have to live with what I have or buy another house. I haven't looked at new houses in quite a while, maybe they don't build 24" doors anymore.
C. T.

I hate 24" doors and have no accessibility issues, I see no reason to have them anywhere. Maybe a linen closet or something would the only use for them.

[SoonerDave]

A given builder, when given an arbitrary floor plan, does what's called a "take-off" of that plan to estimate his construction cost - materials, labor, land, etc. He then adds his profit margin, and that becomes his quote/bid to the customer. Estimates vary widely based on covenants that mandate certain foundation types, building/exterior materials or building styles, so the same "take-off" of a given plan may price differently for different areas. Corporate building companies take that one step further - they buy up a bunch of lots in an area, draw up or use (as an example) three to five "fixed" floor plans for that area, and establish a known fixed price for each plan that they can more or less take to the bank, buy materials in bulk (for building, say, five houses at once rather than one or two at a time). As a result, such builders are often loathe to depart much if at all from those plans, because it screws up their pricing/business model and consequent pricing margin. And they'll charge you out the wazoo to deviate, all coupled with the fact that they will often have very high churn rate on their subs, because they're often lowest-bid contractors.

That's why IMHO its infinitely preferable to avoid the areas where a "corporate" building entity has landed, and deal directly with a builder who can either build on your own lot, or can buy a lot to build your home. You can then negotiate the details on the floor plan and the construction materials and amenities you want more to your preferences rather than those of the corporate builder.

[SoonerDave]

Bluedogok,
But, what do you do if it's what you have? I don't particularly like 24" doors, but I have to live with what I have or buy another house. I haven't looked at new houses in quite a while, maybe they don't build 24" doors anymore.
C. T.

I can't think of too much new construction (and when I say "new," I'm thinking in the last couple of decades, so caveat emptor ) that would purposely design-in a 24" door as a major thoroughfare unless it was an afterthought, eg closet cubbyhole, garage storage enclosure, etc. Heck, the plans I drew had 30" interior doors everywhere and 36" doors on the outside (which I thought was code, but won't swear to that).

If you've got 24" doors, your only options are to assess the potential to refit the opening for a wider door and see if something like a 30" door would fit. Then you've got the hassles of some demo work and refinishing, but I'm guessing most places with a 24" door already likely won't have the space to accommodate a wider opening...

[cattleman]

Be your own owner-builder. Its a lot of work and takes longer to complete the build but that's what I did and got exactly what I wanted at a much cheaper price.

[ctchandler]

SoonerDave,
I don't have any doors that I would consider "major thoroughfare", but my front door is 3'0". I think the bedroom doors are 2'6" and both bathroom doors are 2'0". I don't see a way to expand the bathroom doors, but if I ever need a wheelchair, I have one that I described above, the large wheels come off and it easily goes through a 24" opening.
C. T.

I can't think of too much new construction (and when I say "new," I'm thinking in the last couple of decades, so caveat emptor ) that would purposely design-in a 24" door as a major thoroughfare unless it was an afterthought, eg closet cubbyhole, garage storage enclosure, etc. Heck, the plans I drew had 30" interior doors everywhere and 36" doors on the outside (which I thought was code, but won't swear to that).

If you've got 24" doors, your only options are to assess the potential to refit the opening for a wider door and see if something like a 30" door would fit. Then you've got the hassles of some demo work and refinishing, but I'm guessing most places with a 24" door already likely won't have the space to accommodate a wider opening...

[RadicalModerate]

Be your own owner-builder. Its a lot of work and takes longer to complete the build but that's what I did and got exactly what I wanted at a much cheaper price.

Yes. There is a grain of truth in this.
However, unless one has years and years of experience in the trades one will be learning from one's own mistakes rather than those of others.
Plus it's more difficult to get qualified subs scheduled-in when you need them. (If one tries to do one's own plumbing, electrical and HVAC one is either a very skilled, multi-talented, licensed, tradesperson or a fool).

P.S.: They still build 24" doors. A lot of them are still used on bathrooms rather than only on closets or some sort. As noted, above, this should have been a Building Code Violation since the mid-80's but unto this very day it is not.

If you've got 24" doors, your only options are to assess the potential to refit the opening for a wider door and see if something like a 30" door would fit. Then you've got the hassles of some demo work and refinishing, but I'm guessing most places with a 24" door already likely won't have the space to accommodate a wider opening...

When you are talking about a "standard" bathroom with a 24" door you are talking about a complete demo of the exisiting bathroom--including that pesky, expensive plumbing under the slab--to gain the 6+" required to install a (minimum) 30" door in its place. And, in addition to that, there may be some load bearing walls to consider. Just sayin' . . .

Much easier to move a string line or a chalk line over a few inches before anything goes under or on top of the slab.

And then there is re-tiling and re-painting to consider . . .

[Easy180]

Doesn't fit on here perfectly but wanted to get thoughts on what to do. Next door neighbor's house is finally done and sod just went in over there. Last few days he has flooded a portion of my back yard cause of his heavy water sprinkling. I understand he is just doing what I did 3 months ago to get the sod to take but should I complain or wait a couple weeks when he should dial it down?

[ctchandler]

Easy180,
If it's not causing you real problems, I would suggest waiting a few weeks. It's not worth a bad relationship for a minor nuisance.
C. T.

Doesn't fit on here perfectly but wanted to get thoughts on what to do. Next door neighbor's house is finally done and sod just went in over there. Last few days he has flooded a portion of my back yard cause of his heavy water sprinkling. I understand he is just doing what I did 3 months ago to get the sod to take but should I complain or wait a couple weeks when he should dial it down?

[ylouder]

wait, we've all been there.

[Easy180]

I hear ya both and was leaning that direction so will wait. If he is still doing it in May I will saunter over and ask if he needs help adjusting his zone times lol

[RadicalModerate]

Sue The Developer and The Builder.
Hire a Good Lawyer. Don't try to DIY.
If possible, involve the EPA and The Army Corps of Engineers.

(and consider striding over rather than sauntering over. then, think again and simply approach, in a friendly, non-confrontational manner with your goal firmly in mind. =)

hey . . . ya' asked fer sum thoughts . . .
and you had me at the [wasting water] part. =)

(edited to add: "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors. Stolen Water Is Difficult to Sell Illegally.")

[stick47]

If the neighbor is actually in the process of moving in and all the work that goes with that I'd let it slide for sure. If that isn't the case I'd think a good neighbor would have explained what he was trying to do and apologized in advance for all the water. I believe with these situations that once your personal rights are ignored you need to then take a proactive approach in regards to your relationship with said "neighbor" (who doesn't act like a neighbor).

[Easy180]

The fun continues. He watered yesterday for some damn reason in advance of last nights tsunami...I now have a large lake on my north side

Anyone have any ideas on what can be done landscaping wise, pump etc to alleviate the situation? I cannot have a huge muddy mess over there for years to come.

[Garin]

The fun continues. He watered yesterday for some damn reason in advance of last nights tsunami...I now have a large lake on my north side

Anyone have any ideas on what can be done landscaping wise, pump etc to alleviate the situation? I cannot have a huge muddy mess over there for years to come.

You're obviously lower than he is if you have a stockade fence you can dig a trench along the fence about 10" deep get some heavy plastic bury one end of it staple the other end to the fence to create the lake on his side. However if he notices whats going on he can turn you in for stopping the natural flow and drainage. We have had a lot of neighbors that have done this in our neighborhood or you could ask him to go in half for a french drain or another solution. I would go talk to him and express the concern cause he truly may have no clue he's doing it. You have a problem regardless with your drainage so sooner or later you're going to have to spend money to fix it.