NBR: Advice on building a home?

zazu13 · February 2015

We are looking into building our forever home. It will be nearby our current home which we are excited about since we really like our neighborhood, but want to upgrade our home. Has anyone built before? Any do's or don't's? Tips? Advice? We are excited, but want to do it right.

Care6582 · February 2015

We built. It was horrific. Our contracting company took 3 times as long as we were promised, there were many delays with the town during the permitting process, and there were a million decisions to make.

That being said, I'm so happy with our home, it's exactly what we wanted. I think my advice would be to take their time frame and accept that it could be significantly longer. It was a big deal to me only because a month after signing our paperwork to break ground we found out I was pregnant. They guaranteed we'd be in by Christmas... Jake was 2 months old before we moved in on June 14. It was rough, but we survived!

Unknown · February 2015

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zazu13 · February 2015

tlp2558 said:

My best friend built. She was incredibly overwhelmed at having so. many. decisions. They had to pick every single item - outlet covers, cabinet and drawer pulls, faucets, banister railings, etc etc etc. Of course, there are different ways to build so that's a factor. And I realize being overwhelmed at this is also entirely dependent on one's personality. So definitely know what you're getting yourself into. I hope its a fun and exciting experience!!!

I'm also kind of a control freak and a perfectionist so this actually gets me excited. I love planning and details. I get excited just thinking about it, so I hope I don't hate myself in 4-6 months for this

zazu13 · February 2015

I think we'd get along IRL @tlp2558‌

Smores730 · February 2015

we built our home before this one and had a good experience.
Tips 1: If it's possible, visit a pre-existing home with the floor plan you are to build to see things you might not have noticed while looking at the plans and to ask that homeowner their likes and dislikes about the floor plan. Small modifications can make a huge difference. We changed up the cabinetry, added a closet, moved a doorway over a few inches, added a light, moved a light over, etc., etc.
tip 2: is be present during the build. Since you're nearby, go there often and check on the progress constantly. Our current house (that we didn't build) has sloppy work all over it. Tiles that aren't straight, extra calk in places because they were completely off with their cuts, plugs at varying heights along the same wall. STUPID mistakes that should have been fixed on the spot.
Tip 3: Get outlets put on the exterior for christmas lights. We miss those a lot!
Tip 4: ask the builder for their input. If they've built that model before they might have suggestions as to what other people did.

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NBR: Advice on building a home?

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