|
|
 Banjo and Baby
Posts: 7259
   
Location: South of Canada and North of Mexico | So a while back I posted about modular houses and we have figured out we are going to go site built just because we will save money by not putting a modular on a crawlspace or full basement. We are looking at putting a house on a slab. Now here comes the tricky part, I found a craftsman home I LOVE except the builder said the bonus over hte garage would be about 20K and the fancy roof lines in the front would be another 5-8K, I do not want to get a house I do not love but at the same time I do not want a 300K loan. We have to tie in what we owe left on our land so that factors in to our total cost after all is said and done. Would you spend the money on the outside for appeal or skimp and go nicer inside? What are things you did, you wish you didnt or glad you did?
My husband and I want "country/rustic" so we are wanting pine trim and doors but hickory cabinets would go with them but my mom thought to save costs go with oak cabinets and have them painted? I only want carpet in the bedrooms but a wood, laminate or tile in the rest. Tips? Ideas? Pictures??? Pretty please. We need to figure something out plan wise to get a price idea to take to the bank to get this thing rollin. Thank you!!
Heres the plan we love, Im not a fan of the master bath, and if we do not go with the bonus above the garage we'd free up the stairwell going up there. Thoughts? Or other 4 bedroom plans that you like?
http://www.houseplans.com/plan/2199-square-feet-4-bedrooms-2-5-bathroom-country-house-plans-0-garage-33183 |
|
| |
|
 Tried and True
Posts: 21185
Location: Where I am happiest | I love that floor plan!! You have alot of storage and closets and the front entry hall.I love that! I hate a front door that comes directly into the living room. Pretty much the only thing I would change is the master bath. We have a jetted tub in the bath and I hate it. We never use it and the jets are a pain to keep clean. Me personally, I would take that tub out of the master, as you have a tub in the other bath and I would go for a killer big shower with multiple water sources. I hate being cramped in the shower! Other then that, I love this house!!  |
|
| |
|
Banjo and Baby
Posts: 7259
Location: South of Canada and North of Mexico | ThreeCorners - 2015-05-29 11:57 AM I love that floor plan!! You have alot of storage and closets and the front entry hall.I love that! I hate a front door that comes directly into the living room. Pretty much the only thing I would change is the master bath. We have a jetted tub in the bath and I hate it. We never use it and the jets are a pain to keep clean. Me personally, I would take that tub out of the master, as you have a tub in the other bath and I would go for a killer big shower with multiple water sources. I hate being cramped in the shower! Other then that, I love this house!!
Thanks, oddly enough the jetted tub is the only thing I liked in the master bath. Right now I had a garden tub and I hate using it, Im a shower person but thought a jetter tub would be cool? Interesting about the jets being dirty. Thanks never would have thought of that. |
|
| |
|
 Worst.Housekeeper.EVER.
Location: Missouri | We are in the process of builing now.
I guess my advice would be to LOVE what you choose, because when we interviewed builders, some tried to talk us out of everything based on "resale." The jetted tub for instance... I did not want one, the first builder insisted! The banker also tried to sway us on some things. The laundry room, my screened porch, etc. He had an opinion about everything, all assuming he was going to have to sell it... We had to put our foot down and even switched banks and found a builder that understood what we wanted.
My husband sketched our house and then we paid to have it drawn. We did not want the split bedroom plans or a master suite, which seem to be so common.
Our builder seems to understand our priorities as well as our aesthetic preferences. He is building all of the built-ins, closets, etc. but we are having someone else do the kitchen (not b/c he isn't able, just b/c we love the others.)
Another BIG caution, be there every step of the way!!! If it weren't for my husband checking on everything, there would have already been significant mistakes! The builder sub-contracts most of the preliminary stuff, and who knows who you'll get! Dirt work, basement, concrete, framing...... it's a circus some days!
Edited by just4fun 2015-05-29 12:14 PM
|
|
| |
|
 Namesless in BHW
Posts: 10368
Location: At the race track with Ah Dee Ohs | I love that floor plan! |
|
| |
|
Banjo and Baby
Posts: 7259
Location: South of Canada and North of Mexico | just4fun - 2015-05-29 12:12 PM We are in the process of builing now.
I guess my advice would be to LOVE what you choose, because when we interviewed builders, some tried to talk us out of everything based on "resale." The jetted tub for instance... I did not want one, the first builder insisted! The banker also tried to sway us on some things. The laundry room, my screened porch, etc. He had an opinion about everything, all assuming he was going to have to sell it... We had to put our foot down and even switched banks and found a builder that understood what we wanted.
My husband sketched our house and then we paid to have it drawn. We did not want the split bedroom plans or a master suite, which seem to be so common.
Our builder seems to understand our priorities as well as our aesthetic preferences. He is building all of the built-ins, closets, etc. but we are having someone else do the kitchen (not b/c he isn't able, just b/c we love the others.)
Another BIG caution, be there every step of the way!!! If it weren't for my husband checking on everything, there would have already been significant mistakes! The builder sub-contracts most of the preliminary stuff, and who knows who you'll get! Dirt work, basement, concrete, framing...... it's a circus some days!
This scares me!! This is a big reason we wanted a modular, or I should say I. My husband is gone almost all year so it would be me and I was planning on being with him this summer, so I might just have to stay here most of the time. The banker swayed us to site built and the builder I got a great vibe from plus walked through some townhomes he was doing/did, but he called back saying he would not be able to give 100% to us and his family so he recommened a friend who doesnt have as much experience but has done a lot of remodels and new construction as well, we'll see what kind of vibe I get from him. (he does own his own construction business). |
|
| |
|
 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| We are building our third house, it should finally be finished in July. Go to the website Houzz.com for ideas. I did the floorplan for our house and we hired an architect to draw it up. My husband builds mutifamily housing and builds our houses using a lot of his subs. The Houzz website made it so much easier this time round. I found pictures I liked, showed it to our subs and said do this. If there is some flexibility to change some things, here is a picture of my master bath, this would work with your layout too. I made some small changes, we did not do the beams or trusses, not where we wanted to spend our money. There seems to be never ending decisions to be made picking out finishes, etc but you will get through it. Great advice to check in every day. My kitchen cabinets are being custom made, the price was just about the same as stock cabinets so you may look into that. I did a TON of closets, my master closet has more sq footage than the bedrom :0- I have always wanted a closet where things did not have to be crammed in there. I have a large laundry room and a mud room.Good Luck!
Edited by rodeomom3 2015-05-29 1:27 PM
 (rsz_photo-162.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
 rsz_photo-162.jpg (22KB - 164 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1100
Location: Southeastern Idaho | Cute floorplan! I would suggest a mud room with a drain in the floor and utility sink. We use the GUTS out of ours. We built ours into the garage with a door that then leads into the house. |
|
| |
|
| The chopped up floorplan all in different pieces is going to give you walk around problems in the future ... find you a floorplan that has a continuous slab that meets this mother-in-law floorplan layout ..
NEVER HIRE A BEGINNER BUILDER TO BUILD YOUR HOME....
EVEN WITH AN EXPERIENCE BUILDER YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH HIS CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULES, COST OVERRUNS AND DELAYS ... CHOOSE A FLOOR PLAN HE HAS BUILT BEFORE THAT HIS CREWS ARE ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH ... and you have done several walk thru's taking notes ... but remember every change you make is going to cost you more than it is worth ...
In this floorplan .. too many porches ... they cost a bunch ... take the rear porch ... move the wall at the fireplace to be the exterior wall of the porch .. you have a patio so build one of the metal covers over it as your back porch ..patio ... staircase leading up to attic ... wastes first floor space and more added costs .. use a trap door ladder to the attic .. and do you really need 4 bedrooms??
|
|
| |
|
 The Vaccinator
Posts: 3810
Location: Slipping down the slope of old age. Boo hoo. | ThreeCorners - 2015-05-29 11:57 AM
I love that floor plan!! You have alot of storage and closets and the front entry hall.I love that! I hate a front door that comes directly into the living room. Pretty much the only thing I would change is the master bath. We have a jetted tub in the bath and I hate it. We never use it and the jets are a pain to keep clean. Me personally, I would take that tub out of the master, as you have a tub in the other bath and I would go for a killer big shower with multiple water sources. I hate being cramped in the shower! Other then that, I love this house!!
We have been in our newly built home just over a year. We also removed the tub from our master bath and instead had a big wonderful walk-in shower built with beautiful custom tile. It has lots of shower heads and an overhead rain shower. We love it. I did not want to clean/care for a big old tub either -- there is a tub in our second bath so if someone is dying for a tub bath - they can have one.... Me - I just love my big old spa shower (also we installed an on-demand gas hot water heater -- so we never run out of hot water -- gas company offered a $500 rebate -- love the on-demand -- so worth the extra money) |
|
| |
|
Banjo and Baby
Posts: 7259
Location: South of Canada and North of Mexico | BARRELHORSE USA - 2015-05-30 4:05 AM The chopped up floorplan all in different pieces is going to give you walk around problems in the future ... find you a floorplan that has a continuous slab that meets this mother-in-law floorplan layout .. NEVER HIRE A BEGINNER BUILDER TO BUILD YOUR HOME.... EVEN WITH AN EXPERIENCE BUILDER YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH HIS CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULES, COST OVERRUNS AND DELAYS ... CHOOSE A FLOOR PLAN HE HAS BUILT BEFORE THAT HIS CREWS ARE ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH ... and you have done several walk thru's taking notes ... but remember every change you make is going to cost you more than it is worth ... In this floorplan .. too many porches ... they cost a bunch ... take the rear porch ... move the wall at the fireplace to be the exterior wall of the porch .. you have a patio so build one of the metal covers over it as your back porch ..patio ... staircase leading up to attic ... wastes first floor space and more added costs .. use a trap door ladder to the attic .. and do you really need 4 bedrooms??
I was thinking about taking out the back porch and extending the living room out makeing a larger room, I will for sure ask about doing that. I personally like the hall way for the 3 bedrooms (yes I need 4) I cant stand seeing houses that have doors for rooms right off the living areas. We MAY still do the bonus room depending on what the cost may be, with kids it would be nice to have a place to send them to if they have friends over or if I want to get away from them :) The main builder I talked to is very experienced and this is his friend, he has done plenty of construction but just not the amount the main builder I first talked to (he could not give me enough time to build my house and be there 100% and be with his family) he said he would sit in on our meetings with this "friend" and basically oversee and make sure hes not missing anything. I got a great vibe from the first builder we talked to but we will see after I meet inperson on his "friend". Yes he does own his own construction company. Thanks for the help. |
|
| |
|
Banjo and Baby
Posts: 7259
Location: South of Canada and North of Mexico | Delta Cowgirl - 2015-05-30 8:23 AM ThreeCorners - 2015-05-29 11:57 AM I love that floor plan!! You have alot of storage and closets and the front entry hall.I love that! I hate a front door that comes directly into the living room. Pretty much the only thing I would change is the master bath. We have a jetted tub in the bath and I hate it. We never use it and the jets are a pain to keep clean. Me personally, I would take that tub out of the master, as you have a tub in the other bath and I would go for a killer big shower with multiple water sources. I hate being cramped in the shower! Other then that, I love this house!! We have been in our newly built home just over a year. We also removed the tub from our master bath and instead had a big wonderful walk-in shower built with beautiful custom tile. It has lots of shower heads and an overhead rain shower. We love it. I did not want to clean/care for a big old tub either -- there is a tub in our second bath so if someone is dying for a tub bath - they can have one.... Me - I just love my big old spa shower (also we installed an on-demand gas hot water heater -- so we never run out of hot water -- gas company offered a $500 rebate -- love the on-demand -- so worth the extra money )
I will check into a on demand gas heater :) We already plan on gas furance and stove. |
|
| |
|
The Vaccinator
Posts: 3810
Location: Slipping down the slope of old age. Boo hoo. | Electrical outlets -- really think about this -- we have 6 plug-ins on each side of our bed in our master bedroom - use almost every one of them...lamp, clock, cell, Kindle, etc.... You can never have too much plug-ins. Also have plug-ins in our walk-in pantry -- and that's where our toaster, emergency flashlight charges, etc... keeps regularly used appliances off your counters.
And I have all closet doors and pantry door with auto-light -- little switch that turns the light on when we open the door, turns it off when we close the door. Love those...
I had a vanity counter built in our master bath -- and love having my own place for make-up, hair, etc....I have lots of drawers and cabinets right next to it to store all my stuff.
Our laundry room has two doors -- one opens into our master bathroom. Love this - so easy to wash/dry and put away our clothes - and have a big deep laundry sink this in room for washing up farm shoes and things.... so handy living on the farm.
We put a pet door in our laundry room that goes into our enclosed garage -- that's where our cats' litter boxes and food bowls are located. The garage door is closed except when I go in/out. It's great -- I also have a few cat beds out there and they often go there and nap. So nice to be able to have our kitties with us, but no cat smell!
Edited by Delta Cowgirl 2015-05-30 10:38 AM
|
|
| |
|
 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | I like the floor plan, but would want to do a few tweaks. Something to keep in mind: every extra corner on your slab adds to the cost. Every additional gable adds to the cost. So you've got some serious money wrapped up in aesthetics here. Nothing wrong with that, just something to think about.
That back porch is not big enough for anything, so you might as well use it in the house. Ours was the same length, but a couple of feet deeper and wasn't usable for much of anything, so we added a sloped roof/ceiling off the back and more than doubled the size as well as screening it in. It's a nice space now, big enough for a table, grill, big dog bed, and porch swing. |
|
| |
|
Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Oh, and our on-demand gas water heater is The Chit. |
|
| |
|
Banjo and Baby
Posts: 7259
Location: South of Canada and North of Mexico | Thanks guys!! Good ideas!! Love the idea of outlets in the pantry!! To cut costs we looked at taking out the gables and it ended up looking like a straight roof line ranch, the thing that really drew me to this was the outside, I think its worth the extra money to have the outside, Id rather go cheap on someting inside that I can replace later I think. One of those being painted oak cabinets vs hickory or alder? Really depends on the price difference there, as well as flooring choices. I do plan on putting in the doors and trim I want though as that would be a pain to change out years down the road. The builder said a lot of people are choosing for the washer and dryer in their master bedroom closet, as they are the ones who normally do laundry and can do it whenever they want. I point to ponder I guess. :) |
|
| |
|
Banjo and Baby
Posts: 7259
Location: South of Canada and North of Mexico | Three 4 Luck - 2015-05-30 10:43 AM Oh, and our on-demand gas water heater is The Chit.
I find this funny as a few years ago we looked into a modular and so I talked to a company to run the duct work and the furnace, water heater, etc and he said the on demand really are not worth it as if you're running dishes and showers and what not they cant keep up. Might have to really look into them. Do they save quite a bit or does it even out to the same as a normal water heater? |
|
| |
|
The Vaccinator
Posts: 3810
Location: Slipping down the slope of old age. Boo hoo. | watchpeppydoc - 2015-05-30 10:50 AM
Three 4 Luck - 2015-05-30 10:43 AM Oh, and our on-demand gas water heater is The Chit.
I find this funny as a few years ago we looked into a modular and so I talked to a company to run the duct work and the furnace, water heater, etc and he said the on demand really are not worth it as if you're running dishes and showers and what not they cant keep up. Might have to really look into them. Do they save quite a bit or does it even out to the same as a normal water heater?
There are different sizes of these on demand hot water heaters -- we installed a rock star unit and have no problems with it keeping up! Whatever that means. As I recall they are gauged by gallons of hot water delivered per minute.... love love love ours. For the size of your planned home I'd get the one that produces the most gallons per minute....
Just my personal like is to have a garage open to the side rather than to the front of home... |
|
| |
|
 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | My uncle put like...vacuums in the wall. Like there's a little spot in the wall where you can sweep your dirt into a spot in the wall and it gets sucked up. I thought that was awesome. Heated floors in the bathroom would be nice. I would do a big walk-in shower as well and you can take baths in the guest rooms. That's how our apartment is set up. I hate the tubs that are square, but have an oval opening. Not enough room for my shoulders. Just something to think about. |
|
| |
|
Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Delta Cowgirl - 2015-05-30 11:17 AM watchpeppydoc - 2015-05-30 10:50 AM Three 4 Luck - 2015-05-30 10:43 AM Oh, and our on-demand gas water heater is The Chit. I find this funny as a few years ago we looked into a modular and so I talked to a company to run the duct work and the furnace, water heater, etc and he said the on demand really are not worth it as if you're running dishes and showers and what not they cant keep up. Might have to really look into them. Do they save quite a bit or does it even out to the same as a normal water heater? There are different sizes of these on demand hot water heaters -- we installed a rock star unit and have no problems with it keeping up! Whatever that means. As I recall they are gauged by gallons of hot water delivered per minute.... love love love ours. For the size of your planned home I'd get the one that produces the most gallons per minute.... Just my personal like is to have a garage open to the side rather than to the front of home...
You have to get the right size. We have 2. One runs both full baths, the other is for kitchen, laundry, and half bath. The extra cost of the units probably eats your fuel savings, but endless hot water is wonderful. |
|
| |
Folks on-line