5 years ago we found a house under construction that was about 60% complete. The floor plan was pretty good and we liked the result of picking out our flooring, lighting, cabinette, etc.
Now we are moving to a new area and we would like to do it again. I want to leverage designs the builder has experience with, but we have a bigger list of cool stuff that we want to add. My impression is that hiring an architect would drive up the costs to much and slow down the whole process. Is it easy to find a good builder that can be both cost effective and provide the customization that we may want?
Finding a house that was partially constructed worked out well the first time. It was a lot more easy to visualize than looking at a floorplan. Should we go for this again?
Some of the add ons we are considering are: Extra deep garage/3 car garage for storing my kayaks, combination greenhouse/indoor endless pool, small deck off 2nd floor MBR, mudroom with shower.
Replies
To which area are you moving?
Some of your wishes could be a real problem with an already-started house. A bigger garage ... that affects the foundation if it's attached to the house like all are in my area. Mudroom with shower ... if it's a concrete slab house, the floor drain could be a problem.
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
i think your new requirements go way beyond modifying a partially completed house..
it approaches the odds of winning the lottery..
better to either buy an existing house and remodel it.. or start from scratch Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
We are looking at the Fairfield CT area.
I hear you that you can't easily change a foundation. I need a place to store 21' long kayaks and they just fit into my current garage. I don't know what "normal" is for garage size. We have a regular door inbetween our garage doors and I like that. It spaces out the cars better. My neighbor has a Toll Brothers house with a 3 car garage and they really sqeezed everything in.
I was assuming that there would be a basement blow a mudroom. But one should never assume.
Did someone say TOLL BROTHERS!!! I got some great stories from a building inspector about who he called the TROLL BROTHERS! In the Boston area I think it was WCVB 5 News that did a spotlight on their sinking homes that were built on filled in wetland. It surprises me they still build under that name.
Fairfield county (the gold coast) can get pricey when it comes to contractors. There are good reasons for it. Beauracracy and traffic
"My impression is that hiring an architect would drive up the costs to much and slow down the whole process."
Yup. But I agree with Tomchark, its the best time and money you'll spend.
Brian P.
>> ... its the best time and money you'll spend.Wouldn't that depend on the architct? Is it any easier to find the right architect than it is to find the builder? Or are you saying any architect at all is better than no architect?
Of course it depends on the architect. And no it probably isn't any easier to find the right archie. But, when you find him, chances are he'll lead you to the right builder.
Brian P. It's my job!
You might not luck out on finding a home being built that you like and have a say in the final colors, carpet etc. but as you know it does happen. I would skip the architect find a competent builder who can work with a set of plans and help you with revisions if necessary.
Find a basic design that you like from plan catalogues and present that to a builder.
Plan Catalouges?What did surfski ever do to you?That is the quickest route to disaster I can think of when trying to build a custom house.
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Well we wouldn't want to cause disaster would we.Surfski mentioned he did not want to hire an architect. I was suggesting plan catalogues for ideas on house design, a good general should be able to modify them to meet the costumers needs. I think a larger garage was mentioned, to store a kayak, make the garage bigger right? Plans from catalogues are relatively cheap and catalogues themselves are full of design and layout ideas. I use them all the time making numerous changes which the City building department doesn't seem to mind helping out with.Surfski has never done anything to me.
First time I've ever heard anything good said about plans from those plan books.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
It is not uncommon for well-designed house plans done by quite competent architects ending up for sale in plan books.
That is not to say that the plan books are filled with great plans. Most of them are junk, done by the "plan mills."
Not exactly a plan book you would find on a supermarket magazine rack, but have you seen Robert Knight's "Lucia's Little Houses?" Knight hails from somewhere around Blue Hill, somewhere up or down the rocky beach from you.
I can step out the door and see Blue Hill, the hill. Few miles across the bay NE
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Now I have you marked in my GPS.
04848north end
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Piffin, they are not bad, some of them are goofy, inexperienced designers do their share of dreaming on paper without having a lot of practical experience. I don't know where you live by I like Tynan and Jenish designs, out of British Columbia, they both have a web site and their own style of house design.I think what appeals to me is that the plans are well drawn and complete, easy to present to the building department, cost about $600.00 for set of five and the costumers really like them, sometimes even purchasing them themselves.
Jenish and Tynan are found at http://www.tynandesign.net and http://www.jenish.com.
On a quick look, those don't look too bad, and seem a reputable company - the first especially.But there are still integral problems with this sort of design purchase. Always will be.Good design starts with the lot and orientation.Good design, IMO, involves some measure of personal interaction.Most of these type companies I here of sell with some sort of implication that the plans sold are buildable as drawn but often are not. add to that, the fact that many local jurisdictions will require an architect's stamp/seal from one licensed in that area, or have special requirements for structural integrity specific to that locality.
i.e. - In the county I worked in CO, there were three specific areas with differing live load specs on roofs, due to several cave in from heavy snows on poorly built house. The elevation and location withing the county dictated 40#, 70#, or 110# laod design
- or in California, there are specific seismic details that are not needed in most of this continent.
- or in s Florida, high winds are likely so they have above average requirements for window design
- or in many places, there is a height restricition...No one can design a house that will work efficiently in al those locations equally, and in most of those locations, it is difficult or impossible to gain a permit using canned plans. Revisions often cost nearly as much as if one had gone straight to the designer in the first place.So that is the reason for my alarm.
It is always good to hear positive reports though.
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I think you lucked out five years ago, you just have to keep your mind open this time.
Depending on the end product that you want (and I bet I can say for certainty that this is a want not a need situation), an architect that is worth his salt is well worth your money.
Besides, they all claim that you are not really paying extra to hire them which is USUALLY offset by the trouble and mistake that they save you.
Just looked at a house for a friend that had an endless pool inside the house.
Before we went over I said that the paint on the outside of the pool would be peeling-sure enough it was. Moisture migrating out was blowing the paint off the siding.
I cant believe anyone would put an open water tank in the inside of a house, its one of the dumbest ideas I have ever seen. We try like hell to reduce interior moisture during construction, from slabs, drywall mud, etc for a damn good reason.
My advice-build a new house-w/your detached greenhouse and endless pool.
Your extras don't seem to me like you can't modify an existing house to get them. Many homes have extra deep garages to handle a motorboat, and in such a pricy area I'd bet there are a few boatowners in the area. The greenhouse/endless pool is better separated from the home, so that can be added to any home that has the space and setback clearance. Adding a deck? Done every day around the country. Shower in mudroom? Requires some remodelling, but not impossible. If an archy is too expensive (are you sure you can afford to live in Fairfield?), then just find a home that has the garage you want and enough space (and neighborhood covenants allowing it) for the greenhouse and deck.
I was thinking to myself if he can afford to live in Fairfield, he shouldn't skimp on an architect.
Surfski,
There is very little new construction going on in Fairfield (my inlaws live down that way) these days anyway so I think your best bet would be to buy exisiting then remodel that. Just be sure to check and see that there is the room on the land to do what you want the lots are pretty tight.
Toll Brothers? My HVAC guy says Toll brother houses are his best clients, you know the ones that are only 3 or 4 years old and hes in there replacing everything...
SYSOP
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Thanks for all of your good advice. We definately got lucky with our current house. The builder cared more about building something he was proud of than making money. I was scared at first..he had no blueprints, just a somewhat out of date floorplan. I guess he had them in his head.
RE: Hiring an architect vs plan catalogs. How much do architects cost anyhow? X% of materials? I have an open mind, but it seems like there has to be 100s of home designs already out there that I would like.
Tom K
I always build my houses with a shower in the mudroom.
It gets real muddy around here, a lot, and it is quite a convenience to step in from the outside, covered from head to toe with slime, and jump in the shower.
I build my mudroom showers oversize with big stainless steel clothes hooks on the wall opposite the spray head, so we can take off our clothes and hang them after the shower has washed away the mud.
I have been building for 25+ years, around 300 houses, part of it as a jr. partner with a major, privately owned, development company. You get what you pay for. If you want vanilla, and fight for a couple of items, and settle for the rest, then take the "cheap" way.
If you want a quality, professionaly built product that you are proud of, use professionals, simple as that.
Buy cheap, get cheap. Don't forget, in the home building business, we professionals, EARN our income.