just joined ,looking forward to everyones expertise, allready have some? we are planning on building a new house in jan , feb time frame in PA . starting to look at builders ,do i need to order a set of house plans (we found a floorplan in a magazine) or can most builders draw their own? also when they ask how much i want to spend will they bring the price up to that amount orshould ilet them teel me the price first ? thanks……………..ez
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"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
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DUCK!
Looks like Keith thinks thinks we're gonna have some fun with this one......
Ambiguous headline: EYE DROPS OFF SHELF
tighten your chin strap and watch out for a guy who goes by Gunner...:) Darkworksite4: When the job is to small for everyone else, Its just about right for me"
"tighten your chin strap and watch out for a guy who goes by Gunner...:)"
Why I auda.......
First thing first, welcome to Breaktime!! Try not to take most of us to serious, this is a way to relax from what can be a tense and frustrating line of work, which you are about to learn firsthand. Remember that a lot of decisions will be asked for, in a short time, and they will all seem important and confusing. Main problems of new home building from your point will be
1. Budget never enough to get all you want
2. Time allow extra, you won't have enough anyway
3. Organization everything has an order, and goes much better if it stays in place
4. Decisions Don't fight the wife over the ones that you don't really care about, try to prioritize, a house is a lot of compromises, get used to it.
Have you got the land yet? That can really mess up all of the above. Take your floor plan to the building department, and ask them what you need for permit, they should be able to tell if you need engineer, architech, designer, or just builder.
When all else fails, try to remember to have fun, it will get done sooonerrrr or later.
Dan
This string is an excellent example of why I enjoy reading here, especially rez's response and those that follow.
As for handydan's post, that's the one that stopped me in my tracks because of its relevance to my field, software design management. Just needs a couple of changes:
"As for decisions, don't fight the artist/programmer/instrucitonal designer/ Marketing/project manager over the ones you don't really care about."
And as far as "Have fun...it will get done sooner or later..." Well, our Marketing department gets really annoyed when we take that attitude!
EllenVic
Plans from a book are usually woefully inadequate. They can be used as a base for your design, but you can't depend on them to be complete enough to get through the whole bid and building experience.
You can either take those basic plans to a house deisnger, an architect, or a builder who knows enough about it all to be considered a "design/build" builder.
For cost? How much can you afford? How much do you want to spend? Take you max amount, then back off by about 15-20 percent. That cushion will absorb your overruns...and if, miraculously, the verruns never show up, you can spurge that money when outfitting the house towards the end...appliances, flooring, cabinetry, etc.
Construction isn't a game. Good builders, and good customers, don't keep trump cards hidden up their sleeves. That's how misunderstandings occur, and misunderstandings lead to unhappiness and an unbalanced financial sheet.
Is this a starter home to be lived in for 5 years, or your forever home? If the latter, plan everything into the house that you want. When the costing blows you out of the water, move backwards. Scale back, but think in terms of building now with the idea of adding on or improving the house down the road.
Just hold on ez- the guys will be around to help you out. These guys are pros who have been around to see a lot if not 'it all'. Since I take it this is your first post here I'll just fill you in a little and tell you that the guys enjoy helping folks out and have a little fun along the way.
Some of the questions you ask in your post reveal this is your first home building experience. Listen closely to what these guys will be telling you and they will help steer you in a direction that can save you a lot of headache, heartaches and wasted dollars.
I'm just a homeowner repair-renovation guy but there are folks on here who know their stuff when building homes.
Wanted to welcome you to Breaktime and glad you're aboard.
Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
Forget the primal scream, just Roar!
Ez--
Would strongly suggest slowing down a bit before potentially "breaking frost" in 3-4 months. There are some true pros around here who will both offer a wealth of advice, and correct "bad" advice when it is (rarely) given. My best advice: Do leave the work to the pros, but first learn enough to be able to ask intelligent questions, and that learning will take some time...
Regards,
Rework
Think of the floor plan as a rough idea....and the plans you could order from parts unknown would have to be reworked quite a bit....codes/methods/materials/styles...all differ quite a bit around the country......find a local builder and/or architect to take your mag floor plan and build off the general theme.
My guess is that getting a set of plans .....starting with finding someone local do do them....will eat up most of your late winter deadline.....then ya gotta find someone to build it.....and most of the good guys won't be able to fit you in immediately......so best to get in your head to slow down a bit. Still could get close if you get lucky and streamline the process.
And yes.......be honest with your budget. Hire people you trust...and truct them to do their jobs. I'm not saying go thru it blind and believing everything that seems out of line....but ya gotta start on the same page....and the budget is pretty important.
Where in Pa? I'm in Pgh...do remodeling and subcontracting...... but I might be able to help you out a bit. Others here are from around the state also.
.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......
we are in Hanover, PA ,thank you for your advice,.........ez
EZ. Welcome into the house of yuks. Dont be fooled. No ones a pro here especially a guy that uses a tag line about excellance and rewards and stuff, or something like that...LOL.
If youre looking to save money dont go with book plans. Use them to show an architect and maybe that'll save you some bucks but USE AN ARCHITECT!
I think you better be asking a whole lot more questions here before you go to a builder. You sound really....uhhhhhh..."greenhorn"? Dont be shy. We all make fun of each other (especially at Boss Hog...lol).
Keep asking questions....I'm bettin' this thread goes on past 100 posts easy!
Be well
Namaste
andy
It's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Welcome! That ding you just heard was a rock hitting your porch roof. I`m 25 mins north in Dillsburg. May have some local info. I was born in Hanover but don`t get down too much since my Dad moved to MD. Are you local or transplant?
Also, don`t go into the Woodshed Tavern! Tis a dark place where bad things happen to people. It`s told that some have gone in never to return....OOOOOO!
Ok, you can go in, just don`t say anything...ah...political.
Welcome to Breaktime and congrats on building your first house. I can't add much to what has been said, except keep us posted on the progress and be sure to put pictures up.
One other thing to keep in mind is the more info you can provide when asking a question, the better our answers can be.TCW Specialists in Custom Remodeling.