merlin

On a serious note, we built our new home last year.

Assuming that you have already picked out a neighborhood and builder, there are a couple things that, looking back, I wish I had done better:

First: Really think about where you want your electrical outlets and switches to be. The builder told us to think about it for our next meeting. We thought we had it right, but it didn't take too much actually living there before we realized that we had missed the mark.

You really have to visualize yourself living in the space before you ever build it, and that's not easy to do. I thought I could do it, but without experience, it's just not right. For example, we have an "open floorplan" where the kitchen, breakfast room, living room and dining room are essentially in the same space. This may sound silly, but it drives me crazy to have to walk a circuit through the house each night to turn off the lights (not that they are all on at the same time, but you get my meaning) and then walk to the master bedroom in the dark. I wish that I had put a bank of switches right by the master bedroom entrance (which is just off the living room) that turns off/on all those lights.

In a floorplan like mine, three-way and even four-way switches are good things.

We've been here a year and I've already added two electrical outlets, that 4 gang of switches near the master, removed a switch that was placed in the middle of wall in the living room but completely out of the way of being useful, and a few other things.

Lesson - It is much easier to let someone else do it when you are building the house than to add it yourself later or worse, just be frustrated by it for as long as you live there.

Second: My expectation of our personal builder was to be our advocate in relation to the contractors that were there (quite naive, huh?). In addition to his regular duties to his employer such as being on budget and deadline, I expected him to make sure that the contractors didn't do a half-a$$ job. In some cases, he did just that. In fact, when we were done, our impression was that he had done a really good job.

Unfortunately, what happens is that you actually have to live in the house. Doing a walk through with the builder is one thing. He has already gone through the home to find any big things that need fixing before you get there. The final walkthrough usually has several eyes (assuming a reputable Builder) on it before you get there, so at first glance, the house looks perfect. It's not.

You really need to take your time looking at every nook and cranny. Make sure every door, drawer, cabinet, wall, faucet, drain, supply, etc. looks and functions the way it should. Do not feel bad about pointing out that the hinge on a cabinet door is misaligned and sitting out a quarter inch further than the one next to it--you might be surprised about what imperfections get you riled up after you live with them for awhile. In my home, for example, we didn't notice certain sheet rock / texture imperfections until later. And they REALLY showed up when I painted the walls with good paint. Oh well.

I would have expected the builder to catch those issues. But you have to remember, they have a balance to keep between the deadline and budget on one side and your untrained eye on the other. They'll fix it if you ask, but you have to see it. So, visit the job site as often as possible from the beginning. Be the builder's eyes as far as quality control goes. If you don't like something, call them as soon as possible--don't wait until later. When you get to the walkthroughs, scrutinize every detail and speak up if something isn't up to your standard.

Other things...

- One unexpected benefit was that I had taken pictures of the house and rooms during framing. We were just chronicling the build, but having pictures of what was behind the walls really came in handy as I was having to do an extra electrical outlet in the kitchen.

- There will be at least one design decision that you will regret. For us it was the kitchen floor tile.

- If you have an "open" floor plan, consider spending extra $$ on a quiet dishwasher. This was one lesson we learned from seeing friends houses. We got the top of the line, silent running dishwasher. I don't regret it for a second.

- Think about motion activated security lighting on the outside of your house. It wasn't spec'd by our builder and therefore wasn't added. My first trip away my wife points out that she is home alone 3 nights a week and that she would feel safer with better outdoor lighting. More electrical work for me to do.

- You can't have the best of everything, but the price difference between middle of the road and top of the line may not be that far apart. Spend more money now on things that are difficult or expensive to upgrade later.

Good luck, pick a reputable builder, and remember that the little things are ultra important~!

Jeremy