??? for Custom Home Builders

[JES]

My wife and I recently purchased some land and plan to have a house built in the next 3 to 5 years, really leaning more towards five years. In the meantime, I was hoping to work with an architect to finalize the layout and design of the house so that I could then go to the list of builders and determine which I felt most comfortable with, this neighborhood has a very short list of approved builders, four. They are all very reputable, but I think for this it will be more of a personality match between the builder and I.

So, I have hundreds of questions, but I guess to start this off, what should I really expect the output from the architect to be? How much detail will be in these drawings vs. what I will need to finalize once I decide on the builder and sign the construction contract. I understand paint color, type of counter tops, etc will probably not be in the architectural drawings, or will it? How do I determine the A/C and heating system requirements and best system to go with, etc. I have time to try and get all this detailed out, so that when I go to the builder I can get a pretty "solid" cost on what the final cost will be.

Thanks.

[Stuck]

Once the architect is done with the plans they will need to engineered. Your builders contractors will be able to determine your a/c, plumbing and electricla requirements. You should just need to pick your selections.

[Twztid]

Alot can change in ac and plumbing in 5years new technology every day

[dharris]

$100 a sq ft minimum for something nice.

[Floor Man]

Not a builder but a contractor. Pm me for number and I'll give you a list of questions to ask.

[bughunter]

get in touch with "Bill M" on the green screen.

[JES]

Alot can change in ac and plumbing in 5years new technology every day

Right on, one of the issues I have thought about, also possible changes in building codes, etc.

I wouldn't assume the design would be complete for a couple to three years. I figure I'll spend at least a year obsessing over the floor plan before I even go to an architect.

[native_texan]

I can understand your concerns and confusion. We went through that a couple years ago. But we had a blast with our architect and builder. We designed every bit of our house and loved every minute of it. We were very excited to arrive at the home site and watch our home go up every week ... from foundation to move-in.

Your architect will build a set of plans, adding "layers" as you go. Our architect started with a concept drawing of the exterior. I sketched out what I wanted my house to look like on the outside. We then went to work on designing the layout of the interior, i.e. all the rooms, doors, cabinets, etc. The location of the exterior doors and the windows will then affect the final look of the outside of the house. We had to tweak the locations of the exterior doors and windows a little to make some of the rooms come out the way we wanted.

At this time, we went into the Armstrong website and designed our kitchen colors and flooring based on what our cabinets would look like. They have a design feature on their web site where you can view (and pick out) all the wall color and flooring combinations before you buy.

Once the architect puts in the rooms, windows, and exterior doors into the drawing (based on your floor plan), you will then have him put in the utilities, i.e. electrical, water, gas, plumbing. Later you can tell the electrician where you want all the sockets and switches.

We bought all of our appliances, light and plumbing fixtures beforehand. We also bought all the ceiling fans and outdoor light fixtures before hand. We paid cash so we would not have to finance all that. Just a thought.

The air conditioning layout and the number of tons you will need will be figured out by the air conditioning contractor prior to the drywall going in. They will install the duct work then too. Usually the electrical air conditioning, and gas lines go in pretty close together. They did at my house.

We have an engineered foundation. You may want to explore this avenue if the soil pad under your house is unstable.

This is by no means everything you should know but it will give you an idea. Good luck and have fun designing your new home. May God bless you.

[Cam-Mac]

IMO, all three of you (you/builder/architect) should work together. You dont want an architect and a builder on a different page on anything. They should both meet with you at the same time and go over everything/all options before proceeding. They need to be on the same page as far as the plans, and also they both need to thoroughly understand what you want/desire.

If you want to PM me some questions feel free- i own a construction co. And like said above, Bill M does too and i'm sure he'd be happy to answer any questions as well...

[Cam-Mac]

^correction... Have your WIFE meet with the builder and architect... .

I learned quickly: always ask the wife! Lol...

[Grayson]

Native Texan, that is a great post. I'm starting the build process (a year or two away) and you gave me some things to think about. Thank you for taking the time...

[DonBon]

The more detail you can give your builder the better.The problem you will have is if you want the builder to bid your project they need the same set of prints.If you have a big kitchen for example with no cabinet details all four builders will come up with something different. Just keep it apples to apples and you will get a more accurate price.The more details you have in the beginning the better off you will be.I just finish a 10,000 sq ft house in which had real vague prints but with great homeowners it turned out great.

[Greywolf in Hawaii]

Lay out your home, as what you want. Things you have or want to have. Try to keep rooms large. keep away from "walling" your furniture. If you want a work out room then get a piece of paper and draw where each machine will go, how much room you need.
Scotch tape it together, it gives the architect a guide to go by, it gives him an idea of what you want.
What ever you do, DON'T SHORT YOURSELF, rooms that are not used can be closed off, or shut down, but id you don't have it you can't do it.

One thing is my next house will have is a 16 X 20 Walk in closet, shelves in the middle and storage cabinets.

anything gives the builder an idea where your going.

[bboswell]

I figure I'll spend at least a year obsessing over the floor plan before I even go to an architect.

Spend your time looking at other homes, model homes etc and decide what features are important to you then get with the architect before you waste a lot of time trying to lay things out yourself. He SHOULD make short work of re-arranging and suggesting changes while keeping the total picture in mind (ie, how will moving this wall down stairs effect something up stairs or how will changing this effect the roof line etc)

I can understand your concerns and confusion. We went through that a couple years ago. But we had a blast with our architect and builder. We designed every bit of our house and loved every minute of it. We were very excited to arrive at the home site and watch our home go up every week ... from foundation to move-in.

Your architect will build a set of plans, adding "layers" as you go. Our architect started with a concept drawing of the exterior. I sketched out what I wanted my house to look like on the outside. We then went to work on designing the layout of the interior, i.e. all the rooms, doors, cabinets, etc. The location of the exterior doors and the windows will then affect the final look of the outside of the house. We had to tweak the locations of the exterior doors and windows a little to make some of the rooms come out the way we wanted.

At this time, we went into the Armstrong website and designed our kitchen colors and flooring based on what our cabinets would look like. They have a design feature on their web site where you can view (and pick out) all the wall color and flooring combinations before you buy.

Once the architect puts in the rooms, windows, and exterior doors into the drawing (based on your floor plan), you will then have him put in the utilities, i.e. electrical, water, gas, plumbing. Later you can tell the electrician where you want all the sockets and switches.

We bought all of our appliances, light and plumbing fixtures beforehand. We also bought all the ceiling fans and outdoor light fixtures before hand. We paid cash so we would not have to finance all that. Just a thought.

The air conditioning layout and the number of tons you will need will be figured out by the air conditioning contractor prior to the drywall going in. They will install the duct work then too. Usually the electrical air conditioning, and gas lines go in pretty close together. They did at my house.

We have an engineered foundation. You may want to explore this avenue if the soil pad under your house is unstable.

This is by no means everything you should know but it will give you an idea. Good luck and have fun designing your new home. May God bless you.

Great post.

1st - I would strongly urge you to get the slab engineered, I even went a step further and required concrete cylinder breaks on the concrete to insure I was getting what the engineer specified.

2nd - you can save a ton doing your own shopping as mentioned above. One example is we were able to get top of the line travertine floors throughout the whole house for the Porcelain tile budget.

3rd & most important - interview, interview, ask questions and more questions when selecting your builder. Almost every builder we interviewed showed us homes built out with top of the line everything and then quoted bare basics with a list of budgets. This leaves the impression that the model he showed you fits in those budgets and it won't even be close!

We just closed friday on our home that we have been planning, designing, and getting bids on for over 3 years. I learned a lot through that process so feel free to shoot me a PM if you would like more info.

[Iolabowhunter]

Jes,
Alot of good info coming your way on this thread. If I may add one thing,
don't know if your building inside of a municapality or not, make sure all Contractors, sub contractors and workers are registered with the State and licensed per trade. This is a State Law requirement.