Thinking about Building a House

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[NHCharger]

The other thing you need to mention when talking about foundation drains is where does the water drain. The seasonal water table here in NH is 3' so when ever I was looking for the next lot to build a spec house I would always make sure I could set up the lot for a daylight drain outlet for the foundation drain. If you are going to have a septic system check the local soils map to make sure you're not sitting on clay or soils that would create a high water table. It took me a year to find the lot that I ended up building my own house on.

[Bobs69]

Stone from the footer tile to grade, regardless of code.
(and be there that day)

This is for water drainage correct?  And to save myself massive headaches down the road?

[Bobs69]

The RANDOM post of the day goes to........

Stone from the footer tile to grade, regardless of code.
(and be there that day)

I have no idea what this means.

What's random about it?   Damn good advice.  99% of basement issues ( issues= wet, leaky, damp, cracked, caving walls) could avoided by spending a couple of extra bucks and backfilling entirely with stone.   However, most building codes still only require 2 feet. 

And use schedule 40 for the footer tile.

I don't care how much you trust your builder, be onsite to verify both!

Ok so we go above and beyond the building code.  This will make the house much more comfortable.

I have worked construction as a labourer in my youth, I've also seen a couple people dig up along their foundations to fix drainage issues.  F**K that......

[69 500]

build what you want , build a home not a showroom, think of retirement years and use a few simple rules.  no matter where you live .
  1. poured foundation
  2. proper drainage around foundation
  3. sprayed in insulation (seals airgaps as well as insulates)
  4. good floor plan (master bedroom living room, dinning room, kitchen and laundry room on main floor, definitely radiant floor heat (you can zone rooms),
  5. tile floors are expensive but well worth the money as well as real hard wood floors (not laminate) they also work really well with radiant heat.
  6. if you have the money you can also go off grid expensive up front but low cost down the road when elderly.

      lots of options and opinions , plan well for the future , never use a plan based on price, base it on necessity ,when you plan cheap all you get is a cheap plan. 
                                                                                               

[superbirdtom]

get a good contractor and a turn key price. make sure u have maximum R value in your insulation.  the building inspectors can kill you so my advise is dont try and be your own general contractor and sub out everything its a nightmare and u can be taken to the cleaners by the subs that can tell its your first house.  make sure its a 3 bedroom w a big master and walk in closet and a bathroom w separate poop stall.  u wont regret it for resale.  pay for good quality kitchen cabinets solid plywood boxes zero particle board. go to www.outwater.com to find anything for your home just to see whats out there instead of lowes which every other person has in their homes.  dont buy from them but search elsewhere for lighting door knobs -its just to get an idea .   make sure u go to the homes contractor has built and satisfied customers  too many cons and flakes out there that talk a good game.    good luck.

[draftingmonkey]

Have you thought about looking at a modular home? If not, take a look online at the variety of plans available. Seriously looking at going the modular route when I get out of SoCal and head back to the frozen north.

[Mytur Binsdirti]

I've been in a few modular homes and I'm just not a fan. To me, they are just a couple notches higher than han a mobile home. You just can't beat a quality stick built house

[BSB67]

I designed and had built a second home a couple years ago. Why I thought I could do this I'm not sure as I had no experience in this at all.  My wife and I are very pleased with the outcome.  Here are some take a ways from our experiences.

1) Don't start with the exterior of the house, which flies in the face with what 95% of people will tell you.  You spend +90% of your time inside the house.  Make that the priority.

2) think really really hard on what you like and what is important to you.  Cooking?, outside deck time?, entertaining?, family time?, ........and equally important think about what is not important and trim cost in those areas to help finance the important areas.

3) look online and in magazines at the interior features that are important to you in very high-end houses and see how that "feel" or "look" can be baked into your plan in a modest way.

4) open houses and home shows are good too.

5) get to know others that are one or two years into their new constructed homes and see what their likes and dislikes are.

The process can be frustrating as there are so many decisions to be made, especially if it is a true custom home.  As an example, look up drawer pulls on builder.com.  I think there were 7000 choices.  Have you read "The Paradox of Choice"?  You will learn a little about youself, and more about your wife.