What do you wish you knew before you built?

cornellengineers · Jun 15, 2020 2:17 pm

What do you wish you knew before you had your house built?

Did you find you wished you knew more about:

contracts?
colour selections?
how long it would take?
where you could save money?
what ended up costing more money?
what style of house you should have built?
that you should have chosen taller ceilings?
the season of the year you should have moved house?
that the kitchen/floor/walls should have been white/black/grey/green?

I've engineered lots of houses but my wife and I have never built. What did you learn during building that you wished you knew before you started?

Sparkyf · Jun 15, 2020 4:03 pm

How much site costs can be if your block is not perfectly flat! Ours has a fall of about 3M from corner to corner, and we have been quoted $80K for site costs!

SteveMc · Jun 15, 2020 4:48 pm

Not one or crowds of people will give you 100% hindsight. In my case, time, budgeted for 9 month's rent and waited for 16 months for the build. Weather, trades, perfect storm in the building boom of 2016. Your time will be different as you've got a different builder in a different location and different year.
The usual tiles, colours, wall-here and not-there, power points, lights, gas, water points elsewhere. Once again, your choices are your own and your own mistakes to make as your design will be different again. This is far too big a topic to be helpful unfortunately.

Deacon91 · Jun 15, 2020 6:48 pm

Wish I had been a few months later in signing contracts then I might have been eligible for grant the government is handing out to build. An extra 40k would go along way towards paying off a mortgage.

webuild · Jun 15, 2020 7:37 pm

These are all great questions, and obviously if you are asking them, you have already answered them in some form to yourself.

I think you should not be asking the questions but instead making a list of things/items that you want to happen and have. You need to always concentrate on the positive rather than looking for the negative.
In my experience, you get what you ask for or think for all the time.

Good luck

alexp79 · Jun 15, 2020 7:56 pm

Important things in addition to general main things (such as cladding and roof technology, approach towards insulation and glazing):

- decide well in advance your internal floor plan based on physical orientation of your block to maximise passive solar gains during the winter and reduce heat during the summer;

- based on the location of your furniture and your daily activities, think carefully about location of your electrical outlets and light switches, lighting schemas and light fittings you are planning to use. Ideally, prepare detailed plans for every room to be provided to your electrician. Think well about additional ceiling and furniture lighting e.g. strip lighting, etc. and how you will be integrating it into your lighting schemas. It probably makes sense to consult professional lightning designer if you want to make it right. Also, it is import to understand best places to locate your HVAC grilles, so they don't blow hard, fans, manholes. Ceiling layouts can be also defining your maximum ceiling heights in the end of a day.

- same as above for the plumbing fixtures, decide which plumbing fixtures you will be using and make sure your plumbing diagrams are provided and prepared to reflect this;

- for tiles, it makes sense to provide tiling layouts to the tiler if you want things align perfectly;

- kitchen and wardrobe layouts to be carefully planned based on your lifestyle/expectations;

- consult interior designer/colour consultant on colours selections and overall styling;

- think well and negotiate with the builder your approach to quality control - probably hiring 3rd party building inspector will still make sense for you;

rcj162000 · Jun 16, 2020 4:39 pm

Five words:

Wish i didnt build with Elderton homes

SaveH2O · Jun 16, 2020 4:43 pm

Which five?

Brett0004 · Jun 16, 2020 7:27 pm

The 2 Home Builder packages!!