Thinking of building a house

[Drsolders]

Relax. He's a licensed contractor who has built hundreds of homes. And I'm not confining myself just to him. I'll look at a number of builders. I'd be talking to him to get an idea of how the process works though.

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Yeah absolutely. It's part of why I'm asking here. While I know I'll have to do additional research, asking in a place like MMOC where you have a lot of people with a lot of different experiences can give some sense of some important things to watch out for.

I don't know a whole lot about building houses but make sure your insulation and the seals are top notch. Save you a lot of money in the long run on electricity or gas. I used to live in a shitty brick apartment and our insulation was so bad that it would hit 100f+ during the day and stay in the 90s inside all through the night (AC was broken at the time, but still).

[Puupi]

Are you going to do any of the work yourself?

I have actually built a house and a large garage with my father, it's a long and heavy project.

[Deleted]

I wouldn't be buying any of the materials myself. I'd have an architect and home builder. The idea would be to get a turnkey price from them before the build and then just let them get to it. The builder in question is a friend of my father's, and my father has seen the stuff he's done in the past, and said it was fantastic.

Ouch... friends....
ugh....
Can't really tell them to hurry the fuck up or that you won't pay if they don't finish in time.
Unless they are top notch people you can rely on with your balls I would strongly recommend avoiding friends and family.

The setup you have is great. Nice and simple.
what slows constructions really are unexpected issues and extras.
Thankfully in a new build the unexpected issues can be reduced to a minimum. Make sure the land is suitable for proper foundations just to avoid that inconvenience and apart from that the rest is delivery of materials which is all based on your choice.

On a positive note... it'll be your dream home and you'll be a satisfied man. Not many can claim that

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Relax. He's a licensed contractor who has built hundreds of homes. And I'm not confining myself just to him. I'll look at a number of builders. I'd be talking to him to get an idea of how the process works though.

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Yeah absolutely. It's part of why I'm asking here. While I know I'll have to do additional research, asking in a place like MMOC where you have a lot of people with a lot of different experiences can give some sense of some important things to watch out for.

Yup that's better just don't take him as a given that's all

[Frozenbeef]

Too much effort i'd rather just pay for a already built house :s

[Wythel]

I'm in France and in the process of making plans and all with a local builder for my house, so just to give you an idea.

I do the conversions so we speak the same language, a 1300 sqft is a 120m², which is more than enough for a 4-5 people, middle-class family.
Here, no builder even speaks to you under 1500€/m² which converts to around 139€/sqft so... 157$ at current rates (but more 170$ for the last decade).
So let's say it's 160$ / sqft, at this price you can expect a basic cinderblock house with most floor finitions (parquet/floor tiles), heating system/isolation that respect some crazy energy-saving laws, electricity/plumbing, basic stuff like a sink, shower/bathub, doors etc... outside wall plastering and earthworks included.

That's the bare minimum for a decent "turn key" home, you only have to paint the walls the color you like and bring furniture.
And it's without the land cost (but I suppose you already own it).

Some people try to sell you cheaper houses, but its always really small AND with sub quality materials, standard plan... not worth.

[Reeve]

Are you going to do any of the work yourself?

I have actually built a house and a large garage with my father, it's a long and heavy project.

No, not planning to do any of the work myself. I know how to frame walls and do a little plumbing. I can wire electrical outlets, and that's about it. I'm not about to try to build a house, and what I do know how to do, a building crew can do faster and better. I'll leave it to the professionals.

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Ouch... friends....
ugh....
Can't really tell them to hurry the fuck up or that you won't pay if they don't finish in time.
Unless they are top notch people you can rely on with your balls I would strongly recommend avoiding friends and family.

Sure I can. He's not MY friend. He'd just be a contractor, and I'd be his client. The only advantage to him being a friend of my father's is that my father has seen his work and knows he's a stand up guy who gets shit done.

[BloodSense]

No, not planning to do any of the work myself. I know how to frame walls and do a little plumbing. I can wire electrical outlets, and that's about it. I'm not about to try to build a house, and what I do know how to do, a building crew can do faster and better. I'll leave it to the professionals.

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You know oddly enough you say that, but a lot of builders seem to feel six months to a year is an acceptable time for a build, but in reality if I got 20 other tradesman together we could do it in 6 weeks ready to move in. A friend of mine has had her house under construction for a year which boggles my mind. Ive seen it take electrical contractors 3 weeks to rough out a single family home, yet I've done it with a helper in 3 days.

[Reeve]

You know oddly enough you say that, but a lot of builders seem to feel six months to a year is an acceptable time for a build, but in reality if I got 20 other tradesman together we could do it in 6 weeks ready to move in. A friend of mine has had her house under construction for a year which boggles my mind. Ive seen it take electrical contractors 3 weeks to rough out a single family home, yet I've done it with a helper in 3 days.

I expect 4-6 months, just as a guess. I haven't asked any builders yet. I'd probably move in with my father for that time period, which would let me avoid paying rent during the build, and de-risk the whole timeframe thing.

I don't exactly relish the thought of living in Katy again, or living with my father again, but money talks.

[Deleted]

I expect 4-6 months, just as a guess. I haven't asked any builders yet. I'd probably move in with my father for that time period, which would let me avoid paying rent during the build, and de-risk the whole timeframe thing.

I don't exactly relish the thought of living in Katy again, or living with my father again, but money talks.

4-6 months seems reasonable for a standard new build.
Contractor might have another project which could be ok if he can handle it. You might want to find that out.

[nextormento]

The architect is generally the person with the most knowledge about final costs: reports, licensing, fees, certificates... However, the official budget estimate we issue along with the project, at least here, is far from the real costs: we tend to issue a lower-than-the-real-deal estimate, so that fees that depend on it get lower (such as the town-hall issued building license). So ask him or her what every number precisely entails, and what extra costs you may need to face (town-hall feels, sales taxes, land value tax, previous reports, notary, which professionals -architect, building engineer- may need to be involved during construction, how many visits to the site those professionals need to take...)

From a purely architectural point of view, don't cut corners on systems: plumbing, wiring, heating, A/C, insulation (thermal insulation is of particular importance, at least here), draining etc. Those are more tedious to change in the future than the finishing materials. Make sure that the building is energetically efficient (things like passive solar design), though this is tied to the local climate. Ask the architect to make estimates on energy consumption: you may be interested in installing solar thermal collectors for SWH, or even PV modules (for which they can give you estimates on the repay time).

Consult several contractors. Sometimes their prices vary up to some 50% among them. And ask them to show you some of their previous works. Also ask them how many contracts they have going simultaneously to estimate how long it may take. Your 4-6 months estimate seems a bit too low for me; but I'm not very familiar with timber construction in the US.