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Is there a list of questions goons have made over the years that are standard when meeting with a potential builder?
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Jan 26, 2022 19:25
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fyallm posted:Is there a list of questions goons have made over the years that are standard when meeting with a potential builder? "Do you have stairs in your house?" 
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Jan 26, 2022 19:42
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"....and are the insulated?" But seriously - references and insurance plus any locally required licensing and registration. What do they think about getting permits?
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Jan 26, 2022 19:48
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Motronic posted:What do they think about getting permits? will probably cut your pool in half.
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Jan 26, 2022 20:01
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tater_salad posted:will probably cut your pool in half. Indeed. That's why you ask the question. Same thing about insurance.
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Jan 26, 2022 20:18
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Motronic posted:
Here is their 'why go with us page': https://designhomesco.com/about/vs-other-builders/ They build in communities and always use the same builders so I would imagine the licensing and registration is there. But I was thinking more like floor plans and those type questions,
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Jan 26, 2022 20:52
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Why do these guys hate getting permits so much
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Jan 26, 2022 21:01
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poisonpill posted:Why do these guys hate getting permits so much Well you see, they'd need to do the work to code, and have it inspected to ensure it's done properly. In many areas you also need to be registered with proper insurance / bond etc within the municipality you're applying for the permit for, so they also may not be able to be "Jeff's soon to close contracting LLC 2021" opening up as "Jeff's soon to close Contracting LLC 2022"
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Jan 26, 2022 21:13
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fyallm posted:Here is their 'why go with us page': https://designhomesco.com/about/vs-other-builders/ That is a list of relatively cheap upgrades any builder could provide. Where else would they build other than in "communities"? I guess they're saying they bang out housing developments. Floorplans are something you ask them for if they are the kind of builder that cookie cutters (and they are definitely that kind), or you hire an architect if you want a custom home. That's an entirely personal decision based on your wants/needs and your budget. If you go the architect route hire them first. They already know who the good custom builders are and have worked with them. "Building" a house like this is really just choosing from a list of floorplans and finishes and an available lot. There isn't much to it, but you really want to know the pricing on finishes. It can add up ludicrously fast. If you're looking for a custom home you're looking at the wrong kind of builders. poisonpill posted:Why do these guys hate getting permits so much Some jurisdictions are a pain in the rear end either in filing/granting and/or inspection and will hold up a bunch of work. Other times it's builders who simply aren't building to code. And a lot of them don't have insurance or proper licensing/registration.
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Jan 26, 2022 21:19
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Motronic posted:That is a list of relatively cheap upgrades any builder could provide.
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Jan 26, 2022 22:05
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Motronic posted:That is a list of relatively cheap upgrades any builder could provide. They can build on our own lot per say. And yeah, I've looked at a couple of their floorplans and we really like 2 of them, and supposedly can modify them how we want without getting crazily priced. And no, we aren't looking for a full custom home, as that is def out of our pricerange.
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Jan 26, 2022 22:10
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Slugworth posted:I have to say, they're the first company I've ever seen that advertised 8" garage doors. Stuart Little needs secure vehicle parking too
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Jan 26, 2022 22:10
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Vim Fuego posted:1. How I JB waterwelded that poo poo up and am about to restart my boiler, hope you weren't trolling me. 
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Jan 26, 2022 22:14
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Bought new house. Recessed kitchen lights on a rocker switch stopped working. Everything else worked in the kitchen so I figured had to be the switch. Call an electrician. He comes in and immediately shows me the dimmer slider on the switch. Lights work. Kill myself. Roll on snaredrum.
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Jan 26, 2022 22:16
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theflyingexecutive posted:I JB waterwelded that poo poo up and am about to restart my boiler, hope you weren't trolling me. Godspeed! It's definitely a temp fix if it holds
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Jan 26, 2022 22:19
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fyallm posted:They can build on our own lot per say. And yeah, I've looked at a couple of their floorplans and we really like 2 of them, and supposedly can modify them how we want without getting crazily priced. And no, we aren't looking for a full custom home, as that is def out of our pricerange. So because this is a volume builder what you're looking for is reputation and complaints. You aren't going to get this information from them. You'll have to ask around. See what kinds of problems people have had and if warranties were honored. Take a look at thing like the Toll Brothers fiasco with dryvit and improperly installed stucco. While they may use "the same contractors" those contractors are typically picking up their "crews" in a home depot parking lot each morning. That's just the level of quality you're going to get for a volume built house. You hope the GV is on top of things. You hope they don't cheap out too much on materials or use new materials incorrectly. But those are all reputational things. You should count on having your own independent inspector that you pay to be out there on a regular basis to make sure the job is being done properly and before things get covered up/expensive to remediate.
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Jan 26, 2022 22:20
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fyallm posted:Is there a list of questions goons have made over the years that are standard when meeting with a potential builder? Not that I'm aware of. I've built 2 new construction homes so far in my life, here are a few things I would ask. Make sure you understand what is included, and what's extra. Many builders have a "design studio" where you can go pick your finishes. This is where things really add up and people blow their budgets. Granite can run from 40 to over 100 dollars a sq ft, flooring can run from 3 to 15+ a sq ft. You get the picture. You might see a house you like at 650K, but that might be the starting price... by the time you option it up you're well into the 700's. Understand the building timeline, who you'll be communicating with and how often (project/construction manager). What sort of expectations there are during the building process from both parties. I'd ask a lot of questions about energy efficiency, and build quality. It will make a huge difference when it comes to the comfort of the home. Make sure they are OK that you hire your own home inspector for at least pre drywall and pre closing inspections. Any attempt to discourage that is a huge red flag. Ask for references from people that have been in the home at least 2 years, so the homes have had time to go through a couple weather cycles. Understand what their warranty is, fit and finish, mechanical, structural, things like that. Fit and finish is a big one on new construction homes. After a full weather cycle things like caulking will need to be touched up, maybe paint from damage moving in, or other cosmetic issues may need to be addressed. Some builders will only go 1 year on fit and finish, so some of that stuff may fall to you if you catch it 13 months after closing. Ready and understand all the fine print on all the documents they give you. Disclosures, HOA, Deed Restrictions, etc. Understand the change order process in case you change your mind on something. Change orders can be expensive, I recommend not changing your mind if possible. I don't know anything about that area, but is Dayton really that expensive? Similar houses in my area of TX much less expensive, and their standard list of included luxury stuff is pretty much basic things included in most non starter homes. There's a couple things on the list that are usually upgrades in my experience, but that list is pretty much standard stuff. 700 to 1M in my area usually involves 1-5 acres and high end finishes. Maybe the pictures aren't doing the houses justice. I'm jealous of those basements though. We don't get basements in TX.
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Jan 26, 2022 22:44
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The Wonder Weapon posted:Hello again all. We're planning for a remodel that will take place later this year, and that includes redoing some flooring. It's a roughly 300sq ft area. It will see heavy foot traffic from outside with kids and dogs, so being highly water resistant or fully waterproof is important. Since it's a small area (rather than a full 1,500sq ft house) I don't mind upgrading our spending a little bit if it's going to get me something really nice. I had initially considered going real hardwood, but I'm not sure it's water resistant enough. Other than that, my research is pointing me towards WPC Vinyl Plank, but before I mentally commit to that, I thought I'd ask you guys if there's another solution I should consider. Honestly, if you're careful with your wood choice, wood is fine. White Oak (not red oak) is pretty water resistant because it is closed grain, especially with modern poly. Like you can build outdoor furniture with white oak. Modern polys like Bona Traffic HD are super durable and as long as you don't just let huge quantities of water sit for a long time on a regular basis, I'm not that worried. I would prefer finished on site rather than pre-finished because I feel like it seals the floor better. Hell, as I think I mentioned, my parents coast house (which is rental property, so not a ton of care) was built in the 60s with red oak (open grain), which is not nearly as water resistant, including in the bathroom. It was resealed like 20 years ago and was refinished in December again. The area around the bathtub is fine. Even the area around the toilet had no warping, but it did have some discoloration around the toilet because the ammonia in urine fumed the wood. (This was actually easy to fix because there's a gap at the toilet. I don't endorse wood, esp red oak, in a bathroom, but honestly, wood is way more durable than people thing. I feel like a bunch of people grew up with super old wood finishes that required more work. Modern poly makes wood really a durable solution. Also, the great thing about hardwoods is that you can sand and refinish. Like my aunt and uncle have a farm house with nearly 200 year old wood planks upstairs. They're still fine. If it was such a big deal, this house, which had been empty for quite a while, would have needed new floors.
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Jan 26, 2022 23:05
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Vim Fuego posted:Godspeed! It's definitely a temp fix if it holds No bueno, got a pinhole ~5 min after restarting everything.
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Jan 26, 2022 23:14
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theflyingexecutive posted:No bueno, got a pinhole ~5 min after restarting everything. I would expect to have to drain it, cut out the section with the hole, then sharkbite or solder in a coupler, then refill it. There may be an easier fix, but that feels like the right fix to me.
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Jan 26, 2022 23:17
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What's the best way to find an over the range microwave that fits the spot of my now dead one? Same cubic feet? https://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/MMV1174DS.html I had this guy and it sucked.
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Jan 26, 2022 23:31
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Deviant posted:What's the best way to find an over the range microwave that fits the spot of my now dead one? If the width matches it'll fit. And they're all these same width. So go hog wild and pick.
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Jan 26, 2022 23:56
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armorer posted:I would expect to have to drain it, cut out the section with the hole, then sharkbite or solder in a coupler, then refill it. There may be an easier fix, but that feels like the right fix to me. Yeah I've had too many heartaches to believe JB would be that easy, I got the shark bite too and am working on that now. The pipe is installed too close to the masonry for a pipe cutter to work too! 
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Jan 27, 2022 00:27
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theflyingexecutive posted:Yeah I've had too many heartaches to believe JB would be that easy, I got the shark bite too and am working on that now. The pipe is installed too close to the masonry for a pipe cutter to work too! You can get some really low profile pipe cutters, not sure how small the one you're trying is.
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Jan 27, 2022 00:40
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theflyingexecutive posted:Yeah I've had too many heartaches to believe JB would be that easy, I got the shark bite too and am working on that now. The pipe is installed too close to the masonry for a pipe cutter to work too! Be mindful that your pipe cuts have to be dead-on 90-degrees and straight. Shine up the pipe with emory paper.
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Jan 27, 2022 00:59
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PainterofCrap posted:Be mindful that your pipe cuts have to be dead-on 90-degrees and straight. Shine up the pipe with emory paper. I muscled the section out so my cutter would fit and I will file it down to a perfect 90 degrees having watched a bunch of people with very different accents tell me so. What's the problem if it isn't 90 degrees?
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Jan 27, 2022 01:11
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To get a good tight seal (insert submarine joke here) the locking ring has to engage evenly around the mouth of the pipe. If it's angled, or wavy it cocks the ring; if the edges are burred, it may not make a tight seal. I feel...anxious. All of a sudden.
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Jan 27, 2022 01:52
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 So far so good!
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Jan 27, 2022 02:03
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Jan 27, 2022 04:28
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Motronic posted:
Great idea, will def look into this! quote:Not that I'm aware of. I've built 2 new construction homes so far in my life, here are a few things I would ask. This is the exact thing I was looking for! And yeah, its not even dayton tbh, we've moved from the outskirts of Cincinnati all the way to this area because prices are insane and there is absolutely nothing. And yeah the basements are amazing. Im currently sitting on 6.5acres where I'm moving from, and yeah acreage is insanely expensive here
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Jan 27, 2022 04:45
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theflyingexecutive posted:
The sharkbite held. Also it turns out when you drain your boiler pipes, you introduce immense amounts of air into your system and your boiler keeps tripping because the pump can't deal with the air. Fortunately my pump didn't burn out and I learned how to flush my boiler. And, thanks to a video where the host repeatedly stressed how important it was to not run the overpressure valve without the drains open, I did not blow out that valve! Watching the temp on my thermostat creep up was exhilarating. Plus I had these boys apprenticing: 
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Jan 27, 2022 08:01
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I was chatting with a local custom home builder the other day (he has a half dozen or so plans and also apparently does some actual custom builds). He targets 20 houses a year, says his absolute max he will do is 24. He's already got 18 under contract for this year and said for the last 2 he named prices that he thought were crazy and would make the buyers walk, and they happily accepted. Also said that the supply and labor issues had pushed his average construction time from 6 months to 10 and he was expecting it to get worse.
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Jan 27, 2022 12:35
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theflyingexecutive posted:The sharkbite held. Also it turns out when you drain your boiler pipes, you introduce immense amounts of air into your system and your boiler keeps tripping because the pump can't deal with the air. Fortunately my pump didn't burn out and I learned how to flush my boiler. And, thanks to a video where the host repeatedly stressed how important it was to not run the overpressure valve without the drains open, I did not blow out that valve! Watching the temp on my thermostat creep up was exhilarating. Heh, yeah sorry I could have been more clear, but that's what I was talking about when I said drain, fix, refill. It's not particularly hard as you've discovered, just kind of annoying. If you haven't done so, you should bleed all the radiators, but I assume you did and that's how you flushed out the air.
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Jan 27, 2022 17:08
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fyallm posted:Great idea, will def look into this! Met with the builder, no lots met our needs and their phase is 50-60k more than their current prices. We are passing. Man this housing market is stupid
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Jan 27, 2022 19:57
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Reading this thread is making me really glad I bought this stupid house. It sucks but it sucks predictably and it sucks under my ownership. inb4 roof collapse
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Jan 27, 2022 20:32
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armorer posted:Heh, yeah sorry I could have been more clear, but that's what I was talking about when I said drain, fix, refill. It's not particularly hard as you've discovered, just kind of annoying. If you haven't done so, you should bleed all the radiators, but I assume you did and that's how you flushed out the air. I bled the air from the air purge valve coming right off the boiler. Is it possible my radiators don't have bleed valves at all? They just seem like one continuous unbroken loop. I am still hearing bubbles moving room to room through the system (sounds like living in a toilet bowl lol). Will I need to re-bleed or is this the result of replacing all of the water in the system with city water and it will resolve itself? Side note: the expansion bladder seems to be functional. This is the video I used: https://youtu.be/voS7Url50M4 Also got my 2022 tax assessment today; my assessed value went up 14% 
theflyingexecutive fucked around with this message at 22:06 on Jan 27, 2022 |
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Jan 27, 2022 22:00
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theflyingexecutive posted:I bled the air from the air purge valve coming right off the boiler. Is it possible my radiators don't have bleed valves at all? They just seem like one continuous unbroken loop. I am still hearing bubbles moving room to room through the system (sounds like living in a toilet bowl lol). Will I need to re-bleed or is this the result of replacing all of the water in the system with city water and it will resolve itself? Side note: the expansion bladder seems to be functional. This is the video I used: https://youtu.be/voS7Url50M4 My experience is with old cast iron radiators, where there's air trapped up in the top of the thing and the most efficient way to bleed it is to just walk around and bleed each one individually from a little stem valve. If you've got more modern baseboard heaters I think there's less room for air to get really trapped in them and flushing it like this would work fine. That said, I think they are supposed to still have bleed valves anyway, under the housing somewhere.
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Jan 27, 2022 22:37
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I'm really lucky to have dodged the big cast iron radiators for this 110yo house, but I haven't found a single bleed valve anywhere. 🤷
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Jan 27, 2022 23:22
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theflyingexecutive posted:I'm really lucky to have dodged the big cast iron radiators for this 110yo house, but I haven't found a single bleed valve anywhere. 🤷 Can you show us a picture of one? Nice wide angle. Preferably the one at the highest elevation / end of the loop as that ought to be the most bang for your buck. Our city water comes out milky white from aeration sometimes it's nuts. If yours is anything like ours you have a LOT of air in there now.
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Jan 27, 2022 23:29
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You might have an air eliminator in the system, like a spirovent: https://www.spirotherm.com/products/air-elimination I've got one and I'm pretty sure it just pulls air out as it cycles through. I don't think my radiators have bleed valves on them.
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Jan 27, 2022 23:34
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