Well, the contractor in my last post didn't work out. He took forever to get back to me and then wanted to charge about twice as much as the most expensive bid I have so far ($5 per square foot vs. about $2.50). No thanks. I think this is the first time someone has really tried to play me because I'm young or I'm new at this, etc.
So I kept looking. I circled back with other bidders in other trades to ask for slab references. The lady at one lumber yard gave me a name. I met this guy at the lot. His price is $1.60 per square foot, which doesn't include equipment or materials. Even so, he's about the least expensive guy I've found. This past Friday, I took my mom & dad with me to check out slabs he's done in a subdivision on the westbank. They were pouring two more slabs that day. I got to watch them for a bit and then walk through two others that are at the framing stage. The work was about the best I've seen.: flat surface with no honeycombing and minimal voids in the brick ledges. Even the areas surrounding plumbing pipes were fairly level.
I'll be contacting this guy tomorrow to put things in motion. Looks like I'm ready to begin actual construction!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Electric Pole Installed; Slab Contractor; AC Bids
My dad and I installed the temporary electric pole before Thanksgiving. My electrician/friend said that I'd need to add a 220V receptacle to pass the parish inspection. I bought most of the pieces I needed from an electrical supply store (the receptacle, a metal box to mount it in, a circuit breaker with GFI protection and a weatherproof cover). On the weekend after Thanksgiving, we went to Home Depot to buy the rest of what we needed (mostly conduit and fittings). Then we installed it. (Hooray for Jerry, an HD employee who was really helpful & knowledgeable.)
My electrician is coming to inspect it before he calls for the parish inspection. This is good since I don't want to electrocute anyone!! The funny thing is, he says that the 220V will probably never be needed during construction. But the parish requires it. At least I should be able to reuse components of it in the house.
Chain-Wall Leakage
While we were there, we also repaired a spot along my chain wall where sand was seeping underneath into the neighbor's yard. Their lot is low, and water from a rainstorm found a spot to break through under the wall. So we dug it out from both sides and filled in some concrete underneath about 4-5 inches deep and maybe 18-20 inches long. Neither me or my dad knew of anything else to do to fix it. So hopefully, it does the job.
Slab Contractor
I think I might have found my slab guy! There was a crew working on a slab up the street from my lot. I stopped and got their information. Since then, I've let him take my plans and look them over, and I've gone to see a commercial slab he did recently. It was well done, with no honeycombing or voids. Just one depression in the top where some rain water had settled. (I don't expect it to be 100% perfect.) So this looks like it might be the guy. He says he uses the vibrating rod to make sure the concrete settles everywhere. Now I just have to get him to call me back with his price! It's been a few days. I've called him a couple of times. He tells me he's been waiting to talk to his partner, who has been out of town.
Air Conditioning Bids
My preferred air-conditioning contractor has had some business and family problems that kept him out of touch for about 3 months. But he finally gave me the quote today: $14,200 for everything I wanted. That includes a 16 SEER Trane system, 4-ton, with variable speed air handler (vertical installation in the attic), electrostatic air filter, etc. While I was waiting for him, I got a couple of other bids: $12,200 and $7,900. These other two are quoting brands other than Trane. I'm not sure why the third guy is so low.
My electrician is coming to inspect it before he calls for the parish inspection. This is good since I don't want to electrocute anyone!! The funny thing is, he says that the 220V will probably never be needed during construction. But the parish requires it. At least I should be able to reuse components of it in the house.
Chain-Wall Leakage
While we were there, we also repaired a spot along my chain wall where sand was seeping underneath into the neighbor's yard. Their lot is low, and water from a rainstorm found a spot to break through under the wall. So we dug it out from both sides and filled in some concrete underneath about 4-5 inches deep and maybe 18-20 inches long. Neither me or my dad knew of anything else to do to fix it. So hopefully, it does the job.
Slab Contractor
I think I might have found my slab guy! There was a crew working on a slab up the street from my lot. I stopped and got their information. Since then, I've let him take my plans and look them over, and I've gone to see a commercial slab he did recently. It was well done, with no honeycombing or voids. Just one depression in the top where some rain water had settled. (I don't expect it to be 100% perfect.) So this looks like it might be the guy. He says he uses the vibrating rod to make sure the concrete settles everywhere. Now I just have to get him to call me back with his price! It's been a few days. I've called him a couple of times. He tells me he's been waiting to talk to his partner, who has been out of town.
Air Conditioning Bids
My preferred air-conditioning contractor has had some business and family problems that kept him out of touch for about 3 months. But he finally gave me the quote today: $14,200 for everything I wanted. That includes a 16 SEER Trane system, 4-ton, with variable speed air handler (vertical installation in the attic), electrostatic air filter, etc. While I was waiting for him, I got a couple of other bids: $12,200 and $7,900. These other two are quoting brands other than Trane. I'm not sure why the third guy is so low.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Got the Permit!
I'm ready to go, permit-wise. Yesterday, I went in to the parish permits office. My intent was to go upstairs and deal with another form that they told me I'd need filled out before I could get the actual permit. I hadn't planned on leaving that day with the permit, but the timing worked out for me to get the whole thing done.
Upstairs, I needed to visit the public works (utilities) office for them to verify that my property has the infrastructure for water, sewerage, etc. That didn't take too long. Then I went back downstairs to the permits office. The guy I spoke with last time was out sick, but I get the next best person to process the application. So I'm now the proud owner of a piece of cardboard that says I can build! :)
I also got a temporary pole with all the components from my uncle. He last used it in Mississippi. We're going to the lot to put this in the ground today. If all goes well, my friend who is doing my electrical work can get the licensed electrician to call in for the inspection soon. Then I can get hooked up!
Upstairs, I needed to visit the public works (utilities) office for them to verify that my property has the infrastructure for water, sewerage, etc. That didn't take too long. Then I went back downstairs to the permits office. The guy I spoke with last time was out sick, but I get the next best person to process the application. So I'm now the proud owner of a piece of cardboard that says I can build! :)
I also got a temporary pole with all the components from my uncle. He last used it in Mississippi. We're going to the lot to put this in the ground today. If all goes well, my friend who is doing my electrical work can get the licensed electrician to call in for the inspection soon. Then I can get hooked up!
Friday, November 9, 2007
Silly Parish Plan Reviewers! And Other Assorted Updates
After my last post, I went back to my engineer with the vague list of requirements I got from the parish permits office. The plan reviewer had told me that I needed to be under the 2006 code (too late for 2003 code) and that parts of my house & garage near the property line needed to be "fire rated for one hour". Well, the engineering office had my request for this clarification letter for weeks, and the hold-up was supposedly that the girl they assigned it to left on maternity leave... yada yada. They kept reassigning the task to someone new. Each person would (eventually!) get around to asking me for the letter the parish gave me describing what they wanted. This didn't exist, and the engineer would inevitably get confused and go slobber in a corner somewhere and not call me again. Finally, I decided it was time for me to go back to the parish and get rock solid details about what needed to be in the letter...
I'm glad I did! This time I requested Sal at the permits office (a guy who seems to know his stuff, and who has been recommended to me by others) instead of taking whoever came up in the rotation. I told him what the last guy had told me. He was disgusted because the last guy should have known that I'm still elligible for the 2003 code under the grace period because I started this process before the new code went into effect. I still needed a letter from the engineer, but now it needed to say less. And I got specific details about what it needed to say. The morning I went in, all their computers were down. So Sal took the time to go through my plans and make all the markups that will be necessary so that I wouldn't need to wait the next time I come in.
After leaving that office, I called the engineers again to give them the new info and light a fire under them to get it done. Within a few days, I had the letter from them. There is still one visit I need to make to another parish office (in the same buidling) before I go get the permit. But otherwise, it seems I'm ready to go as far as the permit is concerned.
In other news...
My new utility pole has been installed! It's on the parish easement by the street, and it's just on the other side of the property line. This places it just right so that I can put my driveway out to the street without the pole in the way. My temporary electric pole will go right next to the new pole.
Which brings me to my next topic. The latest slab guy I talked to may work out. He's a second guy recommended by the framer across the street from me. This guy reminded me that he'll need electricity when it's time to start forming the slab. I've been talking to my friend, Matt, about the prices of bids I've gotten. He builds houses for a living, and he's offered to do the electrical work for less than my other bids. I talked to him this morning about what it takes to get the permit process going for the temporary electricity. He said I may be able to apply for the permit myself since it's my house I'm building. I need to check on this.
I'm glad I did! This time I requested Sal at the permits office (a guy who seems to know his stuff, and who has been recommended to me by others) instead of taking whoever came up in the rotation. I told him what the last guy had told me. He was disgusted because the last guy should have known that I'm still elligible for the 2003 code under the grace period because I started this process before the new code went into effect. I still needed a letter from the engineer, but now it needed to say less. And I got specific details about what it needed to say. The morning I went in, all their computers were down. So Sal took the time to go through my plans and make all the markups that will be necessary so that I wouldn't need to wait the next time I come in.
After leaving that office, I called the engineers again to give them the new info and light a fire under them to get it done. Within a few days, I had the letter from them. There is still one visit I need to make to another parish office (in the same buidling) before I go get the permit. But otherwise, it seems I'm ready to go as far as the permit is concerned.
In other news...
My new utility pole has been installed! It's on the parish easement by the street, and it's just on the other side of the property line. This places it just right so that I can put my driveway out to the street without the pole in the way. My temporary electric pole will go right next to the new pole.
Which brings me to my next topic. The latest slab guy I talked to may work out. He's a second guy recommended by the framer across the street from me. This guy reminded me that he'll need electricity when it's time to start forming the slab. I've been talking to my friend, Matt, about the prices of bids I've gotten. He builds houses for a living, and he's offered to do the electrical work for less than my other bids. I talked to him this morning about what it takes to get the permit process going for the temporary electricity. He said I may be able to apply for the permit myself since it's my house I'm building. I need to check on this.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Gears of the Bidding Process Turn Slowly... and Other Delays!
I've had a few breakthroughs in getting recommendations for subs in trades that I was having trouble with. For example, I finally brought my plans to the excellent framer across the street from me. Although timing may prevent him from doing the work, he gave me a price and he also gave me names of a slab guy, a plumber, and a recommendation for a lumber yard. When I called the lumber yard, she gave me two other recommendations for framers. My mom's friend gave me the number of a plumber he really recommends. I also had the Laplace concrete company to refer me to two other slab guys.
I've visited three slabs now done by people bidding on my job. Each one has had its weak points. Either the top was rough/uneven or the brick ledges and sides were a mess. I'm not sure how much of the sides I should worry about since they may come back and finish it off later. But the top definitely needs to be level, flat, and smooth.
I made my first attempt at a permit this week. Right away, the plan reviewer found things he needed clarified in a letter from the engineer. Apparently in Jefferson Parish, any part of a structure that's less than 5 ft from the property line needs to be fire rated for one hour. Two walls of my garage, and the overhang on one side of the house are within this limit. So I'm working on getting that letter now. At the same time, the reviewer told me the wall between the house and the attached garage needed to be fire rated and he was able to just write that in on the plans. If he could write in notes about the interior wall, why couldn't he write in the notes about the exterior walls?
Oh, and the permits office told me that they have nothing to do with giving me my address number (which contradicts what they told me over the phone). When I told him I didn't know the address number, he seemed aggrivated. So he sent someone around to figure it out. In their computer system, my lot and the neighbor's lot (which was one big lot at one time) still had the old house that straddled the dividing line. Eventually, they were able to determine that my house number is 624. During the visit, he pulled up aerial photos of the area to verify that there were indeed two lots and that a new house had already been built on the adjoining lot. I wish I could have gotten a copy of that photo, even though it was taken shortly after Katrina and still had all the trees on it.
On the positive front, the power company is on schedule to have the new utility pole installed by Nov. 1. Then I can have my temporary electricity feed off the new pole. Speaking of electricians, I'm waiting on two other electrical bids and my HVAC bid.
When visiting a slab today, I met the owner of the house who told me three things to make sure I have before my final inspection:
I've visited three slabs now done by people bidding on my job. Each one has had its weak points. Either the top was rough/uneven or the brick ledges and sides were a mess. I'm not sure how much of the sides I should worry about since they may come back and finish it off later. But the top definitely needs to be level, flat, and smooth.
I made my first attempt at a permit this week. Right away, the plan reviewer found things he needed clarified in a letter from the engineer. Apparently in Jefferson Parish, any part of a structure that's less than 5 ft from the property line needs to be fire rated for one hour. Two walls of my garage, and the overhang on one side of the house are within this limit. So I'm working on getting that letter now. At the same time, the reviewer told me the wall between the house and the attached garage needed to be fire rated and he was able to just write that in on the plans. If he could write in notes about the interior wall, why couldn't he write in the notes about the exterior walls?
Oh, and the permits office told me that they have nothing to do with giving me my address number (which contradicts what they told me over the phone). When I told him I didn't know the address number, he seemed aggrivated. So he sent someone around to figure it out. In their computer system, my lot and the neighbor's lot (which was one big lot at one time) still had the old house that straddled the dividing line. Eventually, they were able to determine that my house number is 624. During the visit, he pulled up aerial photos of the area to verify that there were indeed two lots and that a new house had already been built on the adjoining lot. I wish I could have gotten a copy of that photo, even though it was taken shortly after Katrina and still had all the trees on it.
On the positive front, the power company is on schedule to have the new utility pole installed by Nov. 1. Then I can have my temporary electricity feed off the new pole. Speaking of electricians, I'm waiting on two other electrical bids and my HVAC bid.
When visiting a slab today, I met the owner of the house who told me three things to make sure I have before my final inspection:
- Your house number posted (and make sure the numbers are large enough)
- Any steps are the right height/size, and
- Your mailbox installed
He also told me about another company besides the citizen's FAIR plan for obtaining wind and hail insurance. It's Republican Insurance. A quick Google search revealed more than one match. I'm not sure which one he was talking about, but he said you can save a lot by going through them.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Arranging for the Utility Pole
Yesterday, I met with an engineer from Entergy, our electric utility. On my street, the utility poles are across the street. My neighbor has a utility pole in the alley between his house and our shared property line. Wires come from across the street (hanging through the corner of my property) to this pole. Then they get their power from "their" pole.
(Click image above for a larger version.) In order to keep the wires from hanging across my property, Entergy will install a new utility pole near the street just to the neighbor's side of the property line. This is on the parish easment. When this is complete, wires from across the street will swing to this pole instead, and then continue on to the neighbor's pole in the alley. Meanwhile, my electricity will come down the new pole and feed my house via buried cable.
Lumber Bids - Allow 2-4 Weeks!
Don't wait too long before you get bids on your lumber. I was thinking I would wait until I was about done gathering framing bids before I looked into lumber. But I called two lumber yards today, and they're backed up about 2-1/2 to 3 weeks just to get a material take-off and a bid back to you.
Anyway, my one bid for framing so far is $6.75 per sqft. My friend who builds houses in Hammond says that's way too high. He expects it should be less than $6. He admits that he's not sure where the prices are down on the south shore right now, but he still thinks $6.75 is too high. Another guy I know in the contracting business locally says that this is within the range of what we see here right now. He knows of this framer and swears by his work. He says there are other framers here that will charge up to $8.
Finally, a tip: keep a sheet that tracks where each copy of your plans currently is. I have six copies for distribution, and I know who has the five that are out right now. I'm trying to get two of them back from people who shouldn't need them anymore.
Anyway, my one bid for framing so far is $6.75 per sqft. My friend who builds houses in Hammond says that's way too high. He expects it should be less than $6. He admits that he's not sure where the prices are down on the south shore right now, but he still thinks $6.75 is too high. Another guy I know in the contracting business locally says that this is within the range of what we see here right now. He knows of this framer and swears by his work. He says there are other framers here that will charge up to $8.
Finally, a tip: keep a sheet that tracks where each copy of your plans currently is. I have six copies for distribution, and I know who has the five that are out right now. I'm trying to get two of them back from people who shouldn't need them anymore.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Bids & Legal Stuff
Today was a busy day for a Saturday! I started by meeting with the air condition man that my family has used for years. He's a perfectionist and he knows what he's doing. So I plan to use him unless his prices are sky high.
Later, I finally got a framer to meet with me. That has been a struggle. His bid was higher than I was told to expect, at $6.75 per square foot. I look forward to getting other bids to compare to.
I also went to Luling to look at the work of one of my potential slab guys. This job is in the forming stage. The work looked neat enough. I saw another slab that had already been poured, and I wish I could find out who did that job! It looked very neat, and the finish was level and polished. My guy's work also looked okay for the stage it was at.
I also met with a lawyer who is working on the contract template I will use when hiring each tradesman. He gave me a draft of the contract, the "acceptance of work" form, and the lien waiver. He also gave me material to read so I can learn about this construction business and the issues I need to know about with Louisiana law. I'll be absorbing that over the next few days and getting back to him so we can narrow down to the final versions of the contracts & forms.
One thing I learned is that it's best to have each contract and acceptance form "recorded" with the parish. The way I understand it so far, this makes everything more official and provides backing if someone wants to make a claim or otherwise cause trouble.
Later, I finally got a framer to meet with me. That has been a struggle. His bid was higher than I was told to expect, at $6.75 per square foot. I look forward to getting other bids to compare to.
I also went to Luling to look at the work of one of my potential slab guys. This job is in the forming stage. The work looked neat enough. I saw another slab that had already been poured, and I wish I could find out who did that job! It looked very neat, and the finish was level and polished. My guy's work also looked okay for the stage it was at.
I also met with a lawyer who is working on the contract template I will use when hiring each tradesman. He gave me a draft of the contract, the "acceptance of work" form, and the lien waiver. He also gave me material to read so I can learn about this construction business and the issues I need to know about with Louisiana law. I'll be absorbing that over the next few days and getting back to him so we can narrow down to the final versions of the contracts & forms.
One thing I learned is that it's best to have each contract and acceptance form "recorded" with the parish. The way I understand it so far, this makes everything more official and provides backing if someone wants to make a claim or otherwise cause trouble.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
About Your Plans
My designer provided six copies of the sets of plans. Two of those copies go to the parish when I apply for the permit. From all I read in owner-builder books, I expected I would need more copies. Now that I'm in the process of getting bids from various tradesmen, I see why.
I had 3 more copies made so that I can get more bids at the same time. Contractors want to take the plans with them to study as they make their estimate. These guys are hard enough to get in touch with to begin with. I don't want to miss opportunities by not having a set of plans handy when they're available to meet. I found a local copy center that charged $3.50 per page, and I have 9 pages in my plan set.
Most contractors don't need all the pages in the set. For example, the slab and piling contractors only need the 3 pages that show the plot plan, the slab design, and the piling details. But since most of my activity right now is dealing with these parts of the job, I was glad I had the copies made.
Learning About Contractors Through Your Plans?
Some plans I've loaned out have come back neat and clean. One person in particular had them for 2-3 days and brought them back a bit folded and ragged with a coffee stain. I wonder how much that tells me about the neatness and quality of their work? This is a slab guy (my first form/pour/finish bid), and I asked him for the location of a current job where I could go see his work. So I'll be able to see for myself.
Plumbers
In other news, I'm waiting for my first plumbing bid. I visited a job his crew was doing, and I was satisfied (not that I have any deep insight into what I saw or anything...). They add plaster under the tubs and showers to give them a good solid feel to your feet, they secure pipes to studs to keep them solid, and they clean up after themselves. I was told that this guy was very good, but not cheap. He does seem professional, which is more than I can say for another plumber I met today...
I went to his house, and he knew I was coming. It's not that I expected him to clean the whole house, but there was clutter everywhere. He spread out my plans on top of some clutter on the coffe table. He gave them a quick study as be handled them roughly & carelessly. Then he spouted something about my laundry room floor drain requiring an expensive drain with some other expensive thing. He threw out a range of $14k-15k for the job, and didn't even want to keep the plans so he could go over it in more detail. That was it. When I left, he didn't even bother to walk me to the front door. I don't think I'll be hiring him... :) But it was good to at least get a price range to guage other bids by.
I had 3 more copies made so that I can get more bids at the same time. Contractors want to take the plans with them to study as they make their estimate. These guys are hard enough to get in touch with to begin with. I don't want to miss opportunities by not having a set of plans handy when they're available to meet. I found a local copy center that charged $3.50 per page, and I have 9 pages in my plan set.
Most contractors don't need all the pages in the set. For example, the slab and piling contractors only need the 3 pages that show the plot plan, the slab design, and the piling details. But since most of my activity right now is dealing with these parts of the job, I was glad I had the copies made.
Learning About Contractors Through Your Plans?
Some plans I've loaned out have come back neat and clean. One person in particular had them for 2-3 days and brought them back a bit folded and ragged with a coffee stain. I wonder how much that tells me about the neatness and quality of their work? This is a slab guy (my first form/pour/finish bid), and I asked him for the location of a current job where I could go see his work. So I'll be able to see for myself.
Plumbers
In other news, I'm waiting for my first plumbing bid. I visited a job his crew was doing, and I was satisfied (not that I have any deep insight into what I saw or anything...). They add plaster under the tubs and showers to give them a good solid feel to your feet, they secure pipes to studs to keep them solid, and they clean up after themselves. I was told that this guy was very good, but not cheap. He does seem professional, which is more than I can say for another plumber I met today...
I went to his house, and he knew I was coming. It's not that I expected him to clean the whole house, but there was clutter everywhere. He spread out my plans on top of some clutter on the coffe table. He gave them a quick study as be handled them roughly & carelessly. Then he spouted something about my laundry room floor drain requiring an expensive drain with some other expensive thing. He threw out a range of $14k-15k for the job, and didn't even want to keep the plans so he could go over it in more detail. That was it. When I left, he didn't even bother to walk me to the front door. I don't think I'll be hiring him... :) But it was good to at least get a price range to guage other bids by.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Plans Stamped - Getting Bids
On Friday, I picked up the stamped plans at the engineer's office. Since I had a designer draw my plans and not an architect, either an architect or an engineer needed to review & stamp them. So now I have the stamped plans and the survey. I've got everything I need to go apply for the permit at the parish office.
Since I don't know exactly when construction will start, and the permit is techically only good for 6 months, I don't know if I should wait longer before getting it. On the other hand, I don't want to wait too long and then discover a problem that's going to delay my permit and delay the start of the project! The guy I talked to at the parish office said that as long as there is continuing progress on the project, they allow a good deal more than 6 months. I'll wait another week or so, or until I have a solid start date from the piling contractor.
I've started collecting bids. So far, I've got 3 for the pilings, and 3 for the post-tension work in the slab (installing the cables and then stressing them later). I've had a couple of contractors recommended to me for forming & pouring the slab, but neither have returned my voicemails. I've also spoken to one plumber who was recommended to me. I was told he's not the cheapest, but he's very good.
For pilings, Howard Piling Co. seems to be popular here. A general contractor at my church recommended them, and then several piling companies I contacted at random also pointed me to Howard when the job I described was too big for their equipment. But I also got recommendations for two different companies owned by brothers named Tassin. Keith and Paul own separate companies that do the same thing. Paul's company seems bigger and one person described him as thinking he's "too important to call you back". I found that to be true after I left 2 voice mails for him with no return call, so I called his brother. In the end, I wound up getting bids from both. Keith has the lower of all three prices. So then it comes down to any other factors that might be apparent.
For post-tension slabs, the company I've found with the most personal recommendations is Tech-Con Systems in Slidell. And they also gave me the second to lowest price. So I will probably go with them.
I'd like to have at least these contractors signed and lined up before the start: pilings, slab, post-tension, plumber, framers, roofers, and bricklayers. That way I can hopefully get the house closed in and protected from the elements as soon as possible. Even if the rest of the project goes on for months, it will be protected from weather.
Since I don't know exactly when construction will start, and the permit is techically only good for 6 months, I don't know if I should wait longer before getting it. On the other hand, I don't want to wait too long and then discover a problem that's going to delay my permit and delay the start of the project! The guy I talked to at the parish office said that as long as there is continuing progress on the project, they allow a good deal more than 6 months. I'll wait another week or so, or until I have a solid start date from the piling contractor.
I've started collecting bids. So far, I've got 3 for the pilings, and 3 for the post-tension work in the slab (installing the cables and then stressing them later). I've had a couple of contractors recommended to me for forming & pouring the slab, but neither have returned my voicemails. I've also spoken to one plumber who was recommended to me. I was told he's not the cheapest, but he's very good.
For pilings, Howard Piling Co. seems to be popular here. A general contractor at my church recommended them, and then several piling companies I contacted at random also pointed me to Howard when the job I described was too big for their equipment. But I also got recommendations for two different companies owned by brothers named Tassin. Keith and Paul own separate companies that do the same thing. Paul's company seems bigger and one person described him as thinking he's "too important to call you back". I found that to be true after I left 2 voice mails for him with no return call, so I called his brother. In the end, I wound up getting bids from both. Keith has the lower of all three prices. So then it comes down to any other factors that might be apparent.
For post-tension slabs, the company I've found with the most personal recommendations is Tech-Con Systems in Slidell. And they also gave me the second to lowest price. So I will probably go with them.
I'd like to have at least these contractors signed and lined up before the start: pilings, slab, post-tension, plumber, framers, roofers, and bricklayers. That way I can hopefully get the house closed in and protected from the elements as soon as possible. Even if the rest of the project goes on for months, it will be protected from weather.
Paul Lagrange, Enegry Efficiency Consultant
There's a local guy who consults on how to make houses energy efficient and maximize air quality & comfort. His name is Paul Lagrange. He built houses for years, and now he does consulting along with a call-in radio show on Saturday mornings on WWL 870AM.
For $300, he meets with you and goes over your plans. Then he reviews them and puts together a written manual/checklist outlining everything you should do in your home to make it energy efficient and as comfortable as possible. I met with him last Friday at his home office. My mom went with me because I know she'll think of questions I wouldn't know to ask. Paul took us across the street to a home he's building for his parents.
Among other things, we saw the unvented attic. This is where there is no ridge vent or any other opening to let air flow in & out of the attic. Instead, spray foam insulation is in the roof rafters and even covers the rafters themselves. This makes the attic part of the home's thermal envelope. Kind of like an Igloo ice chest. Pipes for plumbing vent stacks and the like go through the foam & the roof to the outside. Bathroom fans are ducted to the outside via small vents in the overhangs. There is no insulation between the attic and the living area of the house. Even on the hottest days down here in the South, the attic never gets more than 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the house. You do hear people that are not for this kind of attic, but from all I've heard I'm sold on it.
There were a lot of other details he pointed out just during the hour we spent with him. I have no doubt that the information I get from Paul will be well worth the $300 I'm spending. If you're on the north or south shores of Lake Pontchartrain, I highly recommend the services that he provides.
For $300, he meets with you and goes over your plans. Then he reviews them and puts together a written manual/checklist outlining everything you should do in your home to make it energy efficient and as comfortable as possible. I met with him last Friday at his home office. My mom went with me because I know she'll think of questions I wouldn't know to ask. Paul took us across the street to a home he's building for his parents.
Among other things, we saw the unvented attic. This is where there is no ridge vent or any other opening to let air flow in & out of the attic. Instead, spray foam insulation is in the roof rafters and even covers the rafters themselves. This makes the attic part of the home's thermal envelope. Kind of like an Igloo ice chest. Pipes for plumbing vent stacks and the like go through the foam & the roof to the outside. Bathroom fans are ducted to the outside via small vents in the overhangs. There is no insulation between the attic and the living area of the house. Even on the hottest days down here in the South, the attic never gets more than 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the house. You do hear people that are not for this kind of attic, but from all I've heard I'm sold on it.There were a lot of other details he pointed out just during the hour we spent with him. I have no doubt that the information I get from Paul will be well worth the $300 I'm spending. If you're on the north or south shores of Lake Pontchartrain, I highly recommend the services that he provides.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Brain Dump of Important Tidbits
After a couple of days of making calls and gearing up for my next tasks, I've accumulated the following pieces of information that I wanted to record here. They should prove useful to many readers. Remember, this info is specific to South Louisiana:
- Builder's risk insurance policy is available from State Farm. They're not including damage from wind or hail in new policies, so I'll need to get the dreaded (and ludicrously expensive) citizen's insurance
- The builder's risk policy won't cover any thefts until the house is able to be locked and materials are secured behind lock & key
- Nothing special is needed before I sign up for the policy, but I'll wait until I'm about to start construction so I don't waste money
- They "recommend" that I sign up right away to cover the full expected value of the home instead of slowly increasing it as the project progresses. This is because I might "forget" to increase it later. No thanks. I think I'll raise it incrementally as I go to save money.
- Get lien waivers signed by everyone who physically does work on the project and everyone who sells materials for use on the project (either purchased by you or a subcontractor). This includes any employee of any of your subs that works on your house.
- Open a separate checking account in order to carefully track house-related expenses. Have checks printed with lien waiver verbiage printed on the back near the endorsement area. Something along the lines of "Endorsement and/or deposit of this check is an acknowledgement of payment in full for all amounts due and signifies a waiver of any lien rights against the property."
- The vibration method for driving pilings is apparently against parish code for building a residence. If they know you used vibration instead of traditional pounding of the pilings, they're not supposed to approve it.
- Pump sand is the best thing to use when building up the ground under the slab. Not clay or soil as I had inquired about
- Write full specs out for each subcontractor. Don't depend on the plans to tell them everything they need to know.
- I bought books on wiring and plumbing from Taunton's For Pros by Pros series. I plan to review them so I can be knowledgeable about directing and inspecting the work of these subs.
- I got more contractor recommendations today from friends and family connected to the construction business.
Here are my next upcoming tasks:
- Get plans stamped by the engineer who works with my designer (2 copies)
- Go to the parish permits office and start the permit application process. The best time to go there is at 7:00 before they open and put your name on the list at the desk. Then wait for them to open and start seeing people.
- Contact Entergy about the new utility pole they said they would put in at the front of my property. This is the best way to get the power line from across the street and not hang down over my front yard.
- Mark out the boundaries of the house and garage and get enough sand dumped there to build up about 1 more foot.
- Get sand spread
- Get temporary electric pole setup. May include digging trench to go ahead and run electric to south side of house where meter will be.
- Get pilings driven
- Get plumber to rough in the stuff that goes under/in the slab
- Get slab formed and poured
Friday, August 24, 2007
Plans Complete!
This is one of those times when pieces just seem to come together at once. I picked up my final plans from the designer today. But leading up to that, some things just fell in line.
I had been waiting about a month since the last time I heard from him. Then he had another revision ready, and for the very first time I got to see things other than the basic floorplan: lighting plan, slab plan, piling plan, etc. He said that I should review and get back to him quickly so he could wrap my project up by Friday. If I was to go over a week, then he expected me to pay him at least half of what I still owed him. I See. So, it's okay for him to take weeks to do his part, but I need to give him a quick turnaround and wrap everything up because it's convenient for him?
For the floorplan, we went through about 5 revision cycles. Now, I'm certainly ready to move ahead on this, but I wasn't about to rush through everything else without thinking it through or at least understanding the notes and diagrams for the new parts of the plan. I turns out that it really wasn't a rush.
Well, one of my biggest questions centered around the elevation of the slab. There's a local regulation that your slab needs to be the higher of the base flood elevation or three feet above the crest of the street. The plans had been drawn up with a total slab height (slab + footings/chain wall) of 2 ft. I didn't understand if the designer made assumptions about the present elevation of the lot or what. How did he know I didn't need three feet to build high enough?
I asked him, and he said they made assumptions, but if it turned out I needed a taller slab they'd modify the plans. The survey would tell me if this would be enough. Thus the other piece that fell nicely in place: I had ordered the survey about 4-5 weeks prior, and I had been on the phone with them lately trying to get it done. On my way out the door to bring my last revisions to the designer, the survey company called. It was ready to be picked up. And it turns out that my lot is roughly one foot below the required slab height. That means the slab plan they came up with is fine. It'll be about a foot out of the ground, and the chain walls will be about a foot in the ground.
My other questions were answered by the designer and some research on the web. For example: 6x6 2.9/2.9 WWF is "wire welded fabric", or highway wire, the large chicken wire type stuff they put in concrete to reinforce it. So I got all my questions answered and revisions made, and today I picked up the final plans. I can still go back if I discover some final tweaks are needed by next week. Otherwise, I need to pay the designer the rest of what I owe him and take two copies to the engineer to have them stamped. Then I can go apply for the permit.
I'm going with the post-tension slab instead of traditional rebar reinforced concrete. It's a bit of a risk because none of my family knows much about this method. But I hear from friends and professionals that it's a solid concept and it's good to use in our area. I'm starting to see them used more and more around the area.
Finally, I also got a bid for my pilings. I need 54 of them, and the bid is cheaper than I expected. I braced myself for $10k-15k, but the bid is around $8,000 (~$165 per piling). I also know now that I need to put some more sand down where the house & garage will go. About another foot. So as soon as I can get over there to stake out roughly where the boundaries are, I'll schedule the delivery of the sand.
I had been waiting about a month since the last time I heard from him. Then he had another revision ready, and for the very first time I got to see things other than the basic floorplan: lighting plan, slab plan, piling plan, etc. He said that I should review and get back to him quickly so he could wrap my project up by Friday. If I was to go over a week, then he expected me to pay him at least half of what I still owed him. I See. So, it's okay for him to take weeks to do his part, but I need to give him a quick turnaround and wrap everything up because it's convenient for him?
For the floorplan, we went through about 5 revision cycles. Now, I'm certainly ready to move ahead on this, but I wasn't about to rush through everything else without thinking it through or at least understanding the notes and diagrams for the new parts of the plan. I turns out that it really wasn't a rush.
Well, one of my biggest questions centered around the elevation of the slab. There's a local regulation that your slab needs to be the higher of the base flood elevation or three feet above the crest of the street. The plans had been drawn up with a total slab height (slab + footings/chain wall) of 2 ft. I didn't understand if the designer made assumptions about the present elevation of the lot or what. How did he know I didn't need three feet to build high enough?
I asked him, and he said they made assumptions, but if it turned out I needed a taller slab they'd modify the plans. The survey would tell me if this would be enough. Thus the other piece that fell nicely in place: I had ordered the survey about 4-5 weeks prior, and I had been on the phone with them lately trying to get it done. On my way out the door to bring my last revisions to the designer, the survey company called. It was ready to be picked up. And it turns out that my lot is roughly one foot below the required slab height. That means the slab plan they came up with is fine. It'll be about a foot out of the ground, and the chain walls will be about a foot in the ground.
My other questions were answered by the designer and some research on the web. For example: 6x6 2.9/2.9 WWF is "wire welded fabric", or highway wire, the large chicken wire type stuff they put in concrete to reinforce it. So I got all my questions answered and revisions made, and today I picked up the final plans. I can still go back if I discover some final tweaks are needed by next week. Otherwise, I need to pay the designer the rest of what I owe him and take two copies to the engineer to have them stamped. Then I can go apply for the permit.
I'm going with the post-tension slab instead of traditional rebar reinforced concrete. It's a bit of a risk because none of my family knows much about this method. But I hear from friends and professionals that it's a solid concept and it's good to use in our area. I'm starting to see them used more and more around the area.
Finally, I also got a bid for my pilings. I need 54 of them, and the bid is cheaper than I expected. I braced myself for $10k-15k, but the bid is around $8,000 (~$165 per piling). I also know now that I need to put some more sand down where the house & garage will go. About another foot. So as soon as I can get over there to stake out roughly where the boundaries are, I'll schedule the delivery of the sand.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Use a Lawyer!
All the books I read strongly recommend having everything in writing with each of your subs. This starts with a written contract. Several books include a sample contract inside, or they have a website where you can download one. I read them and put together my own contract template by piecing together clauses that I thought were important.
But I don't want to leave myself open to anything, so I'm having a lawyer look over my contract. He's an older man who used to be a construction manager. He's been a criminal lawyer for years, and he's extremely thorough. In fact, he's the same person I used for the act of sale on the property I'm building on.
His first thoughts after reading my contract were to call me and make sure I know what I'm getting into. He went over items like making sure each sub has all the required insurance on himself and his employees, providing detailed written specs for ech tradesman, securing waivers of lien from every worker who touches the project and also their suppliers, keeping watch for contractor scams, etc. Once I told him I've been studying up on contracting & owner building for months, he felt better that I know what I'm taking on. Next, he's going to modify my contract so that I have maximum protection.
Having a solid cntract is a good starting point. But I know that it's still going to take a lot of diligence on my part to avoid legal dangers. I'm thankful that I've found someone as thorough as this lawyer to keep me on my toes!
But I don't want to leave myself open to anything, so I'm having a lawyer look over my contract. He's an older man who used to be a construction manager. He's been a criminal lawyer for years, and he's extremely thorough. In fact, he's the same person I used for the act of sale on the property I'm building on.
His first thoughts after reading my contract were to call me and make sure I know what I'm getting into. He went over items like making sure each sub has all the required insurance on himself and his employees, providing detailed written specs for ech tradesman, securing waivers of lien from every worker who touches the project and also their suppliers, keeping watch for contractor scams, etc. Once I told him I've been studying up on contracting & owner building for months, he felt better that I know what I'm taking on. Next, he's going to modify my contract so that I have maximum protection.
Having a solid cntract is a good starting point. But I know that it's still going to take a lot of diligence on my part to avoid legal dangers. I'm thankful that I've found someone as thorough as this lawyer to keep me on my toes!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Use Dirt if You Can
When I had the lot filled in after the chain wall was complete, I used sand (pumped river sand, to be exact). This was good for the bulk that I needed. But now that the grass and weeds are coming up again, the sand makes it harder to push a lawnmower through. It's like cutting grass on a beach.
I had tried to be slick about getting free mud-type dirt by calling local swimming pool companies. I thought that if they were digging out an in ground pool, they had to get rid of the dirt somewhere. I'd offer to let them come dump it without any kind of disposal fees. No such luck. So I went with all sand.
I know I'm going to have to get additional fill for the lot because the house will need to be build up a bit more and because there are low spots evident where the yard needs to be filled in. I'd like to get real dirt this time instead of sand.
I had tried to be slick about getting free mud-type dirt by calling local swimming pool companies. I thought that if they were digging out an in ground pool, they had to get rid of the dirt somewhere. I'd offer to let them come dump it without any kind of disposal fees. No such luck. So I went with all sand.
I know I'm going to have to get additional fill for the lot because the house will need to be build up a bit more and because there are low spots evident where the yard needs to be filled in. I'd like to get real dirt this time instead of sand.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Another Good Resource
I found another good book that helps you learn not only helps you talk knowledgeably with your subs about the construction process but also helps you with the project management process. I've read several books to get ready for this project, and this is only the second one that stands out for me: The Complete Guide to Contracting Your Home
I'm only about a third of the way through it so far, but I like the way it's organized. There are three main sections: concepts (legal, financial, estimating, house planning, etc.), step-by-step project management, and an appendix with many checklists and worksheets.
The book is as much a workbook as it is an information source. I recommend it for anyone building for the first time.
I'm only about a third of the way through it so far, but I like the way it's organized. There are three main sections: concepts (legal, financial, estimating, house planning, etc.), step-by-step project management, and an appendix with many checklists and worksheets.
The book is as much a workbook as it is an information source. I recommend it for anyone building for the first time.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Consumer Reports
I signed up for a year's subscription to ConsumerReports.org. They often compare and review lots of products and materials I'll be purchasing in the next few months. So I think the $26 is very worth it.
This lets me log into their website to search for things they've covered anytime in the past. I already got good information on different kinds of flooring. I had seen cork flooring touted as a great alternative to wood. I had considered it for maybe the bathroom, but CR didn't give it high marks. It stains easily, and it fades over time with exposure to sunlight.
In the same article, they reviewed different types of hardwood flooring and vinyl that's mad to look like wood. I also broswed through buying guides and reviews for household appliances and a lot more. Hopefully, I can avoid some pitfalls and purchase wisely with this information.
This lets me log into their website to search for things they've covered anytime in the past. I already got good information on different kinds of flooring. I had seen cork flooring touted as a great alternative to wood. I had considered it for maybe the bathroom, but CR didn't give it high marks. It stains easily, and it fades over time with exposure to sunlight.
In the same article, they reviewed different types of hardwood flooring and vinyl that's mad to look like wood. I also broswed through buying guides and reviews for household appliances and a lot more. Hopefully, I can avoid some pitfalls and purchase wisely with this information.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Selecting a Surveyor
So I'm still waiting on the final plans, but that works out okay because there's another thing I'm waiting on before I can apply for the building permit. And that's the survey.
I have a copy of a survey from 2004 when previous owners of the property had it subdivided into two lots. It shows the four corners that were marked with rods in the ground, along with length and angle measurements. It also shows the location of the old raggedy chain link fence that I had torn down when the trees were removed.
What I need now is a surveyor to give me what's called a "builder's package". This is a series of visits to the site that includes:
I have a copy of a survey from 2004 when previous owners of the property had it subdivided into two lots. It shows the four corners that were marked with rods in the ground, along with length and angle measurements. It also shows the location of the old raggedy chain link fence that I had torn down when the trees were removed.
What I need now is a surveyor to give me what's called a "builder's package". This is a series of visits to the site that includes:
- First trip - the survey and staking of the four property corners and the "construct benchmark" (Okay, I don't know what a construct benchmark means). I assume this is what I bring with me to get the permit.
- Second trip - the forms or piers location and elevation
- Third trip - slab location and elevation
- Fourth trip - final fema and final improvement location which would be the sidewalks and driveway
As an aside, I also found out today that I get my street address number assigned when I apply for the permit.
So on with the surveyor selection news! I started with the same company that did the original survey. After all, their name is stamped right on the page! And I figured that because they already did the work before, it would make it easier for them to lookup details of the property in the parish records. This company said they would do it for $1,150 and that they're backed up for 4-6 weeks with work right now.
Then I tried my usual method of googling for local providors. I called about a dozen of them. Some handle only marine work (when I said I needed a survey of some property, one guy aksed, "Does it float?"). Some are so busy, they aren't accepting any new work right now. About three or four asked me to fax them the legal description of the property. That's the legalese wording on the act of sale that begins with "A certain piece or portion of ground..." Some of these companies gave the impressions of being larger companies, and others appeared to be small operations where the guy answering the phone is also the one doing the work. Everyone except the the company on the original survey quoted a price of $1,200, and they predicted timeframes anywhere from one to six weeks.
I faxed the information to all these companies. One called me back to ask for more details about where the lot is located. They wanted the street address & such. I had thought the legal description was how the property was described in public records. I have yet to get a response back from this company. Another guy e-mailed me to say that that he couldn't find the info he needed on the property either. I gave him the same details I had given the other company.
Over the next couple of days, I heard from no one. So I decided to sign up with the original surveyor. They'd been around for a while, and apparently they were able to locate the information on the lot that they needed once before. Once I paid by credit card, I e-mailed scans of the legal description and also the original survey. So I expect their first visit between August 13 and 27.
The guy who had e-mailed me earlier did reply again today saying he had found more information and that he would visit the lot to determine if he could do the job. He would charge $1,300. I wrote back to thank him and let him know I've gone with someone else.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Post-Tensioned Slab or Rebar?
My architect asked me if I wanted to do post-tensioning on the slab or use traditional rebar. When using rebar, they lay a grid of iron rods (the rebar) on the ground where the slab will be poured. When the pour is done, the rods wind up suspended in the concrete to make it stronger (or at least resistent to cracking. If it does crack over time, the rebar acts to keep the concrete from separating too much. So rebar can't prevent cracks, but it does minimize them and help keep them from getting worse.
Post-tensioning embeds a grid of steel cables across the slab with extra cable sticking out around the borders. The cables are encased in plastic sleeves to keep them from rusting out over time. A short time after the concrete is poured, a hydraulic jack is used to pull the cables tight all around. Then the extra lengths are snipped off. This post-tensioning is done before the concrete sets fully. The idea is that you're putting pressure on the slab while it finishes setting. Concrete under pressure is stronger than it would be otherwise. So post-tensioning should do more to prevent cracking in the first place.
This method is newer than using rebar, at least in residential construction. Another benefit of post-tensioning is that it supposedly lets you use a thinner slab than you would with rebar. This would help you save money.
The architect also described it this way: With rebar, they have to come out and get all the rods in place in and around the trenches that need to be dug for footings, etc. If it rains before you pour, they need to come out and clear out all the sand that washed into the trenches. The rebar makes it difficult to do, so you lose time. He said this concern is reduced when using post-tensioning. I'm not sure why the having rebar there would be different than having cables there if the rain should occur. I'll have to ask him or a slab company more about it.
So post-tensioning hasn't been used as long as rebar. Hmm... Like all new building methods, I wonder how experienced local contractors are with it. Would I be able to find someone who knew what they were doing? I've only seen two houses being built around here that used this method. And is it really proven? Once a house is in place for a number of years with a post-tension slab, is it really all that it's supposed to be?
Post-tensioning embeds a grid of steel cables across the slab with extra cable sticking out around the borders. The cables are encased in plastic sleeves to keep them from rusting out over time. A short time after the concrete is poured, a hydraulic jack is used to pull the cables tight all around. Then the extra lengths are snipped off. This post-tensioning is done before the concrete sets fully. The idea is that you're putting pressure on the slab while it finishes setting. Concrete under pressure is stronger than it would be otherwise. So post-tensioning should do more to prevent cracking in the first place.
This method is newer than using rebar, at least in residential construction. Another benefit of post-tensioning is that it supposedly lets you use a thinner slab than you would with rebar. This would help you save money.
The architect also described it this way: With rebar, they have to come out and get all the rods in place in and around the trenches that need to be dug for footings, etc. If it rains before you pour, they need to come out and clear out all the sand that washed into the trenches. The rebar makes it difficult to do, so you lose time. He said this concern is reduced when using post-tensioning. I'm not sure why the having rebar there would be different than having cables there if the rain should occur. I'll have to ask him or a slab company more about it.
So post-tensioning hasn't been used as long as rebar. Hmm... Like all new building methods, I wonder how experienced local contractors are with it. Would I be able to find someone who knew what they were doing? I've only seen two houses being built around here that used this method. And is it really proven? Once a house is in place for a number of years with a post-tension slab, is it really all that it's supposed to be?
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Choosing an Architect
I'm playing a bit of catch-up with this post since I chose someone to draw up my plans a couple of months ago, but I've had someone mention that they're interested in reading about this kind of thing. But first, a word about architects and designers. An architect is more expensive and generally has more training and/or experience. An architect can also stamp his or her own drawings as structurally sound. A designer is usually cheaper. They can create the drawings, but they can't certify them with a stamp. In this case, an engineer or an architect needs to study the drawings and stamp them.
I wound up going with a designer. There was a highly scientific and complex process I used to find him: First, I went online and searched for architects near my city. Then I started calling them! :) Yeah, that's it. The list consisted of both architects and designers. Several of the ones I called only handled commercial projects. Others were too busy to take on more work.
I narrowed it down to three. One was an old guy who's retired from full time work but still does residential projects on the side. He sounded like he'd been around the block a few times dealing with the parish inspectors, and he was very experienced. Another candidate drew the plans for the house going up across the street from my parents. I got his name from their plans. He sounded young on the phone, and I didn't know how experienced he was. The third was a guy I happened to call from my list. I spoke with him on the phone and just had a good comfort level with him. He had a website showing samples of other drawings he had done. And he was cheaper than the other two. This is the person I eventually went with.
It's been a good experience. He's easy going, but he offers lots of good suggestions and things to consider about things that I said I wanted. I do wish he had been a little quicker in getting things to me, but slowing down the process has given me more time to mull over every aspect of the design and helps ensure I will end up with a better home. We started the process in May. It's now mid-July, and I don't have the final plans yet. A good chunk of that time has been due to me. When I've gotten a revision of the plans from him, I've spent some time really studying it and thinking about details I want to change. Each time he gives me a new version, he says that he hopes to have me finished up in the next week or so. I think we are winding down, though. There are only 2-3 things I had questions on or wanted to change on these last plans. Then he'll do the basic lighting plan that the parish expects to see and send everything to the engineer for stamping after I approve it all one last time.
I'm anxious to get started with actual building!
I wound up going with a designer. There was a highly scientific and complex process I used to find him: First, I went online and searched for architects near my city. Then I started calling them! :) Yeah, that's it. The list consisted of both architects and designers. Several of the ones I called only handled commercial projects. Others were too busy to take on more work.
I narrowed it down to three. One was an old guy who's retired from full time work but still does residential projects on the side. He sounded like he'd been around the block a few times dealing with the parish inspectors, and he was very experienced. Another candidate drew the plans for the house going up across the street from my parents. I got his name from their plans. He sounded young on the phone, and I didn't know how experienced he was. The third was a guy I happened to call from my list. I spoke with him on the phone and just had a good comfort level with him. He had a website showing samples of other drawings he had done. And he was cheaper than the other two. This is the person I eventually went with.
It's been a good experience. He's easy going, but he offers lots of good suggestions and things to consider about things that I said I wanted. I do wish he had been a little quicker in getting things to me, but slowing down the process has given me more time to mull over every aspect of the design and helps ensure I will end up with a better home. We started the process in May. It's now mid-July, and I don't have the final plans yet. A good chunk of that time has been due to me. When I've gotten a revision of the plans from him, I've spent some time really studying it and thinking about details I want to change. Each time he gives me a new version, he says that he hopes to have me finished up in the next week or so. I think we are winding down, though. There are only 2-3 things I had questions on or wanted to change on these last plans. Then he'll do the basic lighting plan that the parish expects to see and send everything to the engineer for stamping after I approve it all one last time.
I'm anxious to get started with actual building!
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Rethinking the Rear Yard Access
With such a narrow lot, my driveway to the back yard has had to fight with the width of the house and the local building codes to hold it's own. Code requires the house to be 5 ft off the propertly line, and the floorplan I came up with uses 35 ft of width. That's left me with a 10 ft driveway.
But that 10 ft isn't really a full 10 ft of useable space. The chain wall takes up 8 inches of it, and by the time I install posts on both sides for a gate, I wind up with around 8-1/2 ft. This measurement is pretty small compared to other driveways I've seen. This might be okay if the garage door would be straight back from the driveway, but it's not. To get in and out of the garage, you'll need to make a quick S-turn once you get to the backyard (see shaded path on the graphic).
So my mom & I went to the lot this week to measure out this part of the yard and do a test. We measured out where the garage would be and marked it with stakes. Then we measured where the back corner of the house and the width of the driveway would be. I test-drove it with my small Toyota RAV4. We didn't have perfect test conditions because the lot is still all sand, and I can't drive too close to the chain wall. (The sand is too soft & I started to get stuck!) That, and it's hard to see the corners you have to avoid from inside the car. You'd really need full-height walls (or taller stakes) to show you where the borders are.
Getting in was no problem. I'd hate to have to do that all the time with a huge vehicle, but it would probably still work. When trying to back out, I thought I might be able to do a 3-point turn and come out forward instead of backing out, but it's too tight. I didn't actually do a test back out because of the difficulty in seeing the boundaries and the danger of getting stuck in the sand.
But the test showed me that I needed to make some adjustments. I'm shortening the depth of the garage by 18 inches and widening it by 2 ft. I'm also shaving 6 inches off the width of the house and adding it to the driveway. These aren't major changes (I don't have room to make major ones), but I think I'll be happy that I made these minor ones!
But that 10 ft isn't really a full 10 ft of useable space. The chain wall takes up 8 inches of it, and by the time I install posts on both sides for a gate, I wind up with around 8-1/2 ft. This measurement is pretty small compared to other driveways I've seen. This might be okay if the garage door would be straight back from the driveway, but it's not. To get in and out of the garage, you'll need to make a quick S-turn once you get to the backyard (see shaded path on the graphic).
So my mom & I went to the lot this week to measure out this part of the yard and do a test. We measured out where the garage would be and marked it with stakes. Then we measured where the back corner of the house and the width of the driveway would be. I test-drove it with my small Toyota RAV4. We didn't have perfect test conditions because the lot is still all sand, and I can't drive too close to the chain wall. (The sand is too soft & I started to get stuck!) That, and it's hard to see the corners you have to avoid from inside the car. You'd really need full-height walls (or taller stakes) to show you where the borders are.
Getting in was no problem. I'd hate to have to do that all the time with a huge vehicle, but it would probably still work. When trying to back out, I thought I might be able to do a 3-point turn and come out forward instead of backing out, but it's too tight. I didn't actually do a test back out because of the difficulty in seeing the boundaries and the danger of getting stuck in the sand.
But the test showed me that I needed to make some adjustments. I'm shortening the depth of the garage by 18 inches and widening it by 2 ft. I'm also shaving 6 inches off the width of the house and adding it to the driveway. These aren't major changes (I don't have room to make major ones), but I think I'll be happy that I made these minor ones!
Friday, June 29, 2007
Rest Before the Battle
While the blueprints are being worked on, and I can't do anything yet with permits or lining up subcontractor bids, it was a good time to go on vacation. Friends of mine have a timeshare in Orlando, and this year I had the chance to spend a week with them there. It was a good time to get the R&R in before the bulk of my planning and work begins with the house.
One really cool thing I got to do was to ride a Segway device. You might have seen these two-wheeled personal transporters that look like a pogo stick with wheels. They are electrically powered, and a computer uses gyros to keep you balanced. We signed up for the Segway tour at Epcot Center in Disneyworld. They train you indoors for up to an hour and then lead you outside around the countries in the World Showcase for the rest of the 2-hour tour.
The Segways are really neat to ride. To move forward or backward, you simply shift your weight. The computer senses the change in your center of gravity and moves you in the direction you want to go. To turn left or right, you lean the steering column to the left or right. The first couple of minutes are weird because your brain is adjusting to the new method of motion. But it all feels quite natural once you get the hang of it. The whole trip was a great diversion before the challenge ahead of me
One really cool thing I got to do was to ride a Segway device. You might have seen these two-wheeled personal transporters that look like a pogo stick with wheels. They are electrically powered, and a computer uses gyros to keep you balanced. We signed up for the Segway tour at Epcot Center in Disneyworld. They train you indoors for up to an hour and then lead you outside around the countries in the World Showcase for the rest of the 2-hour tour.The Segways are really neat to ride. To move forward or backward, you simply shift your weight. The computer senses the change in your center of gravity and moves you in the direction you want to go. To turn left or right, you lean the steering column to the left or right. The first couple of minutes are weird because your brain is adjusting to the new method of motion. But it all feels quite natural once you get the hang of it. The whole trip was a great diversion before the challenge ahead of me
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Never Too Early to Sweat the Details
Home Depot really stinks! I'm talking mostly about their customer service, or lack thereof. Lowe's seems to do a much better job of recognizing that you play a vital role in their receiving a paycheck.
Now that the blueprints are being created, I recognize that there are details I need to think about now that I thought could wait until further down the road. Maybe it's not vital that I settle them now, but it will give me a greater comfort factor. My kitchen is one of those areas where I decided to work out more details before the blueprints are finalized. To that end, I decided to take advantage of the service offered by both Home Depot and Lowe's to design a kitchen on a computer by selecting cabinet modules. Then they print 3D views for you.
This is going to give me a better idea of the spacing of the appliances and the overall size of the room. I want to have a window in one wall of the kitchen, and an archway pass-through in the other wall that will be an opening into the family room. I wanted to be sure that I could arrange cabinets around these openings using the stock sizes available. The resulting sketch from Lowe's is shown here.
If you go to one of these home improvement stores for this purpose, be sure to bring accurate dimensions of your kitchen. I made the mistake of printing a portion of the blueprints showing my kitchen without preserving the exact scale of the drawing. So it wasn't exactly 1/4 inch or 1/8 inch scale. This forced us to guesstimate on the exact dimensions. I was still able to learn enough to space things correctly, but it's not exact. Then again, the blueprints could change before they finalize, so it wouldn't have been exact anyway. If you go to have this done, a close-up view is better, such as 1/4 inch scale, because it lets them get more precise.
My complaint about Home Depot comes from the shocking attitude I got from the employee who I got stuck with. (But then again, this is New Orleans. Maybe I shouldn't have been too shocked!) I called ahead to make an appointment, just as they ask you to do. They said no customers were there right now, and I could just come in. Well, I wasn't planning to drop everything and go (that's why I was making the appointment), but I wrapped up a few things and went in anyway.
When I got there, a customer was with one of the kitchen designers. The supervisor on duty lead me to the second guy at the next desk. The first words out of his mouth were "well, somebody else (another employee) was supposed to come in today, but I guess I can help him". So I knew the general direction this was going to take. He asked if I was interested in stock cabinets or custom cabinets. In my mind, anything you order out of a catalog is stock inventory, so I said I was here about stock cabinets. He asked another question I didn't understand, and I said I was interested in using KraftMaid stuff. "Oh, well that's custom cabinets," he said with an irritated tone. "You got a drawing or something?"
I showed him my paper with the kitchen blueprint. He complained because it was too small. Then when we determined it wasn't to a scale he and his ready-made scale ruler could decipher, he was more frustrated. He asked me more questions about my preferences and showed frustration when I told him I was here to learn about my options. For example, when I didn't know the exact model of refrigerator I plan to buy 8 months from now, he asked me how he was supposed to draw the opening for it? After all, every model has different dimensions. Using all the strength I could muster to hold back a slew of sarcastic and angry remarks, I said, "Why don't we just assume we need a generous sized opening for a full sized unit then?"
After an hour or so (that's how long it takes for one of these appointments, I'm finding out), I left with some 3D sketches, and I had learned some things. Mostly, I learned how to get a customer to leave and chose to go elsewhere. So I went home and scheduled an appointment with Lowe's. The woman on the phone actually gave me an appointment, and I asked if I would be meeting with her personally. I prefer to have a woman's input in designing the kitchen anyway. The next day, I went for my appointment, and it went much better. I could tell the woman was busy and being stretched in several directions, but she was still courteous and helpful.
Click on the sketch shown above for a larger version. Yeah, it's a pretty big kitchen! It seems like so much activity in a home centers around the kitchen these days. I wanted lots of cabinet space, and I guess I've got it! :) The opening in the wall on the right is the pass-through into the family room. The window would go on the left wall, between the stove and the corner. However, the architect tells me that parish code won't allow a window close to a stove, so I might need to do without this.
The space to the left of the fridge is a computer desk. In the corner, I've got an appliance garage. That's the little garage-door looking thing on the counter. I'll have electrical outlets inside there, and I can keep appliances plugged in, like a toaster, blender, etc. I can keep them plugged in and just pull them out when I want to use them. On the right, that's a cabinet that comes all the way down to the counter. It has a space for the microwave. I like the symmetry of it: the fridge forms a column on the left. The microwave cabinet has the same weight on the right, and the appliance garage balances out the center.
Originally, I had the stove by the archway opening to the next room, but the idea of having a wall between the rooms is to keep noise from spilling into the room with the TV. If the stove was by the opening, noise from the boiling pots and the exhaust fan would defeat the purpose. So I moved the sink & dishwasher to the island and put the stove where the sink used to be. This may mean I need to give up the window, but I have a lot of windows nearby in the breakfast area that will bring light into the kitchen.
Today, I plan to visit a window store to get a better idea of window sizes for the different rooms. More on these details later...
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Management Styles
One of the most important things you're going to need if you're going to act as your own general contractor is solid management skills. You'll be drawing on the talents and experience of a variety of people. Each person you manage will be different, and they will each perform in their own way. In order to get what you need from them, you need to recognize different personality types and figure out how to treat them to get the most from them.
For example, I've given over all my information to my architect (actually a residential designer). I haven't been comfortable with the amount of communication I've had with him since my first meeting where I gave him my drawings & written room-by-room requirements and we talked everything over. Now he's given me his first draft of the blueprints, and there are some things that were changed from my original drawing. At first, I was concerned I was not going to wind up with everything the way I wanted.
I had been concerned because he hadn't sought me out with any questions or to talk over any of the changes he had made. But then I sat down with him again with all of my comments on his first draft. He was very open and receptive. He expected that I would have a lot of feedback, and he commented that "this kind of discussion is what we need to do". And he explained the reasons he had made the changes he did. He had logical approaches for all his ideas. I decided to keep some of them, but changed most of them back to what I wanted.
The bottom line here is that this guy seems to like working alone without actively seeking guidance along the way, and then he fully expects me to come and provide feedback and critical input. I suppose I expected it to be a constant cooperative effort. When I didn't hear from him for weeks, I thought maybe he was a loner that wanted to do it his own way. But I understand now that I'm going to be able to get it all just like I want. I just need to approach him with comments and guidance.
I'm sure I'll run into people along the way who need to be constantly managed, and others that listen to me the first time and do it all on their own according to plan. Others will fall in between. Some construction workers might be motivated by constant site visits. Others might respond better to the occasional pizza for lunch or just a word of appreciation. Different strokes for different folks!
For example, I've given over all my information to my architect (actually a residential designer). I haven't been comfortable with the amount of communication I've had with him since my first meeting where I gave him my drawings & written room-by-room requirements and we talked everything over. Now he's given me his first draft of the blueprints, and there are some things that were changed from my original drawing. At first, I was concerned I was not going to wind up with everything the way I wanted.
I had been concerned because he hadn't sought me out with any questions or to talk over any of the changes he had made. But then I sat down with him again with all of my comments on his first draft. He was very open and receptive. He expected that I would have a lot of feedback, and he commented that "this kind of discussion is what we need to do". And he explained the reasons he had made the changes he did. He had logical approaches for all his ideas. I decided to keep some of them, but changed most of them back to what I wanted.
The bottom line here is that this guy seems to like working alone without actively seeking guidance along the way, and then he fully expects me to come and provide feedback and critical input. I suppose I expected it to be a constant cooperative effort. When I didn't hear from him for weeks, I thought maybe he was a loner that wanted to do it his own way. But I understand now that I'm going to be able to get it all just like I want. I just need to approach him with comments and guidance.
I'm sure I'll run into people along the way who need to be constantly managed, and others that listen to me the first time and do it all on their own according to plan. Others will fall in between. Some construction workers might be motivated by constant site visits. Others might respond better to the occasional pizza for lunch or just a word of appreciation. Different strokes for different folks!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
The Devil's in the Details
So much to think about when designing a floorplan. Brain hurts! Grey matter oozing...
It's very early in the process, and I know it's nothing compared to down the road when I have to pick out cabinets, light fixtures, appliances and tile. But putting together the floorplan requires you to decide many things. You need to be able to imagine yourself living in the space. How will it be waking up and going through your morning routine? If you want an open floorplan, are you prepared to adjust the TV volume everytime someone turns on the kitchen sink or gets ice out of the freezer? When you come in with groceries, how easy will it be to get everything into the kitchen?
What angles will the sun shine in through the windows in the morning? What about the afternoon? I thought about this a lot. Here in south Louisiana, it gets downright hot (and humid) in the summer. And we're lucky if we have four weeks worth of mild "winter" weather out of the year. I thought about the hottest part of the day (around 2-4 PM) when the sun is bearing down. Do you want it coming through a window in your living room or office where you might be at that time of day? I've lived in a house where my computer is setup near a window that's not energy efficient. The afternoon sun makes you sweat inside the house.
For the family room where my TV will be, I didn't want a completely open view to the kitchen. I like the open floorplan idea, but in practice it can be aggravating. Any noise from the kitchen disturbs whoever is watching TV. So I have a wall planned between the two areas, but the wall will have a arched opening. This will let some sound through and also light coming from the windows in the breakfast area. But the sound won't be as loud as it would be otherwise.
For the hallway bathroom between the two bedrooms, I thought about having one of those bathrooms with a door into each of the adjoining bedrooms. But I didn't like this idea. Siblings coming from one side to use the bathroom would want to lock the opposite door to avoid being walked in on. But when they leave, they may forget to unlock it. Then the other person would have to go all the way around.
Oh, one other BIG issue for me was having no water pipes running through a bedroom wall. No shower pipes are between the bedroom and bathroom. Noise from the running water can bleed into the bedroom even with insulation in the wall.
It didn't work out this way, but I would have preferred the backdoor to lead through the laundry room and then into the house. This would have allowed the laundry room to act as an "airlock" to keep dirt, insects, and even some of the warmer air outside of the house. That's how it's setup at my parents' house. It's also nice because you can step in from the backyard and use the utility sink to wash off a lot of dirt, etc. Even though I'd have preferred it this way, I'm satisfied with the way it turned out.
It's very early in the process, and I know it's nothing compared to down the road when I have to pick out cabinets, light fixtures, appliances and tile. But putting together the floorplan requires you to decide many things. You need to be able to imagine yourself living in the space. How will it be waking up and going through your morning routine? If you want an open floorplan, are you prepared to adjust the TV volume everytime someone turns on the kitchen sink or gets ice out of the freezer? When you come in with groceries, how easy will it be to get everything into the kitchen?
What angles will the sun shine in through the windows in the morning? What about the afternoon? I thought about this a lot. Here in south Louisiana, it gets downright hot (and humid) in the summer. And we're lucky if we have four weeks worth of mild "winter" weather out of the year. I thought about the hottest part of the day (around 2-4 PM) when the sun is bearing down. Do you want it coming through a window in your living room or office where you might be at that time of day? I've lived in a house where my computer is setup near a window that's not energy efficient. The afternoon sun makes you sweat inside the house.
For the family room where my TV will be, I didn't want a completely open view to the kitchen. I like the open floorplan idea, but in practice it can be aggravating. Any noise from the kitchen disturbs whoever is watching TV. So I have a wall planned between the two areas, but the wall will have a arched opening. This will let some sound through and also light coming from the windows in the breakfast area. But the sound won't be as loud as it would be otherwise.
For the hallway bathroom between the two bedrooms, I thought about having one of those bathrooms with a door into each of the adjoining bedrooms. But I didn't like this idea. Siblings coming from one side to use the bathroom would want to lock the opposite door to avoid being walked in on. But when they leave, they may forget to unlock it. Then the other person would have to go all the way around.
Oh, one other BIG issue for me was having no water pipes running through a bedroom wall. No shower pipes are between the bedroom and bathroom. Noise from the running water can bleed into the bedroom even with insulation in the wall.
It didn't work out this way, but I would have preferred the backdoor to lead through the laundry room and then into the house. This would have allowed the laundry room to act as an "airlock" to keep dirt, insects, and even some of the warmer air outside of the house. That's how it's setup at my parents' house. It's also nice because you can step in from the backyard and use the utility sink to wash off a lot of dirt, etc. Even though I'd have preferred it this way, I'm satisfied with the way it turned out.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Floorplan Time, and More HGTV Than You Can Shake a Stick At
People have asked me where I got my floorplan. I'm happy to be able to say that I made it myself! It's a result of hours of reading and searching through other floorplans available online and in print. My lot is narrow (50 ft by 150 ft). Since I want a driveway for rear yard access on one side, and the parish requires 5 ft of clearance on the other side, I'm left with a width of 35 ft for the house.
It almost feels like a shotgun house (which I don't like), and it took almost 20 full revisions to get it away from that feeling. I knew I wanted an attached garage and an office at the front of the house. I wanted either the kitchen or the family room (or both) with a view of the backyard. A kitchen with some kind of island was a must. I also needed a small room for keeping a server and all my A/V equipment out of the way. This media closet will also have panels for all the structured wiring (network/telephone/cable) in the house. All bedrooms, and even the office, will have walk-in closets. This means the office could also be used as a bedroom in the future.
Besides all the reading and looking at sample plans, I've found that I'm watching HGTV more than I ever thought possible. All of a sudden, I care about home renovations, designing a house to sell, and the things that people look for in a house. It's like a whole new world!
It almost feels like a shotgun house (which I don't like), and it took almost 20 full revisions to get it away from that feeling. I knew I wanted an attached garage and an office at the front of the house. I wanted either the kitchen or the family room (or both) with a view of the backyard. A kitchen with some kind of island was a must. I also needed a small room for keeping a server and all my A/V equipment out of the way. This media closet will also have panels for all the structured wiring (network/telephone/cable) in the house. All bedrooms, and even the office, will have walk-in closets. This means the office could also be used as a bedroom in the future.
Besides all the reading and looking at sample plans, I've found that I'm watching HGTV more than I ever thought possible. All of a sudden, I care about home renovations, designing a house to sell, and the things that people look for in a house. It's like a whole new world!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Ahhh, Yes: The Chain Wall!
Let me tell you about the adventure of putting up the chain wall. Well, for those who don't live in Southern Louisiana, we're mostly below sea level down here. And even though the house is going to be in an area that's relatively high compared to the surrounding area, the Parish is still going to require the floor of the house to be elevated relative to the street.
It's not big construction, but it requires a building permit where I live. And as luck would have it, I went in for the permit a day or so after new codes went into affect. The new codes were overly strict in order to protect the parish from lawsuits after Katrina. In order to get around the ridiculous codes and still build a solid wall, I had to get an engineer to stamp an alternate design so I could get the permit. The design is shown here.
But eventually, the water dried up. (Thank you, Lord!) And in the meantime, my dad and I had built the remaining forms we needed out of plywood. And the rest of the forms went up fairly quickly. By mid-March, 2007, the rest of the wall was poured! Within a couple of weeks, I found a good deal for a guy to come spread the sand with a dozer ($275). And now the lot is ready for construction, I assume.
To help with that, people build up their lots with sand or dirt. In order to contain the dirt, you need a chain wall (sometimes called a retaining wall). In my case, the chain wall has my fence posts encased within. Since my neighbor to one side already had his chain wall in place, I only needed to do the rear and the other side.
It's not big construction, but it requires a building permit where I live. And as luck would have it, I went in for the permit a day or so after new codes went into affect. The new codes were overly strict in order to protect the parish from lawsuits after Katrina. In order to get around the ridiculous codes and still build a solid wall, I had to get an engineer to stamp an alternate design so I could get the permit. The design is shown here.The first step was to dig post holes and install all the fence posts. I thought
this part of the job would never end! We rented a post-hole digger for this, and it was soooo worth the money! There were still several holes where the digger couldn't get through some roots. And my design required post holes that were oblong. So we still had holes and portions of holes to dig manually. Especially one huge area of roots where the big tree had been along the property line. The posts were completed in October, 2006.
this part of the job would never end! We rented a post-hole digger for this, and it was soooo worth the money! There were still several holes where the digger couldn't get through some roots. And my design required post holes that were oblong. So we still had holes and portions of holes to dig manually. Especially one huge area of roots where the big tree had been along the property line. The posts were completed in October, 2006.Then it was time to put forms up for the rear segment of the wall. Here's where we made one msitake that cost us lots of time: The height of the wood we were using wasn't tall enough to reach between the ground and where we knew the top of the wall 
would need to be. So we made a fateful decision. We decided to build up the ground under the wood instead of cutting another strip of wood to make up the difference at the bottom.
would need to be. So we made a fateful decision. We decided to build up the ground under the wood instead of cutting another strip of wood to make up the difference at the bottom.The design of the wall also called for a 6-inch trench where the wall would be. So we found ourselves trying to build a levee of dirt next to a ditch. It was very difficult to pile up dirt without having it fall into the trench. We spent way too many hours shoveling, compacting dirt into a levee, and cleaning out the trench. But finally, the deed was done! The parish inspected the forms, and by late November I had a conrete wall across the back of the property.
One lesson learned here was that we didn't have enough wooden cross-braces going across the top from one side to the other. These were supposed to keep the width of the wall constant and not let the forms bulge out under the weight of the concrete. One of our cross-braces was too thin and came apart under pressure. So there's a 10 ft egg-shaped bulge in the middle of the rear segment. I can live with it, but I'm not happy about it! On the side wall, we made double sure that this didn't happen again.
The neighbors behind me were very generous and let us plug our extension cord in at their house. This allowed us to use power tools throughout the chain wall job. I'm very grateful to them, because I wasn't ready to sign up for temporary electric just yet.
For a while, I toyed with the idea of hiring someone to dig up the remaining tree stumps, grub the grass off the lot, and deliver and spread sand. I got a few quotes. Most said it would be VERY difficult to get those huge stumps out and that afterward there would be huge craters to fill. And they wanted to charge thousands of dollars to try. So, being the frugal son of my mother, we rented a back-hoe to try and remove the stumps ourselves. This was a $400 mistake. Those stumps weren't going anywhere!
Around this time, I started pricing sand for filling in the lot. I found the best price in town, which was a considerable bargain compared to other suppliers. Then I found out that the price was going up after the first of the year. So I had all the sand delivered in December. This was before we had formed or poured the side segment of the wall.
And that's when the rain came...
I had taken my remaining vacation at the end of the year, and I felt we could complete the rest of the wall and spread the sand within those two weeks. But it began to rain... and rain.... and rain. It had never rained like this since I had bought the lot, so I don't know what it would have looked like before. And especially since I now had all this sand there. But the rain flooded the neighbor's back yard and the fence line. And it had nowhere to drain since the rear yards were lower than the front yards. So for at least the next two months (thanks to subsequent downpours), there was a lake where we were supposed to be putting up the forms for the side wall.
But eventually, the water dried up. (Thank you, Lord!) And in the meantime, my dad and I had built the remaining forms we needed out of plywood. And the rest of the forms went up fairly quickly. By mid-March, 2007, the rest of the wall was poured! Within a couple of weeks, I found a good deal for a guy to come spread the sand with a dozer ($275). And now the lot is ready for construction, I assume.
It Pays to Price Shop!
When it came time to get the trees cut down, I got quotes from 11 companies. Most quotes were between $8,000 and $11,000. I got one that as a whopping $19,000! No thanks. But then I got a quote for $4,000. All his insurance checked out, and he had already come as a referral from somebody we knew. So he was definitely my choice.
And it turned out to be a good deal, even though it took a few 
weeks for him to complete the job. (I had told him I wasn't in a hurry anyway). Some of his equipment broke down, and that took some time.
weeks for him to complete the job. (I had told him I wasn't in a hurry anyway). Some of his equipment broke down, and that took some time.On the downside, my neighbors developed an adversarial relationship with him and his crew. The neighbors claimed they were shooting off loud fireworks, like M-80s, which they later admited to. And his boss promised that it wouldn't happen again. My neighbors also claimed they messed up some shingles when they had to get on their roof to cut an overhanging branch. Luckily, I happened to have pictures I had taken several days prior that showed the damage was pre-existing. The tree crew also managed to pull the neighbors cable line off the house... twice. And the neighbor was using cable for their TV, phone, and internet access. Ouch! Not a good way to make a first impression.
All-in-all, the tree guy was true to his word. He had promised to come back later and grind one of the stumps a bit more. I had to remind him weeks later, and I didn't think he was going to follow through. But he did come back and do it.
The moral of this story is: get lots of quotes. You don't have to settle for the first guy that comes along. And even if most or your quotes are clustering in the same range, you still may find an outlying price that's lower. Beware of the lower price, though. I lucked out here, but I could just as well have wound up with a bad experience.
If You Want Something Done Right...
I decided the best way to approach the construction is to be my own general contractor. It's called "owner-building" your home. This way, I'll have direct control over the budget and the quality of the work. After some research, the best resource I've found is called The Owner-Builder Book. It's a fantastic guide and workbook that walks you through the process.
Owner-building will allow me to shop for bargains and act in my own interest. Like I said, I'm a perfectionist. And I'm going to enjoy seeing that things are done right. Or course, I know nothing about building a house or the right way to build it. So I've been drowning myself in books on house design, construction and construction management. And I have my mom who is also a perfectionist. Only, she's been around longer and has seen the difference between good and sloppy construction. So I'm learning all around.
Owner-building will allow me to shop for bargains and act in my own interest. Like I said, I'm a perfectionist. And I'm going to enjoy seeing that things are done right. Or course, I know nothing about building a house or the right way to build it. So I've been drowning myself in books on house design, construction and construction management. And I have my mom who is also a perfectionist. Only, she's been around longer and has seen the difference between good and sloppy construction. So I'm learning all around.
Yeah, I'd Say it's About Time...
Yes, I'm 33 and it's finally happening: I'm moving to a place of my own. In fact, I'm building a house from scratch! Better late than never, huh? It all began in 2001 when I started classes for my Masters in Business. I decided that I'd get a place of my own once I had the degree. I graduated in December of 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina visited our little corner of the world. And that event changed just about everything for everyone here...
Houses went on the market in droves. Prices skyrocketed. A real estate agent told me that prices would come down as soon as sellers realized they couldn't get these astronimical figures they were asking. Apparently, the sellers never got the point! I looked at a couple of houses, but they're all so old with their own histories (and problems) that I wouldn't know about until it's too late. And who wants to throw that much money into something that someone else designed years ago?
Then, in February, 2006 my mom and I were driving around noting houses for
sale on streets that we never travel. We stumbled on a vacant lot for sale. The neighbors were outside watching their kids play. Darren & Melissa are a nice couple. We asked about the neighborhood and the lot. The really liked the neighborhood, and they explained that their new house and the vacant lot used to be one big lot. They had subdivided it and sold the other half. Now the new owner was turning around and selling it. The seller was asking $135,000 for the lot, and Darren said she must have come down on the price since the last time he had heard. I thank God for this find. I consider it a blessing.
Being the creative perfectionist that I am, I decided that I'd rather design and build my own place from scratch than to buy from someone else. I called and made an offer, and we eventually settled on $128,000. A couple of months later (and after some last-minute wrangling by the seller to get out of her signed contract), I was the owner of my own vacant lot.
So now I'm definitely moving into a place of my own. And after 33 years, I'd have to say it's about time!
Houses went on the market in droves. Prices skyrocketed. A real estate agent told me that prices would come down as soon as sellers realized they couldn't get these astronimical figures they were asking. Apparently, the sellers never got the point! I looked at a couple of houses, but they're all so old with their own histories (and problems) that I wouldn't know about until it's too late. And who wants to throw that much money into something that someone else designed years ago?
Then, in February, 2006 my mom and I were driving around noting houses for
sale on streets that we never travel. We stumbled on a vacant lot for sale. The neighbors were outside watching their kids play. Darren & Melissa are a nice couple. We asked about the neighborhood and the lot. The really liked the neighborhood, and they explained that their new house and the vacant lot used to be one big lot. They had subdivided it and sold the other half. Now the new owner was turning around and selling it. The seller was asking $135,000 for the lot, and Darren said she must have come down on the price since the last time he had heard. I thank God for this find. I consider it a blessing.Being the creative perfectionist that I am, I decided that I'd rather design and build my own place from scratch than to buy from someone else. I called and made an offer, and we eventually settled on $128,000. A couple of months later (and after some last-minute wrangling by the seller to get out of her signed contract), I was the owner of my own vacant lot.
So now I'm definitely moving into a place of my own. And after 33 years, I'd have to say it's about time!
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