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chloe_chloe_gw

Builder Upgrades Selection Help... Please!

chloe.chloe
12 years ago

Hello! I am hoping I can reach out to you all since I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the choices & options to select in our new homebuild!! Any advice would be so welcomed!!

I posted yesterday in the kitchen forum about upgrading cabinets on a new construction home or keeping the builder grade cabinets and refacing them to a shaker-style after the closing in an effort to save some money. A few people suggested to just go with the upgrade since it would be around $3,500 (not including the island)in lieu of refacing later which could be much more expensive.

There are other upgrades which we are considering but honestly, do not know if it would be worthwhile to just wait and do them later or upgrade them now. Here are some of them:

Builder charges:

Millwork: $ 2,500-$3,000 for the window sills & wraps (entire house or $110/window)The standard is the sheetrock on all 4 sides (which I absolutely do not want)

Fireplace: $1,595 (can we negotiate this into the sale of home... this, in my opinion, should not be an upgrade since it was offerred last year at no extra)

Flooring: (The builder includes engineered hardwood in the entry & powder room bath)Here are the cost options for both engineered hardwood & level 2 laminate (we are still undecided which way to go...we love the look of the engineered hardwood but have been told that the laminate is more durable for our little dog who is not quite potty trained yet and future family we are planning):

Engineered Hardwood for 1st floor: $6,000 - $7,000

Laminate Level 2 for 1st floor: $4,000 - $4,500

** Can we get the flooring done cheaper outside (i.e HD, Lowes, Empire, etc)? If we could save substantial $$, I would be willing to wait until after the closing then have someone come in to do the floors.... I just don't know if there are substantial savings or the builder is marking everything up like crazy?

Appliance upgrades: Builder charges $2,035 to upgrade appliance package to level 4 - Kitchen Aid Gas stainless, microwave and stainless dishwasher (builder grade is electric stove in stainless, microwave & dishwasher in stainless).

Crown Molding: Builder charges $10/L.F White Painted Crown Molding & $15/L.F Hemlock Crown Molding...would want entire 1st floor.

Cofferred Ceiling in family room (the kind with the beams). I don't know yet what the builder charges for this particular coffered ceiling but for the standard coffered (no beams), they charge $475/room. I love, love, love this look of the coffered with beams but again, don't know if it would be cheaper to hire someone to do it afterwards?!

Wainscoting in dining room: $30- $35/ L.F

Painting: $400/room for different colors than the basic options (I'm thinking of doing this in the dining room).

** Would it be more reasonable to hire a finish carpenter after the closing to do all the millwork (window sills/wraps, crown molding, wainscoting, coffered ceiling, etc and just NOT upgrade with the builder)OR are these reasonable prices?

There are other upgrades which we are automatically doing but didn't mention here.... but these are the "cosmetic" additions which I would like but since this is my first homebuild, I don't know which things are really overpriced and can wait or which of these builder upgrades are reasonable? Any advice, thoughts, opinions or past experiences would be so helpful!! Thank you all so much!!

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