Boy, am I glad I don't have APS!!! I am on the same type of plan with SRP. Was $125/month, then went to $131. However, I now have a large credit built up, so they said they will probably drop it again come spring. BUT- first they sent me a bill in Dec that was for $281!!! About fell out of my chair. I called and they said that the incorrect info had printed in the amount due, that was the total amount, I would pay the $131 and be behind $150. Well, I looked up each bill and came to a different conclusion. Called them back, walked through each month and got it adjusted. NEVER trust what you are told unless you thoroughly check it out first. Of course, at that time, someone took off my preselected pay date, so I actually got 2 bills in Dec and then another one the beginning of January. Took quite a bit of talking for them to take another look, figure out it was not correct and fix it again. I tell ya, double check everything!!! Susie eternally suspicious (hey- I scan my own groceries to make sure the right price comes up, that is a notorious area for incorrect pricing!)

building off of what renovator said, if you have load bearing walls on the first floor, you need to align structure below them in the basement. This can be beams or walls. Frame walls will be your cheapest option in most cases. However if you do not want a wall there, then price is not always the driving factor. However if you are a single story plus a basement, you shouldn't have too many first floor interior bearing walls. If you use steel or LVL beams, they must be sized to carry the first floor load as well as the loads placed on the first floor (2nd floor and possibly roof loads). As you can guess, this can make wood beams, even built up, quite deep. Steel might be your best bet here if you have longer spans between columns in your basement to keep head room heights at ideal levels. I tend to disagree with the claim in wood costing more then steel. Steel will cost more then wood in most cases. The post can be hidden inside walls (why would you do this? save the money and make the wall bearing! unless of course you have a very high point load) or they can be boxed out and made decorative. I joists should actually be cheaper then a floor truss, but typically cost a little more then solid 2x8-12 framing. However IMO, I joists are far superior. They can be had in very long spans so they can lay a continuous 30'+ joist across your load bearing beams/walls and allow for straighter and faster construction. Also, depending on the depth of them and the spacing, they can easily clear span 20'+. Plus they are a "greener" product. Trusses will cost more, but the benefit you have there is the web openings to allow easy smaller duct runs and electrical access.

Hi ER LA, I remember you from when I used to read the Building a House forum and the Renewable Energy forums about 7 years or more ago. I have to tell you what happened when we put in the super two-fan-speed, two-burn-level furnace with computerized controller a few years ago. It was the Carrier/Bryant one, Evolution? DH had switched us to paperless bills and he was getting the bills in his email. I kept asking him to compare and see what the difference in the gas bill was, compared to previous winters, but he kept forgetting. Finally, I got him to look, and there was very little change - if at all, compared to our 1978 era furnace that had come with the house. Finally, after about a year of bugging him to either switch back to paper bills or email me some bills so that I could compare, I got to see the bills. Coincidentally, the same month that our 1978 furnace had tried to kill us with carbon monoxide and was replaced, our tenant had left our previous house and the bill reverted back to us. Our new "tenants" (they were not required to pay us rent, they were friends we were helping out) were getting free heat because their gas bill had been added on to ours. So our new high-efficiency furnace was giving us a twofer. Our bill was so low we could heat our home and our old home for less than the cost of our home alone had cost before. That was a pleasant surprise! Both homes have excellent insulation. We are slowly replacing windows as we do each room here.

If you have a special property other than a flat pancake suburban lot, the initial site visit of the architect should also involve a landscape designer in order to take advantage of a global site plan mentality. You want the massing, vistas, and connections roughly figured out before the structures themselves start to take shape. Then the landscape architect doesn’t likely need to be involved again until the later stages. But such an ambitious project likely needs a master plan for the development of the property that can be accomplished in stages, with minimal backtracking. Think planned urban community with green space more than a typical home. That’s the value of the big picture there. During the actual design phase of the buildings, the ID should be periodically involved at milestones before moving forward. Which milestones will be dependent on any special features or any deviation from “traditional” that needs to happen. The KD should give input about half way through, just in case there are any deal breakers being created. (Like you must have an island cooktop, but are doing a bedroom directly above, etc,) A good architect should give thought to the mechanical spaces and chases needed to allow hvac and plumbing to function properly. If it’s a minimalist structure, lots of glass, or otherwise more complex than average, a consult during design is warranted. But they dont need a seat at the Justice League table. A lot rests on the shoulders of finding the right architect. The right person will know when she needs to call the soils engineer lifeline for instance, and she doesn’t mind asking for assistance when needed. They should already have good contacts that can help to fill in when their knowledge base is light in an area without you having to source everyone yourself.