3 odd & specific house-building questions
mrspete
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
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Oaktown
7 years agobpath
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRelated Discussions
Specific Question only female/winged carpenter ants in house
Comments (6)The ants are probably already in your structure. And finding multiple winged forms indoors indicates the colony is at least 3 to 4 years old. So you need to begin looking for clues. The good news is that , although you need to determine if the ants are in your structure, you have plenty of time to figure that out and, if needed, hire a competent pest control company. Look for wet wood, as from a roof leak or leaky plumbing or soil/mulch/plants against the siding. If you're *lucky,* you can get by if you replace the damaged wood and also fix the leak. Unfortunately, by the time most folks find the winged reproductives, the colony is large and the damage more extensive than not. Investigate both the crawl space (if you have one) and the attic, if accessible. Look for piles of sawdust which may or may not contain fragments of dead insects. If none of the above are found, continue to do periodic inspections. And once the weather warms, you can look for a two-way trail outdoors. The time to do that here in the northwest is from April/May through October, at night between the hours of 10 pm and 2 am. Look first at the foundation of the house, also any overhead utilities that enter the house. When you find the trail, follow it to the main nest. If that nest is on your property, you need to have both the house and main nest treated. Oh yes, more good news. For the past several years, pest control companies have ant baits specifically for our Northwest carpenter ants. (Understand, though, that the baits you can buy for nuisance ants won't work.) Just how a site is treated depends upon the individual circumstances. So you'll need to discuss your options with several companies, then choose the one you feel comfortable with....See MoreThinking about building a home have questions.....
Comments (6)Sorry, but I agree with fayemarie. $60K is pint-sized even if DIY; because even a very small house is more like 5-gallon bucket sized. Money is needed for permits (possibly including to tear down the old house), for fees, deposits and hook-up charges for electricity, water, sewage -- or to pay for well and septic field. Haven't gotten to the cost of the foundation, and already $5k to $20k is spent! Basic foundations can be pretty basic, but the money saved in doing a cheap cinder block foundation will be quickly spent in heating and cooling costs in the following years. Basements cost -- oh not as much as the finished floors above, and they are actually cheap square footage, but the digging, floor and walls do cost. You will see --repeatedly-- cost mentioned as something like "$xx sf" which means "dollars per square foot", or the overall finished cost divided by the number of square feet in the house. And whenever you see that sort of figure, you have to consider WHERE the house is, because costs vary considerably from state to state; and even within a state, depending on the county and whether it is city, town, subdivision, or rural. In my state it would be possible -- using the cheapest materials and in the most rural economically-depressed area to owner-build your house for less than $80/sf... and in the same state but in a nearby town it would cost $100/sf; and in the same state but near a large city, the cost would likely be at least $150/sf; and in my residential neighborhood expect $200 to $250/sf. That's a lot of variance in cost, and an example of why you can compare houses within a particular neighborhood, but *not* compare the cost to other areas. Do spend time reading prior posts on this forum. You will find previous discussions about costs, and posts from DIY and OB folks, which may enlighten you as to some of the difficulties encountered. Also spend some time with other online sites such as smartbuilding360, and B4Ubuild. Many other good sites are referred to within the GW forums... spend some more time reading and following up on those links. And, don't be surprised that it will take weeks (not hours) just to get a feel for what is being said because no one --not one single person-- is born knowing how to build; it takes time to learn. It takes time and effort to learn about building, and money to actually build. Don't skimp on either....See MoreBuying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home, Part 3
Comments (0)Tips for Buying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home, Reposted Part 3 This is the final posting for my article on Buying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home. Part 2, Continued was just posted. The original posts, Part 1, and the initial Part 2, were posted in January. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, the remainder of the article disappeared after posting. This posting, Part 3, is the final posting of the article. Part 3: Building the Home This is the third and final part of “Tips for Buying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home” Bidding: Competitive bidding or negotiated construction contract: These are the two general approaches for selecting a builder, or general contractor, for construction—each approach has its own pros and cons. Do some due diligence to understand and identify which is best for you. Your architect can advise you about both approaches and which one may best fit your situation. --Types of construction contracts: Many consumers don’t know that there are three primary types of construction contracts, each of which apportions financial risk in different manner: 1) Lump sum or fixed price (which apportions the financial risk to the builder, who always includes a contingency within the fixed price); 2) Time and materials which apportions all financial risk to the owner; and 3) Cost plus, (which may provide some measure of shared risk) which means the cost of the work (materials and labor), plus typically the builder’s OH and profit. A derivative of the Cost Plus contract is a Cost Plus with a Not to Exceed Amount. To encourage the builder to stay below the Not to Exceed Amount, it’s common to share all savings below the amount 50% to builder and 50% to owner. --Allowances: An allowance is simply a “place holder” inside the contract for construction for one type of work or another, which is not fully detailed, specified or identified completely. Multiple allowances are typical when abbreviated or incomplete construction documents are used for bidding and construction. Allowances are often not a good idea to allow in a construction contract because it allows some builders to put in a sum much too low for what the consumer may actually want. Should this happen it opens the door for a subsequent change order for the builder which will increase the overall cost and profit of the project for the builder. The best strategy for allowances is to have NONE. Zero. Take the time to properly design. detail and specify everything in order to avoid unpleasant surprises created by insufficient or inappropriate allowances. This may be the second most important tip in this article! --Change orders: A change to the specified scope of work described in the construction contract is called a Change Order. Change Orders should always be in writing from the builder, with a description of the changed work, together with the total and complete cost and change to the schedule. The owner must sign the written Change Order and authorize the builder for the work and cost before proceeding with any work. Always carefully read the contract for construction, before signing, to verify the terms and conditions for Change Orders. Do not accept other or lesser definitions for Change Orders. Make it clear, in writing, how Change Orders are to be prepared and managed. Construction: Getting started: Once a contract for construction is signed by owner and builder, it is the builder’s responsibility to confer with the owner and advise about the schedule and sequence of construction. Regularly scheduled meetings with the owner and builder are identified, and the builder identifies who will be in charge of the construction site on a daily basis. The builder is the general contractor, responsible for selecting, scheduling, supervising and payment of all of the other specialty or sub-contractors required for completion of the project. --Complete construction documents vs. abbreviated documents: If one has worked with an architect and has had complete construction documents prepared—properly detailed drawings and written specifications—the construction phase will be much smoother, more orderly and with few surprises. That’s because the builder has complete documents for construction which represent everything desired by the owner and necessary to complete the project. On the other hand, if the owner thought they could save money by only having abbreviated documents prepared, the construction phase is likely to be challenging, with many requests from the builder to the owner as to what the owner wants to do, what selections and finishes are desired, and a host of other construction phase decisions which are required. In addition, there may often be errors in construction arising from a lack of information in the documents, causing the builder to use his best judgement, but which may not meet the owner’s expectations. As a result, changes and revisions may be required during construction which often result in change orders, increased costs and schedule delays. Many owners complain about the frantic pressures and uncontrolled costs during construction, and the majority of these may result from abbreviated and incomplete documents meant to “save money”. The old saying “You get what you pay for…!” is more applicable than many consumers recognize, with the added, stressful and unexpected expenses during construction more than offsetting the costs to prepare complete construction documents in the first place. Take your pick on how you wish to proceed with construction! --Construction observation & administration: Architects provide services to owners, to represent them and their interests, during the construction phase, if retained to do so by the owner. Without an architect, it’s up to the owner to monitor the accuracy and completeness of the construction as it progresses, and to be aware of the construction sequence and schedule. --Progress payments: If a lender is involved they usually their own terms and conditions as to the frequency and amount of progress payments which are acceptable. Always ensure that the terms and conditions from the lender are those incorporated into the construction contract. Architects also provide services to owners to ensure that proper and timely progress payments are made. Without an architect, it’s up to the owner to receive, review and act upon the builder’s requests for payment, and to determine if the billings and the amount of work performed correspond with one another. Always obtain a release of liens statement from the builder for each payment, indicating that the builder has paid all applicable specialty and sub-contractors for the billing period. Without such evidence in hand, the owner is open to liens filed by these contractors if the builder does not pay them on a regular and timely basis for their work. --Retainage: It is common practice (and good judgement) to withhold 10% of each progress payment, so that there is a 10% retainage at the time of substantial completion, final punch list and close out at the conclusion of the project. Ensure these terms are included in your construction contract. --Substantial completion & occupancy: Substantial completion is the term used to designate the point in construction where the owner may occupy the project for its intended use. There may still be outstanding minor work and/or corrections, which will be noted on the final punch list. --Final punch list & close out: The final punch list is compiled by the owner and the builder, working together, noting all minor work and/or corrections which may be needed and which must be fully completed before final payment of the retainage amount. --Certificate of Occupancy: Some jurisdictions require that a formal Certificate of Occupancy be issued by a Building Official, and all code violations remedied by the builder, before an owner may occupy the project. In such cases, it’s the builder’s responsibility to comply with jurisdictional requirements in a timely manner and to keep the owner informed....See MoreHVAC questions regarding units and zones for new home build
Comments (20)Just to echo - zoning will not help much in energy costs. I am very strict on energy use - like top 1%. My newer 3800 sqft house on 2 stories is not zoned (but we do have 1 unit per floor). There are no areas in Florida that see extreme temperatures that I know of. The outside temp is always pretty close to the desired indoor temp. So shutting off one area is of little value even if the house is poorly insulated. If you lived in Minn and it got to -10 or you lived in Arizona and it got to 120, it would still not be worth it but at least it would be closer. The issue in Florida is solar gain and humidity control. Focus on those things with humidity control being about air sealing and proper bathroom venting (I am really like humidistat controlled fans - especially for children). It is always fairly helpful to consider what $7k would get you in solar panels. Perhaps 50 times the savings of zoning? Do basic things like make sure ductwork is in conditioned space (I think FL code strongly encourages this). But mostly, overhang your southern windows and avoid western windows (and east too). Also balancing the number of east and west windows will help with sizing and long run times. If you just have western, you will get long run times in the second 1/2 of the day but short in the first. Make sure you have long a/c run times to maximize humidity removal - and generally zoning will shorten runtimes which leads to suboptimal humidity control. Also - I can't imagine zoning a single unit to cover your house. Not in Florida with a modern house. Now you can do a mini or two for special circumstances. But that is another can or worms. I have to laugh at the "four filters" to change. Oh the horror. I think I have 8 filters in my house. One in each bedroom. After a year, they still look new. Heck, I have 2000 sqft houses that have 3. It isn't that big of a deal. I would rather have more and change them less often. Rule of thumb for filter removal is pretty dumb - like 30 days or 90 days....See Moreworthy
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