Buying On-Line Plans vs. Custom Plans on New Home Build
hsh2012
5 years ago
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bry911
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoUser
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Help me plan for building a new custom home FAST
Comments (41)LAURA12:: You didn't see your name at the top of two of these replies in bold, to the right of a pink star, one response each for your two posts? :P This forum has provided me with some great feedback, but the layout, search features and almost everything about the website itself could be improved and made more user friendly. 'Skeptical', maybe. Maybe 'ignorant', 'naive' or 'just starting' plus 'stubborn' (or if we're gonna be friends, 'determined') would more precisely describe my mentality lol. I saw FHA, new construction and other very affordable down % and took that into my want for a custom home, not realizing that the custom requires more up front. Your cost breakdown is quite helpful and the $150/sqft mark makes sense when I consider the prices I've seen for houses other than ticky-tacky. This one here we're currently renting sold last April sold for something like $91/sqft, and the more I'm seeing, the more I realize how good a deal that purchase was. I'm now more strongly leaning toward more of a mass construction and I'll be sure to keep asking about any kinds of alterations with regards to resale value. You mentioned something about affordable contractors in the area?...See MoreTips for Buying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home, Part 2
Comments (2)This is a great thread for those contemplating building a new home. Clients are often bringing me sketches of floor plans or plans they've found online. Such plans can be helpful as a point of departure but almost always require a complete redo. What helps me more is a detailed conversation about lifestyle, philosophy of art and design, and a deep understanding of the site....See MoreUpdated custom water treatment plans - with water test and more new.
Comments (2)General forum: Please keep subsequent posts on the same topic in the same thread rather than starting a new one. It will keep the information all together and save all of us time and effort. Water analysis: The numbers don't add up. Hardness alone is over 100 ppm, yet TDS is listed as 100 ppm. Are you certain you didn't drop a digit somewhere? If transcribed correctly, where did the analysis come from? Dissolved CO2 in well water would be odd. Given the amount relative to hardness, do you mean CO3, or perhaps M-alkalinity? Pressure switch/pump/tank: pressure relief valve location should be protecting the tank. In it's current location it cannot necessarily do that. As to the pressure settings and potential pump and tank replacements, you can get the best of both worlds with a pump that has a variable frequency drive to maintain more constant pressure and improve pump life. It also won't require a larger tank. Aerator: I am retracting the sparger suggestion I made earlier - your iron is WAY too high for that to work at all. You can install your bubbler pipe, but it won't accomplish much as it won't provide much surface area for air/water contact. Most of what the aerator accomplishes will happen in the air at the top. Katalox light filters, sizing: Your parts spreadsheet isn't working today (lots of rows are hidden) so I can't see the size of these filters. However, according to the manufacturer's specs, you need 4.78 cubic feet of media for the 8 gpm your pump puts out, with 40% freeboard, that would be two 14" diameter x 65" tall tanks. Katalox filters, chemistry: Additionally, inlet water pH needs to be at least 7.5 for good iron removal. 8 would be better. If you don't increase pH, you will have iron bleed from your iron filters. That will foul your softeners. Katalox filters, design considerations: Stacked tank/mid-Vortech. This would be an extraordinarily bad idea. The tanks would either have inadequate freeboard or be so tall you would need a ladder to reach the control valve. Backwash rates would either be inadequate to remove solids from the Katalox or too high for the softener resin. Regen/backwashes would be too frequent for the resin or not frequent enough for the Katalox. Put the thought out of your mind if you want both systems to function properly. Softeners, in-service operation: How much water do you expect to need at once? Unless it's truly copious amounts, I would switch to a twin tank softener - two tanks, one valve, operating one at a time with no hard water during regen and the added benefit of soft water backwashes and rinses. Softeners, regen: You do not want counter-current regeneration. While it is true that there can be some benefit to counter-current regeneration, those apply only to packed bed softeners in residential application or in commercial/industrial demineralization applications. In a more standard softener, counter-current regen leads to inadequately regenerated resin due to irregular flow patterns if the flow rate is too low, or fluidization with resin loss and poor regen if the flow is too high, or both if your water temperature change seasonally. With potential for iron in the water going to the softener (let's face it - at some point it is bound to happen), counter-current regen schemes will result in poor removal of solids. Softeners, resin: Am I correct in assuming your resin choice was driven by lower salt use? If so, be aware that if you want to operate your softeners at the low brine rates that will result in that lower salt use, you may need to increase the size of your softeners because the lower salt dose will decrease softener capacity. Further, depending upon how effective your iron removal is, you may need to regen at a higher salt dose to adequately remove any iron that bleeds through. With the current water pH, you will need to regen with a salt dose of 8-9 lb/cubic ft of resin and more frequently than capacity would otherwise indicate. Carbon filters: What are you trying to remove with these? Typically, for whole-house applications, a GAC backwashing filter is more appropriate. If cartridges are really what you want - change filters every six months lest they become bacteria havens. Micron filter: It's not hurting anything (other than possibly becoming a flow bottleneck), but what do you expect this to remove? Regardless, change filters every six months whether they appear to need it or not. Drainage: Entirely depends upon how it is all connected, line diameter, and length. Backwash for the Katalox runs at a pretty high flow rate. Additionally, if you are relying on the pressure from the backwashes/regens to drive the water to the pasture, then you will need check valves (possibly I am misreading your intent here - the drain/pasture/outdoor lines discussion is a bit convoluted). If any of those lines are above ground, you will want freeze protection. Water heater: The plus actually works out if you do the math. You will still have to adjust at point of use, but not nearly as much. The 36 is capable of heating 3.75 gpm from 55 to 120 degrees. You have two fixtures running, each using 1.88 gpm hot water, plus 0.56 gpm cold water, for a final temperature at each fixture of 105. Now, somebody comes along and opens another fixture using 1.88 gpm of hot water. With standard control, your water heater is now putting out 5.6 gpm of water at 98 degrees, and your fixtures each now get 1.88 gpm at 98 degrees and 0.56 gpm at 55 - temps drop to 88 at each fixture with the same total flow rate. With the plus, the water heater still only allows 3.75 gpm, but now that water is distributed to three fixtures instead of two each receiving 1.25 gpm of 120 degree water, still mixed with 0.56 gpm of cold water - final temperature = 100 (but your fixture total flow drops from 2.4 gpm to 1.8 gpm)....See MoreBuy house plans or hire an architect for home build?
Comments (15)Re-reading your original post I am understanding that this is not a home for you, that you are seeking advice for another person. Have they picked/purchased their lot? When I was deciding between buying or building many of the lots I looked at were either in developments with planned housing where you had to pick something from a selected list of plans or they were builder owned lots where the builder would build what you wanted on the lot, but you didn't get to select the builder. Very few lots were privately owned where you had the option of hiring your own builder and architect. The one lot that I was considering was a builder owned lot. We discussed my needs and he had stock plans that he had built before that would have needed to be tweaked, but basically fit my requirements and worked within my budget. I had a very strict budget and building from a stock plan from the builder would give me more bang for my buck than hiring an architect. The lot was in an established neighborhood, the style I wanted (MCM) was the dominant style of the neighborhood. I had no truly unique needs except for meeting some fairly strict work from home requirements for my office. There was no need to hire an architect to design the home that would fit my needs on this lot and it would have taken away $$$ from my budget. When you say "Owner has basic layout set in their mind" what does that mean? Do they know how many upper and lower cabinets they need in the kitchen? How much counter space do they need? How many people will be baking or cooking meals together? How many linear feet of closet space do they need? How does the closet space need to be allocated? How large does the living room and dining room need to be? How many guests need to be accommodated at any one time? What are their daily needs and how often do they entertain? What type of entertaining do they do? If the husband or wife brings business associates home regularly you may need a different layout than if entertaining is limited to close friends and family. Do they want/need a fireplace. Do they need a space to play board games or do crafts? What is their preferred seating type and arrangement? Have they thought about where they want the TV? At one time my mom was living in her 3000 sf home with one of my nephews. It seemed kind of crazy, but she still needed the massive kitchen and dining space as she was still making dinner for her working children and their families (Amish background). Every night at 5:00 there were about 14 people coming through the door. Long before open concept was popular, my parents had an open concept kitchen, dining, family room. It worked for our large family. It met our needs when we did baking and canning and needed room for 6 or 8 people doing various tasks and not stepping on each other. My sister lives with just her and her husband, but she is the designated family matriarch since my mom passed away, so holidays are hosted at her home (30-40 people). The one 20' wall of her living room is windows with a long window seat bench. Other than family gatherings they don't sit there, but it comes in handy with a huge crowd. None of us know the intimate details of how this family functions or what their needs may be. The mass majority of people buy pre-owned homes and they work just fine. The majority of new homes being built are in planned developments where people pick one of 10 plans. Many are quite similar....See MoreErica B
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