1st Time Custom Builders
A L0108
3 years ago
Work with Architect / Draftsman separately and then go to builder
Work with a builder to design plans with draftsman
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doc5md
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoanj_p
3 years agoRelated Discussions
1st time mail order customer
Comments (9)EEEEEuck! what vendor was this, I hope you don't mind me asking Susan? I think any band sent too small shouldn't be sent unless it has enough strong,large enough viable leaves to survive the UPS journey. Why some vendors don't follow this rule of thumb is beyond me. LittleTXYard, it's a great idea to keep taking photos just in case. At first when I was reading this post I was thinking what??? bands this late in the season? until I checked the zones and I thought ahhh, now I understand. I think as long as there's enough strong leaves on the band you should be o.k. It's when you get lots of shriveling and sickliness that's when I feel you are entitled for a refund or exchange, even if the rose were to survive a few months later. Weak roses take some time to re-cover and normalize and for cold zoners this is not a good scenario. To me a rose needs to be of decent health and size to be sent out. I have seen some of Vintages' baby bands and they look fantastic. In the future, if I ever go with baby bands I'm getting Vintage bands....See More1st time buyer Mortgage advice needed
Comments (7)Hi Fritz, My builders lender did'nt offer a very good mortgage so I went online to get some quotes to use as leverage, an online lender offered a very good mortgage especially when compared to the builders offer. Now here's my problem. 1st problem #1; Believing that online 'quotes' have any valid shoppability in the first place. (They don't... they are merely 'hook-bait' to get leads coming in.) The house is'nt going to be finished for another 6 months but the online lender wants me to start the loan process immediately, That's because they know that nibbles on their hookbait go away quickly once it is discovered that it's all just hookbait. I contacted the builders lender to see if they would match the online lenders offer and they tell me that they would match the offer but it is still too early to start the loan process and not to worry. Who is right? Well... the builder's lender is truthful in saying it's too early to begin the loan process. As to whether they honestly match the real best lockable rate/fee structure at the point of truth... I have yet to see a builder's affiliate actually keep that claim... but who knows, maybe your situation will be the first! You've got plenty of time... I recommend using it to shop for the best professional advisory support on a qualitative basis first. Here's my tag about all this; Choose your provider according to preliminary "quotes," And you've simply chosen the most successful Liar. Choose according to character quality, competitiveness, honesty, and your personal assessment, And you will set yourself up for the better Experience AND the better bottom line pricing!© Luck! Dave Donhoff Strategic Equity & Mortgage Planner...See MoreHelp building retaining wall on a slope! 1st time builder need advice!
Comments (1)You will need to dig down so that the bottom of the wall (which is the bottom of the footing) is below the frost line. Maybe a regional forum could help you find out what frost depth is. A footing is like a nice thick sidewalk that is created for the wall to sit on. (8" thickness depth would be good. 6" might be OK.) You're building a retaining wall so keep in mind that it needs to be sturdier than a free-standing wall. A footing ought to protrude beyond the footprint of the wall itself, by about 8" all the way around. So that's a total width of 24". If the present excavation only allows for the wall, you would need to excavate farther into the hill, also allowing for the space occupied by the form work. The wall will not look good if the block slopes. Instead, it should be level and to control it's height, step it down with level changes as needed. The footing would step down, too, as needed, in 8" increments (or multiples thereof) to accommodate the block courses. You'll need to use wire mesh in between courses of block. For heft and strength, I would fill the cells of the block solid with concrete as it's built. (Retaining walls that are under built tip over with time. Also, you will need to embed rebar into the footing which turns upward into the wall itself, locking the two together and helping the wall to last. Search Google images for "CMU wall" and you'll be able to see all manner of examples and details. My instructions are general and you must reconcile them with local conditions....See More1st time house builder
Comments (34)@ RES, architect Same here been using Sketchup Pro since it 1st came out in 2000 and Chief Architect Pro ( before it was Chief Architect since 90s) In earlier days I have been using just for my own project designs and customers and for the last 10 years or so I been doing work for many customers...It seems this is the best way to get something designed that a homeowner can actually visualize the project as it was already built and you place them right inside the house and they can get a better feel how rooms interact with adjoining spaces, they can walk through the entire house, a finished basement, sit at the island of their kitchen, or the outdoors. Now I average about 100-150 designs a year for customers and contractors locally and nationwide with all kinds of projects... from simple furniture placement to entire 3D house layout, I have some builders they use my services for a spec home 3D visuals and real-time renderings, schematics for zoning board proposals, real estate agents, contractors, and homeowners, not to mention I work with some architects as well. IMHO This is the way to go nowadays to end up with a design you really want... I don't want the old-timers to take me the wrong way, quick pencil mack-ups are good in the field to give the customer an idea what you have in mind and to make sure this is what they like... but when you at home, you can present your customer with 3D images using available software in any way you like, sure it takes an investment, with plugins, certain renderers, etc the whole software packages ran me about 4k with bells and whistles that I need + monthly fees to display models and run online video sessions, etc but now when working with a customer when the initial model laid out... you can move walls, cabinets, swap elevation views, scenes, swap materials within seconds while the customer is watching and you can present them drawings in any style, shape, or form that they can pass onto their architect, builder, or contractor and with a visual everyone is on the same page. Here a few examples of different representation styles you can do with a mouse click....See MoreA L0108
3 years agoA L0108
3 years agodoc5md
3 years agoMark Bischak, Architect
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agostrategery
3 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
3 years agolexma90
3 years agojust_janni
3 years agoBeth Patrick @ Closet Factory (Cleveland)
3 years agoDavid Cary
3 years agoCharles Ross Homes
3 years agoGN Builders L.L.C
3 years agoroccouple
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoWestCoast Hopeful
3 years ago
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