A Custom Build Too Weird For Resale
One Devoted Dame
3 years ago
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Comments (36)
One Devoted Dame
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoRelated Discussions
Simplemat....too weird
Comments (1)Hi Pete, CBP launched SimpleMat last Winter, if I recall correctly, and it's intended SOLELY for the DIY/Home Despot market. I was shipped a case of the stuff prior to the launch to test drive and it's still sitting in my garage. I honestly couldn't come up with any legitimate use for it. I know of one person who used it to mount tiles to the outside of a metal range hood, with really good results. Otherwise, your wall has to be ABSOLUTELY flat and your tiles have to be ABSOLUTELY flat for a reasonable finished product. As there is no compressible bed or mortar, there is no compensation for irregular planes. You pay the shipping and I'll give you the case in my garage. Shaughnn...See MoreCustom Cycle Miele W4842 actiong WEIRD
Comments (31)@cavimum... The increase in time, has increased during the rinse/spin cycles. I have not noticed any time increase during the Main Wash portion of the program. Yes, the time physically changed in the countdown time. It said 41 minutes remaining, I left the laundry room for maybe like 30 seconds, returned...and the countdown timer said 47 minutes remaining. What's odd, is the besides these eccentricities using Custom Cycle, the machine is behaving perfectly in every other program...hard key, or Master Care programs. I love German cars and appliances, but they for sure have some unique snafus. Luckily, build quality and materials used keep me faitful to most things German. If their materials or build quality were as glitch as their electronics...I would go a Japanese or Korean! :) LOL...See MoreCustom build house plans feedback please!
Comments (7)Alex House: Thanks again for all the comments. I will definitely be looking into widening the kid's bath by taking some room from the closet and master. We vaulted the LR specifically to decrease the sq footage of the house. We had a larger house before (3400 sq ft) and felt it was too big. We also had a valued living room and loved all the natural light. 2 dedicated offices would be too much. The foyer is the full 2 storeys but the LR is only 1.5 storeys. We are trying to have that "wow" factor with the foyer as this was one of the biggest complaints with our last place. Estate agents consistently told us that their clients when shopping in the higher price bracket wanted to shock and awe their guests with a grand entry. We were planning on splurging on a light fixture and art for this area. There is no guest closet, again this is something that we went back and forth on. We were going to provide hooks, something sculptural that would double as an art piece. As for the DR/ Island seating, your questions are valid. We had this set up in our last place and it worked well. People hung out at the island while I cooked and then we would sit at the table to eat. Originally I wanted the dining table to face the back view, but due to other design issues (the garage cannot move all) we just weren't able to figure out how to do that without having weird spaces. One idea was to push the dining room out as far as allowed (the inside dotted line on the site plan) and turn the table side ways. This leaves a huge space along the closet/pantry wall and will again increase square footage. Also, we are looking to move the deck to start off the dining room and go along the kitchen and all our footings must be within that dotted line. I think with the pantry, mudroom and large kitchen we should have enough storage for the first floor. The fireplace wall in the living room will also have storage built in. bpathome: Thanks for the ideas about switching the office around. We did think about that before putting in the dog run. We decided that the office should have the exterior wall for a bigger window and more natural light and we liked having the foyer/mudroom wall uninterrupted to use as a gallery wall as we have a fair amount of art. Your comments have me thinking that your idea is actually better and if we keep a window where the dog run door is and then have a glass door to the office we could get a fair amount of natural light in there. Kids bath will most likely be widened thanks to the feedback I have received. The kitchen cabinets along the window will be removed for a window seat so I plan to replace the small prep sink on the island to be the single main sink which should make the kitchen triangle much better. We live in a northern snowy city, so somewhere to hang coats at the front door is essential. We thought that the sculptural hook idea would be a more contemporary unique idea for temporary coats but I do worry that this is bad decision for resale and that people would prefer the storage. If we flip the mudroom and office around and put the dog door there I can see the family rarely using the front door as we will use this door almost all the time if not coming through the garage. The views are amazing out the back and we love natural light. We tried to get every room in the house to have a source of natural light. Thanks again for letting me explain our decisions thus far and agree/disagree with your comments. You both have given me a lot to think about. And here I thought we were finished with the floor plan!...See MoreBasics to building a custom home?
Comments (15)Some advice, in addition to the other good stuff on the thread: 1. Really pick your Realtor's brain- how will your home "compete" if you ever sell? Get current sales comps etc, and take great care with over-improving. Having the most expensive house on the block (even if it's just price per square foot) is very rarely a good idea. This step becomes even more important if you're paying cash. You'll be the "bank" and the only step between you and spending way more than you want, for value. 2. If you're financing, talk with your loan officers before you buy land/start on design. They and appraisers/underwriters will want to make sure that your plans affect a competitive home in the market. A question they ask over and over again during approval purchase is "if it all goes 'badly', do we have the potential of getting stuck with a home that's overvalued and will be hard to recoup the loan? No aspersions cast on you, personally. But I've seen more than one homeowner go to a bank with a plan and get turned down for the financing, because the "value proposition" wasn't there. 3. If you're still comfortable with it all- Try to buy the biggest lot possible, in your area. That way, you can build what you want now but still allow for the possibility of expansion for somebody else, if you sell in the future. It's become popular in some areas to have a second home on property, and many buyers find it an attractive possibility. A good realtor can also help with codes/zoning/future possibilities. You don't have to do it, but it does preserve/add value to your property. 4. As you speak with contractors and architects, you'll find out that not all square footage is created "equally". Especially in a ground-up build, sometimes you find that adding (for example) flex space, or an extra bedroom can be extremely cost effective. Spaces you can finish out fine, close off, but still adds to your home's value. If you're careful with materials, you should also find out that building out the master closet you want is also a lot less expensive at this stage than aftermarket, and still allow you to put in the quality features you want for things like kitchens and bathrooms. I relate to your desire for a smaller home, but you might find you can both affect it and get a bit more square footage so your home won't appear "odd' in a neighborhood full of huge homes. 5. Finally, don't skip legal advice BEFORE you sign a contract with a builder/GC. You shouldn't enter a relationship with a builder expecting legal fights. In fact, a good real estate attorney will tell you that the reason he/she is reviewing/adjusting your contract is to clarify and help avoid that scenario- stave off issues that are unclear from the start. Spending the few bucks will increase your knowledge of who carries what obligations, what to do if things get a bit sideways-and in a custom build, that'll happen once or twice! Houzz is littered with threads from homeowners who have real questions about how to work through contracting/design issues. "Lawyer time" for some, but the truth is if your legal comes in at the end- only if there's trouble- it can be harder, more expensive to work through than ensuring total clarity from the beginning. My last real estate contract morphed to almost twice the pages. None of it was "just because" legal goop. It was because the standard Builder's Contract offered by most residential contractors in my state was designed/written by the state's Builder's Association- and really didn't include me, as the homeowner....See MoreOne Devoted Dame
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