Munzer1, I can explain to you very simply why what you are asking for is not widely accepted on this website or in the construction industry. If you go to a grocery store, do you tell them how much you will pay for a tube of toothpaste? Of course not. They set the cost. It's all about market value. If you go to a lawyer for legal services, do you tell them how much they are going to charge you? Of course not. Thy set the cost. It's all about market value. If you go to a hospital for treatment, do you tell them how much they are going to charge you for treatment? Of course not. They set the cost. It's all about market value. If you go to a professional assassin to have someone killed, do you tell them how much you'll pay them to off someone for you? Of course not. They set the cost. It's all about market value. Last one, a perfect explain, initially asked by you, if you go through a toll booth, do you tell them how much you will pay them to let you through? Of course not. THEY TELL YOU HOW MUCH YOU WILL PAY FOR THEIR SERVICES. Need I say more? Now, you are free to solicit anyone for any cost and that will be your biggest mistake in building homes. Not paying a qualified individual what they're worth to make sure you get what you want. You can hire a cheap dentist, doctor, or lawyer, buy cheap toothpaste, or take the long way around the river to avoid the toll fee, but in the end you will only waste time and money because YOU were too CHEAP, and you were the rip off.

I agree with much of what's been said, and I think you can improve upon this layout: Garage: A back entry garage is going to require a turn-around type driveway. Do you have space to make this turn comfortably? I'm thinking this back garage concept is only workable if you're building on a corner lot. Your kitchen isn't spacious. Does this fit with your cooking style? You have something of a door log-jam around the garage-kitchen entrance. I'd consider having the garage-entrance door in the utility room and eliminating the broom closet altogther -- nothing's going to fit in that tiny triangular room anyway, and you have a good-sized utility room right there. Opening up that corner will not add functional space, but it will add visual space. Your dining area is tiny; really, it's the same size as your laundry room, and your master bath is larger. PLUS the dining area IS the walkway from the garage. In reality, the table you've pictured will not fit there; you'd comfortably be able to have a small 4-person table in that area, but it still would be a bit cramped. I think this is the biggest problem with this layout. I totally agree with the poster who says that the dining room French doors should become windows. You still keep the light, but windows are cheaper, and they are one less set of doors to secure every night. And with another set of doors right there in the living room, the dining room doors are not necessary. You asked about cost-effective. All those angles are the exact opposite of cost-effective. And for little purpose; for example, the triangular linen closet by the secondary bedrooms isn't even going to hold towels. Your public living spaces are quite cramped, yet your foyer is spacious. This isn't where I would allot my square footage. My best suggestion for opening up this public room space: square off the back wall of the house. That is, extend the living room /dining room area a bit. Since angles are so expensive, this will probably end up being almost a wash financially. This'll give you space to breathe in your dining room area (remember, this is a main walkway too), and it won't hurt the living room area. You can still have the back porch -- and without the angles, it'll be more serviceable. Unlike lots of people here, I do like the jack-and-jill bathroom concept, but that's personal preference. IF you were to change to a hall-bath, you could elminate the half-bath. If you were to eliminate the half-bath and take a little space away from the master closet, you could use that area as a small office. If you place the desk against the wall, you'd have a small but usable space. Why? Because then the current office could become the dining room, solving the biggest problem in this layout. Six doors in the master suite is an awful lot, but I would eliminate only one: The bathroom door between the linen closet and the sinks. It's only a few steps to the right or the left to enter through another door -- this door isn't needed. Plus it eliminates that seeing-the-shower-from-the-foyer problem. Still on the subject of doors, I would get rid of the silly little double-doors in two places: They pose a problem when it comes to light switch placement, and mixed doors in the same space are just odd. I think you've allotted too much space to the master bedroom closet -- too much, that is, in proportion with the rest of the house. This closet is as big as the kitchen, larger than the dining room. I do, however, love that one spouse can go into the closet, turn on the light and make noise without disturbing the other sleeping spouse. I think the layout of the whole bedroom area will function well. The master closet, though, is far from the laundry room. Carrying laundry baskets through the living room and kitchen/dining area, threading your way through furniture, is going to get old. With all that space, you could include a stack-up washer/dryer in the master closet and eliminate the carrying. One note of caution about the location of this master suite: Where will you locate the TV /stereo in the living room? If the answer is above or beside the fireplace, you're going to want to include extra insulation or gyp-board between the living room and the master. Otherwise a person going to bed early is going to be disturbed by the noises in the living room. This isn't a design problem -- just a detail of which to be aware during building. I would take the window out of the shower and move it to the toilet room. Actually, I wouldn't have the toilet in a separate room -- closing oneself in a tiny cabinet to use the toilet feels too enclosed -- but that's an unpopular choice around here. My overall impression of this house: It's okay, but nothing great. It looks like a starter house (in terms of size) but with a nicer master suite. With some tweaking, it could be much nicer.

Hi MsCajunPie, The folks telling you to hurry are misinformed, and the ones telling you it won't matter are accurate. You either won't be able to lock your eventual permanent financing until the project is completed, OR, if you are able to, the rate you can currently lock in will be significantly higher than what you'll eventually be allowed to "float down to" upon completion. Do you have a financial professional guiding you on this, or are you 'winging it' with the retail builders? If you're winging it, I strongly suggest you high-tail it to secure a relationship with a good, competent, trustworthy construction-to-permanent financing specialist. The home will end up however the home ends up... its sexy and fun to pay great attention to the details of the construction.... HOWEVER... The details of the financing are exponentially more critical to your net worth over time. Luck! Dave Donhoff Leverage Planner

Hi, Your question relates to budget. The best way to answer it is for you to tour homes in your area that are similar to what you have in mind and ask the builder(s) what the cost would be to replicate the home on whatever lot and in whatever community you have in mind. Then add the cost of the land. Once you've confirmed that your budget is realistic for what you have in mind, you can decide whether to replicate a builder's model home or purchase a stock plan from a plan service or to hire a home designer/architect/design-build firm to design a home for you. To hire anyone to design a home without answering the basic "is my budget realistic?" question risks spending money on a design that won't get built. Order of operations! Best wishes for a successful project.