Permit and insurance for new garage construction
mtvhike
2 years ago
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2 years agoworthy
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoRelated Discussions
Insurance & bank appraisal way out on new build
Comments (32)Lora: Your great views and lot size have nothing to do with the insurance value. Insurance only covers replacement of the home and does not insure the land. Take this a step further, my insurance policy states it does not cover the portion of the home that is under ground. (Do other policies say this also, this policy was with a very large carrier in the USA.). To me, this means the footings, the underground plumbing and electrical, as well as the septic tank, are not covered. In my case, this is approx $25k in building costs (due to expensive foundation). I would have assumed that the 'cost to build' that my insurer calculated would have been much cheaper, given the fact that they are not really insuring the entire home,but instead only insuring the above ground portion of the home. But also in my case the insurance company came in with an estimate of at least $100k OVER our actual cost to build, and our cost also included the foundation, septic system, etc. All I can say is, shop around. Just recently, I switched carriers after having lived in the home awhile and got a new carrier that came up with a cost-to-build approx $50k lower the the first carrier. ---------------------------------- An open question to the insurance pros on this forum....what is the deal with max amt of deductible allowed for most mortgage companies? One of the insurance agents said mortgagers require no more than a 500 deductible. He squawked when I tried to raise it. I ended up switching carriers and got a 1000 deductible. But was wondering about increasing it more . (Am afraid to contact lender to ask in case they say it is 500 and make me lower what I already have.) I read my lender paperwork and it does not give an actual deductible requirement....See MoreTo Permit or not to permit, that IS a question!
Comments (36)westsider40: "I wouldn't bet that an insurance company would deny a claim for houses not up to code. Perhaps, but, we have a 1922 cottage where the elec is up to code on the main floor but the second floor still has knob and tube. Very little in that old place would be up to today's code but we filed a claim for a critter chewing up the flexible heating ducts in our 2 foot high crawl space (only flexible ducts would fit!) and it was paid." The claim denial has nothing to do with "being up to code"...it has to do with performing an illegal renovation that may be the cause of the claim. Without permits, there are no verifiable plans...you are therefore out of luck proving that something that was or was not done with the renovation did not cause the fire, flood, etc. That said, knob and tube is "grandfathered" in most if not all jurisdictions in terms of code compliance. However, during the last couple of years, many of the major insurers will not insure a home with K&T once title changes..or will charge a huge premium to insure. That means that if or when you sell, the buyers may not be able to obtain insurance...or they will have to pay quite a bit extra for that insurance, unless there is an electrical upgrade. This is because most K&T is not in perfect condition and/or it is difficult to verify that it is all in good shape, as much is hidden behind walls.It is also difficult to find parts to repair K&T when required..or to even find an electrician willing to do so and who knows HOW to do so...and for a reasonable cost. Last but not least...once you renovate, in most places, grandfathered things such as K&T are no longer "grandfathered" and must be brought up to current code. In our small NJ town, three people who had fires who also had illegally finished basements were denied their insurance claim. For those who can afford to take that gamble..so be it...but bear in mind the cost can be a LOT more expensive than permits...especially if injury and/or death occurs....See MoreCan any type wire (speaker or cable) be used in new construction?
Comments (4)Not sure on the exact equivalent of CSA (Canadian Standards Association) FT-4 but I believe it is CL2 or CL3 - riser rated. Basically, what it comes down to is that if a fire was to start at or near the in-wall cable, would the cable contribute to the fire spreading? With the correct insulation, as in in-wall rated, it would not substantially contribute. Between floors, in vertical walls, it should be riser rated. If the cable passes through air handling areas (very unlikely in residential) it must be plenum rated as well which means the fumes emitted are within specific toxic limits. The silver/gold zip-cord type of speaker wire is hardly ever in-wall rated... but the good thing is that the proper in-wall speaker cable (CL2/CL3) is usually cheaper. Coax, Video, Audio, Ethernet cables all must be in-wall rated as well....See MoreHelp Choosing an Architect/ Builder for New House Construction
Comments (25)@John Hrivnak, ArCH, AIA, MBA, NCARB, LEED AP - This is a problem with anecdotal evidence. You are not going to architect your way out of a bad builder. When we look at the advantages and disadvantages of design/build firms in aggregate it is pretty easy figure the trade-offs inherent in the model. This is not rocket surgery, it is a simple backward or forward vertical integration business combination and they have been happening a long time now. Somewhere deep in the past a wine maker said. "I think we would be more profitable if we grow the grapes." THE GOOD Every combination requires synergy, so the two parts being better together than they would be apart. In the case of the winery owning the grapes it is a change in the decisions around growing and harvesting grapes. Essentially you can tailor your wine to your grapes and your grapes to your wine. In design/build firms plans will be tailored to take advantage of builder proficiencies and enhanced communications. The designer will be able to anticipate areas where the builder may struggle and will design away from that when possible and communicate more clearly when not. Plans are more likely to hit cost targets as the design process is automatically designing to efficiency. There will also be more communication between the builder and designer during the design phase when they are in the same office. THE BAD Every combination has a sacrifice because of the exclusive nature of the combination. In the case of a winery, if you own the fields and have a grape harvest that is not particularly fantastic while a competing grower has a fantastic harvest, you are still required to use your grapes. If you sell your grapes and buy the others you have destroyed all of the value in the combination. In design/build firms that tailoring of plans to building efficiency will limit creativity. An architect for a design build firm is not going to design towards something the builder is not good at doing. They are going to design to strengths and away from weaknesses. Those strengths and weaknesses might not be shared by every builder. This is a tangible weakness and should be given serious consideration (e.g. If a builder has a preferred window supplier the designer is likely to find a way to incorporate those windows in the design even if a different window would be better). --- This entire thing assumes that quality is equal across the board, which it is not. I can assure you that the answer above is correct, yet it is also meaningless in your decision. Your decision is going to be based on your needs and your market. In your market you may well have several architect driven design/build firms (forward vertical integration), or you might have cost conscience builders providing design services (backward vertical integration). Do your due diligence and then pick the arrangement that you are most comfortable with. I would advise that you take pricing quotes with a grain of salt, the best value is not likely to depend on a quoted upfront price. Also I personally would not look at portability of plans from a design/build firm. This seems like the worst of all worlds... You limit design to strengths of one firm and then don't use that firm. Just my 2 cents... Good luck....See Moremtvhike
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