I haven't really studied it thoroughly but wanted to add to the bathroom thing. Our previous home was this same concept, but built in 1920. I know it was one of the first with electricity, so I am not sure if the plumbing was an after thought or not, not even sure when homes started getting indoor bathrooms, but it all looked original to me. But anyways, with children, the exta bathroom upstairs, although small and cramped, was very very nice to have. Especially in the mornings when people are getting ready for school and work. Everyone had different hours, which often changed daily, so it was nice. The kids had their stuff in their bathroom, and we had ours as a nice little retreat, and someone always had to go to the bathroom.... We had a small landing area at the top of the stairs which was a nice transition and then there were the doors to the bedrooms, attic, and bathroom. We also had a little back hall way to the other bedroom because there was a back staircase at the end of the hall. We also had a foyer, which is where our staircase was, with french doors into the living room. It was a nice receiving area, as people didn't just walk right into the middle of everything, especially if it were unwanted/uninvited guests, they couldnn't just see everything going on in the house. Our laundry was in the basement, no laundry chute, great exercise. We also had a bathroom down there which the previous owner used alot, he was a farmer and it came in from the garage which was a much lower elevation than the rest of the house, it was an add on later so would have had an exterior door to the basement. We didn't really use it that much until I made a home office down there. Anyways, it was a great house and I miss it.

Mightyanvil, Thank you for the contract breakdowns, I really appreciate that. That is definately part of what I was looking for, ways to create a win/win for us and our eventual builder. We have someone we are interested in using but have not talked specific contracts yet. There seems to be some perception that 1. I am not interested in quality and 2. that I don't realize the potential costs of quality and the unforseen. I appreciate that you are trying to warn me -thanks. I do understand these things and am trying to be prepared for them. What I was trying to get at is that somewhere out there there is a good contractor who will look at a project and take into account our site, our materials choices, our plan, etc. and come up with a bid or projected budget and a price to build our home based on all those things plus whatever he/she needs to make it work, do the job and continue to run a business successfully. Fine with that. There is also someone out there who will do all the same things and will take opportunities to increase the profit he/she takes from the job without offering any additional quality or service to the owners. My whole point is that from my point of view the second scenario is not okay with me and I was wondering what others had done and how they felt about their experiences. I would like to guard against scenario #2 if I possibly can. I know if I choose more expensive materials I will also have to increase the labor portion because it will take more skill from the tradesperson required to do the job. We do want a well built home and know that we will have to make choices and potentially sacrifices to get the things that matter most to us. When I was projecting our budget I took the averages from about 5 different sources of information and then depending on my ability to verify how that would apply to the home we are building I would either use the highest number if I didn't know or the amount that seemed to fit best with our project. There were some items that I was able to verify by actually going out and getting real numbers others by saying 'we are building a home next year it will be (description)if I am looking for 'x' and I budget 'y' is that reasonable? In the 'unknown' areas I spoke to a friend who owns his own concrete flatwork company, he has built several of his own homes. One of his sites was in our neighborhood and similar to ours, so in my basic labor and materials budget I took the amount he paid for excavation and tripled it for safety. I compared that to the prices others have paid in 'hairy situations' and my number was always the highest. We have already dug some on the property as we put in the septic and the excavator at that time did not feel we would have a problem *from what he could see and had experienced on our site* digging the hole for the house. I took the highest foundation cost and added 50%. We have city water, septic is in and we have electrical ready to go. This home will replace a manufactured home so our permits are inexpensive-about 1/3 of what it would be otherwise. When I got my budget together I looked at the overall total and added 10% to the entire thing. I did find that some numbers varied more than others and were harder to pin down. Other times the same number kept popping up so I felt I must be close and the 10% on top of that should cover it. I actually showed this budget and the plan to the builder we are considering and she gave me the feedback that most of my numbers are 'conservative'- in her terms which meant 'high' and we should be fine. Even if our budget goes over another 10% from that we are ok -including the fee amounts she quoted us for her services. At the time the plan we had been considering was built as a spec house nearby and we had gone through it several times. When I contacted the builder I explained that we really liked his house and were considering building that home ourselves. We shared with him information about our property and our time frame and we talked about the finishes in the house and the different things he was including. When he gave me the price for the home as built but on our site it was about 16% higher than our highest number and it did not include everything. Based on comments some have made, maybe it was still a 'fair' number but then again maybe not...in our county you can look up valuations on permits and the price he quoted for house only was $100k over that amount and it was $200k over what he told the county his cost was. In talking with my concrete contractor friend who has built his own homes he told me that builders usually underestimate their expenses for the county but that the county gets very close and they include approximately a 10% 'contractor markup' in their valuation. Enter builder #3, nice guy, only builds turnkey, fixed price. Not sure why he was interested in us as we were very up front that we did not think we would go that way. He was trying to convince us why we should I think. He was very helpful and actually wanted to see our site. He has just finished carving half a hillside out for a huge custom home which we toured so he knows about 'hairy excavation' and he looked at our site and said it was about average for our area and he didn't see a problem. Famous last words I know... anyway he ballparked a price about 10% less than the higher guy and about 9% above our 'cost plus' budget. This makes sense as he does need that 'coverage' in there, but...we had already added that to our numbers so...either we are still way off or...make of it all what you will. The highest number is out of our budget, the middle number is doable and the low number means new furniture, nice landscape etc. Guess which one I am planning on? Guess which one I am HOPING for?! :) So perhaps some will say this all bears no relevance to an actual project and maybe it doesn't. I am not trying to control every aspect, just educate myself and be prepard so that hopefully we make a good choice when we do finally sign that contract. I just wanted to know what everyone else was thinking about builders, pricing and contracts and how to best go about building a home for a 'fair' price. We are committed to building a house, it will be interesting to see what it will actually cost. Thanks all.

Oh before forget there is black stain at bottom of toilet bowl ... I noticed simlar at local Farm store ladies public restroom toilets lastyear when we first moved here. They look like store replaced with new toilets since... I dont wanna be witch either Only results I can find are a bottom ofthis post Please.... vegetables I eat fresh every day...... All the stuff even organic ( store bought.....WHICH i BUY) and grow some myself... store bought long stay on shelf which preversatives added....have no nutrients unless you grow them yourself and eat right away..... How many big farmers use crop rotation??? the minerals are depleted from the soil. I am not trying to be a witch either(LOL) I do appreciate your knowledge and help , thank you I read this years ago...... well back to the subject of filters> Can a filter be oversized? we just are using the Hd350a model Hubby just completed installing the 2 units. One with the 50 polymicron sediment filter and the other with the poly outside carbon inner 25 micron filter unit Missed out on the state testing.... Sure did not see it posted in local paper, which we subscribe too. ...... I am madder, than heck about that. I called around all over here and tried to find testing other than the next county which tested only for bacteria. This area used to be a whole lot more rural... but everyday I see farmers selling off their land in auctions. they are also dying off. so the subdivided farms down the road are yuppy grass covered...... most are on "CITY CHLORINATED , chlorormFLORUDATED TO DEATH...... they can keep that cause I am a big water drinker...my favorite beverage.... We took our water sample hurriedly to be tested driving the distance last spring.... Gentleman , really nice guy, show my Hubby around the lab.....He said it was in the acceptacle range...... I know,that can change day to day,,,,just common sense Did find one in big city (an independent lab) they wanted a lot for each test.... still have the kit..... Mailed in one too(big national company) the results came back..... guy recommended reverse osmosis for drinking and a softener....... Berkey is my countertop system..... The one, whole house filter,had one temporarily on just the wash machine line for 2 weeks. I was tired of going to the laundromat.... for almost a year.... also still have one the nice carbon shower filter... Hubby took off that whole filter and housing and took a magnet to it.... he got some rust off He than placed that two week old filter cartridge and unit as the 2nd of the two units..... side by side int he crawlspace right after the water from the pump enters the house.... I guess that is normal... the rust that is,, and some sediment We do not know the age of the well etc... so far just two kitchen type sinks, one lavatory and one toilet.l..and a shower. and a portable old dishwasher.... Just the two of us i wash clothes..a lot cause I am a gardener and DIYselfer I will definitely, change that sediment first filter more than recommended and the carbon one more than rec, ,too.... so so far does that sound good??? results of tests, . but I do remember that hardness was high also we had someone testfor floride I believe it said acceptable hardness 12.86 gpg ph 7.54 iron 0.00 ppmas fe maganese..03 tannin 0 ppm sodium salt 215 tds 435 as Ca Co3 turbidity 0 NTU UNITS as amt visible color 0 units sus matter 0 as detected in sample Iron bacteria 0 as detected visually odor 0 as detected in sample Thanks so much Jean This post was edited by jeanwedding on Wed, Mar 20, 13 at 22:24

Thank you all for the responses! And Bpath- If I go, I will ask about the floor :) Writersblock- That was my concern, too. It is laminate and it's a good price...but it's not that much more on the Ikea website. We would be cutting out a pretty big section for the drop in sink...so maybe I'll keep looking. I still want something light green, blue or aqua. I know, almost everyone says to go with something neutral....but it's only 2/3 of the counter on one side of the kitchen. And half of it is going to be big white sink! LOL Does anyone actually use this type of counter top? Now, I'm wondering if it's going to work if I cut out a big hole for a 46" drop in sink??? Not my sink...but looks a lot like this one. Again, my friend gave it to me, when remodeling.