Glad to be of help. I used Amtico Rosewood for the wood floor, Garcia Stone for the kitchen and foyer floors and an antique brass strip which I had them custom make double wide to fit my application. We first saw the flooring in Expo which was an upscale Home Depot store...they had it throughout the store and were driving tow motors over it and parking skids on it in addition to tons of foot traffic...we figured if it could stand up there, it could stand up in our little home. We opted for it against advice of architect, who has since used high end vinyl in other applications.... Foyer with Garcia Stone and Rosewood trim edging the room, with a compass in the middle. Compass is made of rosewood, garcia stone and light maple. Our DR is open to our library with columns separating the spaces to create a hallway between the rooms. I added the antique "brass" amtico flooring in a square pattern that matches the coffering in the ceiling of the hall area. I ran the grain the other way to help visually separate the spaces. I used the rosewood in the family room and used the garcia stone in the kitchen, cutting a shape in the floor that matches the curve of the island which matches the curve of the soffit that separates the kitchen from the family room. Fair warning...it is expensive, more expensive than hardwood. I believe there are other mnfctrs out there making comparable products now, but when I was looking, none of them had that brass trim that I coveted and none had the rosewood color which I fell in love with.

Here is a link that might be useful: Amtico flooring

I would not skip the fan box upgrades. That will be hard to do later and would cost a lot more. I wouldn't skip the cable either. If the blinds include measuring and installing for all of the windows, it's not a bad deal at all.

One upgrade I would absolutely insist on would be at least a 50 gallon gas water heater. 40 just isn't big enough with most people enjoying larger tubs and more shower heads. Or, do a gas tankless if you will be in the house for longer than 5 years. The cost difference during building is minimal, but the cost to upgrade later is substantial.

If this is to be a long term residence, I would also insist on 2x6 construction and an upgraded insulation package. That would be more important than any these decorative upgrades offered and would make the house more comfortable, quieter, and cheaper to own. I'd skip every other upgrade on the list but the master bathroom in order to upgrade the envelope. You only get one chance to do that right.

irish...the trim colors are benjamin moore colors:

ivory white (all painted trim except bed/bath & office)
frappe (bedroom and master bath)
fairview taupe (office with wainscot)

Just wanted to update. You can see my original set up above. The dowel was allowing paper towels to roll out too quickly. For a while I had a paper back book wedged in between the towels and the wood so it would pull slower. The other issue is that often even if you grabbed a towel quickly and they didn't roll out passed the cabinetry it would unroll a bit in the cubby.

Anyway, I instead bought one of those Perfect Tear Holders from Amazon. I also have the vertical one many of you also own that just sits on the counter and it allows you to tear off one piece. It clicks each time you pull it.

I had my cabinetmaker redo the cubby, removing the dowel system and using this instead. He had to take the towel holder apart somehow to make it work and fit in the space correctly so that the roll wouldn't sit too high or too low. I LOVE IT! This works MUCH better. For any of you doing a paper towel holder I'd recommend using one of these- or something similar- as you'll get better results : )

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Here is the holder beforehand:

Here is the product on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00029QOW2/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00

Shoe, purse and sweater storage:

Jewelry storage:

Pants racks:

And more jewelry storage:

As we finish the design phase, I want to be sure we've considered all the neat home features out there. I think about buying our last car which came with keyless entry - we thought it was unnecessary, but wife now finds it essential.

Like that (or an Apple product) I want our home to be full of "wow, someone thought about this" concepts, that are helpful. Emphasis on thoughtful, not neccesarily techy.

I've read the excellent recent discussion that had 7-8 links to "what you can't live without" and "big mistakes" and "2 yrs later - what would you do different/same", and am going more for the 1-2 things that reflect design thought and make their houses a home.

I'll go first, knock out the low-hanging fruit, and show what I'm thinking about:

1. Big Mudroom - everyone's opinion is different, but it will be off garage, have lockers, next to laundry, half bath. Yet to find a shoe storage option I like (hold 8 pairs per person, wife has boots, want them paired up and not in a basket, but also not staring at a wall of shoes.

2. Unique kitchen cabinetry: The list here could be huge and is very personal. Beyond spice racks/appliance garages/all lower cabinetry being drawers, we like: built-in towel holder to free up counter space; kitchen aid mixer stand mixer storage mechanism that brings it up (although we expect to take mixer off this, as using the mixer on high makes a vibrating racket on the mechanism); pots/pans slide-out drawers under our gas range-top (wife doesn't like hanging pots). Please share any novel kitchen storage ideas!

3. Counter-weighted pocket doors - pull right door open and left door opens the same amount as well. When we saw these in our builder's home, it was great - a not-obvious feature that, when you use it, immediately implies quality workmanship.

4. Shower ceiling light with built-in fan - looks great to hide fan entry; hopefully they work as well. And fan timer.

5. Closet door-jamb light switches. Clearly a "someone thought about this" feature. Didn't know about these until we saw them in a new home.

6. Kitchen island 5" mini-wall to hide kitchen mess. We have a 7'x13' island with farmhouse sink on one side and 6 stools on the other, and wanted to hide sink clutter. A 2-level island wasn't for us. So 6" beyond the sink we're putting up a 4" wide and 6" tall mini-wall that will run about 6 feet. Good ledge for flower vases and whatnot, can still talk to folks on stools, they have to crane to see what's in sink.

7. Master Bed Room switch to control the outdoor floods. Weird noise outside? Flip all the floods on.

8. Instant hot water. Ok, I cheated and this is techy, not so much design and more "what can't you live without." But an example of something we never thought we'd need until our current home came with it - now we love it as we're french press coffee/tea people.

9. Outdoor holiday light outlets. No more extension cords thru the garage/storm windows!

10. Outdoor grilling area gas and electric outlets - ok, I know, this is very basic and no-duh.

Cool but not for us:
1. Central vac with hide-a-hose and vacuum pans.
2. The lighting systems that have different schemes that let you light up different paths/turn everything off, etc.

Your turn, and thanks in advance!

Here you go.

Here is a link that might be useful: everything on ebay

Focus on the shell. For OH, I would recommend going with 2x6 walls with blown cellulose or fiberglass (not batts) and 1.5" of XPS foam on the exterior. I like to use Huber ZIP sheathing and create that as the exterior air barrier plane. The tighter you can make the home, the better. Air infiltration is your biggest heat loss, and the payoffs of air sealing will pay off instantly vs more insulation.
Caulking is your friend! This should be over your entire shell, including the ceiling plane. Air tight drywall at your ceiling will also dramatically help heat loss. blow in r49+ of cellulose/fiberglass, and that should be about right for your climate. Look for windows with a u value below .30. Most dual pane windows are starting to get below .30 now, and triple pane windows can be had for the low .20 and below. However in your climate, triple pane is most likely not a good investment.
You can tweak your exposure and glass to have a south facing solar gaining glass, which will also play into reducing the need for mechanical heating. Proper sizing of glass, overhangs, and floor area will do wonders for winter heating.
LED lighting rarely pays off for residential applications. Current CFL bulbs paired with energy star fixtures are about as efficient as LED fixtures, and at half the cost. You will see a pay off with LED compared to those in your life time.
In summary:
Shell improvements first including higher levels of insulating and great air sealing. Verify tight air sealing with a blower door test. Invest in good windows.
Shell improvements will reduce your heating and cooling requirements (you start saving $ from day 1), lowering your bills, and reducing your upfront cost of equipment.

With more shell improvements, geo rarely has a pay off.

I went back and looked at what my builder charged for pre-wire and YES you are correct it is rather pricey. My builder prices for pre-wire for audio/video are listed below:

$340 per room for whole house (which included speakers wires to ceiling and cat5e for control)

$90 per run for speaker wires (5+1 surround sound = $540 per room)

$440 alarm pre-wire which included door contacts, siren, motion detector and two keypdads.

I was spent roughly a $1,000 in wire and materials so I was able to save alot of money running my own wire versus the approx $6,500 what the builder would have charged. As you stated earlier it all boils down to wants and needs to be honest my audio/visual request were all wants. I am lucky I was able to pre-wire but if I had not been allowed to do so I would have scaled my wants down just a bit because alot of this if not done before drywall can be even more expensive and more of a mess. If whole house audio is something you want, why not select 2 or 3 zones? This way the infrastructure is in place and you can add electronics when needed.

Now as far as taking builder choices now and upgrading later I think it again all just depends on what it is. For example in the kitchen and bathrooms since I am going to do my own floor tile, we opted for included vinyl so demo wont be a problem at all. On the other hand lets say if you were going with a cheaper tile and wanting to add a more expensive tile later, that I would pass on and just pay the premium if you really wanted because the demo in that wouldn't be worth it to me personally.

Stainless steel appliances to me is an upgrade and not necessarily a deal breaker for me. We took the included black appliances and will upgrade later as I find close-outs and discontinued models. I want mid to high end appliances which the builder charges an fortune for and I don't mind waiting for a deal.

As far as finishes are concerned I think they all are in, it just depends on what you like and will be happy with. I personally like ORB and thats the reason I went with, not because it was the "in thing" :)

Hope that helps, just my .02 cents FWIW

As far as the finishes I think they are all in, just depends on what you like.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our home sell/build blog

Here are a few inspiration photos I have saved:

Check some of these out

http://pinterest.com/pin/85286986663256287/

http://pinterest.com/pin/85286986663256281/

http://pinterest.com/pin/85286986663256204/

http://pinterest.com/pin/85286986663256102/

http://pinterest.com/pin/85286986663256220/

http://pinterest.com/pin/85286986663331401/

http://pinterest.com/pin/85286986663331395/

http://pinterest.com/pin/85286986663329464/

my head is spinning with great ideas!

As background, we are building a house with as much green and universal design as we can afford. I live with a brain injury, so cork in the kitchen and dinette are a must have for sound-proofing, as is the ICF construction. We are also building with the possibility of my mom living with us as sometime in the future (thus the universal design on the main floor). Beyond that, we learn toward modern design but aren't drawn to any particular name brand when it comes to appliances, surfaces, etc.

Our builder gave us our allowances based on what we knew we wanted at the time. For the most part, we're still in that ballpark, but we're getting a few surprises. Our general rule of thumb is that we spend the money on the things we can't change later (ICF construction, etc) and put off or downgrade the things we can add or update later.

That said, where are you making cuts or downgrades?

No one ever wants to walk into a dimly lit bedroom, think ceiling fan/ light combo with "soft white" incandescent lamps. You also don't want to be blinded either. However, dimming the amount of light is usually much easier and cheaper than trying to add additional light fixtures.

I wouldn't rule out using can lights in my bedroom, but I also wouldn't want it as my only source of light in the bedroom.

I also don't agree with Renovator8's comment about the trim size for cans. A 6" can is the most commonly sized down light. Most builders use them because they are common and therefore cheap. They can designed for most common household lamps including both PAR, R style, and "A" style lamps. "A" style lamps are the pear shaped incandescent lamps that most people refer to as bulbs or lamps for their home. An "A" lamp does a great shop of spreading light, but not at delivering it. Most of the light is usually lost within the fixture. Many builders use PAR or R style lamps because due to the way the lamps are shaped, most of the light is delivered to the work space and has a decent spread. If a lamp or bulb is seen from below the ceiling plane, then two things are going on. One - the can light is cheap and not deep enough. Or two (more likely) - someone is using a lamp that is not designed for this fixture. This can be a compact fluorescent "Par" style lamp or a larger wattage R or PAR lamp. Either way, the fixture is not being used as intended.

Most manufacturers of down lights have a wattage label inside the housing, but there should also be a sticker on the trim indicating the correct style of lamps to use. Whether or not someone pays attention to it is another matter.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

FYI - I'm a manufacturer's rep of over 100 different commercial and residential lighting lines. All I do every day is sell light fixtures and look at different lamps.

Here is a link that might be useful: ODL

It's 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. All hardwoods on lower floor ($9.00 sq/ft). Ceramic tile in mudroom and bathrooms ($9.00 sq/ft). Built-ins in family room, study, mudroom. $4000 lighting allowance. $22k for kitchen and bathroom cabinets, $9k countertop allowance for kitchen and baths. It's 3400 sq ft total.

I think I could cut the cabinets a little - the quote was for painted inset with soft close and all drawers. The other stuff I don't know how much it typically costs so I don't know if the allowances are generous or no?

Any ideas where I could make up the rest? Where did you cut the budget?

Bathroom mirrors from Garden Ridge

More detail

Bathroom view from my husband's closet

Bathroom view from my closet

Other Full Bath

Laundry

Half Bath

I'm torn on the placement of the french doors into the office. My first thought was having them right off of the foyer so if I had clients coming it could be directly into the office. My dad (our architect) brought up placing them where they are would lend to being able to see out the front window easier from the great room. Thoughts?

RedLover: Good point on jamb lights and the door needing to be shut. Just our pantry and 2 coat closets for us - had been tempted to do WIC, but these doors may remain open. Keep your other ideas coming!

Joyce6333: Love to hide clutter. Pocket door will separate mudroom from kitchen/rest of house. Love all the assigned baskets. Big fan of hooks for hanging stuff - fighting temptation to put them everywhere. Use mixer 1-2x per month, so return might not be there on the mechanism - just thought it was neat. Dedicated game closet/drawer is neat; we are definitely going to have a heavier-duty (i.e. more cooling power) beverage center in our kitchen next to the eat-in table to minimize runs during meals (more milk please, etc).

GreenDesigns: Thanks. Noted. Don't be fooled by the thread's theme; we're not going for a house analogous to a pimped-out Geo Metro that cost $10k at the dealer + $20k in modifications! Before looking at geothermal and solar, our builder emphasized a tight build with high quality spray insulation and higher quality HVAC (heat pumps are good these days, huh?) and gas furnaces. Looking into a tankless water system. No volume ceilings for us - though I will need a ladder to change the 10' ceiling light bulbs. Appreciate dimensions notes -turns out I misspoke about island and it is 6' x 12', which I think should be ok since at most the depth will be 32-34" on one side, depending on how thick we make that obscuring wall . We're preserving the natural garden already in situ, and improving the well irrigation system. Any other advice?

Mythreesonsnc: Great idea on the switch/timer for holiday light outlets. Good to know beverage center works well for you. We are trying to figure out where to put electronics charging station/prison (i.e. no iphones/ipods upstairs after 8pm kids) - probably will be in a kitchen charging "garage" like the appliance garage. What would you conceivably need to put in that tube?

Brickeyee: Glad to know the correct term. Sounds simple - what's it cost? Guess we'll find out! Only on the pocket doors into the study.

Alexhouse: No Darwin pro/con discussion here - though perhaps Marvin or Jeld Wen may enter it sooner or later! The wood grain idea is a cool idea.

On your holiday light outlets, I recommend putting them on a switch, or getting timers (I know you said no fancy lighting schemes -- I don't mean those high tech control systems). It is nice to be able to have no extension cords, etc, but REALLY nice if you can flip the switch and all the holiday lights are on (I have an outlet everywhere I want it for holiday, but just bought a set of timers at Lowes and they all come on when I want -- cheap and easy).

What I got lazy to do during our build was to run a tube under the driveway for future wiring of anything --- haven't missed it so far, but could come in handy I suppose.

We have beverage drawers right near our breakfast area --- works well for drinks, milk, etc. and keeps kids and guests out of the kitchen main fridge. Plus, everybody thinks they are cool!

Our mudroom has some extra outlets on shelves to use as a charging station -- handy drop zone for when you walk in the door, you drop keys, plug in phones, etc.

Put in enough hose bibs -- not much more expense, but so much easier than dragging hose around house!

I'm sure I'll think of more once I hit "post," so here goes....

I had requested help with the plans few months ago and I got great help.
I was rather unhappy with the Architect's plans and Summerfield drew an excellent plan. We were still thinking through the layout. I have since been drawing plans and revising them numerous times using a simple software. I am posting links to

I would be grateful for any and all reviews, comments, ideas to improve my current drawings (last two links above). We like the boomrang shape better but that seems to mess up the inside. Please comment on how to make things better. I am not able to determine the square footage with this software (Envisioneer express plus). BTW, it is rather easy to use. We would like the house to be as close as possible to 2350-2400 sq ft.

Thanks.

AJ

PS: House is south facing
PPS: Plans are best viewed if you click on "download original" if your browser opens the plan in a browser window.

Here is a link that might be useful: All four pdf plans

I said earlier that I would be back to post pics, and I have just found the time to do that! I still have a ton to do, but I am working on it very slowly, but surely. We are still waiting to purchase new furniture because we want to take our time and find pieces that we absolutely love this time. Landscaping to be completed in April.

Home began late August 2010 and we closed on Dec 8, 2010.
Modified Cassidy plan from Frankbetz.com.
Total Sq ft= 2944 on 3.72 acres in a small subdivision.
4 bedrooms
3.5 baths
Bonus Room
Study
Formal Dining
2 Fireplaces

Colors:
Main paint: Bamboo Shoot SW 7733
Dining Room:Tigereye SW6363
Master Bed Walls:Chamois SW6131
Master Bed ceiling:Tigereye SW6362
Master Bath walls:Tigereye SW6362
Master Bath ceiling Chamois SW6131
Hall Bath & Up Bath walls Downing Sand SW2822
Boy's room: SW 0055 Light French Gray
Girl's room: SW SW6302 Innocence
Powder Room: 0055 SW Light French Gray

Front:

Stamped and sealed walkway and porch:

Back

Foyer with dining room on left and study on right:

Foyer to dining

dining to foyer

dining

Study

Family room

kitchen

Master bed and bath

Rope lighting

Daughter's room:

Son's Room:

Other baths:

Play rooms:

Screened Porch:

All of this is our backyard, up to the street, so no new construction will ever be behind us.

I'm wayyyyyyyyyyyy behind on this post since we technically moved in the last weekend of October, but I was waiting of a few last things to get finished, and then the holiday's hit!
This is hubby's and my first house/home and we just got married this summer (June 18th) and then officially broke ground July 8th. We really jumped into this thing without doing near the research some of you do and if I had read this website before, I might have actually had second thoughts! But, I was college roommates with our builder's wife (so I've known them a little while and know they're good people) and my in laws have built 4 homes doing most of it themselves, so we were in good hands and somehow it all came together! There are lots of things I look at now in the house and think "glad that worked out or matched...because I didn't give it much or any thought..." That especially goes for the tile on our fireplace in the living room - I never thought about how it would go with the wall paint since it is right next to it (and we used a different paint in the bathrooms) but it matches perfectly!! Ok...here we go!!

Paint Colors (all sherwin williams)
Living room and Kitchen - Bittersweet Stem
Dining, half bath, laundry - Rain
Bathrooms - Creme
Granite: Giallo Napole
Faucets: Delta

Kitchen from living room



Breakfast Area

Half Bath

Laundry

2nd Full Bath


Master Bath

As for maintenance you do not need to reseal it like you do with your stamped concrete. You stamp and coat it once and that's it. No resealing or recoating every couple of years. That is unless you want to. And stamped asphalt doesn't have that shiny finish you don't like. But make sure you get stamped asphalt with quality and the right coatings, and not just some "paint". The proper stamped asphalt coatings add to the less maintenance you were talking about. Best of luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Driveway Impressions specializes in stamped asphalt

The way it is SUPPOSED to work is this: For ease of numbers, let's assume house will cost $160,000 to build and that builder's profit will be $40,000.

Builder has money of his own sufficient to fund a certain portion of the cost of the build. (say 20% or $32K). Subs/suppliers do work and provide materials for the first $32K of build. Builder pays subs/suppliers for work using his own money. Subs/suppliers provide builder with signed notarized lien releases. Builder takes lien releases to homeowner/banker and requests a draw. One-fifth of work is completed so builder asks for 1/5th of contract price or $40K. Builder reimburses himself $8K and uses the rest of the draw to pay the next set of subs/suppliers to do the next 20% of the work. Cycle repeats until home is completed. After four draws, builder has reimbursed himself the amount he originally invested. The 4th draw also provides the necessary funding to complete the build so that everybody is paid BEFORE builder requests the 5th and final draw. The final draw, released only when homeowner takes possession, is builder's profit.

Unfortunately, many builders don't have the money to fund any portion of the build. They are behind the 8-ball and borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. They can't get lein releases from subs/suppliers in advance of draws b/c they don't have the money to pay the subs/suppliers until they get the draw for the completed work. In fact, you're lucky if they are only using your draws to pay for work that was just done on your house rather than using your money to pay off subs/suppliers that build the LAST house and hoping against hope that some other sucker will come along before they have to pay off the subs/suppliers who are building YOUR house.

Here is the best you can do.

1) Insist on a list UPFRONT of all suppliers and subs that builder plans to use - along with their phone numbers and other contact information - and insist that any deviation from the approved list be pre-approved by you ahead of time.

2) Put in your contact that if any sub/supplier not on the pre-approved list or approved in writing by you files a lien against your home claiming to have done work via a subcontract with builder, builder will fully indemnify you against the lien.

3) Contact each and every listed sub/suppliers before you sign your contract with builder to make sure builder does not already owe them any money.

4) Let Builder AND all subs/suppliers know that you will NOT release any funds to builder without signed NOTARIZED lien releases - so if subs expect to be paid on a timely basis and builder expects to be reimbursed the money he has invested, they must be prompt in getting those lien releases turned in.

5) Make certain that before you release any funds, you have signed, notarized lien releases for the work completed in hand.

5) Find out how long subs/suppliers have to file lien notices in your jurisdiction and put it in your contract that, upon closing, 10% of the build price (taken from the final draw) will be put into escrow to be released to builder upon the expiration of the lien filing deadline but that, if liens are filed in the interim, homeowner may use the funds as necessary to pay off the liens. Some states have a "statutory hold-back" amount and, if you hold back that amount until the lien period has passed, you cannot be held responsible for paying any liens in excess of that amount. I suggested 10% b/c that is my state's statutory hold-back amount.

6) Make certain that builder files an "all bills paid affidavit" in your county land records before you close with him and that he releases any residual liens that he may have against your property if your bank does not fully fund your build.

This is all stuff I wish I had known before we started building. Good luck.

Front:

Back:

Kitchen:

Master shower:

Family room:

Dining room:

My pics are really rough because I forgot to bring my camera with me 4 months ago when this process began, so it is in storage with the rest of our belongings. I am so ready to move out of this apartment! LOL!

Stamped walkway.

Stamped Front Porch

Front of house as of this morning.

Stone fireplace in family room

View from family room, dining room is SW Tigereye (orangish) on left. Foyer is SW Bamboo Shoot straight ahead

Views of family room and study from dining room

Study

The kitchen is coming together.

Master Bedroom with slate surround fireplace. The mantle should be in today.

Master Bath

I have done some construction and have seen some great ideas on here. Particularly low maintenance, are there any ideas you would add if you were building?

So far, sockets on back of home both sides for power
3 exterior faucets, one on the back of lot near well
Sockets on front under overhang for christmas lights
Bathroom wall panels, possibly granite or some other material
Stained concrete through out the entire house "in Texas hence well get a benefit from cooling" and will use rugs in high traffic areas
I can really score on the AC and Hot water heater as I am friends with a dealer
I personally want 3/4 ply here 20$ a sheet in bulk to take up the entire attic and stairs from the garage to go up into one attic that way it would be extra entire house storage.
My wife was thinking of a pulley/cleat system on a 4x8 ply, that would be cool for seasonal decorating I suppose or for older couples if reselling instead of constantly dragging out Christmas stuff.
4 car garage with shop in 2 parts for winter woodworking when lanscapings slow.

I just wonder if anybody else has any good ideas before we start.

I am all about low maintenance and energy efficeny if the cost is right. Thanks in advance-

btw I have been buying specials on plants from local nurseries in the off season. This summer I picked 19 2 year old Bloodgood JM and nursed them back to health for 1$.

I see people all the time try to throw an entire landscape up at once and spend 15-20k when you could spend 2...

He works rotating shifts and there will be periods of time where he'll be sleeping during the day while everyone is at home. The master has to be completely secluded from everyone except me (ie the laundry room). He just doesn't want anyone on that side of the house while he is trying to sleep. So I had to move the powder room. Our powder room right now is off to the living room and it doesn't bother me one bit. I did turn the old powder room into a linen closet.

I also changed up his work closet so he can enter through the bathroom.

Should there be a window in the laundry room? I keep going back and forth on this. Hubby says don't put on in but then I think natural light.

I've added the room sizes to the plan. And also marked the kitchen appliances.

Again thanks so much for all the help. If theres anything else please let me know!

The best "bang for buck" insulation is cellulose, by far. Not only is it much greener, but its more dense (sound deadening, helps to reduce more thermal transfer vs fiberglass, borate treated, and more fire resistant). Do not focus on r alone. Blown blanket will have a slightly higher r (typically around 4.1) vs dense packs or wet spray cellulose (around 3.9ish). However due to the density of cellulose, it will out perform blown blanket any day of the week in the other areas. fiberglass also reduces r when temps drop. Cellulose is also typically slightly cheaper then blown fiberglass. I would have them look into wet spraying or dense packing cellulose in your wall instead of blown blanket. Also definitely get a price to blow cellulose into the ceiling instead of fiberglass. You should not only reduce price slightly, but also have a better performing product.

Also notes, if you can put a 1" layer of XPS on the exterior of your house, that will greatly increase your thermal performance of your walls. example: using a r-4 roughly, you are sitting at r-22 center of cavity. Reduce that by a framing factor of 20% as well as *some* infiltration, you are closer to an r-14 range. Adding the XPS has you sitting at an r-27, with infiltration even more reduced, and your framing factor is reduced to closer to 8-10%, giving you closer to a CLEAR WALL of around r-20-23. Around here XPS goes for about $.78/sqft plus install, so just under a buck a square foot.

Air sealing however if your #1 priority. This makes a huge difference. It sounds like you are ahead of the game there though. Caulk anything and everything. Sills, headers, sheathing to face of studs, etc. Caulk is the cheapest way to make the most difference on your new build. If you really want to take it to the next level, after your shell is up, windows in and attic sealed (BEFORE insulation), have someone come do a blower door test. This will help find leaks and other areas you can easily fill prior to insulating.
Also consider air tight drywalling and a secondary air infiltration barrier.

So off of that rant, back to your ceilings. What exactly is "flat part of the ceiling?"

I would NOT recommend CCf in your roof. I always recommend or spec open cell. R is not quite as high, but the perms are much lower then CCf. This, IMO, is important especially for roofs. If your roof develops a leak, how will you know? Close cell will allow the water to sit there on the foam, pooled on the underside of your sheathing rotting it out from the bottom up. What is worse it can start eating away at your joists as well. Open will also be about 1/3 of the price of closed. So I would fill your garage ceiling completely with open cell, and then if funds allow, fill your bonus room with open cell as well. Worse case use open cell to create your 1" air seal, then do wet spray cellulose from there. However keep in mind with expanding foams...the first inch is the most expensive. The next few inches cost pennys compared to that first inch.
However DO have them fill your rim joist area completely with open cell. This should only cost around 500, but will be worth it. this is one of the most leaky areas of the house that gets the most neglected.

Finally, I disagree with the recommendation to skip the batts in the garage. However I will recommend r-19 instead of r-21. Again, do not always focus on r values. those are derived from steady state numbers, but real world performance tests shows they perform nearly identical. R21 has a large increase in cost vs r19.
I think it should stay because, even though the garage is not directly heated (I assume)you will still have heat transfer, loss, and generation within the garage. With a heated space above and to the side of the garage, insulated walls will help buffer your heat losses in the conditioned spaces. The cost for r-19 batts in probably all of a few hundred bucks depending on the size of your garage.

I was constantly waiting on subs who would start a job, work a day or two, then disappear - sometimes for weeks. The guy who was supposed to do the sheetrock in my house literally took 5 and 1/2 MONTHS to finally finish the sheetrocking job. It should have taken him 2 weeks max! And, he only finally showed up to finish the job when I discovered that he was on probation for a felony and I tracked down his probation officer and complained to him. The probation officer was very understanding (I think he was in the midst of building a house too, LOL!) Probation Officer told my sheetrocker, you got two choices, get that lady's house sheetrocked and sheetrocked properly within one week or plan on going back to jail!

After that, I did a bit of thinking and came up with a procedure that, for me at least, stopped that kind of malfeasance in its tracks. I'll outline it for you below. Once I started letting every potential sub know that if they were gonna work for me, this was the way it was gonna be and don't even bother bidding if you don't like the terms, I had no more problems. Some people decided not to bid at all (their choice) but the ones I hired showed up and FINISHED the jobs they were hired to do. No more waiting all day on subs who never showed up. No more fights. On a couple of occasions, I got last-minute phone calls from subs who had an emergency but I always told them not to worry about it, so long as they showed up the next day, it would not be a problem. And, except for one guy, everyone of them actually showed up the next day and then stayed on the job and finished. The one guy gave me excuses twice. When he called with the 3rd excuse, I told him, I'm not accepting your excuse. You have two hours to get here or I'm calling in a replacement. He showed up in 45 minutes... a bit sullen perhaps, but he finished the job and got paid. Once I instituted my procedures, things moved along like clockwork. We finished our house from rough sheetrock stage to move-in level in about 10 weeks. Not bad for a GC who was figuring things out as she went.

Anyway, here is the procedure I decided to follow:

1) Potential subcontractors provide bids that separate out the materials costs from the labor costs.

2) Once I accept a bid, subcontractor lets me know where he wants to get supplies/materials.

3) I meet subcontractor at material suppliers location.

4) Sub orders all needed supplies.

5) I verify that supplies/materials are set to be delivered to my worksite then I pay for supplies with MY credit card. Subcontractor also signs materials list indicating that he approved purchase of materials/supplies per the accepted bid. (I don't actually care if amount is slightly more or less than bid showed for materials but I keep a copy of materials order form.) Subcontractor get NO money in his pocket. No more, "I need half down b/c I have to buy supplies." No more weeks of waiting after paying half down while subcontractor gives the excuse, "I've ordered the supplies but X is on backorder and, until it arrives, I can't get started, I'll call you when it comes in."

6) When supplies/materials are delivered to my site, I check things off on the invoice. I know when everything has arrived. Or, if something gets backordered, I know and have the option of looking elsewhere for the item. And, the supplies BELONG to me, not to subcontractor. I paid for them, not him. Once job is finished, any leftover supplies belong to Sub who finished the job - if he wants them.

7) Agreement with sub includes a clause setting forth the pre-agreed upon amount of time (after materials are delivered to the site) that subcontractor has to get started on the labor portion of the job.

8) Agreement also sets forth the amount of time after starting labor that subcontractor has to FINISH the job completely.
9) VERY IMPORTANT, Agreement includes clause that Subcontractor agrees that, once labor portion of job has begun, subcontractor will continue to be on jobsite each and every business day (Monday thru Friday excluding major holidays) for a minimum of 8 hours between the hours of 7AM and 6PM until job is fully completed - including any punchlist items. Sub and his crew must work diligently at all times while on the worksite to complete the job in a timely fashion. (An exception can be made for inclement weather if the job requires outdoor work. If you're feeling generous, you can also build in a one-time, ONE day automatic excused absense and/or a clause allowing subcontractor to to follow a procedure satisfactory to you for asking to be excused for an absence on a given day in the event of an illness or family emergency. Note that you may need to set a limit to how many of these excuses you will accept.)

10) Payment is due for labor only after job is complete. While bid sets out materials and labor amounts separately, these numbers are guidelines only. If sub completes job according to the agreement, amount actually due for labor is calculated by "Total bid price minus amount spent for materials" - and any leftover materials belong to subcontractor if he wants them. This relieves subcontractor of worry about getting exact costs of materials prior to bidding. It also incentivises subs not to waste materials. While materials belong to me until contract is complete, the cost of wasted materials comes out of sub's pocket.

11) VERY IMPORTANT- in the event that Sub does not complete the job per the agreement, the Agreement contains a clause setting forth a formula by which the value of sub's partially finished work will be calculated. Basically: If subcontractor fails to appear for work on the day that labor is slated to begin, subcontractor is in material breach of the agreement. Owner may, at his discretion, immediately hire a replacement to do the labor and no payment for labor will be due to subcontractor. If subcontractor begins labor under this agreement but fails to timely complete or fails to stay on the job as required by the agreement, Subcontractor is in material breach. Owner may, at his discretion and without further notice to Subcontractor, hire replacement to comlete job. The value of all labor provided by subcontractor prior to breach will be calculated by: Total Accepted Bid Amount minus Amount spent on materials minus Amount paid to replacement to complete job minus Amount paid for any additonal materials needed by replacement to complete job. Further, in the event of breach by subcontractor and homeowner's decision to hire a replacement, no money is due to subcontractor until replacement completes the job and has been paid. In the event of breach, Owner is under no obligation to seek multiple bids before hiring a replacment and Owner may accept any bid for replacement to complete the job that is no more than twice the amount agreed for the entire job under this agreement.

13) Thus, if sub breaches by failing to show up to start the job when planned, I am free to IMMEDIATELY (like the same day!) hire someone else to do the job and original subcontractor gets paid nothing for his labor b/c he hasn't done any labor.

14) If sub breaches by failing to timely finish the job, I have the option of telling him at the end of his last scheduled day "don't bother come back, I am going to get someone else to finish." Likewise, if sub fails to STAY on the job and working everyday, I am free to call someone else in immediately to finish the job.

15) If I have to hire a replacement, I owe original sub NOTHING for his labor until the replacement has completed the job and been paid. At that point, the amount owed and payable to the original sub for the work he put into the job is calculated by: Original Sub's total bid amount MINUS Amount actually spent on materials for sub #1 MINUS Amount paid to Sub#2 to finish the job. (Agreement with Sub#2 is set up exactly like agreement with sub#1.)

To illustrate:

Assume the bid I originally accepted from SUB #1 TOTALED $5000 ($3000 for labor and $2000 for materials). Sub #1 and I go to the store and purchase $1500 worth of materials. Sub #1 finishes the job. He gets paid $3500 and gets to take home any leftover supplies if he wants them. Both sides happy.

But, if Sub #1 gets half-way into the job and then disappears. I call in Sub #2 who had originally given me a bid of $5500 ($3500 for labor and $2000 for supplies). I tell sub #2 that the job is partway completed and that I already have some of the supplies needed on hand. I ask sub#2, to look over what has been done and the supplies on hand and give me a labor and materials bid to finish the job.

After looking at the work already done, Sub#2 says, "well, the job is about half done but I'm gonna have to pull some of this out and redo it b/c it isn't up to my standards so I'm gonna have to charge you $2800 in labor to finish the job. And, because I'm gonna have to pull some of the already used materials out and replace them, I'm gonna need maybe another $500 worth of supplies. So, total bid $3300.

Since this is less than twice the amount of the original total bid, I am free to accept it if I want to. The fact that it is more than the original sub's bid to do all the labor - and the work is already half complete - doesn't matter. The fact that the job is already half done yet sub#2 is asking for more than half of the amount HE originally bid to do the full job also doesn't matter. Since I still have $3500 in my pocket from the $5000 I orginally planed to spend on the project, I can accept this bid to get the job finished and not wind up paying more than I originally expected to pay. [I'm convinced subs get away with pulling the disappearing is act is, once they have some of your money in their pocket, they know that it will cost you extra to get someone else to take over and finish their partially done work.]

Once I accept his bid, Sub#2 and I go to the suppliers and he picks out $400 worth of additional supplies. Again, I purchase the supplies and they belong to me.

Sub #2 finishes job.

I pay Sub#2 $2900 for finishing the job. (Total of what he bid minus the $400 I spent on extra supplies for him). Sub #2 also gets to keep any leftover supplies because, unlike sub#1, HE finished the job.

At this point, I have paid out a total of $4800 for a job that was originally supposed to cost me $5000. ($1500 for supplies requested by sub#1, $400 for supplies requested by sub#2, $2900 for labor for sub #2.

I call sub#1 and tell him he can come pick up his check for $200 for the work he completed. I give that to him along with a copy of the invoices for additional materials purchased and a copy of the check paid to sub#2 as proof of what was spent to finish the job.

Sub#1 is gonna scream bloody murder that he did at least half the job and should get paid half of what he bid. Too bad. Because he walked off the job, I had to hire someone more expensive to finish the work. His original agreement sets out the terms for how the value of an unfinished job would be calculated and I'm following that agreement. If sub#1 files a lien or tries to sue, he WILL NOT win.

Maybe once the building industry really picks back up again, subs won't be willing to accept jobs with conditions like mine. For now tho, many of them are scrambling for work and it isn't like my conditions are unreasonable. The sub doesn't have to spend any money out of his pocket to buy supplies for my job. I don't have to trust him with "half down" and pray and hope he doesn't just fly the coop with my money. I paid my subs soon as they finished the job - no 30 or 60 day waiting period - but I didn't pay a penny for labor before the labor was done. This is the way the rest of the world works and, IMHO, it is past time that subcontractors started being halfway responsible too.

Master closet side:

Goes through to laundry room:

Laundry room:

First, the front door...

Front Elevation:

Door Finalists (Installed doors on top row, same doors with no frame of reference on bottom row):

Moving on to the Kitchen...

Kitchen Window Options (Interior View):

Rear Elevations with Different Kitchen Window Options:

I think those number are too high. I am in Dallas, Texas.
I am a consumer and in the process of building of my dream home.
This is the process I am following and saving a lot of money.
I bought AutoCAD 2010 Architect, student edition for $175 and a $50 book training manual for it. I spent 3 months learning AutoCAD on my own. Student edition is not water down version, it is the same full version sold to professionals. The only difference is it print "Student Version" on the edges of the print out.

Then I spend 6 months, part time drawing my home. Then I took it to designer to review, partial redraw, fixes, and ensure all standards and building codes. This designer with 20+ years of experience is charging me $0.70 to do so.
In the state of Texas Architect is not required.

I have 2 acre lot. Plan has 6,000 sq. ft. of A/C finished space, and additional 3500 sq. ft. of covered space that includes, 5-car garage, unfinished room above the garage, balcony, sun room, patio etc., This plan also has large negative edge swimming pool with a lap lane.

Normally, via standard process of contacting, builder quoted for $1.4 million to build this house and 15% is their fee. This doesn't include swimming pool, landscape or land cost.

But then, I went to local HBA (Home Builder Association) web site. Down loaded all 383 custom builders contact info. I prepared two pages of builder selection criteria and a form for builder credentialing information. I faxed my documents along with pdf file of my plan to 10 builders at a time. I systematically started to contact all builders and kept a log in excel sheet. I told them I have the 383 builders list and will contact few at a time until i find a builder who will build my home for a fix fee of $80K for his fee regardless of the cost of my house. I explained, that it is not fair to pay extra to a builder just because I pick more expensive items (upgrades)
I think, only extra work on your part should be compensated extra. Picking cheaper or more expensive marble, appliances, kitchen top, light fixtures should increase your fee. Cost plus or fix price is not fair.

I did not have to contact more than 50 builders to find a reputable builder with past experience and reference check who has agreed to work for me for $80K. I have pointed out the extra incentive for him that he will then have access to our subdivision to get more business.

I am paying him $80K in 10 installments over 9 months. I also insisted that I will not go by any contract that is written by one party. In the contract I have put in a clause that I reserve the right to select my supplier and/or subs if I find builder's supplier or subs are more expensive or of lower quality.

Now the builder is going through my HOA credentialing process. I think I will save $100K to $120K in builder fee alone.

I plan to do the mass mailing for bids and quotes for all major works, like foundation, framing, roofing, electrical etc.

Most Architect and builders do not like people like me. I am a consumer advocate.

What do you think about the process I am using?

I want to post pdf files of my house plan. How do you post pdf files here? Just drag and drop or copy and paste did here did not work.

Here is a link that might be useful: Secret Doorways website

Here is a link that might be useful: Farm Credit Website