I am thinking of moving, and instead of buying a house, I was thinking of going the getting one built way. Do any of you know any good sites on the pro/con of building your own home, any sites on what needs to be done, and how it works, and any sights on designing your own house (like things to take into consideration, best practices....)

I know this is very of topic, but this is the intermission forum, and I value your judgment.

Plus if any one has built their own house, if you have any comment I would love to hear them.

One of the smartest things you can do is start off with a stock plan and then customize to suit. It saves a lot of problems and generally provides better results.

I agree with Daniel.

I took a stock plan and customized it. Obviously, take your HT into consideration when starting with that stock plan!!! Don't worry about the kitchen! lol ;-)

I actually redrew the plan onto my Macintosh at the time, and drew furniture at proper sizes, etc. It gives you a better feel for room size.

I would suggest getting a cheap Home Builder program for your PC. You'd be surprised how those programs can help you get an idea what YOU want before you go to your contractor, or before you start contracting things out yourself.

They also provide 3D views that help you and your spouse a lot. Some provide walk-throughs of the whole house that can provide a real feel for the house.

In fact, my answer (had it been shorter) would be to buy a decent House Builder program for your PC (you don't need the crazily expensive ones, nor the really cheap ones) that have many, many built-in house designs and that allow you to customize those designs. Get one with 3D capabilities if you can. Most do.

... Greg

P.S. I only wish they had those programs out when I built my house, but I'm glad I used the computer for the job. There's lots of little areas in my house that I love that I only "discovered" using the computer.

Structured wiring.

Run a system like OnQ and OVERWire the house. RG6 and Cat5e everywhere!!!!!

Amen, mason!

Anthony: It's quite likely that certain building practices are different but you might like to try
this site.

In particular, check out the Wales and Yorshire "builds". Wales, because the poor couple had everything bar the kitchen sink thrown at them. And Yorkshire, because it's my favourite.

Yep! It's got everything built in. Check out the AV gear just to the right of the stairs. One minor disappointment about that though, it's Quad stuff; not exactly the first manufacturer that springs to mind when thinking of home theatre. With that great big expanse and black granite slab of a kitchen worktop the place was crying out for half a dozen piano black Meridians.

Dream on Dave, dream on.





This message was edited by djy on 10/05/01 08:39.50.

Greg: I have one of those software, (but it did not have a lot of designs in it), and it is a few years old. I think it is one of the reasons I want to build my own house. It is fun doing the drawings, and if you don't like something it is your own fault (at least when it comes to where things are. It is also fun to look at houses, and be able to "cut and paste" the things you like into your own design.

djy: I did not have the time too look at the site completely, but it looks interesting, and the type of thing I was looking for.

Mason: very good advice. I had already planed on it, before the wall is built it is the easiest time to put in wires, and I might look at cutting cost in other places, but that would not be one of them. (like I made a plan in the basement for a bar, and an HT, but it is something that will have to be done at a latter date.)

I was more interested on the logistics side.


Thanks for all the good advice.

Anthony, I'm in the midst of a home automation project (dimming by x-10, etc) and I would recomend that you indicate to your electrician to ensure that EVERY junction box has a neutral available, this is paramount to the succesfull operation of most X-10 devices, and it is easy to lose a neutral when dealing with three-way switches.

I'm sure you will want some automated switches, or at least X-10, all line voltage switches should have an operational neutral wire in the switch box. This is not standard wiring practice so you will have to beat it into the head of your electrician.

yeah, what he said.
Keep the neutral, and smack your electrician with a 3 foot piece of 500 mcm copper to drive the point home!

Being a former "spark" I take exception to this outrageous suggestion. You'll need something a little more substantial for sure.

from a present "spark", do I need a more substantial suggestion, or a bigger piece of copper? LOL

but seriously, I don't intend to offend, the post was to be taken with a grain of salt. My appologies to all those other "wire pullers" out there that might take offense to my remark.

But please, if you are doing a house, check out some diagrams of where the neutral ends when you, for example, have the load get the supply before the two (or more) 3-ways. you may want to pull a 3 wire from the load to the switch and a four wire from the first three-way to the next box, this will leave a spare conductor to be tied to the neutral at the load.

Me offended. Not a bit of it. Personally, though, I wouldn't advise anybody who's not entirely certain of what they're doing to play around with 'lectrics.

Also preplan for security. Wire every entrance to the house, and be sure that the alarm company you choose home runs all of the locations, do not let them loop the locations.

The builder will have to put in 110 smoke detectors to code, but I would also have the alarm company prewire for monitored detectors. One on every level and outside the main sleeping areas.

Really consider convienance when pre-planning. Consider extra keypads perhaps in the master bedroom and any other far away areas.

I have considerable experience in the industry, so email me if you would like specific comments or company recomendations.

HAVE FUN

Regarding getting your electrician to install neutrals in the switch boxes, get a good quality X-10 or other remotely controlled switch (one that requires a neutral) and show it to him. He/she will immediately understand your needs when he sees the requirements physically, or reads the specs. This usually carries more weight than just you telling him/her, especially if your knowledge of wiring is not that good.