Homebuilding interior options, help!

[Stunns38 3460]

What’s up fellas!

 

We’re building a house with a production homebuilder(Weekley) and have 2 design center appointments coming up. I used to build for a homebuilder years ago so I know what to look for structurally, foundation-wise, etc. However, I really never grasped the interior options offered. That was the interior designer’s job.

 

Of course, there are overwhelming options offered and we don’t want to go cheap and blow the budget but need some recs.

 

What should we look for on a mid-range upgrade brand and type-wise? I don’t need help with colors(wife’s job).

 

Carpets/padding..grade and thickness?

Hardwood floors? Engineered, got small kids.

Countertops?

Cabinets?

Anything else interior-wise?

 

I think we’re ok with the backsplash and will probably hire a third-party to paint before we move in.

 

What should we do ourselves later besides fixtures and painting? Again, we’re not trying to break the bank or over-upgrade(resale value) just make the best upfront decisions that’ll save us money in the long run.

 

Thanks y’all!

 

[orange dream 1246]

Most of that is going to depend on your personal tastes / budget confluence.  I will say that it is typically pretty obvious the things you should have them do versus DIY (or using 3rd party) based on how they price things.  For instance.  If you want to add some additional patio space and the typical cost of that on the market is $5-$6 / sq ft but your builder says it's $11 then they really don't want to do it and are pricing it accordingly.  Sometimes you can even get a deal.  The will have excess concrete and a framing crew already there so they might do the extra patio for $3-$4 /sq ft.  just because the incremental cost is so low for them.  If you find things you:

1.  want
2.  can afford to pay for now ( I think they typically collect for "upgrades" up front)
3.  are priced by the builder relatively close to or even below "market" prices

I would go ahead and have them do it.  Otherwise either DIY or get a 3rd party to do it when your schedule/budget allow.

[Stunns38 3460]

Most of that is going to depend on your personal tastes / budget confluence.  I will say that it is typically pretty obvious the things you should have them do versus DIY (or using 3rd party) based on how they price things.  For instance.  If you want to add some additional patio space and the typical cost of that on the market is $5-$6 / sq ft but your builder says it's $11 then they really don't want to do it and are pricing it accordingly.  Sometimes you can even get a deal.  The will have excess concrete and a framing crew already there so they might do the extra patio for $3-$4 /sq ft.  just because the incremental cost is so low for them.  If you find things you:

1.  want
2.  can afford to pay for now ( I think they typically collect for "upgrades" up front)
3.  are priced by the builder relatively close to or even below "market" prices

I would go ahead and have them do it.  Otherwise either DIY or get a 3rd party to do it when your schedule/budget allow.

Thanks, you bring up a good point about the patio and extension. We could try to negotiate it as well. I appreciate the response.

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

Biggest lesson I've learned is if you know you want it get it and roll it in the mortgage versus spending every extra bit of income adding it yourself outside of the mortgage.

Edited May 15, 2018 by ShaggyBevo RIP

[Stunns38 3460]

On 5/15/2018 at 4:07 PM, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

Biggest lesson I've learned is if you know you want it get it and roll it in the mortgage versus spending every extra bit of income adding it yourself outside of the mortgage.

Noted. Thanks!

[Damor 1236]

A lot of it depends on how long you're planning on being in the house.  If you're going to resell any time soon, keep an eye on putting stuff in that will help resale value without doing anything too over the top that you won't get money back on (or may be too specific to appeal to buyers, like pink marble countertops).

We just finished building, so I'll toss in a few things:

Carpet:  I don't remember a lot about this, but the pad quality makes a lot of difference in comfort and wear.

Flooring:  Everything has its drawbacks.  I've had engineered hardwoods before and didn't like the look or feel.  I've had real hardwoods and hated it when they got fucked up.  I've had wood-look tile in a rental and hated the feel and grime accumulation in the grout.  We went with stained and scored concrete this time, but it's so highly variable in how it turns out that it made my wife apoplectic at several points.  One thing we almost did was the new wood-look vinyl planks.  Sounds cheap and shitty (and some is), but some of it looks really good, and it's supposed to be very durable and repairable, especially if you have dogs.

Countertops:  I wanted to try soapstone, but nobody around here had much experience with it.  We went with granite.  Pricing goes up with grade (essentially the pattern, I think), and thickness.  Don't get a dated edge like bullnose.  The new engineered quartz stuff is popular, but was too modern for us, and it can get as expensive as granite. 

Cabinets:  your wife will tell you what you want.  Do deep, heavy duty drawers for heavy/bulky pots and pans.

After we were done, the trivial things that pleased the shit out of me the most were:
-- Heated floors in the master bathroom/shower.  Really not that expensive to do before the tile goes down, really expensive to go back and do later.  Protip:  don't forget the shower bench.
-- Trash drawers errywhere.  Put one anywhere you might do food prep.  It's so nice not to have to drip messy shit all over the kitchen floor trying to get to the one trash can you stuck in the pantry as an afterthought.
-- Don't forget to add electrical outlets by the terlits for Surly 1% bidets.
-- Solid core master bedroom door.  Keeps noise from the kids out, noise from your mom in.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

On 5/15/2018 at 10:52 AM, Stunns38 said:

 

What’s up fellas!

 

We’re building a house with a production homebuilder(Weekley) and have 2 design center appointments coming up. I used to build for a homebuilder years ago so I know what to look for structurally, foundation-wise, etc. However, I really never grasped the interior options offered. That was the interior designer’s job.

 

Of course, there are overwhelming options offered and we don’t want to go cheap and blow the budget but need some recs.

 

What should we look for on a mid-range upgrade brand and type-wise? I don’t need help with colors(wife’s job).

 

Carpets/padding..grade and thickness?

Hardwood floors? Engineered, got small kids.

Countertops?

Cabinets?

Anything else interior-wise?

 

I think we’re ok with the backsplash and will probably hire a third-party to paint before we move in.

 

What should we do ourselves later besides fixtures and painting? Again, we’re not trying to break the bank or over-upgrade(resale value) just make the best upfront decisions that’ll save us money in the long run.

 

Thanks y’all!

 

Thicker padding is always better.  You can get a bit cheaper carpet grade with better padding 

Engineered floors can only be sanded once I believe , and that's not for every product out there.

Granite or marble are my favorites. Marble will etch if you leave shot on it over night, so don't do that. Marble is prettier than granite in my opinion.

Cabinets,  no doors on the base cabinets use drawers and roll out trays if at all possible. Doors suck and are less space efficient than rollout trays I haven't specified a door on a base cabinet in a few years now.  This option is often more expensive but are mucho more efficient and user friendly.

Painted cabinets if you don't have a shit load of glass. Not a fan of stained cabinetry in most kitchens.

NO BRASS HARDWARE unless it's marine brass ( a live finish).  Oil rubbed bronze is a way to go that works with pretty much any color selections.

Solid masonite doors no hollow core doors if at all possible

On 5/15/2018 at 10:52 AM, Stunns38 said:

 

 

[Robin Masters 122]

In our neighborhood almost everyone hates the engineered wood floor they got from the builders. Indoor dogs seem to be especially tearing the shit out of it.  This is with several different builders. It doesn't come up very easy either, hard work if you diy, probably with a special rental machine, or you pay through the nose to have someone else do it. So choose wisely. Also you say you know about the structure of houses. Have you seen the typical floor these days? We were renting a Darling builder house, and I could feel high and low places through the carpet. That neighborhood was being built out and I was almost always appalled at the lack of finish put on the concrete by all the builders. I say this because I've also heard of several people with squeek problems because there's voids under the floor. We have a few floor tile that are clearly not touching much thinset, just have that hollow sound if you ever drop something on them.

As a diy, put sealer on your grout. I bought a little squeeze bottle with a spongy wheel, sat on an old office chair, and just rolled my ass all over the house before move in. I put several coats down in the kitchen and dining areas as well as the master shower.

Why not DIY paint? The builder grade paint will suck ass. Painting is a heluva lot easier when you're using some Sherwin Williams, Kelly Moore etc. than even the stuff at Lowes Home Depot. The hard part is the cutting in, which admittedly I don't do. My wife does that part and I roll. It took us about a week to paint our current house before moving in but that was with her lazy 5 month pregnant ass taking forever, and me just rolling in the afternoons after work. I don't even want to guess how much that would have costs us to have someone do, and it probably wouldn't have looked as good. Buy a good Purdy brush, and the cutting in will go a lot smoother, says my wife. Even the roller, buy good ones, not cheapest shit at dollar general quality.
I just took out a GE above range microwave. They suck. Basically GE appliances sucks. I took this one out because the vent fan was awful. Once I got it out I found out why. It can vent out the top or the back. It should have been top, it was blowing out the back into the wall, the builder didn't flip the blower motor over. Expect stupid shit like that.
Our last house had a gas cooktop, range was up in the cabinets, as was the microwave, do this, and have a real vent hood, instead of the above range microwave. Bending down and getting stuff out of the oven sucks.
Also pay for the extra cabinets, extend them down into the breakfast area if possible, whatever you can do, you will need the space.

All the pantry shelving that I have seen is dogshit. They make it out of particle board, its kind of free floating. Any weight at all and the shelves start sagging. Maybe gut that day one and rebuild it with some decent lumber. I put a jack under ours, got it up a smidge, cut and painted a 2x4 and got that under it in the middle to help it hold weight better.

Don't upgrade for shelving in the office. That to will be dogshit particle board quality.
I would almost tell you to look into Ikea cabinets and then after market doors. There's a few companies that make doors that fit Ikea's boxes, then you have all of Ikeas slides and interior organization stuff that you could upgrade in the future.

https://www.semihandmadedoors.com/  but there are many others

Closets are also typically a scam. Shelves will be particle board, they use cheap ass furniture rod instead of heavier grade stuff. They love to butt two rods together in a corner box, and make that part of the support for the shelving. Great until you put clothes on the tiny rods, they sag some, and actually destabilize instead of adding support.

The heated floor in the bathroom is a great idea. Wished I had it here, will have it when I build.

 

[JimmyHoffa 1188]

4 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Solid masonite doors no hollow core doors if at all possible

 

This is something that I never would have thought of when we built our house last year. Luckily our builder had already factored that in. 

[Homercles 10205]

Builders will screw you over on everything, just the price of doing business. What sucks is they won’t let you (at least mine didn’t) do things like run wire when there’s no drywall in. Stuff I bit the bullet on:

 

* 7.1 speaker wiring in the game room

 

* Prep for a tv above the fireplace: outlets and conduit to run wires from where we were going to put a built in to the tv, as well as having them fill in all the space between studs with 2x4s

 

* extra garage outlets strategically for work bench, beer fridge

 

* extra attic insulation

 

* third garage bay

 

* hot and cold, drain and natural gas drops on the patio

 

* utility sink in the laundry room

 

* larger tile diagonally laid in large rooms

 

* engineered wood which so far held up nicely and looks good

 

* fancier looking internal doors

 

* outlet + open space in butler pantry that fit our wine fridge

 

* water softener loop

 

* mid range of the appliances, just to get the SS finish...they’ll die off in a few more years then I’ll get what I really want anyways.

 

Wish I’d done:

 

* Cat5 wiring

* wider front entry door

* spray foam insulation...builder REALLY didn’t want to do it, had a ridiculous charge like $5k...but in 2012 I think I coulda negotiated harder for it

 

Our overall strategy was to suck up costs on stuff behind drywall, in the foundation or otherwise requiring infrastructure changes later...and do the rest ourselves later, particularly things like ceiling fans that they want $250 for that I can do for $70, and garage door openers.

 

Also I’d suggest you take a video and/or photo everything after plumbing/wiring but before drywall. Saved me from puncturing a plumbing vent line when hanging a tv.

 

 

 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

14 minutes ago, JimmyHoffa said:

 

This is something that I never would have thought of when we built our house last year. Luckily our builder had already factored that in. 

Those solid doors are a really nice touch, and have a heft that gives a house a sense of mass and scale.  As long as you want a painted door, they're not bad in cost for what you get in my opinion.

[Antidean 200]

We custom built maple cabinets throughout our house. Interior doors are all solid pine and fortunately for us the stain matches really good on the pine and the maple. Maple doors would have been twice the cost of pine. Solid interior doors are the shit.

When I built my house I gave it alot of thought in advance since it was custom. I agree with most everything in this thread.

As for exterior insulation we have 2.5 inches of foam and 1 inch of blown cellulite, the highest our electric bill has been for a 2500 sq ft house in the dead of summer has been $161 and that with dual zone AC units running.

A couple of things I haven't seen mentioned are I caulked both the lower base and upper exterior walls before sheet rock went on and added Murphy (hurricane) straps to every rafter that meets the wall headers. Framers only toe-nail rafters to wall headers but I wanted a better mechanical connection. It's going to take a helluva high wind or tornado to lose the roof.

I made every effort to hold my builder accountable for everything. I told him that he was the Manager, Supervisor, and QC inspector I expected him to act that way. But still, he fucked up alot of stuff that had to be either redone or corrected. I ended up suing his ass over some improperly laid bathroom tile he never corrected. I won a judgement against him in small claims court (he didn't bother to show) and promptly placed a lien against his personal house. I got my judgement check in less than one week.

[kangsta 50]

We are putting Karndean vinyl plank flooring in many of the rooms in a house we just bought (needs a ton of work).  We have indoor dogs and kids, and my wife doesn't like the cold feel or grout lines of wood look tile. Plus it's waterproof. I was a bit nervous when I saw what it looked like before installation, but now that it's down in the dining and living room it looks fantastic.   My .02. 

[JimmyHoffa 1188]

16 hours ago, Antidean said:

 

I made every effort to hold my builder accountable for everything. I told him that he was the Manager, Supervisor, and QC inspector I expected him to act that way. But still, he fucked up alot of stuff that had to be either redone or corrected. I ended up suing his ass over some improperly laid bathroom tile he never corrected. I won a judgement against him in small claims court (he didn't bother to show) and promptly placed a lien against his personal house. I got my judgement check in less than one week.

 

This is the only thing I hated about building. Having to treat the builder and their subs like fucking 6 year old children to get shit done or done correctly is annoying as hell. I know it's mostly just the way the construction world works but it doesn't make it any easier hearing excuses all the time. Just do your fucking job properly AND have it done when you say it is going to be done. 

But after it's all said and done everything (for the most part) is perfect and well worth it just in the middle of the process it can be a beating. 

[Stunns38 3460]

Thanks all for your replies. Good points and things to contemplate.
I’ll be on the Construction Manager constantly. He’s a younger guy so I’ll have to watch closely. About the heated master bathroom floors, our master will be on the 2nd floor so I don’t think that’ll be necessary.

The House comes with a bullnose edge on the kitchen countertops so we’ll change that but the upgraded interior doors are very important.

Paint- may just have the builders use their standard paint then hire painters to do colors before we move in. Will most definitely have crown molding.

Appliances- does GE suck that badly? The builder offers Bertazonni appliances at a small upgrade. Never heard of them.

Carpet- will get upgraded padding.

Floors- will most likely get engineered wood floors due to young kids.

Keep it coming if you have any other advice.

Thanks!

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

GE does not suck, stick with domestic brands or very well known foreign brands (service can be an issue with lesser known brands)

 

pencil edge on your counters.  Should be no charge for that.

Heated floor isn't about which floor you're on.  It's about feeling that really nice comfy, warm floor. 

Use the Best paint  !!!! Do not scrimp here.

Edited May 24, 2018 by Onboard 2.0

[Jerry Callo 8698]

Upgraded attic stairs are nice if you'll be storing seasonal stuff up there.

[52-80 19147]

On 5/17/2018 at 10:23 PM, Homercles said:

 

* Prep for a tv above the fireplace: outlets and conduit to run wires from where we were going to put a built in to the tv, as well as having them fill in all the space between studs with 2x4s

 

 

you had such momentum too

[Homercles 10205]

you had such momentum too

I watch the good stuff upstairs in the game room with an eye-level plasma I really like. Downstairs is mostly for my wife when she lays on the couch, my kids who don’t seem to care, and when we have crowds over it’s great to watch games over everyone standing around. Fuck yo couch

[Armybrat 40822]

Insulate your garage walls & ceiling same as the house. Make sure the garage overhead doors are insulated and not the cheap ass builder grade doors.

Insulate your interior walls - with solid doors, it'll be a very quiet house.

Install electrical outlets under your roof edge soffits (for Christmas lights, or Ramadan... whatever)

No round doorknobs in the house - install good quality latch hardware.

Take pictures of your bathroom wall studs before sheet rocking - in case you later want to install some safety hand hold bars in the bathtubs & showers.

Exterior wall framing - use 2x6 studs instead of 2x4s. Thicker insulation is good & the structure is sturdier. The hurricane straps to anchor the roof rafters is a great idea too.

Also - you might consider building a tornado "safe" space, like an interior walk in closet with an appropriate door. Texas Tech engineering department did some good research on this years ago, and you can find relevant info online.

Think about where your furniture arrangements are going to be so you can place the wall electrical outlets in the most convenient spots. In the living area, maybe even have one or two floor mounted out in the middle of the room for end table lamps - if it's a large room with furniture that will be set out & away from the walls.

Also put an outlet (separate from any TV connections) on your fireplace mantel for holiday decoration crap.

Put the fancy epoxy paint finish on your garage floor before you move in. It'll be a lot easier than trying to clean & prep it later on.

Outdoor living spaces - instead of bare concrete,  put down a nice tile surface, or a stained/sculpted surface at the very least. it'll look more like an outdoor room.

Buy some winning Lottery numbers to pay for all those upgrades.

 

Edited May 25, 2018 by Armybrat

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

39 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Insulate your garage walls & ceiling same as the house. Make sure the garage overhead doors are insulated and not the cheap ass builder grade doors.

Insulate your interior walls - with solid doors, it'll be a very quiet house.

Install electrical outlets under your roof edge soffits (for Christmas lights, or Ramadan... whatever)

No round doorknobs in the house - install good quality latch hardware.

Take pictures of your bathroom wall studs before sheet rocking - in case you later want to install some safety hand hold bars in the bathtubs & showers.

Exterior wall framing - use 2x6 studs instead of 2x4s. Thicker insulation is good & the structure is sturdier. The hurricane straps to anchor the roof rafters is a great idea too.

Also - you might consider building a tornado "safe" space, like an interior walk in closet with an appropriate door. Texas Tech engineering department did some good research on this years ago, and you can find relevant info online.

Think about where your furniture arrangements are going to be so you can place the wall electrical outlets in a convenient place. In the living area, maybe even have one or two floor mounted out in the middle of the room for end table lamps - if it's a large room with furniture that will be set out & away from the walls.

Also put an outlet (separate from any TV connections) on your fireplace mantel for holiday decoration crap.

Put the fancy epoxy paint finish on your garage floor before you move in. It'll be a lot easier than trying to clean & prep it later on.

Outdoor living spaces - instead of bare concrete,  put down a nice tile surface, or a stained/sculpted surface at the very least. it'll look more like an outdoor room.

Buy some winning Lottery numbers to pay for all those upgrades.

 

Pay this man... pay this man his money.....

 

All solid comments.  The videoing of studs before sheetrocking is a really good thing to do with every wall in the house.  Art work and other wall applied shit will thank you later.

Edited May 25, 2018 by Onboard 2.0

[Armybrat 40822]

Also, out in your garage where the "step" is you might have the concrete guys put a sloping ramp from the garage floor level up to the house slab level in front of the door to the inside of the house. That would make it wheelchair accessible and convenient for hauling in heavy stuff (like a gun safe) on a dolly. My brother did that at his new place.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

1 minute ago, Armybrat said:

Also, out in your garage where the "step" is you might have the concrete guys put a sloping ramp from the garage floor level up to the house slab level in front of the door to the inside of the house. That would make it wheelchair accessible and convenient for hauling in heavy stuff (like a gun safe) on a dolly. My brother did that at his new place.

Because we build houses on crawlspaces and not on slabs here that's a more difficult detail to include, because you usually have 2-3' difference between the first floor and garage slab, but it's nice when you can.

We do create zero threshold/curb showers so a wheel chair can roll right in.

[Armybrat 40822]

Just make sure the door to the bathrooms are wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs. It may not be on a younger person's radar, but you never know if someone in the family will have to be in a wheelchair- either temporarily or permanently.

Mrs. Brat was in one for 6 weeks after I broke her ankle about 11 years ago.

[Post Oak 20208]

One thing to think about if this is gonna be youre forever home i how are you going to be able to live in it when your old.  

For example your kitchen and bathrooms will probably have plenty of space to move around when youre young but what about when youre older and need a walker or wheel chair.  Sometimes just a few inches makes a big deal.  Ask South Austins mom.

Think about making dinner and taking a piss and see if your layout will provide enough manuverability

This old house did a series on this a few years ago.  Its enlightening.  Just something to think abour

Edited May 25, 2018 by Post Oak
Tl;dr Yep. Listen to brat

[Parliament 14243]

Is insulated concrete forms a thing down there?  Because it's the bee's knees.

[Stunns38 3460]

Upgraded attic stairs are nice if you'll be storing seasonal stuff up there.

Please elaborate? When I was a builder, upgraded simply meant a higher weight capacity/ sturdier stairs.

Thx

[Stunns38 3460]

Thanks for the advice y’all, esp Brat.

This isn’t our forever house(we’ll not at least planned) but we will take some of the accessibility issues into effect.

We unfortunately won’t have a fireplace since it’s a hybrid house/townhome and we’ll be on a zero-lot line but will have a few feet btwn houses and 2X6 exterior walls are standard. It’s in urban Dallas.

We’ll have a small yard but will extend the concrete pad out and maybe get the exposed aggregate concrete.

We will douse the house(interior and exterior) with outlets, already planned.

No skimping on the paint for sure.

Will video the completed frame and probably will hire a 2nd third-party inspector even though the builder already provides one.

Will insulate the garage, make sure the attic is fully insulated and decked for storage. May ask the builder to install spare Sheetrock up there as well.

Will play the lottery tonight, Brat!

Lots to think about but y’all have been a big help.

[Homercles 10205]

We used our own inspector as well and it paid off on a few things like flashing and some hvac details.

[Stunns38 3460]

What’s up!

 

What are your opinions on Thermador appliances? The builder offered us that brand as an alternative to GE.

 

Never heard of it.

 

http://www.thermador.com/

 

Thanks

 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

1 minute ago, Stunns38 said:

What’s up!

What are your opinions in Thermador appliances? The builder offered us that brand as an alternative to GE.

Never heard of it.

http://www.thermador.com/

Thanks

Quality stuff.  What GE line is he offering as an alt. ??

[Stunns38 3460]

Quality stuff.  What GE line is he offering as an alt. ??

Cafe, monogram, and profile.profile is standard.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

I've always found the GE stuff to be good. W'eve had a monogram ref. for 25 years now and had one single thermostat issue that's broken twice  ($200 total costs to repair). But its rolling strong today. Their cooking units look and work well.  Some people will like the Thermador more because it has some cache.

[Anastasis 23463]

My dad just installed thermador in his new digs. I haven't cooked on it yet, but it looks pretty fucking choice. 

[TTU13 108]

Agreed 10000% percent on taking a video before drywall is up.

Some of the upgrades we did:

-Mortar color
-Had outlets installed in roof overhang for Christmas lights and for mounting a tv outside
-Expanded covered patio
-Natural gas hookup on patio...Has been by far my favorite upgrade
-Engineered wood floors...looks good, but feels “soft” and I’m worried about potential dents later on.
-Upgraded counter tops that have a rounded wave type finish on the edges. Minimal cost and makes counter look bigger and more refined.
-Faucets/shower heads in bathrooms
-Had power outlets and cat5 wired to wear I wanted to mount TVs
-Removed stovetop/cooktop and added a separate gas cook top with storage for pots beneath it and then added a real vent hood. Then moved microwave and oven to be stacked at a normal height.
-Added under cabinet lighting
-Had a bar built in downstairs. Was going to do that 3rd party, but wanted cabinets and counter to match. Plus they gave us a really good price on it.
-Farmhouse sink

There’s things we wish we did like adding garage space, adding a sink in utility room, but it’s our first house so we learned some lessons.

They prewired all lights for fans as well, but only some rooms came with ceiling fans but they wanted a ton of money for something I can myself for a lot cheaper.

Agreed on closet/pantry shelves. They went cheap, but I’m going to redo the way I want anyways and do it for a lot cheaper. They were asking a ton of money for that.

As far as rolling upgrades into your mortgage, I strongly disagree. We strongly believed that if we wanted upgrades, it was something we should make sure we had the means to afford and not pay interest on “wish list items” that we didn’t really need and just simply wanted. It also made us consider “do we really need that?” When going through the design process. It just helped put things into perspective, especially because it’s easy to get carried away at the design center.

[Anastasis 23463]

Interesting the engineered hardwood hate.  We installed engineered, wide plank, hickory last year, and I've real pleased with the feel and resiliency. A few minor scratches that you really have to be looking for, and a very small dent where I dropped a big ass cutting board, but otherwise been very pleased that the three kids havent destroyed it yet.  We had a pretty good amount of water incursion through one of the doors during harvey and stuff has been very stable. Last house had 100yr long leaf pine on pier and beam, so this shit installed on a slab feels like a rock compared to that. This is what we installed: http://www.aayersfloors.com/index.php/home/product/show/id/71.html

[TTU13 108]

I guess I wouldn’t say hate, just worried. Part of it, I found out the hard way, luckily under warranty, is that sometimes they use cheap glue that depending on when installed isn’t best under humidity when they just go buy cheap “glue” to finish the job. I had a guy come back out and reapply the good glue and am happy with it now. Just partially worried it may bite me in the ass later.

It’s probably more of a mental block knowing they used cheap glue originally and gave me the perception of “soft” spots. My dog sharpens her nails out of spite and runs all over my floor without scratching but I’m just afraid she’ll find a soft spot and scratch it up.

Since they came and fixed it, it feels solid just that mental block knowing I spent good money on it and now just worry it’s a wasted investment.

Either way, I highly recommend investing in the Bona wood stuff. After a good sweep and then using the Bona automated scrubber, the floor looks brand new.

The only spots I had to use the wood filler on to repair is when the wife wore heels that had the nail exposed and scuffed the floor. Or her brother during move in scuffed something using the dolly when I told him he was using it wrong.

Wife found a dent the other day and I asked if she wore those old raggedy heals that day...she said yeah, but “I walked carefully”. Those heals are now in the trash. Told her just buy a new pair.

So moral of the story, no floor is wife proof.

[TTU13 108]

Another wish item that was mentioned before is I wish they let me wire shit before drywall was installed.

I work in building control systems controls and wanted to hard wire my shades for POE controls. Instead had to settle for battery powered. POE would have saved me on battery and quicker response as opposed to zigbee battery power. Small complaint, but being in custom controls is slightly annoying.

I’m about to replace all my switches for RF switches so I can do custom programming and have app control over everything, but again I’m stuck with a slight lag. Also want to instal some touch screen keypads, but will be a slight PITA because of the drywall already being up.

Just a minor annoyance, but most people can’t tell the difference but I can because of my experience.

[Washpark 176]

Consumer Reports says GE appliances suck. LG has the lowest failure rate across most items.

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

16 hours ago, Stunns38 said:

What’s up!

 

What are your opinions on Thermador appliances? The builder offered us that brand as an alternative to GE.

 

Never heard of it.

 

http://www.thermador.com/

 

Thanks

 

Niche above KitchenAId that has been around for about 80 years. 

[phdhorn 6224]

Hey I got an interior question:

Fixing up my mom's (RIP) house to get ready to sell.  The back den is something right out of the Brady Bunch - it's from about 1967,  It's that old wood (really in this case, fake wood) paneling with the vertical recessed black lines running down it, something like this:

My realtor says it can just be sanded and painted, but I don't see how it can be done.  The lines are recessed a good 1/8" and we'd have to do a fuckton of sanding to get the entire panel boards flush with them.  OR, we'd just sand it and paint it with the recessed lines running down the wall?  That wouldn't look too good.  Again, this is some composite, not straight plyboard, etc.  So I'm not even sure that sanding it would render anything but cardboard popcorn.

Wouldn't it be better just to rip the shit out and drywall it?  I'm open to sanding/painting, but I can't see how the fuck we could get it to look like a smooth wall.  Experiences?

Edited June 8, 2018 by phdhorn

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

You forgot the question part.

Pull it down and drywall.  Paint it white at the very least.

[phdhorn 6224]

Just now, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

You forgot the question part.

Pull it down and drywall.  Paint it white at the very least.

fucking compooter hit enter before I wuz done.  Anyway fixed and thanks, that's what I think.  

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

You can't sand it flat but the grooves will be the same color as the rest.  If you're in a Austin type high demand market then painting will be fine.  I used liquid sandpaper to degloss over actual sanding when I painted the paneling in our Rockport cottage.

 

Wonder if you could just tape and float over the paneling.

Edited June 9, 2018 by ShaggyBevo RIP

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

Found these- https://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/skills-and-know-how/painting/how-to-paint-over-paneling

https://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/molding-trim/designs/paint-wood-paneling/

Edited June 9, 2018 by ShaggyBevo RIP

[Okie State 3812]

Good info on this thread. I've never built, but agree with most of the ideas here after owning a home where the original owner cheaped out on so many things that could have been done up front. I've slowly been correcting things since we bought it, but I'm sure it costs significantly more doing it later.

One thing we do have is engineered wood and it's actually not bad. It's very resistant to scratches, but will dent/puncture through the top layer if you drop something heavy or sharp on it. I still prefer hardwoods as they age well, but we also don't have inside dogs to tear shit up.

[Gil Bang 25918]

Consumer Reports says GE appliances suck. LG has the lowest failure rate across most items.

Fuck LG in the Korean ass.

[Okie State 3812]

Yeah, from everything I've read and heard Samsung is the worst followed closely by LG.

[deadshank 24652]

On 5/25/2018 at 12:17 PM, Onboard 2.0 said:

Pay this man... pay this man his money.....

 

All solid comments.  The videoing of studs before sheetrocking is a really good thing to do with every wall in the house.  Art work and other wall applied shit will thank you later.

We use a service that does that for us when we are building.  Homeowner's usually go for it.  Haven't yet had to go to instant replay to find out what happened.

[Washpark 176]