New Home Build-North Texas

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Neighbor is doing his pre-drywall meeting today and took these pics for us. We spoke to the builder and they plan on pouring the foundation next week. Apparently there were some delays.

 

[Slink]

View attachment 1075611 View attachment 1075612 Neighbor is doing his pre-drywall meeting today and took these pics for us. We spoke to the builder and they plan on pouring the foundation next week. Apparently there were some delays.

Red tubes....radiant heating ??

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Red tubes....radiant heating ??

I wish. No idea what it is, but I asked for radiant heating and they didn't offer it. We'll have to deal with cold tile floors.

 

[Slink]

I wish. No idea what it is, but I asked for radiant heating and they didn't offer it. We'll have to deal with cold tile floors.

My quote was 35k.....my daughter and guest can wear socks....HaHa

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

@Xtrmwakeboarder how are things progressing?

We’ve decided to go an architect route. Builder prices are all over the board. So this way we can create our design and have it bid out Apple to apples.

@Done-it-again now that you’re checking out the architect route, have you thought about alternate building methods? With the severe weather in TX, I’d be taking a hard look at ICF.

 

[toto]

View attachment 1075611 View attachment 1075612 Neighbor is doing his pre-drywall meeting today and took these pics for us. We spoke to the builder and they plan on pouring the foundation next week. Apparently there were some delays.

Looking good man and what a good feeling it is to see ground work and progress. Looking forward to seeing the progress

 

[Done-it-again]

@Done-it-again now that you’re checking out the architect route, have you thought about alternate building methods? With the severe weather in TX, I’d be taking a hard look at ICF.

I have not. To be honest I’m a little sticker shock on the price per square foot to build right now.

Custom homes are going $350-400 sq ft. The issues I’m having is these bulilders can’t tell you why they are xx amount and what sets them above a semi custom build. This does not include the lot.

I have not seen any ICF builds in tx and afraid to see those cost.

 

[bowtiejunkie]

Red tubes....radiant heating ??

Builder is doing a post-tension concrete slab. Steel cables are inside those plastic red tubes so the cables don’t get stuck in concrete. Tension will be applied once slab is hardened. Seems pretty common in Texas, or at least Dallas area.

I’d never seen that type of slab for a home until we started watching our Texas home progress through construction process.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

I have not. To be honest I’m a little sticker shock on the price per square foot to build right now.

Custom homes are going $350-400 sq ft. The issues I’m having is these bulilders can’t tell you why they are xx amount and what sets them above a semi custom build. This does not include the lot.

I have not seen any ICF builds in tx and afraid to see those cost.

That hurts, but then again my buddy sends this house down the street from him and I almost fall out of my chair. Not a great neighborhood either. https://www.redfin.com/CA/Westminster/5592-Edita-Ave-92683/home/3911135

I've heard the price is within a few % with the wood prices right now. May be worth a look.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

We have movement! The foundation has been poured. My neighbor is heading over several times a week so hopefully more pics to come.

We also got news that the house next to ours on the right is being turned into a spec house. It looks like they are almost ready to pour as well. Kind of nice so we don't have a house being built as we move in.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

And today we have our first walls! Going to buy the team breakfast and have our neighbor deliver it for their hard work.

 

[Havoc Powesports]

moving along now...

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

moving along now...

Yessir! Neighbor was saying they'd be damn near done framing by EOW. That would be mind-blowing if they pull that off.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

The team is flying! GC said 20% of his guys have COVID so things may slow down again and there are some supplier shortages with AC ducting. Pre-drywall meeting will probably be sometime next month if all goes well. Hoping I can get a solid date so I can start booking flights and a car.

 

[Done-it-again]

View attachment 1080420 The team is flying! GC said 20% of his guys have COVID so things may slow down again and there are some supplier shortages with AC ducting. Pre-drywall meeting will probably be sometime next month if all goes well. Hoping I can get a solid date so I can start booking flights and a car.

Nice, they are moving on that framing.

Tickets were pretty inexpensive last week. From LA to San Antoino, then from Austin back to LA for $195 round trip. Leave on the 27th.

Cars on the other hand are crazy because of the drop in Austin.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Holy crap they got the framed fast.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

I have not. To be honest I’m a little sticker shock on the price per square foot to build right now.

Custom homes are going $350-400 sq ft. The issues I’m having is these bulilders can’t tell you why they are xx amount and what sets them above a semi custom build. This does not include the lot.

I have not seen any ICF builds in tx and afraid to see those cost.

I've got another builder contact for you in this area. They are originally from San Diego but he's been building in NB area for the last few years. Super cool guy. Ill pm you his info this weekend when I touch base with him.

 

[Done-it-again]

I've got another builder contact for you in this area. They are originally from San Diego but he's been building in NB area for the last few years. Super cool guy. Ill pm you his info this weekend when I touch base with him.

Great. Thx. Right now we are headed out there on the 27 for the weekend. Have a meeting with G. Custom homes on Sat.

We might change the plans and tow the 5er out on Monday cause we are all getting over covid and kids can’t return till end of Jan. So if we are all feeling good will drive out early.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Great. Thx. Right now we are headed out there on the 27 for the weekend. Have a meeting with G. Custom homes on Sat.

We might change the plans and tow the 5er out on Monday cause we are all getting over covid and kids can’t return till end of Jan. So if we are all feeling good will drive out early.

It's been pretty windy in west Texas..would be good to check the weather if you do that. I was dragging my enclosed back from AZ empty and it was unpleasant to say the least. Bummer on the covid..it knocked Brianna down for almost 3 weeks...she's coming home tomorrow.

Sounds good, I'm going to see them this weekend so I'll get the contact info from him to give you on how to get ahold of him.

 

[Done-it-again]

It's been pretty windy in west Texas..would be good to check the weather if you do that. I was dragging my enclosed back from AZ empty and it was unpleasant to say the least. Bummer on the covid..it knocked Brianna down for almost 3 weeks...she's coming home tomorrow.

Sounds good, I'm going to see them this weekend so I'll get the contact info from him to give you on how to get ahold of him.

Thanks for the heads up regarding the wind. I’ll check it out prior. It was pretty windy when we did the drive last January and it sucked.

If 3 weeks is the deal, f’ that. I don’t have time for that nonsense. Im being optimistic and will be over it soon as I started feeling like shit on Monday.

Might be little wishful thinking on my end, but can only hope.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

So the builder did exactly what I feared today, tried to book the pre-drywall meeting on the 14th. I pushed back and got them to move it to the 28th, which is a little more time, but flight prices are still on the high side out of SNA. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some good pictures on the trip out there.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Picture from this morning. It looks like a house!

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Snow day pic from our neighbor today

 

[toto]

View attachment 1085484 Snow day pic from our neighbor today

Looking good and moving along

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Looking good and moving along

Yessir! Can’t wait to be back at the end of the month.

 

[Music to my Ears]

It‘s really moving along quickly now. When do you think it will be completed by? Looks great!

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

It‘s really moving along quickly now. When do you think it will be completed by? Looks great!

Honestly I have no idea. The original estimate was late June, but construction started late and there may be supply chain issues throughout the build. I’m hoping they’ll commit to a date at our meeting on the 28th so I can start planning the move. Our lease is up 6.30.22, so I’m crossing my fingers that everything works out.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Alright guys, we are a week out from the pre-drywall meeting? What should I be doing during the meeting? Should I prep anything? I don't want to screw this up.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Alright guys, we are a week out from the pre-drywall meeting? What should I be doing during the meeting? Should I prep anything? I don't want to screw this up.

take a shitload of pictures so you know where things are. Make sure protector plates are where they should be for water lines etc. Look at pipe joints, electrical connections etc. Once its hidden well it's hidden. Do you have a square? Bring it... If it were me...and damn sure for what you are spending I would have a third party inspector look at it before I signed off. There are guys here in texas that specialize in these type of inspections specifically and its eye opening what they find. Missing plates, nails, brackets, etc etc etc. I'd suspect that it would cost you less than $600 to have one done...its pretty thorough.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

take a shitload of pictures so you know where things are. Make sure protector plates are where they should be for water lines etc. Look at pipe joints, electrical connections etc. Once its hidden well it's hidden. Do you have a square? Bring it... If it were me...and damn sure for what you are spending I would have a third party inspector look at it before I signed off. There are guys here in texas that specialize in these type of inspections specifically and its eye opening what they find. Missing plates, nails, brackets, etc etc etc. I'd suspect that it would cost you less than $600 to have one done...its pretty thorough.

Appreciate the insight. I’ve reached out to our realtor to see if we can get someone on short notice. I’ll definitely be taking tons of pictures and video while making the tour. I’ve also asked the builder if he needs me to prep for anything else. Hopefully it’s pretty straight-forward.

 

[bowtiejunkie]

Photo everything with a high quality camera. Even take video(s)

The builder will typically go over the features of the house bones (weather proofing, plumbing, electrical, etc.). Plus, all your added structural, design, electrical changes/add-ons. Bring your list of these changes and makes sure all of them are where they should be.

I wanted 3 outlets in garage ceiling, 2 on one switch, and one on a separate switch. Builder overlooked the switching and so did I at pre-drywall.

Level - that’s a good idea. However, you’d likely have to buy a 4ft or 6ft one upon landing as I’d imagine the builder will just scoff at a little 1-foot level reading for jambs or walls. A square and small level for tight areas are easy enough to fly with.

A pre-drywall inspection would be a good idea as said above. An then another inspection pre-close of loan. Just remember, the inspector probably won’t catch everything. Our pre-close inspection missed an electrical outlet under the kitchen sink that wasn’t fastened to the electrical box and plenty of wall issues. He caught enough items though, that made the cost worth it though. I think we paid about $500 two years ago here in DFW area.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Photo everything with a high quality camera. Even take video(s)

The builder will typically go over the features of the house bones (weather proofing, plumbing, electrical, etc.). Plus, all your added structural, design, electrical changes/add-ons. Bring your list of these changes and makes sure all of them are where they should be.

I wanted 3 outlets in garage ceiling, 2 on one switch, and one on a separate switch. Builder overlooked the switching and so did I at pre-drywall.

Level - that’s a good idea. However, you’d likely have to buy a 4ft or 6ft one upon landing as I’d imagine the builder will just scoff at a little 1-foot level reading for jambs or walls. A square and small level for tight areas are easy enough to fly with.

A pre-drywall inspection would be a good idea as said above. An then another inspection pre-close of loan. Just remember, the inspector probably won’t catch everything. Our pre-close inspection missed an electrical outlet under the kitchen sink that wasn’t fastened to the electrical box and plenty of wall issues. He caught enough items though, that made the cost worth it though. I think we paid about $500 two years ago here in DFW area.

Good call. I'll print out all of the electrical and structural plans to make sure everything is good to go. I won't be able to see everything, but hopefully everything is OK.

For the level and square, what exactly am I checking?

 

[Done-it-again]

Good call. I'll print out all of the electrical and structural plans to make sure everything is good to go. I won't be able to see everything, but hopefully everything is OK.

For the level and square, what exactly am I checking?

To see if walls and door jams are true.... Builders like to say they take extra length making sure walls are straight/flat and they will show these cardboard strips on the studs were drywall will be screwed too.... It's all BS, if the framers did shitty work then the drywall will show it, unless you float the whole wall then texture.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

To see if walls and door jams are true.... Builders like to say they take extra length making sure walls are straight/flat and they will show these cardboard strips on the studs were drywall will be screwed too.... It's all BS, if the framers did shitty work then the drywall will show it, unless you float the whole wall then texture.

Roger that. As usual, we are staying with friends, so I'll see if he has a big level or square. If not, it looks like he's getting one.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Pic from today.

 

[Done-it-again]

Roger that. As usual, we are staying with friends, so I'll see if he has a big level or square. If not, it looks like he's getting one.

To be honest, don't kill yourself as you wont find everything and it will make you go nuts. The inspector is a good idea, let him nail the bigger issues and you focus on the extras you paid for such as outlets, switches, cat cabling, lighting, fan boxes, etc. Everything that is an electrical, water, gas upgrade make sure its in.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

To be honest, don't kill yourself as you wont find everything and it will make you go nuts. The inspector is a good idea, let him nail the bigger issues and you focus on the extras you paid for such as outlets, switches, cat cabling, lighting, fan boxes, etc. Everything that is an electrical, water, gas upgrade make sure its in.

The Realtor was able to get her inspector booked for our meeting on Monday morning for $480. You guys were spot on. This is one of the better home builders in the area, so I don't expect much, but it's worth the peace of mind with the volume they are doing.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Big weekend for us as we flew out, did the pre-drywall meeting, and picked out our Quartzite slabs. We are still waiting for the HVAC ducting to move forward, so not much progress hasn't been made. The house next door was delayed 60 days, and we are at a few weeks. Per our builder, we are still targeting a late June move-in.

The inspector was a good call for peace of mind. We've got a quality builder, and he didn't find much. I walked through the house with the builder and then again with the inspector. Most of what the inspector caught was talked about by the builder.


Facia was broken in two places. Obviously going to be fixed before closing.

Several holes in the sheathing that need to be taped. Below are the biggest.

Untaped corner. I'm not sure if this was overlooked or not, but I'm guessing they would have fixed this at the brick stage.

And the "biggest" one was incorrectly installed flashing on one edge. It's hard to see in the picture, but instead of the top piece being over the bottom piece like a shingle, it's under the bottom piece, which traps water.

We also finalized the cabinet drawings and need to finalize the island this week. I didn't want outlets on the side of the waterfall, but they won't do the drawer mount, and if I put them on the cabinet side, they will make the trash pull out smaller. Does anyone have experience with these? I saw them on the side of a waterfall in a Toll Brothers model, and they looked slick. I don't want to do top mount, but the stainless would match the dishwasher.

Kitchen Counter Pop Up Receptacle, 20A GFCI, Plastic Back Box, Stainless Steel

Buy the Lew Electric PUFP-CT-SS-PB pop up outlet with a 2 power 20A GFCI socket, tamper resistant plugs, and a stainless steel top that hides in your countertop.

www.kitchenpowerpopups.com

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Above is our island slab. The slab to the right will vein match on the waterfall. It looks darker in pictures.

 

[Music to my Ears]

Looking great. Love the island slab!

 

[Boat211]

Looks fantastic. Thanks for bringing us along. I also agree that the island slab is beautiful.

 

[FROGMAN524]

Yes house looks great. Love the slab choice.

 

[DirtyWhiteDog]

On the island, you can do a plug strip under the overhang or they Make a round simplex outlet that can fit in the face of the cabinet

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

This week we finalized the cabinet drawings. My wife wanted a pull-out spice rack, $815, and we finally got the quote on the fridge panels, $1,485. I'm not thrilled with the glass on the top of the spice rack as it's not the same size as the other glass. That may look weird to me so I'm going to see if they can change it. I had to delete the mud bench in the utility room because I plan on having my freezer in there and it was a tight fit. I'll do a custom one when we get the living room built-in made.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Drywall is done, so that means cabinets!

We'll have to extend this bench all the way across the back. My wife wanted a window seat for her office.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

View attachment 1092528

My gripe on stuff like this is replacement. If it fails you have a hole if you can't source them again. If you go this route get a couple extras at least and put them somewhere you know where they are. Glad things are going well for you on this build!

 

[DirtyWhiteDog]

My gripe on stuff like this is replacement. If it fails you have a hole if you can't source them again. If you go this route get a couple extras at least and put them somewhere you know where they are. Glad things are going well for you on this build!

Those pop up's have been around for over 10 years, replacement shouldn't be a problem before the counter tops are out dated.
Looking good, love the window seat, classic functional styling.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Ferguson finally got back to us with updated ETAs, and it's not good.

Fridge-6/30
Freezer-6/13
Steam Oven-7/22
Convection Oven-7/22
Induction Cooktop-End of April

Kind of pissed off, as they continue to pull the COVID excuse.... I get the time lost when we had the full shut down, but were these places really shut down for that long? Could they not catch up in 2 years? I know we have had ZERO out of stock situations at my company, and the vast majority of product is manufactured overseas. Ugh....

Two issues with this
1. I originally wanted Sub Zero and then Thermador for the Fridge and Ovens... The only reason we went Monogram over those two was lead times...
2. If the ovens aren't installed by the end of June, we may have an issue getting the inspector/builder to sign off on occupancy.

Ferguson is saying we are "lucky" and a lot of the orders from last year got pushed back to Dec 2022. LOL WTF

 

[Havoc Powesports]

Fergusons is kinda a pain in the ass to deal with. Couple of places to check and see if can get faster lead times. Nebraska Furniture Mart the colony nfm.com, and The Jarrell Company in Grapevine jarrellco.com or fb market place some used ones to put in until yours come in to CO

 

[Music to my Ears]

Fergusons is kinda a pain in the ass to deal with. Couple of places to check and see if can get faster lead times. Nebraska Furniture Mart the colony nfm.com, and The Jarrell Company in Grapevine jarrellco.com or fb market place some used ones to put in until yours come in to CO

We're using The Jarrell Company. I'm not sure about timelines as they haven't been ordered yet. Sounds like we need to jump on that here pretty soon. Sorry to hear that you're having issues with delivery times.