I'm building a new 1500 sq. ft. rancher with attached garage. Looking for any tips (do's or don't's) in the construction process. Will have well water and septic.

 

get a water softener for the well water. You will need less soap for yourself, dishwashing and laundry. You won't get hard water buildup on plumbing appliances.

Minimum 200 amp electric service. You won't be sorry to have extra circuits.

 

Think worst case and make sure the contract covers it. I am getting new cabinets installed now for over 6 months. I failed to make sure the contract covered everything and can not break it because the contractor has violated it.

 

Don't try to save money on the heating and air/conditioning. Get the best unit you can, even if your budget requires you to down grade countertops or some other cosmetic feature. It will payoff in the long run. An energy efficient home will cost about 3% more to build; but, will save you lots of money in the end.

 

Hey, congradulations. You dont say if you are doing most of the work or what. I built mine 2 years ago, did it all except furnace and carpet.
Use all copper for plumming, stay away from pvc.
Depenting where your located, stuff all the insulation you can in you attic and use the styrofoam vent guards to make sure the attic can breath and insulation cant block air flow from the eves.
Plan ahead for things you may want to install later, Like running boxes for audio, plugs under eves for x-mas lights, extra spots in you elect box for upgrades. And, dont skimp on material in critical areas, AE. roofing, insulation, electrical, and such, its worth the money the first time.
My house is a 1950 sq ft rancher, 6/12 pitch, cost me 95k to build and has been appraised at 165k. If you need any ideas for material and such let me know. I found some cheap sources for quality materials.
Again, congrads and good luck.

Sled...

 

We have a Geotherm (sp?) heat pump and it works great. It is quiet, produces most of the hot water for the house, and the electric bill likes it. Be sure and put in plenty of lighting. Out of all the lights, only 3 are not florecent. Like they have said, be sure and run a lot of wiring if you are going to do some stero stuff. From the computer area to the entertainment center would be a good place for some S-vid or some other vid/auido cables.

Good luck with the house!

 

I can't offer many tips for construction cuz I don't know much about that but I have a piece of advice...

Are you married? Do you like to work on your truck a lot, especially painting and running it just to listen to the exhaust? If so I would suggest a detached garage. We have an attached garage and my hubby is always working on his toy ('68 Bronco). He has my house so full of fumes sometimes we really should install a fog horn!! In the interest of a happy marriage when we do finally build our own house it will have a detached garage!!

Good luck with your new home.

 

Caulk the nailheads on your siding. It's a HUUUUGE pain in the rear, but it will add years of life to your siding. NM if you are using brick.

 

there are generally two standard sizes.
Too deep, not wide enuff!
Too wide, not deep enuff!

If you haven't noticed this yet, you will.
Also, if you're planning on making the garage your home away from home, give yourself at least a 6x6 space to call your own in there.
Ps make sure it is *tall* enuff too! My truck is 6' high.....watch the slopes while entering.
IMHO

 

thanks for the replies Hey sleddog should I go with 5/8 osb or 1/2 or 5/8 csx plywood for the roof. It will have 2x6's 16oc. What are the advantages of copper vs pvc. I thought pvc would be fine for the drains. I agree copper for all the other plumbing.

 

7/16" osb is fine for 16"oc roofing. copper is way better than pvc use copper for all water flow lines and use pvc for all drains. I built my own home also and its been great. Lots of work but fun stuff. Below is a pic. of the house that Jim built.

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we recently went through building an addition to our home. i thought it was code (at least in new jersey) that you can not use pvc for water lines as there is some sort of carcinogen in the polyvinyl chloride.

its fine for waste water, but not to carry water into the home.

 

What type of siding are you planning to use?

 

It will have vinyl siding. Yes I am married with and have a 9 year old son. Not gonna spend that much time in the garage. I'm gonna call my insurance agent and ask what the difference in premium for attached garage vs. detached.

 

First time you or any member of your family has to carry grocery bags from the detached garage to the house in pouring down rain or snow, you'll wish you didn't worry about those tiny insurance premiums. Make it an attached garage, and try to make it enter through your laundry room area. Coming in to the laundry room makes it easy to get rid of those dirty stinky clothes. I put a shop sink and a half bath in mine.