choosing a southern home plan

[hiknapster]

Gemthornton...If you saw some of the houses I saw that they slapped together in Florida, you would just die. I don't know a darn thing about building a house, but gosh, they were crooked, for crying out loud.

[Robbied]

Originally Posted by gemthornton

Robbied, and anyone else wanting to build, this is a little advice given to me and boy, am I glad I listened! Don't just go by word of mouth. Recommendations from realtors and checking with the title agencies is a good place to start, but it is so important to see the work of each builder that you are considering.

And, I am not talking about driving past his houses or through one of his developments. I mean, find at least 3, and preferably as many as 5, of his homes in various stages of build.

You want to know how he does his foundations. Is he pouring basements or using cinder block? Is he water-proofing the exterior foundation wall and providing a drainage system around it These things you don't see when the home is done and all of that pretty landscaping hides the "real" house.

Is he placing studs 16" on center? Is he using proper headers over his doorways and windows? Is he using good grade studs or are some of them warped or split? Are his subfloors screwed (you hope) or just nailed down? Is he using drywall nails or just what ever is handy? Is he trying to make a cross beam fit when it wasn't cut right to begin with or is he redoing a cut so it is just right? Is his electrical panel large enough so that he doesn't have too many lines (more than 5) on a circuit?

You only know these things by being on site with his projects. You should know this man and his building practices as well as you would know you child's peditrician before entrusting him with anything so precious to you.

If a builder does not want to show anything he is doing under construction, but only finished homes - turn and walk away. There is another good builder out there that you can find. Do this leg work. You won't be sorry that you took the time.

Great advice, Gem, but you have to start somewhere. I told each builder that we would want to see both homes under construction and finished products. This is by strict order of my engineer husband is in "the business". I am glad you posted this though. Too many people look on websites and when you see the pretty outside shell, it doesnt mean anything.

YOu cant go for lowest bid, you get what you pay for..but then the most expensive doesnt guarantee either.

Your post is really important and should have it's own thread.

[taniaxx]

I am taking notes, gemthornton Any advice on this construction etc is gratefully filed away. As I have said before, this is the first time I am considering a new build/major renovation. Although it is a good 12 months away, I am keen to do as much research as possible (in the right direction!)

[Wordy]

Hey, thanks for the nice things you guys said to/about me!

[gemkeeper]

Robbied and taniaxx, I hope some of what I post is of help. And, taniaxx, notes organized in folders or notebooks are invaluable.

Also, photos taken at every stage of construction as I had mentioned in an earlier post will serve you and any future owners for many years. (Honey, will you hang this mirror for me in the hall? Yikes, you hit a water pipe!!) Have pictures and measurements of where all of those plumbing lines and electrical wires are running in your walls. What a pat on the back you will give yourself someday.

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by JMT

If much of the house is facing south, then you'll either want very few windows and a lot of shade trees on that side of the house, or you'll want a wide front porch to shade the windows from the blazing hot afternoon sun.

I just backtracked and caught the oops, west. Figured I 'd leave this anyway.

We look at this differently. Use overhangs wide enough to keep the sun off the south windows in the summer, combined with deciduous shade trees so you'll get sun coming through the windows in the winter. In central Iowa doing this keeps our furnace from running on a 10 degree, sunny day.

One of the best trees for this is a Kentucky Coffee Bean. Beautiful tree, no disease or insect problems, medium growth rate. It's a "stump" tree, which means it is a full shade tree in the summer, but loses all but the main branches over the winter. Lets in plenty of sun.

To get the most from the winter sun we placed as many windows as possible on the south side. 4 - 2'x4' in the family room. A full-glass door off the kitchen, a full bay in the kitchen, and 2 - 2'x4' in the dining room. Lots of sun! Almost fully shaded in the summer by the Kentucky Coffee Bean and a Summit Ash. Avoid Ash trees, the Emerald Ash Borer is on the move!

[gemkeeper]

That's good advice, Tek_Freek, using the deciduous trees as a sun barrier in the summer and an open door for the winter sun to shine through.

Also, deciduous trees are wonderful air coolers. Not only do they provide welcome shade from the hot summer sun, but as a result of moisture evaporation that takes place in the trees leaves and root system, they actually do cool the air around them. And, they add so much beauty to your property. Can't beat that combination!

The traditional southern plantation roof overhang is another ingenious weather controller as you mentioned. The winter sun shines across the sky at an angle unlike an overhead summer sun. This wide overhang on the porch roof blocks the summer sun, but allows the lower angled winter sun to pass into the house unobstructed by either the deciduous summer shade trees or the wide overhanging plantation style porch roof or roof overhang (doesn't actually require a porch, duh, but does make a great porch roof if one is desired or possible.)

What nature can't do for us, clever men/women will compensate and find something that will serve us well.