The Dream is Coming to Reality

[Mr EW3]

Originally Posted by as3369

Wow very beautiful house!



Thank you Mr EW3. This is definitely not a traditional house. I found a house design on line and by the time I finished modifying it, it was truly unrecognizable from the original. We hired a draftsperson who sketched out my idea for the builder, but even after and during construction, we made numerous modifications. The house plan where we saw the original idea is here: TREE TOP TREASURE House Plan.

Construction costs will run anywhere from $70-$125 per foot depending upon your choice of materials and finishing work. The best advice I can give you is to PLAN, PLAN and PLAN some more until you are happy with the final design. This will save you thousands of dollars on the final product.

Awesome, thanks and yes I'm one of those types of people that researches day in and day out for hours a day. I am a perfectionist so I want to have everything just right rather than going into it blind or last minute. This is definitely something that won't happen for atleast 4-6 years and I'm already researching and spending hours a day looking into everything. My girlfriend thinks I'm crazy because of it

First thing first is planning out the floor plan, I definitely have ideas of how I want it to be setup but I just don't know where to start because I'm so anal with details. Materials is definitely something else I need to research and look into, I'm definitely not a home builder and don't plan on doing it myself but I definitely want to have the knowledge to compare and know the pros and cons of everything so I can make a better judgement on my final decision, especially on the little stuff.

[grisabel]

Please excuse my many questions but I am so impressed by your beautiful home. I hope to someday have my dream come true. Can you tell me the ways in which you saved money? How did you insulate? What kind of heating and cooling systems? What green products are worth the cost? Can you warn me against anything when dealing with a builder or contractors?

[as3369]

As far as Green or energy efficient building, we used high efficiency appliances, double and triple pane windows, geothermal heating & cooling, wood burning heatilator fireplace (called Constitution), a GE Hybrid Electrical Water Heater, Icynene Foam insulation for ceiling and walls.

On working with a builder or contractor, I would advise you to PLAN, PLAN, PLAN, know what you want and have open and frequent communication with the builder. Have the builder provide you written estimates from the sub-contractors and speak to at least three builders in your area.

Alot of builders in this area tend to quote you "Cost + 10-20%." There really is no incentive for them to keep the costs down, because the more it costs you, the more money they make. If they make a mistake, who pays for it? When you do find a contractor you like, have them provide you references and check them prior to entering into any contract.