Modify new house room layout (Frisco, Mercedes: sales, custom home, neighborhoods)

[ken007]

Hello All, We are planning to get into contract with one of the builders in Frisco and when asked the sales agent that is it ok to change the location of some of the rooms they said no it's not possible.. '

Just want to check some of the expert opinions here..What way we should adopt to get the layout of a room or a restroom changed.. When I say layout I mean the location.. Is it going to cost us heavy ?


Appreciate the responses..

Thank You

[stephwin]

Most builders will say no to a change as drastic as moving a bedroom or bathroom location. I live in Frisco and most neighborhoods literally have the same floorplan being built every 2-3 houses. They aren't going to do something that custom for you because it's a lot of work (it's not just updating a blueprint, it could impact how large your slab is, the elevation, roof line, HVAC runs, etc.).

If the floorplan isn't working for you as-is, you either need to go completely custom ($$#) or find a new floorplan.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by ken007

Hello All, We are planning to get into contract with one of the builders in Frisco and when asked the sales agent that is it ok to change the location of some of the rooms they said no it's not possible.. '

Just want to check some of the expert opinions here..What way we should adopt to get the layout of a room or a restroom changed.. When I say layout I mean the location.. Is it going to cost us heavy ?


Appreciate the responses..

Thank You

If you want to customize the location of rooms like that, you may want to look at building a custom home. These "big box builders" aren't going to do stuff like that for you for free (if at all).


You may think it's an easy thing to do, but it really isn't when you consider how all the utilities and lines are planned in the home to accommodate a bathroom in location X and a bedroom in location Y. It's more than just putting a toilet and tub somewhere else. You have to change the plumbing too (at a bare minimum).

[MurphyPl1]

We made some modifications to our home. Moved a door, added a bay window, expanded the garage. Relatively simple changes - that cost $25K. And the door move did exactly BigD mentioned. It cause an issue with the routing of the AC which ended up causing an additional change. But none of ours moved walls or changes the actual floor plan. Our builder stopped doing those level of changes due to the time it took going back to the architect and the city plus the general headache when they were trying to churn thru home builds.

A builder is also unlikely to do anything that will make the home harder to sell if you walk away prior to completion. They can no longer list that floor plan the same as if it had never been modified.

You are better off finding a different floor plan that works for you.

[Rakin]

You are really talking about changing the entire structure, plumbing of the house. It's not that simple and the odds are there is no way a builder will change. In most cases, you are talking some big $$.

They may accommodate a small adjustment but most won't. What you see is what you get.

[EcoDeb]

This a track builder and "no" will be the answer. They build a specific house plan and you choose the finishes to make it yours. Only a true custom builder would make changes, but those would be at a cost as well.

[oldoak2000]

Originally Posted by ken007

Hello All, We are planning to get into contract with one of the builders in Frisco and when asked the sales agent that is it ok to change the location of some of the rooms they said no it's not possible.. '
Just want to check some of the expert opinions here..What way we should adopt to get the layout of a room or a restroom changed.. When I say layout I mean the location.. Is it going to cost us heavy ?
Appreciate the responses..
Thank You

YES, it will 'cost you heavy'.

Tract homes 'economize' engineering costs over MANY homes built with SAME design (same engineering).
ANY changes requiring re-engineering (10's of thousands of $$) for just that ONE home - will 'cost you heavy' - or not even possible due to scheduling conflicts, change in operating procedures, etc etc.

There are SO MANY 'building codes' that must be met in modern municipalities; any 'small' changes usually require RE-EVALUATION of everything, especially when home design is already OPTIMIZED (tract homes) and builders are trained/experienced with specific builds.

're-programming' everybody involved would cost $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, like saying 'I want a car that's a BMW on the front half, and Mercedes on the back half'

[jdallas]

also, keep in mind that the production builders often build the same plan all across the country so altering the layout throws a big wrench into their system. It's not just about one neighborhood to them.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by jdallas

also, keep in mind that the production builders often build the same plan all across the country so altering the layout throws a big wrench into their system. It's not just about one neighborhood to them.

Production builders will refuse to consider major changes no matter what someone is willing to pay. It's pretty much a dead issue.

[nissan]

Your idea is DOA as noted above.

However, I have to ask -- what room are you trying to change the location for? Assuming it's the 1st floor, most builders have the same layout generally: front door, study, dining, kitchen/open living, M. BR in one corner, G. BR in opp corner of home. What's the reason for changing the location of room X? Sounds pointless anyway, unless you're one who believes in the whole "this room should be North vs. South" theory