Going for new house, what else we should know ? [Archive]

canabiz

Apr 3rd, 2007, 09:39 PM

OK folks, you have seen me posting in the mortgate threads and in the builders thread. Now, we have taken it to the next level and actually found a house that we like.

We were looking at a new development in Ottawa and while we were still deciding on whether we should go for one of the lot, i was informed by the sales rep that construction has started on that block this week. I have also seen on the builder's website that unit available as *early occupancy*

Can anyone here go through the list below and let me know if this is what we should do from here on out ? This is just from my research on this site and elsewhere, if there's any thing that you can add, please post.

- Come into the office and put down a deposit, so that the lot that we want is *conditionally sold*

- Take a look at the builders upgrade list and decide what we need to get the builders to do and what we can possibly do later on, on our own

- Negotiate for better upgrades/bonuses while we are at it ?

- Discuss and finalize the important dates (framewalk, PDI, closing, payment etc) Somewhere before or after this, we would need to retain the services of a lawyer to go over the sales agreement and any other legal issues ?

- Make an appointment for the design centre

- Find a home inspector for the PDI ? Any other occasions where I should bring in the inspector ?

- Get ready for the closing date (moves, payments)

As mentioned earlier, construction has already started on that lot so I would expect things to go by at a steady pace. I, myself, am quite busy at work right now so how often do you expect I should go to the site and watch what they do ? Maybe twice a week with 1 on the weekend and another on any week-night ? and when should I start going ? after the foundation has been laid ?

I have to be honest that I know next to nothing about house and construction at the moment but I am trying to educate myself and learn more as we go along. I figure the least I could do is to bring a camera and snap some photos for the record.

Sorry for the long post but I hope you guys can chime in and help out this rookie. Thanks a bunch.

SW20 MR2

Apr 3rd, 2007, 10:30 PM

Here's how it unfolded for us:

1. Picked house and lot.
2. Signed contract. This is the time to negotiate on price or for more upgrade credits (ie. $10k in upgrades instead of $5k). You will specific your closing date here. At the same time, you should ask them if they allow period inspections (ie. framewalk). We didn't, but our builder has been very good about things like that. As part of the contract, there is a condition upon the deal being approved by your lawyer.
3. Lawyer reviewed the contract and explained any possible problems and suggested amendments. He/she may work directly with the builder's lawyers. You may need to go back to the sales office to sign amendments.
4. Colour/upgrade selection. Before you go for your appointment, I *highly* recommend that you go there a few times beforehand to do some pre-selection. The actual appointment of 3-4 hours can be stressful for some.
5. Builder started building. I was going by once a week or so to check up. Thank goodness we did cause they didn't incorporate our kitchen layout changes when they started building. I caught it early, and they fixed it very quickly.

This is pretty much where we're at right now. We close on May 16, so the only thing left to do is the PDI. IMO, an inspector is not necessary for the PDI. Your probably won't find a lot of major defects until a few months, and you still have your 30, 60 and 1-year lists for Tarion. I'd hire the inspector for the 1-year one since it's your last chance to report problems.

rf134a

Apr 3rd, 2007, 10:38 PM

That seems to be right. Early occupancy usually means spec homes (everything is pre-chosen by the salespeople to ensure that there are no delays caused by people changing their minds about colours, flooring, finishes, missing appointments, etc). Having a lawyer take a look at the documents was the last thing I've done in my purchases. The important part is to have EVERYTHING in the sales document since these are templates that lawyers have looked at 100s of times. Watching the crew work is useless. Bringing them Timmy's might help a bit. DO NOT bring beer, it could cause them to get fired...

In general, upgrade everything going behind the walls and replace the stuff on top of the walls yourself. There's no need to "upgrade" to decora switches and receptacles. They are relatively cheap at HD/Rona. DO pay for smart wiring if the builder won't let you on site. DO pay for rough in of floorpan for built-in vac (rough in of vac is standard in Alberta). Ask for and try to get an upgrade to Roxul (R22 vs R20) insulation. There won't be any fiberglass dust for your family to breathe in and the 10% increase in insulation doesn't hurt either. DO pay for an upgrade to a 92% furnace if it's under $1000, same with high-efficiency direct vent water heater. Unless you're forced to rent a standard one. 9' ceilings are great! Especially if you're tall. Get both basement & main floor ($5000/floor). See if you can get hardiplank instead of vinyl siding. That stuff is fire resistant and colorfast, but expensive.

OK folks, you have seen me posting in the mortgate threads and in the builders thread. Now, we have taken it to the next level and actually found a house that we like.

We were looking at a new development in Ottawa and while we were still deciding on whether we should go for one of the lot, i was informed by the sales rep that construction has started on that block this week. I have also seen on the builder's website that unit available as *early occupancy*

Can anyone here go through the list below and let me know if this is what we should do from here on out ? This is just from my research on this site and elsewhere, if there's any thing that you can add, please post.

- Come into the office and put down a deposit, so that the lot that we want is *conditionally sold*

- Take a look at the builders upgrade list and decide what we need to get the builders to do and what we can possibly do later on, on our own

- Negotiate for better upgrades/bonuses while we are at it ?

- Discuss and finalize the important dates (framewalk, PDI, closing, payment etc) Somewhere before or after this, we would need to retain the services of a lawyer to go over the sales agreement and any other legal issues ?

- Make an appointment for the design centre

- Find a home inspector for the PDI ? Any other occasions where I should bring in the inspector ?

- Get ready for the closing date (moves, payments)

As mentioned earlier, construction has already started on that lot so I would expect things to go by at a steady pace. I, myself, am quite busy at work right now so how often do you expect I should go to the site and watch what they do ? Maybe twice a week with 1 on the weekend and another on any week-night ? and when should I start going ? after the foundation has been laid ?

I have to be honest that I know next to nothing about house and construction at the moment but I am trying to educate myself and learn more as we go along. I figure the least I could do is to bring a camera and snap some photos for the record.

Sorry for the long post but I hope you guys can chime in and help out this rookie. Thanks a bunch.

patrob

Apr 3rd, 2007, 10:56 PM

- Come into the office and put down a deposit, so that the lot that we want is *conditionally sold*

When we decided on our house & the lot, we put down the deposit but it was conditional upon our lawyer reviewing the Purchase Agreement & financing...I believe we had 7 business days to do that. So we still had the option to back out of the deal.

Take a look at the builders upgrade list and decide what we need to get the builders to do and what we can possibly do later on, on our own

The only upgrades that they offered at the sales office was a "bonus" package that you could take or get $5,000 towards other upgrades from the Decor Centre. That's where the major upgrades are done, the sales office does not really have the samples (at least my builder did not but some I think do have some samples) They did throw in some small stuff as part of the price, like: iron pickets, round corners, phone/cable outlets in all bedrooms...When we were choosing our upgrades, we always knew we would do everything ourselves, so except 10' ceilings, bigger/add windows, stone, wall placement, plumbing the rest we would do ourselves. They agreed to let us do the tiles in entire house, our own kitchen with all bathroom vanities, so we got really lucky that they had allowed us to do this plus we got some credits for that as well...many builders don't do that:!:

Discuss and finalize the important dates (framewalk, PDI, closing, payment etc) Somewhere before or after this, we would need to retain the services of a lawyer to go over the sales agreement and any other legal issues ?

Get a lawyer involved after you sign the Purchase Agreement, he will check over everything & can add/change things. Then the builder has to agree to those changes of course. We did not get a lawyer involved when we bought our 1st house & we did not have any problems, but this time we decided to do so, since you are paying for the service anyways...

Make an appointment for the design centre

That usually happens later, but if they already began then it may be sooner than later...

Find a home inspector for the PDI ? Any other occasions where I should bring in the inspector ?

We did not get an inspector, some people do I guess but we felt there was no need, since we were there pretty much "always" & could see everything being done & we were familiar with the whole "construction" stuff so no problems there. Plus every builder is different...some have security guards that DO NOT allow anyone on site even if you are the future owner, & some sites you can just walk into the house easily...after hours of course :cheesygri If we noticed that a window opening was missing then we would leave a note for the super & next day or so we saw it was changed ;) Make sure you take lots of pics...then you go home & review everything to the last detail :D

Get ready for the closing date (moves, payments)

Our closing date was moved 2 times, since there were delays with permits & so on...so don't assume that your closing date is set in stone... It is quite normal for trades to get behind & things happen so nothing new...In total our closing date was moved by 6 months >:(

mapleflag

Apr 3rd, 2007, 11:05 PM

...Our closing date was moved 2 times, since there were delays with permits & so on...so don't assume that your closing date is set in stone... It is quite normal for trades to get behind & things happen so nothing new...In total our closing date was moved by 6 months >:(

A common occurence, hence every buyer should have a contingency plan.

canabiz

Apr 3rd, 2007, 11:12 PM

A common occurence, hence every buyer should have a contingency plan.

What kind of contingency plan do you suggest ? At the moment, we are renting and as per standard procedure, we would need to notify the landlord at least 2 months before we move out

Are you saying that we shouldn't give out any notices until the closing date has been absolutely confirmed ? If that got delayed again, what recourse do we have really ?

Obviously, I don't want to live in a motel or any other temporary residences ;-)

patrob

Apr 3rd, 2007, 11:31 PM

What kind of contingency plan do you suggest ? At the moment, we are renting and as per standard procedure, we would need to notify the landlord at least 2 months before we move out

Are you saying that we shouldn't give out any notices until the closing date has been absolutely confirmed ? If that got delayed again, what recourse do we have really ?

Obviously, I don't want to live in a motel or any other temporary residences ;-)

I know that there is info on delayed closing on the Tarion website (not sure if they service Ottawa as well or diff. company) but if you do move into a hotel & have to eat take-out, you can claim part or all up to a certain amount of your incurred expenses that you had because of the delayed closing.

Not sure how it is with renting notice...but you will probably know how the house is progressing if you go there every week & that should give you an idea if you will be closing on time...

There is always your parent's house or mother-in-law as a back up maybe...worked for us :lol:

generaljunk

Apr 4th, 2007, 09:57 AM

canabiz: If you're renting I would overlap at least a couple weeks if not a month to build in any delays. This will also give you time if you want to contract anyone after close for work. Find out from Tarion exactly what penalities for a delayed closing but I wouldn't count on anything.

There have been a lot of good points written here but I would say
1) Have your lawyer review the agreement before signing or make it conditional. Remember the sales people have no signing authority so disregard any promises they make.
2) Get an inspector and use him at various stages especially before the insulation.
3) Go on site and raise any flags to the site super. cc the office
4) Pick out your finishing upgrades early and not all at once.
5) keep a details record of defects for pre inspection, 30 day inspection and 1 year. A speadsheet will do.

Upgrade the stuff you can't later like:
1) 9' ceiling on first floor if not standard
2) fully ducted HRV (not just one hanging off cold air return)
3) 9' basement pour (worth it). This gives you either a deeper hole or standard depth and a slooping driveway.
4) upgrade steel beams if you want to get rid of some basement posts
5) Larger basement windows. regular window won't pass fire code for a bedroom and you can't get drywall through if need be.
6) Low-E, argon windows (if not standard should be $1000).
7) fully brick (pricey)

Is you want to save some money and hardwood flooring isn't standard don't upgrade it because the builder usually changes 50-200% more and its not select. Count on $8/ft installed for good hardwood and put the builder installed carpet into the basement. Schedule this right after closing. Also don't rent a hotwater tank even at the builders insistance. Builders get a kickback from Embridge for all the rentals which will cost you about $16 month. (power vent)

Generaljunk

patrob

Apr 4th, 2007, 10:26 AM

...Also don't rent a hotwater tank even at the builders insistance. Builders get a kickback from Embridge for all the rentals which will cost you about $16 month. (power vent)

With water heater rental, there is really no choice in saying no to it, since it is part of the Purchase Agreement & if you don't sign, you don't buy. I wish we had a choice of Not signing but no such luck. I even asked the builder not to install it...but they would not close the house without hot water :mad:

You do have the option to buy it out but I really wanted to install the Tankless system but in order to get out of the 10 yr. contract they (Ozz not Enbridge anymore) charge you $500 penalty for breaking the agreement...>:(

It's a money making thing with Ozz...all builders in GTA use them... But I can't understand why you get a Furnace paid for by builder but they can't buy the water heater & instead make you rent one... :confused: :mad:

swmtam

Apr 4th, 2007, 10:47 AM

If your builder does not provide you with a set of actual blueprints that your home will be built from, ask to see it in the sales office as they usually have a copy. Spend some time to go through it and look at location of bulkheads, switches, dimensions, etc.
Because builders seem to go on schedules, if you would like to make ammendments you may not be able to down the road because the schedules have past. Particularly if the house is already under construction. So you may want to have the ammendments negociated as part of your contract before hand so they can't tell you no later on.

If the basement concrete hasn't been poured yet, look into 3-piece rough-ins if you plan on adding a washroom in the basement later on. Builders in Ottawa are starting to make these optional and it would be a PITA to add in the future if you need it.

If your laundry room is on the upper floors and won't be on concrete, see if they will reinforce or add additional flooring (like add an additional 3/4"-1" plywood) to help reduce future vibration issues.

Negociate to add framewalk if it's not already part of the builder's process. Saves headaches of correcting things before the drywall goes up so that they don't have to cut holes and do patch jobs after the fact.

generaljunk

Apr 4th, 2007, 05:50 PM

generaljunk

Apr 4th, 2007, 05:53 PM

If the builder won't let you see the blue prints they should be available at city hall for viewing. Ottawa charges $60 to book a viewing appointment (rip off)

patrob

Apr 4th, 2007, 06:11 PM

patrob: Our builder (Tamarack) gave us the same storey about the hot water tank. I refused to sign the rental agreement because I was going to buy. They wanted me to buy an overpriced tank ($1300) from Embridge. The way it worked out, I just bought a power vent hot water tank from Home Depot and delievered it to the house before the furnace was hooked up. Funny enough, I got a rental bill 8 months after moving in. Tamarack had actually kept the hot water tank that was supposed to go in.

generaljunk

I was under the impression that you don't have a choice, that's what I was made to believe...maybe they made an exception with you but when I asked them not to install it, they wouldn't do it. I guess depending on the builder...I think it's a big scam to make you rent something even if you don't want to or charge you $500 to cancel the contract...they actually told me that there are legal costs associated with canceling that contract :confused: ...I think not!

mapleflag

Apr 6th, 2007, 12:03 PM

What kind of contingency plan do you suggest ? At the moment, we are renting and as per standard procedure, we would need to notify the landlord at least 2 months before we move out

Are you saying that we shouldn't give out any notices until the closing date has been absolutely confirmed ? If that got delayed again, what recourse do we have really ?

Obviously, I don't want to live in a motel or any other temporary residences ;-)

Others already suggested moving in with your parents or in-laws (is this classified under "any other temporary residences" which you said you don't want to get into?).

The builder's rep should be able to tell you if there will be delays even before they send an official notice, thus you likely will be within the 2 months notice for the landlord. As someone posted, you should also check the Tarion website.

And depending on how much of your present furniture/things you want to take to your new place, you should check out storage spaces so you can "travel light" if it becomes necessary that you move in temporarily with relatives/friends.

Moving on the first or end of the month needs more planning whether you are hiring movers, or just renting a truck. Taking days off before or after the move is highly suggested. Good luck :)

testinz

Apr 6th, 2007, 01:52 PM

Ask them to move the closing date to a 3 or 4 days before end of the month. We asked Tartan to do this for us and they were very flexible.

Ariadne

Apr 7th, 2007, 01:34 AM

The best advice I would give? ALWAYS visit the site, even before they pour the foundation. Bring your digital camera and always take pictures, as it gives you a reference point for the way your house was built, and gives you the background info for the future.

If we hadn't visited our home as often as we did, we wouldn't have known that the wiring for two bedrooms were completely linked to each other. We also had an issue with the builder rescinding on our hardwood stain, which we ended up changing, and then they went ahead and stained the original colour we weren't allowed to have!

I'd say visit every 3 days now, as the weather has been yucky, I'm not sure how much work would have been done. Also, see if they're building another house, the exact same model and exact elevation as yours..but it's 2-4 weeks ahead of yours on the construction. That way, it gives you a comparison that if there's something different, you can go back and ask questions. When you visit, take your floor plans with you to confirm where everything is supposed to be located. If you have a 3-piece rough-in put in the wrong spot..that's a pain for them to rip out, but it's better found sooner rather than later.

mjl264

Apr 7th, 2007, 10:48 AM

They agreed to let us do the tiles in entire house, our own kitchen with all bathroom vanities, so we got really lucky that they had allowed us to do this plus we got some credits for that as well...many builders don't do that:!

Which builder did you use? Does anyone else have any experience with getting credits towards other upgrades if we do some of the flooring ourselves?

Thanks!!

afong56

Apr 7th, 2007, 11:25 AM

patrob

Apr 7th, 2007, 11:46 AM

a few things:

the only upgrades i felt were worth it were the hardwood (always a selling feature upon resale, imho), better kitchen cabinets, and heavier underpad for the carpeted areas. just about everything else is pretty much diy--lighting fixtures, outlets/plates, etc.)

the 9 ft. ceilings are nice, but we haven't noticed a huge difference, imho.

if you plan to finish your basement some day, make sure that they aren't sloppy finishing up ducting and pipes--the less stuff hanging below the joists, the better (fewer boxouts down the road).

You don't need to take hardwood floors from builder, since you can easily have it installed next day after you close & pay much less than what builder charges. You can ask them to put carpet instead & it can be easily removed for hardwood installation.

In our previous house we had 8 ft. ceilings...now we decided to go all the way & get 10' :eek: :lol: ...amazing difference! IMHO 9 ft. are worth it vs. 8 ft. & there is a big difference even with 1 ft. extra since height gives an illusion that the house is larger than it really is. But that's just me :)

canabiz

Apr 7th, 2007, 01:17 PM

Thanks for the feedback folks, i really appreciate it

Here is a list of upgrades that the sales rep sent me. We would be given $5K bonus so i think we will use it to replace the carpets with the hardwood floor. I think patrob's point is well-taken in the sense that we can get contractors to do it for a better deal but 1) I don't really know any good contractors, having never owned any house myself and 2) my wife is paranoid because if the contractors do a bad job, we have to re-do again and would have to pay twice LOL, you can tell she watched too many *Holmes on Homes* shows

Gas BBQ rough-in $300
Pot lights with switch approximately $200 each light
You receive 3 cable and 3 telephone. There is a lot of wireless available right now, so people do find 3 more than enough, however, if you would like to add more, they would be $98.10 each.

Ceramic in the kitchen/breakfast area $2613
Hardwood floors on the entrance steps, lower hall, living rm, dining rm. $4613
Home comes with one fireplace in your choice of location (in living rm or basement) to add another one $3800
Cost to finish basement $30 per sq ft.
To choose a paint color other than the standard builders white $500

afong56

Apr 7th, 2007, 10:07 PM

You don't need to take hardwood floors from builder, since you can easily have it installed next day after you close & pay much less than what builder charges. You can ask them to put carpet instead & it can be easily removed for hardwood installation.

no doubt, but that wasn't my point.

i think hardwood is one investment where you stand a chance of getting money back upon resale. . .so many other things don't get recouped on resale.

patrob

Apr 7th, 2007, 10:35 PM

no doubt, but that wasn't my point.

i think hardwood is one investment where you stand a chance of getting money back upon resale. . .so many other things don't get recouped on resale.

You said..."the only upgrades i felt were worth it were the hardwood (always a selling feature upon resale, imho), better kitchen cabinets, and heavier underpad for the carpeted areas. just about everything else is pretty much diy--lighting fixtures, outlets/plates, etc."

Hardwood IMO is not worth taking from the builder & is a DIY project. Unless you have lots of $$ & don't care about saving couple thousands & you don't want the mess later, then of course take it from the builder. They count on people doing that...that's how builders make most of their money...

canabiz

Apr 7th, 2007, 11:40 PM

You said..."the only upgrades i felt were worth it were the hardwood (always a selling feature upon resale, imho), better kitchen cabinets, and heavier underpad for the carpeted areas. just about everything else is pretty much diy--lighting fixtures, outlets/plates, etc."

Hardwood IMO is not worth taking from the builder & is a DIY project. Unless you have lots of $$ & don't care about saving couple thousands & you don't want the mess later, then of course take it from the builder. They count on people doing that...that's how builders make most of their money...

patrob, While I think your points are well-intentioned, i think it's important to keep these types of discussions open to people with no (or limited) house renovations/construction experience as well as to people with no experience dealing with *good* contractors.

I am sure we were all at that point, at one time or another. We just have to keep an open mind and learn as we go along. Personally, for us, at this point, to leave the hardwood floors until another time for DIY or to find some contractors to come in and do that, would not be a good idea from different viewpoints so we have decided to go with the builders' bonus.

Cheers!

venice_it

Apr 8th, 2007, 06:02 AM

Personally, I regret getting the builder to install hardwood. It is something that I could have done or had done for half the price. Hardwood stairs are harder to do after the fact and might be money better spent.

I purchased my own hot water tank and crossed out and initialed every reference to it on the contract. (I did have to phone enbridge to take the builder one away and stop charging me rental for it)

The gas bbq rough in is okay if you are not planning to get other natural gas appliances like additional fireplaces, stove, dryer. Otherwise, I'd get these piped after.

I would look into how much the builder charges for smooth ceilings instead of stucco. Smooth is a preferred finish and much easier to keep and maintain in the long run.

I wouldn't pay 200 per potlight, but if you really want a few and can't do it yourself it could save some headaches doing now instead of later. You will have to patch a few holes for electricians to run wire if you want it done later and if you can't do that, that is an additional expense. You also may want to live in the house to see where you would prefer the lights to go.

I wouldn't pay any extra for paint colours since you should have the walls repainted and touched up a year or two after the house is built to account for settling cracks and screw pops. Besides, builder paint is usually garbage anyway.

I would pay the money for the extra cable outlets, since it is challenging to run afterwards and wireless products for a/v are not that good. This also eliminates unsightly outside wiring running along the house if you need to do it later.

The ceramic I'd have done later too, since the builder selection is weak and the quality is questionable. I had this standard in my place and some tiles cracked and was disappointing.

Basement finishing should be done 2 years after the home is built. Delaying this also allows you to run gas, water, electrical, cable etc if you need to, as well as address any moisture issues.

The bottom line for me is only to purchase extras you can't have done or are expensive to have done after the fact, such as hardwood, smooth ceilings, 9 foot ceilings, all brick/no siding, etc. Builders give you production quality, not custom work, selection is limited and prices for these add-ons are high. Much of what you get is so basic I consider it junk you will only have to rip out and replace. Every light fixture is garbage, appliances are cheap, washroom fixtures are only functional.

The only thing upgrades offer you imo is convenience of not having to do stuff later, and you always do anyway because that is the way fashion and style changes.

afong56

Apr 8th, 2007, 09:00 PM

You said..."the only upgrades i felt were worth it were the hardwood (always a selling feature upon resale, imho), better kitchen cabinets, and heavier underpad for the carpeted areas. just about everything else is pretty much diy--lighting fixtures, outlets/plates, etc."

Hardwood IMO is not worth taking from the builder & is a DIY project. Unless you have lots of $$ & don't care about saving couple thousands & you don't want the mess later, then of course take it from the builder. They count on people doing that...that's how builders make most of their money...

the only upgrades i felt were worth it

i'll say it again, rephrased for ease of understanding--if you are going to get upgrades, these are the ones that i think are worth it, because imho, you stand a chance of getting value back on resale for them.

of course you can diy hardwood. as you can with any flooring. but hardwood is the only flooring where you will get value back on resale, imho--not carpet, not laminate, not even ceramic.

the other things i mentioned are not worth doing unless they are diy, and are flat out ripoffs from the builder. those items never get value back on resale, imho.

patrob

Apr 8th, 2007, 10:29 PM

the only upgrades i felt were worth it

i'll say it again, rephrased for ease of understanding--if you are going to get upgrades, these are the ones that i think are worth it, because imho, you stand a chance of getting value back on resale for them.

of course you can diy hardwood. as you can with any flooring. but hardwood is the only flooring where you will get value back on resale, imho--not carpet, not laminate, not even ceramic.

the other things i mentioned are not worth doing unless they are diy, and are flat out ripoffs from the builder. those items never get value back on resale, imho.

I was not saying that it's not worth to take hardwood because we all know everybody wants it & it is a good investment but only you don't need to get it from the builder with the huge markup & save yourself some money if you are willing to do it later... So I totally agree that it is worth it.

People also do upgrades because they want to enjoy them but maybe the resale value on them might not be as good. Unless you are selling the house for profit after closing then ofcouse you will not want to upgrade light fixtures since a potential buyer might hate them... There are many upgrades that you might not get full value back on...like maybe a pool, some people love them - some don't. But if you know that you will be living in that house for a long time, then upgrade the things that you know you will enjoy ;)

Happy upgrading :D

canabiz

Apr 15th, 2007, 02:03 PM

rf134a

Apr 16th, 2007, 12:48 AM

HRV depends on the brand. I've been quoted $2500 installed for a VanEE gold.
Gas rough-ins are twice what I would've paid.
I paid $90 for my waterline roughin.
My builder liked pot lights so most of my lighting is by potlights, 16 of them. Cost is inline with what others have been charged.
Outlet charge is standard.
Cable outlet costs are roughly average. $100 for rg6+cat5e seems to be fairly common.
Hi folks again

We have an appointment with the Design Centre next week to decide what upgrades we would go for before they put up the Drywall...

They gave me a list of upgrades and corresponding prices. I have crossed out some we don't want/need at the moment (French doors, wainscoting, crown molding etc) but there are a few items we would be interested in getting and they are

Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV). Quote from builder is $1,908

Under-cabinet valance lighting. $1,200

3-piece bathroom rough-in in the basement, $600

Gas BBQ rough-in, $300. Gas stove rough-in $570 and Gas dryer rough-in $375

Refrigerator water rough-in, $275

Pot lights with switch, ~ $200/light

Capped electrical receptacle, $109

Extra cable outlet, $98.10/each

Can you guys let me know which one you think is reasonable and we should go with the builders and which one you think we can wait until after we move in and bring in contractors to get it done ?

Also, if you have had contractors complete any of the above job, please let me know the going rates (obviously if it's not much cheaper than the builders' then we may as well go with the builders for less hassle) and any names you can recommend in the Ottawa area (you can simply post here or PM me if you feel more comfy that way)

Thanks fellas.

mart242

Apr 16th, 2007, 10:48 AM

Hi folks again

We have an appointment with the Design Centre next week to decide what upgrades we would go for before they put up the Drywall...

They gave me a list of upgrades and corresponding prices. I have crossed out some we don't want/need at the moment (French doors, wainscoting, crown molding etc) but there are a few items we would be interested in getting and they are

Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV). Quote from builder is $1,908

Under-cabinet valance lighting. $1,200

3-piece bathroom rough-in in the basement, $600

Gas BBQ rough-in, $300. Gas stove rough-in $570 and Gas dryer rough-in $375

Refrigerator water rough-in, $275

Pot lights with switch, ~ $200/light

Capped electrical receptacle, $109

Extra cable outlet, $98.10/each

Can you guys let me know which one you think is reasonable and we should go with the builders and which one you think we can wait until after we move in and bring in contractors to get it done ?

Also, if you have had contractors complete any of the above job, please let me know the going rates (obviously if it's not much cheaper than the builders' then we may as well go with the builders for less hassle) and any names you can recommend in the Ottawa area (you can simply post here or PM me if you feel more comfy that way)

Thanks fellas.

I'd go for the HRV (or even better: an ERV). Try to get conduits in the walls to attic / walls to basement instead of paying extra for cat5 / coax. I paid 40$ per conduit. Undercab lighting: depending on how much light $ cabinets you have in yoru kitchen, it might be useless (I did not go for that). Gas BBQ rough in, have it done later. Gas dryer & range? Do that later unless your dryer is gas and is on the 2nd floor. Bathroom rough in is usually useless (don't you have 2 bathrooms and 1 powder room already?). Potlights: think about it. THey are nice but expensive and you can't do them properly after closing (I had a bunch installed because of that).

DSTU

Apr 16th, 2007, 02:15 PM

Hi folks again

We have an appointment with the Design Centre next week to decide what upgrades we would go for before they put up the Drywall...

They gave me a list of upgrades and corresponding prices. I have crossed out some we don't want/need at the moment (French doors, wainscoting, crown molding etc) but there are a few items we would be interested in getting and they are

Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV). Quote from builder is $1,908

Under-cabinet valance lighting. $1,200

3-piece bathroom rough-in in the basement, $600

Gas BBQ rough-in, $300. Gas stove rough-in $570 and Gas dryer rough-in $375

Refrigerator water rough-in, $275

Pot lights with switch, ~ $200/light

Capped electrical receptacle, $109

Extra cable outlet, $98.10/each

Can you guys let me know which one you think is reasonable and we should go with the builders and which one you think we can wait until after we move in and bring in contractors to get it done ?

Also, if you have had contractors complete any of the above job, please let me know the going rates (obviously if it's not much cheaper than the builders' then we may as well go with the builders for less hassle) and any names you can recommend in the Ottawa area (you can simply post here or PM me if you feel more comfy that way)

Thanks fellas.

HRV is an ok price, but make sure they don't put a crappy builders model in.

Under Cabinet lighting, just get them to put in electrial boxes under one switch, should only be a few hundred. Then you connect whatever light fixtures you buy, if they put in high end lights then $1200 might be ok.

Gas line to stove, double what i paid.

Fridge water line, you can do this yourself for $20. As long as your basement ceiling is unfinished with easy access to water lines - prob PEX which is super easy to deal with.

the rest seems reasonable.

bonzo

Apr 16th, 2007, 05:15 PM

A quick question on the pot lights, if you do decide to do it yourself. Aren't you required by law to get an inspection once you start opening the walls and running power lines everywhere?

If that is the case, $200 dollar seems very reasonable.

Just off the top of my head...

Your time
Replacing the drywall
Running new Power lines
Pot light with bulb
electrical inspection

and let's just say your house does burn down...couldn't your insurance company not pay cause you did your own wiring and didn't get an inspection for it?

SW20 MR2

Apr 16th, 2007, 06:05 PM

Yes, a certified electrician will go through the proper channels to draw the permit and arrange for an inspection.

If you are only doing a few lights, then go ahead and do it from the builder. In our case, we will be doing at least the first floor - if not the entire house in potlights. At a minimum, we'll need 20-25 lights for the first floor. Considering that I've been quoted anywhere from $60-180 per light, the savings for us would be huge with the builder charging $230 each. Thus, we'll be saving at least $1k (20 lights x $50 savings, assuming we pay $180 each).

A quick question on the pot lights, if you do decide to do it yourself. Aren't you required by law to get an inspection once you start opening the walls and running power lines everywhere?

If that is the case, $200 dollar seems very reasonable.

Just off the top of my head...

Your time
Replacing the drywall
Running new Power lines
Pot light with bulb
electrical inspection

and let's just say your house does burn down...couldn't your insurance company not pay cause you did your own wiring and didn't get an inspection for it?

elainerushlow

Apr 17th, 2007, 01:16 AM

I do know that if you finish the basement later your not going to get dinged on house taxes...because only so many square feet of the house is finished...taxes are based not only lot size but luxuries as well, how many finished bathrooms, airconditioning etc....

GET EVERTHING IN WRITING as to what is INCLUDED. Make sure you know up front and don't feel pressured...only so many paint colours are included in the paint....only so many flooring choices...usually crap...and so many light fixtures...bottom of the line usually....just make sure you get everything on paper and makes and models.

I worked for many years in new construction...selling kitchens...Builders live for upgrades...

Elaine

canabiz

Apr 19th, 2007, 09:01 PM

Hi guys I would like to let you know that we have decided to change our house, switching to another unit at a different location (Woodroffe Estates, Barrhaven in Ottawa) with an earlier closing date (end of July)...If you need more info regarding the change, send me a PM, let's just say that the area we chose in the beginning had more than meets the eyes.

Anyway, since the foundation has been laid and the frame has been put up, our appointment with the design centre now is actually for the interiors of the house instead of the pre-drywall stuff. So I will have to worry about pot lights (6 included for kitchen) and HRV and other rough-ins (gas BBQ and stove are now included in this unit) at a later time

Quick question here for you folks: Is there any interior upgrade that you guys prefer to go with the builder ? Or are they almost always cheaper with contractors ?

I am talking about things like:

-- additional or increased Pantry size

-- Pots and Pans drawers

-- Berber carpet

-- Kitchen backsplash

-- Fireplace surround

-- Electronic Air Cleaner

-- Power Humidifier

-- Window treatments ?

At this point, I don't have the pricing for this yet but I can get it this weekend and will probably peruse the list again and make some decisions.

So if there's any upgrade in the kitchens/interiors that you think I'd be better off going with the builder, please put in your $0.02 again.

Thanks folks

mapleflag

Apr 20th, 2007, 09:37 AM

Canabiz, of all the items you listed, I think the first one (increasing pantry size) should be done by the builder.

mart242

Apr 20th, 2007, 09:56 AM

Pots & pans drawers are a must. The more the better.... unless they charge an arm and a leg for it (Paid 300$ for mine, 300$ = 3 drawers)

insanity

Apr 25th, 2007, 09:48 PM

patrob

Apr 25th, 2007, 11:06 PM

I'm concerned about the diy hardwood. How much savings are we talking about if I get a contractor to do it after the fact ? The only issue will be the hassle of moving everything out of the way for them to do the hardwood.

It's easy to find out... Find out what the builder wants to charge you per sq. ft. for the hardwood...then get few quotes from places that do hardwood installations...& compare the savings :) Plus remember that if you get the carpet standard with your house...builder does not really credit you back for it...they conveniently 'forget' that you already paid money for that carpet :idea:

insanity

Apr 26th, 2007, 11:00 PM

It's easy to find out... Find out what the builder wants to charge you per sq. ft. for the hardwood...then get few quotes from places that do hardwood installations...& compare the savings :) Plus remember that if you get the carpet standard with your house...builder does not really credit you back for it...they conveniently 'forget' that you already paid money for that carpet :idea:

That's a good point. Would a builder allow your own contractor to come in and do the hardwood during construction. I'm thinking can you ask the builder to leave it without the carpet since the contractor is going to come in and rip it out anyways.

patrob

Apr 26th, 2007, 11:43 PM

That's a good point. Would a builder allow your own contractor to come in and do the hardwood during construction. I'm thinking can you ask the builder to leave it without the carpet since the contractor is going to come in and rip it out anyways.

Well that depends on the builder...maybe a smaller builders might allow it but I doubt it...They really do not like people doing their own thing...unless you have connections ;) You can always ask the builder to not install it & leave the carpet in the basement rolled up but good luck getting any credit for it.

Plus if lets say you do the hardwood before you close...& someone damages it...who is going to pay for the damage?? So I would not even want to do that if I were you...Many trades come into the homes & don't care about walking in with dirty shoes...that's why there is so much service later because some workers just don't care >:(