Upgrades to choose in New Home

[insanity]

I'm in the market for a new home and was wondering what upgrades to get upfront and what to get done privately. Also, when you book a new home do they typically build on time (assuming no strikes) - or are they usually a few days/weeks off ?

Here are my choices (now I don't know if all are valid though)

1) Thermal Windows
2) High Efficiency Furnace <- Not sure if they let u upgrade
3) Trying to decide between Laminate or hardwood on first floor.
4) Is it cheaper to install A/C afterwards ?

I'd appreciate people's feed back on what to take and what not to take ?

[wanted]

some places,near airports. AC is included.

[bionicbadger]

search is your friend:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179753&highlight=house+upgrade
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133742&highlight=house+upgrade

[UrbanPoet]

Finished basements add alot of value to your home but raise property taxes :-0

My family finished our basement the ghetto way..... put up dry wall and just had stick on vinyl floors, with those cieling covers.
That way when we sell itll look nice and we can say "PArtially finished basement"

[dodo]

1) Thermal Windows ; Sure, I would
2) High Efficiency Furnace <- Not sure if they let u upgrade ; THEY SHOULD, and it's good to do it to, you can pick your own make/model
3) Trying to decide between Laminate or hardwood on first floor. ; your pref
4) Is it cheaper to install A/C afterwards ? ; will be the same thing but it's easier to do it in one shot.

I'd appreciate people's feed back on what to take and what not to take ?[/QUOTE]

[Bordello]

Thermal windows are really important if you're trying to minimize energy costs. I've been told that you end up saving more money on your utilities in the long run than the upfront costs (around $2000 extra for the upgrade?). The same thing could probably be said about the furnace. Hardwood floor has much better resale value than laminate. When we sold our house, buyers were really interested in the hardwood floors. Keep that in mind when and if you decide to sell your home. I'd install the AC right away. You can call around and compare prices, but the contractor your builder supplies probably has the lowest price because of the contract and volume.


some places,near airports. AC is included.
Insightful reply as usual...

[Jetran]

It would be hard to figure out if there will be any delays into building your home.
I moved here last year and our whole area was off by about 2 years.

Just remember after 120 days of your closing date and you still do not have possession of your home, do not comply with their letter asking for an extension. You are entitled for rent payment/hotel fees from after day 120 until the actual closing date.

My aunt moved in nearby my area but a different builder and I think they moved in one month after their closing date.

You could try to give Tarion a call and ask, they were quite friendly and tried to address any questions I had. www.tarion.com

If the price is an issue, try to compare prices with contractors. I *think* the option of getting hardwood floors from the builder was considerably more expensive than getting it done after the house was built, but you should try to get some quotes as you know the areas for the rooms anyways. My family and I did hardwood floors on our own in our previous home by buying the materials and renting tools from Home Depot.

Finishing your basement in a new home isn't such a great idea. If water leaks through, you won't be able to see or access it. I had this occuring in my house and they had to dig outside of my house and used a "wrapping" and patched up the inside of my house.

Potlights might be something you want to get done, but maybe not through your builder. It does have a nice look to it. Another option I would have liked was to request that our stairway from main to 2nd floor to have a corner arch instead of this curved arch along the walls. Something small, but also something not listed as an option. But at least we could have put maybe a plant or something in the corner instead of having a plain curved wall. This is something we noticed from our neighbours.

In the end, it all comes down to what you think you'd like and how long you plan to live there. In general most items from the builder are more expensive than compared to getting it done afterwards. Best way is to just use the yellowpages and randomly call a few places to get some quotes over the phone giving as much detail as possible. Needless to say, not every builder is the same nor the quality of the craftmanship of the subcontractors. As another member mentioned, search for it on RFD. Most of the stuff I wanted after I moved in, I found quite a bit of information here on RFD!

[MrDisco]

most new homes also offer a network upgrade. i would get that as they lay all the cat5 cabling in your rooms nice and neat.

[BobW]

As a rule of thumb, builders take the cost of any upgrade and triple it when they bill you for it. SO..... choose wisely. Do the things that are structural in nature.... the thermal windows is a great example. Find out how much you really save with the more efficient furnace... it may not be as much as you think...

Floor coverings... you are on your own with this one... generally... cheaper to wear out the "builder's standard" stuff and do it right later on than to upgrade...



And as to schedule.... I doubt a building has ever been done on time in the history of civilization....

[PrettyJade]

If you are buying a brand new home, remember if you go with hardwood floors, you will not receive a credit for the carpeting they would have installed.

The upgrades I chose were ones that I would not be able to economically or structurally do down the road i.e. oak staircase, 9' ceilings.

I chose to live with the carpeting the builder provided but opted for an upgraded underpad.

I also upgraded my windows to "Low E Glass". As well, I had a skylight installed as doing it now will reduce the possibility of leakage if I chose to have it installed later.

[insanity]

Thanks for the info soo far ... keep it coming.

[ferkel]

Finished basements add alot of value to your home but raise property taxes :-0


How does the city know if you have a finished basement or not? Do they come around and check?

[jed]

Interesting you should ask this - we're just renovating now and making similar decisions.

Furnace - is what you have an 80%. 92.1%, 94.4%? Know what you have and then the cost to move up.

Flooring - hardwood - absolutely, no question, unless you can take the house unfinished and finish it yourself, its still the way to go. Why put your countertop on the floor (laminate).

AC - there is a change to a 14 SEER equipment come Jan 1st, so add 20% to your cost, and the size of the unit when that occurs. It will be a bit more cost efficient to run, so its the old, weighing the benefits thing.

Windows - are you getting dual pane, dual pane low E, triple pane, ? Find out what you are getting with the package and how much the upgrade is? Can you pick and choose which windows to change? Some are more advantageous to change than others, depending upon exposure.

Congrats on a new house

[audit13]

Here's what I got in my new home (either from the builder or an aftermarket contractor) :

1) Thermal vinyl-clad hardwood casement windows.

2) Telephone jacks in every room. I insisted on having the wires brought out to a common point in the garage and wired parallel. If you need something in the bathroom, you could go cordless.

3) Cable television outlets in all rooms. The wires were brought to a common point in the garage.

4) Strip hardwood floors everywhere exept the foyer, kitchen, and bathroom. Laminate floors can't be refinished the way hardwood can.

5) Ball-joint water shut-off valves under every sink.

6) Finished basement with pot lights and 3 piece bathroom.

7) Lots of electrical outlets.

8) Lots of ceiling outlets for lights.

9) Outlets for use of electric or gas stove and clothes dryer.

10) Gas fireplace.

11) Galvanized iron railings for the front yard.

12) Powder-coated insulated aluminum garage door.

14) Garage door opener.

15) Central vacuum system.

16) Alarm system.

[gman]

1. If you want to use gas stove, make sure they make a 110V outlet behind the stove. You don't really want to run an extension or showing the cord.

2. Ask them to throw in different color in different room (of course, you pick the color and if different color makes sense).