Input on new construction upgrades

Great point on plumbing. It's simply easier to do with builder and I too have decor credits. Just wondering if anyone has actually done smooth ceiling after closing for new construction and how much and long it took. We don't have to move in on day 1 of closing and have at least a month of buffer.

Do 3-5 with builder, you are not going to save much if anything at all after. I would do the doors as well, but negotiate a better price.

I too recently went through the same. Framing is just one part of it. Certain upgrades will require you to spend more in the design meeting as well. For example, shower conversion will require you to choose additional items such as tiles and faucet hardware which will be more money. With that said though, standing shower conversion will most likely require you to renovate the entire bathroom if you do it after which is definitely more than the price of the upgrade.

If you are looking at spending there for 5+ years, you should focus on upgrades that will make it functional for you and your family.

For the doors on the 2nd floor, it’s for esthetics. It won’t add much value to your home when you resell. I would rather put that money towards crown moulding but that’s just my opinion.

I think the most important thing is to have a budget in mind for each of these meetings and stick with it. $1000 here and $2000 there can add up very quickly.

1. Very easy to after for a lot less money, especially if you haven't even moved in yet.

2. You don't need 8' doors with 9' ceilings. That's a ridiculous amount of money for something that isn't really aesthetically needed.

3. Do this, likely not much cheaper afterward.

4. Do this too, not outrageously priced, but as someone else said, be prepared to spend extra for the trickle down effect.

5. Not sure why you'd need hot water in the backyard (most of us grew up enjoying a freezing cold sprinkler, lol!), but $800 isn't a huge amount.

The obvious NO is #2. Way too expensive.

I'm surprised your smooth ceilings are so expensive. We just went through for a similar size house and our 2nd floor smooth cost $3K only, and we thought that was high.

You can do #5 pretty easily if you're handy and an unfinished basement. It'll cost about $100 in materials and 2-3 hours of your time, assuming its PEX, which most houses nowadays are.

Don’t do the pot lights. Pot lights are cheap after the fact. As long as there is a light of some sort in the room you’ll be fine. Much cheaper after.

The tall doors are nice but that’s a lot of money. Probably wouldn’t go for that unless you were really clinging to some sort of design.

Do the things that are hard to do after like the ceilings. That is a must.

200A panel is a good upgrade and future proofs your house. If you plan on having a hot tub and other things that hog up power.

Things to think about, basement ceiling heights, door placements, basement windows (making them larger).

Someone said stair upgrades. I agree. I absolutely hate my stairs. But I see a lot of shitty stairs jobs by builders.

JayLove06 wrote: ↑ Don’t do the pot lights. Pot lights are cheap after the fact. As long as there is a light of some sort in the room you’ll be fine. Much cheaper after.

The tall doors are nice but that’s a lot of money. Probably wouldn’t go for that unless you were really clinging to some sort of design.

Do the things that are hard to do after like the ceilings. That is a must.

200A panel is a good upgrade and future proofs your house. If you plan on having a hot tub and other things that hog up power.

Things to think about, basement ceiling heights, door placements, basement windows (making them larger).

Someone said stair upgrades. I agree. I absolutely hate my stairs. But I see a lot of shitty stairs jobs by builders.

We love our stairs, but it was a bit of a mind bender what we did.

We upgraded to a nice thick squared off post and picket which was fine.

Then paid for dark stain, which also is fine.

But...then we paid to cover the centre path up the stairs with a runner and paid to paint the pickets white. If the stairs guy was smart, they could have really saved the money and time staining only what was to remain visible in the end, which is not a ton of surface area.

Nothing like paying for an upgrade to cover the thing you just upgraded. AND of course, with a third floor loft, we did all this for 2 staircases.

But like I said, we do love them so what ya gonna do I guess.

GTA12345 wrote: ↑ We love our stairs, but it was a bit of a mind bender what we did.

We upgraded to a nice thick squared off post and picket which was fine.

Then paid for dark stain, which also is fine.

But...then we paid to cover the centre path up the stairs with a runner and paid to paint the pickets white. If the stairs guy was smart, they could have really saved the money and time staining only what was to remain visible in the end, which is not a ton of surface area.

Nothing like paying for an upgrade to cover the thing you just upgraded. AND of course, with a third floor loft, we did all this for 2 staircases.

But like I said, we do love them so what ya gonna do I guess.

Good thing you like it. My stairs are an eyesore. Just shitty staining and I'm realizing I should have picked a more standard stain. I should have been on the stairs more...I really didn't want the all stain stairs. I think it looks ugly the way builders do it. The white pickets and risers are a nice look.

Thanka all for the input. I found a recent visual 8' door on 9' ceiling from Regal Crest modrl home in Richmond Hill. Does not look good. Definitely skipping.
8' door picture

Yeah the hot water tap is for the under 4 young ones. I too only remember having cold water and being fine. But perhpas because i don't remember how it was when i was 3 yrs old.

The basement is already 9' and they did not give option for larger windows or for the walk up doot there as they said it was based on grade condition and not an option to select.

Sound input on the stairs and future kitchen, bath and flooring costs. Wife likes the white paint on stairs with runners and crown moulding too. Working on figuring out wants and bugets for the next appointment.

when I was going thru this 10yrs ago, I did upgrades for the staircase, hardwood throughout, smooth ceiling, "taller" basement windows, gas line size increase, conduit from basement to ceiling (for running wires and such).

DuneIITO wrote: ↑ Thanka all for the input. I found a recent visual 8' door on 9' ceiling from Regal Crest modrl home in Richmond Hill. Does not look good. Definitely skipping.
8' door picture

Yeah the hot water tap is for the under 4 young ones. I too only remember having cold water and being fine. But perhpas because i don't remember how it was when i was 3 yrs old.

The basement is already 9' and they did not give option for larger windows or for the walk up doot there as they said it was based on grade condition and not an option to select.

Sound input on the stairs and future kitchen, bath and flooring costs. Wife likes the white paint on stairs with runners and crown moulding too. Working on figuring out wants and bugets for the next appointment.

I have 8 ft doors in 9ft ceilings and it looks superior to the standard doors. That said, the cost is not worth it.

DuneIITO wrote: ↑ Thanka all for the input. I found a recent visual 8' door on 9' ceiling from Regal Crest modrl home in Richmond Hill. Does not look good. Definitely skipping.
8' door picture

....

If that is 8' doors then that s definitely not 9' ceilings. You can easily see that there isn't a foot of space from the top of the doors to the ceiling.

skeet50 wrote: ↑ If that is 8' doors then that s definitely not 9' ceilings. You can easily see that there isn't a foot of space from the top of the doors to the ceiling.

Unless you are a 7ft 2in basket ball player I don't know why one would ever need an 8ft door lol.

OP there are couple threads on this that a search could bring up, might give you some ideas.

Other than the standard stuff most people do, some things we find people miss.

Depending on your basement usage, extra outlets and ceiling lights are nice. Ours is unfinished, but i found being down there for stuff like painting, assembling crap, even organizing storage bins, it was dark. Plus a box freezer, treadmill, tv for treadmill use, battery chargers, etc. We ended up having electrician add lights and plugs. Might be a thought.

Interior holiday light switch.

Delete the builder towel racks and toilet paper holder, unless you know theyre nice. Some are really ugly and then its a pain to remove.

We also wish we deleted the upstairs bathroom mirrors and installed out own. Our builder gave us the big plain rectangle mirrors, not very upscale.

Thanks for the discussion and feedback. On to the next appointment next and worried about how much that is going to be. Need to figure out how to stick to budget and yet not regret later on for the 2nd appointment. Main way I'm thinking is again asking this forum for help on things that can be done easily later (appliances, A/C, light fixtures vs. done now such as hardwood throughout kitchen & 2nd floor, nicer stairs white painted, 42" cabinets with crown molding, etc.)

Here's a summary of where we are at (hopefully helpful for others):
It seems plumbing upgrades were reasonable while electrical felt expensive and so was smoothing ceiling.

We went a bit over budget but liked the option of getting a few things we wanted that is not "standard" that I bolded.

Here are things we did NOT get:
1. Smooth ceiling on 2nd floor - Too expensive at >$7500 (got for 1st floor only at $5300)
2. 8' doors on 2nd floor - Not worth it (As every door had to get it including closet, bathroom doors, it would have been $15k at $500/door, looked a few pictures but didn't look that much better)
3. Pot lights - Was about $250/each and so, thinking of doing it after closing.
4. Built-in appliances - Felt slide-in ranges had more options/choices and not worth the hassle of built-in (Did spend $3k for additional 30" pantry with microwave cutout)

Things that were included at initial purchase/part of lot premium for 42' ravine backing lot:
1. 9' basement, 10' main floor, 9' 2nd floor
2. 8' doors and larger windows on main floor (to match 10' height)
3. Side door and walk-up basement

Key things we upgraded ($21k + tax):
1. $6.5k Electrical ($1k for 200A panel, Cat6 in 8 rooms for $1.2k, EV charging for $1.35k, install cost for tankless $0.6k, solar conduit to basement $350, various extra electrical lights and switch inside, garage and front area for $2k)
2. $6k Structural ($5.5k for smooth 1st floor ceiling, $250 to delete a bathroom door and fill with drywall and $500 to add a door between sink and toilet
3. $4.5k Plumbing ($2.8k for tub to shower, $0.8k for hot water line to backyard, $1k for frameless shower upgrade).
4. $4k Kitchen ($3.5k for additional 30" cabinet with cutout for microwave and water line for fridge)

Thing we wanted but Fieldgate (builder) said it was not possible/offered:
1. More windows (we wanted smaller 2' square windows on side of house to let more natural light in)
2. Larger windows in basement (Taller and more windows about 3' square but was not possible)
3. Furnace upgrade (wanted 4" width instead of 1" for filter to trap more dust and also wanted a 2 stage one but they didn't have any choices to change the default)

Overall not terrible pricing, nice going OP. Good selections made.

Going to piggy back on this thread. For my 2600 Sq foot home I’m going to do smooth ceilings first floor $4,000. Crown moulding for first floor $6,000. 4 square sinks instead of oval for $1,250. Changing 2nd bedroom ensuite shower tub to shower for $4,400. My reasoning is this will be my home and don’t want the hassle of renovations while having to live there. Hopefully it adds more value to the house if I do need to sell within the year instead of waiting for a year for Tarion to clear. Any opinions? This is my builders list below.