Went with Ashton Woods.
New home construction
- Thread starter ssj4sadie
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Crestron lighting, zoned audio, and pre-wire for motorized shades. Central vac, CAT6 dual strand smart TV drops throughout, including garage. 220V power point in ceiling of single bay to support 4 post car lift. Extra hose bibs, hot tub pre-wire, high end kitchen appliances because the Wench deserves them. Subwoofer niches, dogbed niches, wetbar with room for kegerator and upright beverage fridge because I deserve it. 5 acres of wooded property and invisible fence because dogs deserve it.
Hits... Flush mount ceiling speakers with all wires running to the pantry (closet) where the receiver is located for whole house audio. Also two outdoor speakers.
Tray ceiling in master bedroom.
9 foot ceilings throughout the whole house.
Open lockers (one for each family member) in garage entry mudroom.
Misses... would've liked a receptacle and coax jack high up on the wall in front of the master bed for watching TV at night. Pain to add now.
Entryway from garage is kind of a bottleneck. I wish the mud room was bigger .
Tray ceiling in master bedroom.
9 foot ceilings throughout the whole house.
Open lockers (one for each family member) in garage entry mudroom.
Misses... would've liked a receptacle and coax jack high up on the wall in front of the master bed for watching TV at night. Pain to add now.
Entryway from garage is kind of a bottleneck. I wish the mud room was bigger .
I looked on a map and see they have about a dozen neighborhoods in my county just like they do around SA. I haven't had specific dealings with them, but have talked to at least one of their primary competitors (Lennar) and I get the strong impression that they will have a menu of things you can choose from but I don't think they "paint outside the lines" with their home options.
It's a sort of take or leave attitude. There are probably a half dozen other production builders like them operating in my county and they are selling them as fast as they can throw them up, even up to $1MM.
Laminate is changeable like carpet, but don't use it anywhere it's going to get wet. Since you have a dog ,I'd ask about the finish on the tiles they offer. Maybe they have some you'd like that offer her some traction and are easy to clean.
Lots of great info here ssj4sadie. When you read thru all the threads you can see a theme. Just built four years ago and applied most of the advice. Obviously go as big as you can especially in the areas you are in the most like bathroom, kitchen and den. Prewiring internet and network room/closet is a must.
Have hardwood floors but should have put tile in kitchen. Heated floors bathrooms, garage and kitchen. You will thank me later. Also three words. Comfort height toilet.
Have hardwood floors but should have put tile in kitchen. Heated floors bathrooms, garage and kitchen. You will thank me later. Also three words. Comfort height toilet.
Guys, this thread is awesome!
My wife and I just purchased 4.5 acres out in the area I grew up, and we are going to start building early/mid next year. We have a very reputable builder who will let you change pretty much anything you want, as long as your wallet can support it... This thread really given me a great idea of what I want out of this next house. We hope this is the last one we'll ever be in.
For you guys out in areas where you can't get cable internet, what options have you guys gone with? It seems like 4g LTE is the best bet, but I'm just beginning the process of looking around.
My wife and I just purchased 4.5 acres out in the area I grew up, and we are going to start building early/mid next year. We have a very reputable builder who will let you change pretty much anything you want, as long as your wallet can support it... This thread really given me a great idea of what I want out of this next house. We hope this is the last one we'll ever be in.
For you guys out in areas where you can't get cable internet, what options have you guys gone with? It seems like 4g LTE is the best bet, but I'm just beginning the process of looking around.
What do you mean by “paint outside the lines”? Up to this point, it’s only my wallet that is holding me back from certain items. Now some of the things suggested here I was told “No. We stopped doing that”, e.g. spray foam insulation. But as far as customizing goes I’m under the impression my wallet is the limfac.
When I talked to another production builder much like them, there wasn't much flexibility in the way of change they would allow, even to move a shower to the other end of a bathroom. Most of them have their floor plans, materials, etc, down to a science and don't flex far off that. I would be interested to know if Ashton Woods will give you more latitude to do other things because they just started a neighborhood here I *might* be interested in. Please keep us posted on what their rep tells you when it comes time. Thanks.
Look into Luxury Vinyl flooring as an alternative. Its super cheap, and can actually look really nice. I'm a bit embarrassed at how much I like it in our house. Some colors are obviously better than others.
We have a great dane with long nails and 3 cats. Its holding up great so far. Just have to put the felt pads on the bottom of your furniture as furniture will scratch the floor.
We have a great dane with long nails and 3 cats. Its holding up great so far. Just have to put the felt pads on the bottom of your furniture as furniture will scratch the floor.
So I don't know about moving a shower. But if you go to their website there are structural options per floor plan. I had a 3rd car garage added to a plan that didn't show it as an option. I asked about having the ceiling raised to accommodate a lift, but was told that would be a significant cost. So there is some wiggle room, just depends on your wallet. There are a lot of electrical options as far as adding receptacles etc.
Now in the community I live currently they are building new DR Horton Express homes. With them there was almost no options.
The house comes with 12" tile/carpet at the base or lvl 1 option. I have an appt with the "design studio" to pick out colors of the house and other options. There are different lvls that have upgraded items and come at a cost. I'll have a better idea this coming Wednesday.
Edit: We have 3 dogs. tile, laminate, and carpet. The Laminate has held up well for the most part. But there are a few (thankfully easy) planks that need to be replaced. The thing I don't like about it though is the inability to really mop. If a dog gets sick and shits/pukes on the laminate it's a huge pain to clean. So I'm not going that direction.
Media room with a nice pullout sofa.
Guests love ours and we use those foldable room partitions when we have visitors staying upstairs.
The room downstairs has no TV so people in this day want electronic distractions 24/7
shamalama ramalama ding dong
We cook out back and I love the shade in the evenings while I do battle with the green egg.
shamalama ramalama ding dong
Went with the 4th bedroom. It may end up being the "media room" for our use. But resale/renting wise 4th bedroom was smarter.
Our house has 4 bedrooms so the man cave was a no brainer. It was what we thought was wasted space if we did not use it.
Our philosophy was to build the house for us, not for others. Hence, Resale was not a priority.
We had no moving plans. The house cost 230k was just valued at 320k as a 2013 build, we might head to E. TN if the prices keep doing this in FL.
We miss 4 seasons and I thought the moving bug was out of us after 32 years in the military.
shamalama ramalama ding dong
Do NOT skimp on trim / finish work. You'll regret looking at crappy carpentry, etc. every single day.
Do make sure your painters PRIME the walls, trim, etc. prior to paint.
Do install solid doors. IMO hollow core doors have no place in a home.
Do run cat6e wiring everywhere you can. It's cheap insurance for the future. WiFi can never match a quality wired connection.
Do run enough electrical capacity to your garage.
Do NOT forget to spend money on landscaping.
Speak up if you're not pleased with something during the build process. Much easier to fix now than later.
Do make sure your painters PRIME the walls, trim, etc. prior to paint.
Do install solid doors. IMO hollow core doors have no place in a home.
Do run cat6e wiring everywhere you can. It's cheap insurance for the future. WiFi can never match a quality wired connection.
Do run enough electrical capacity to your garage.
Do NOT forget to spend money on landscaping.
Speak up if you're not pleased with something during the build process. Much easier to fix now than later.
I've made great money wiring spec/tract built homes. Rough wire them in 2-3 days. Half day for electrical service 2 days to trim out, so I'm used to working with the GCs and they're a great option for most people. But hands down the best way to go about building something even slightly custom if you can swing it is to meet with an architect first and work with them on your needs/wants. They usually have a small group of builders they've worked with before. The finished product cant compare to a spec home.
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I thought we had laminate. We actually have luxury vinyl floors installed. Very scratch resistant and no worries of water damage either. It looks decent also. One day I'd like to see actual wood planks but the cost to upgrade was ridiculous if the builder installed.
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