5 years and HVAC

 Our house has spray foam in walls and roof, so we have an enclosed building envelope.  The good, our AC bill is lower in the summer.  The bad — our HVAC system was not properly installed... and the correct type of unit was not installed.

Our builder had a 3 ton unit installed.  No heat pump, single speed blower (it has multiple sppeeds but is set only for one), an outside make up air duct, filters at the registers and no damper on makeup said vent.

We were on a maintenance contract with an HVAC company, when they inspected last fall, there was mold throughout the system.... they bid $4500 to do cleaning and add UV light.  So... we called a few HVAC companies.

What we learned for spray foamed:

- HVAC needs a fresh air vent with an electronic damper control.  We just had an electric damper installed April 2021... the dust in the house is 90% less.

- HVAC should have a 4” filter at the unit (no need for filters at the registers).  If dust isa major concern, consider looking into an electro static precipitator at the unit too

- HVAC Ducts 

—should be connected with Wyes.  Ours initially had triangle boxes.  The wyes have less resistance and therefore allow more air to flow through and reduce the static pressure so the fan does not have to work as hard. 

—  Look at where the ducts are routed... we have lots of space in attic, but it’s unusable because of wires and ducting

— consider solid ducts rather than coiled —  much easier to clean and less static pressure

 — HVAC main unit should be a variable speed unit.

- Heat pump would be good as well 

-  Humidity control is a challenge... the dehumidifier will be $3500 if we decide to have it installed... we are adding a vent fan in the master bath area to remove steam from shower.  Major sources of humidity are showers and cooking in our house.

EcoBee thermostat— great control, includes humidity monitor, can over cool to reduce humidity

HVAC — after having the unit cleaned, the HVAC company installed a UV light in the coils area.

— consider adding surge protection for HVAC, especially if using a higher SEER unit

— after snowmageddon 2021, I would consider installing a propane furnace

Building envelope - 

- with spray foam, the building envelope is sealed, so there is minimal air infiltration... makes for better efficiency if there are no leaks

- we had three HVAC companies out to look at our system.  Only one (Larco in Millsap) took the time to walk across the attic to the fireplace.... found air gaps around the chimney, which is another source of humid air to enter.

Our $2200 HVAC temporary solution :

Replaced triangle duct boxes with wyes

Built new plenums (old was moldy)

Installed UV light

Cleaned coils and blower fan

Sealed around fireplace

Installed 4” media filter 

added electronic damper

2020 -- Five years later

 Howdy!

So it's been almost five years since we built this home.  Overall, we are very pleased  Of course, there are a few things that we would have done differently -- hindsight is always 20/20.  So, below are some items that we might consider doing differently. I'll post some photos in the near future!  I hope this is helpful to anyone building or remodeling their dream home.

General:

Doors -- would consider using 8' doors throughout.  Would prefer solid wood doors stained; or solid core doors (master bedroom and laundry room have solid core doors and greatly reduce noise).  If not stained, would paint the doors with a dark color (black or near black) with white trim.

Wood Flooring -- we used a very dark color on the wood.  Hubby was right and should have gone with a little lighter color -- the dark shows EVERYTHING -- white dog fur, dust, etc.

Lighting -- choose fixtures that the globes for cleaning are easy to remove and clean (or you can easily clean with the globes still on.  Recessed lighting has been amazing!

Layout -- 

• Pantry -- Have adequate storage in the pantry for the large appliances and other items used regularly
• Laundry Room -- have a dedicated room for laundry.  Ours is a pass through from the garage -- and I still don't know why I did this!  
• Cleaning Supplies Storage Closet -- Have adequate space for cleaning appliances and cleaning items -- vacuum cleaner, Floormate, steam mop, etc.
• Mudroom with a sink
• Dream world -- dog/boot wash; entry from outside to master bathroom when coming in from shop/outside dirty; butler's pantry with space for vases, table cloths, etc.
• Kitchen -- love having three entries -- need extra clearance in front of the refrigerator
• Guest rooms -- these are all right around 12x12.... could use an extra 2-3 ft lengthwise for the dimension between the wall the bed goes against and the opposite wall to allow a desk or chair to comfortably fit in the room with a queen bed, chest of drawers and night stand

Kitchen -- as they say, the kitchen is the heart of the home.  Our kitchen is a reasonable size, but there are a few items that would definitely be changed:

Things that are great:

• Copper single sink
• Love the knotty alder wood cabinets with Dark Walnut stain
• Slide out Trash that is full height.  For future, I'd consider a hidden drawer to hold the garbage bags.  Make sure this cabinet is completely enclosed -- keeps odors to the location
• Drawers under the cooktop and the other drawers
• Custom dividers for utensils -- these were built this last summer and they make opening the drawer and finding items so much easier

Appliances:

• I got talked into Kitchen Aid appliances.  The dishwasher has been great.  The oven with blue interior -- it is not nearly as easy to clean as my LG oven.  The cooktop -- I get very frustrated with it -- not nearly the control that I expect from a gas stove top.  If I had to do over again -- it would be LG appliances or Viking (if my budget could afford it).

Cabinets:

• Hardware -- I would go with black iron hardware next time
• For the bottom cabinets -- I would only do drawers -- no doors on any.  For the baking sheet cabinet, I'd do a narrow tall slide out (I bought hardware to build slideouts for all of my lower cabinets with doors

Layout:

• Need additional clearance for the refrigerator
• Coffee station cabinet would be handy
• Charging station

Living Room

• LOVE:
• Built-in Cabinetry
• Stone Fireplace
• Modifications
• Need just a little more space to have better layout and accomodate more people
• Window to back yard -- would do one single pane.  We never open it, and having a single unobstructed view would be amazing
• Add lighting to the built-in cabinets
• Ceiling fan -- would not have installed the light fixture (that is what they were supposed to have done)

Formal Dining

• LOVE:
• Recessed ceiling
• Arches into the room
• Modifications
• A little more space to fit all of the dining room furniture -- sideboard, buffet, china cabinet
• Lighting fixture -- Cleaning this one is a nightmare!

Master Bedroom

• Perfect size for us

Master Bathroom

• Love -- not having a shower curtain or glass door to clean
• Would modify layout -- use a stand alone tub
• Shower -- seat depth should be 18-24" deep; make sure built-in shelves have adequate space for what you use.

2018 updates

Here are a few things that we have done:

Landscaping in front with dry creek bed —- very happy with overall design... notes below

Our builder hauled in yellow-orange muck as fill... we scraped and removed as best as possible... and hauled in good topsoil.  Warning!!! We have had several young trees die when the roots hit the compaction layer — a result of cement trucks, construction trucks etc... best bet is to limit when vehicles can drive.

Grass selections — we used a combination of buffalo grass and blue grama.  We had our local feed store order two varieties of buffalo grass... also ordered some Sundance online.  Really love this grass mixture.

Septic — so we wish the tanks were in a different location.

Propane line for grill — wish it was on east side of porch — not the west

Shop — wish the elevation of the slab was higher.

Attic — our attic access has a major flaw... there is less than one foot of landing space at top of stairs.

Entertainment center and speakers — we ran our own speaker wires...we should not have listened to the audio experts and should have run an Ethernet cable to all TVs in the house and the media center receiver.  They talked my husband into a high dollar HDMI cable — the construction crew put a staple through the wire (the media folks should have ziptied cables so the would be out of the way for the builders.  They got to replace cable for free!

Master closet — installed motion sensor light... I love it... I feel like a princess when I walk in and lights come on.

Exterior LED lighting -- missing sconces on front columns (added later)

Lighting

Lighting is lots of fun.  Amazingly, we only have one fixture that we wish I had not selected (in the entry way).  And I wish that I had selected a chandelier for above the tub in the master bath -- but that can come later.

This one is not my favorite

Of course... found it for less on-line

I suggest making some preliminary selections prior to signing the contract and seeing how far over budget you are.

Our builder was very flexible, so we might have been able to save some money by shopping around.  Note: many builders may not allow this -- as they hold the supplier responsible for making sure everything is correct and expect them to make corrections ASAP and provide customer service.  The supplier usually orders and holds the fixtures until the builder is ready for them.

There are so many options.... I really wanted my husband to build some fixtures, but he was willing to spend extra $$$ instead. (not to mention he was gone for the last three weeks of the building process for work)

Our guest bedrooms need additional lighting sources, such as lamps.  Otherwise -- very pleased.

Bathroom lighting -- we installed sconces.... this was not originally planned, but it looks great.  As far as height, I searched internet to make sure the sconces were set at the proper height.

Lovely holes in the "painted" wall to pull the electrical for the sconces... 

Patched after sconces installed

Guest bath -- Mirror was from Kirklands and then tiled

Finished!!! Mirrors came from Ross -- less than $35/each

My formal dining room lighting -- my hubby let me splurge and I love it!!! 2020 Note: these lights are a pain in the rear to clean... it takes a magician to put the clamps back together to hold the glass globe! 

Kichler 

Brinley Collection 8 light Pendant | Olde Bronze42890OZ (Olde Bronze)

.  


**** update*****

So far all good on lights.  Just wish I had seen this ceiling fan for my living room... http://wildwestliving.com/western-star-ceiling-fan-cc-kvwst.html

The little things that make it yours

The little touches are what make your custom home unlike the rest of the custom homes built in the neighborhood by the same builder.

Door handles -- we opted for lever style on most of the doors.  But for the double doors with dummy knobs into the office and master bath -- we had them install crystal door knobs with plates.  Small touch, but it says that we did it

2020 Update:  I would likely use black matte for all the door hardware.  Black goes with anything and will never go out of style.

Toilet Paper holder in Master -- I made a double with a shelf (gives a spot to put that phone down) using iron pipe and leftover trim materials

Faux finishes on ceilings -- see earlier post.

Do what is important for you

Selecting Interior Paint and Budget

After hours of looking at paint colors on rooms in Houzz, looking at color chips, I finally settled on 12 different possibilities.  I purchased samples of these and painted them on some extra sheet rock that I had scavenged when they were finishing the sheet rock.  I ruled it down to three colors for the main living areas and three colors for the master bedroom, office and one of the guest rooms.  I painted samples on the walls and looked at them in various lights and then gave my husband two options.  I am sooo pleased with the outcome.

We did go neutral, but we did not go "white" -- which is the "in" color for 2016.

I wanted to paint my doors dark -- a color called Black Fox by Sherwin Williams, but the painter wanted $1,000 to paint them -- so that is a project for a different day.  They also wanted $1000 to paint ceilings white in the guest bedrooms

Our color selections were:

SW7546 Prairie Grass -- all other rooms

SW7844 Amazing Gray -- Master, office, Master bath, guest bedroom #2
SW7004 Snowbound -- trim


We have tray ceilings in the formal dining, living, and master bedroom.  Our builder allowed us to do faux finishes on these prior to moving in or installing the floors.  Fortunately, we had access to scaffolding -- which made this all possible -- as ceilings are 12' or higher in dining and living and 11' in master

For the Dining -- I used Ralph Lauren's Polished Patina in English Earth -- easy to put on and looks fabulous
Master Bedroom Ceiling -- custom mixed the Ralph Lauren Polished Patina in one of the metallic colors "Wedding Bells" -- love it
Living room ceiling -- dark brown faux glaze -- applied with paint brush, dappled 2 coats with plastic bags, brushed final coat; I like the finished product, but it was a pain.

Again, I held my breath and stressed over these selections -- as definitely not anything that I want to redo in the near future. ;)

Exterior selections

I spent many hours looking at photos, driving around with my husband looking at rock and brick combinations, and researching information.  I stressed and held my breath until the final product was actually installed.  These are things that once put up -- you are pretty well stuck with until you decide to move.

Rock -- we looked at builder's stone (irregular shaped) in a variety of colors; chopped stone (rectangular shapes -- typical of most Austin white limestone).  Bell's Stone was very helpful and gave addresses to go look at for the stone.  After looking through 1,000s of photos and 100's of houses, we settled on a stone called "French Country".  It has some grays and a bit of beige, and very little yellow.  I absolutely love it.

Brick -- Pewitt's Brick from Mineral Wells was fabulous.  We selected Claymex's Kansas Brownfield with a Handmade Buff Mortar (they use local sand to give the buff a bit of color)

Paint -- Initially I wanted a different color on the garage door, but it was going to be an extra $400, so we selected HGSW2484 Pebble Pathway and are very pleased with the results.

After days of fretting over these decisions -- I'm extremely pleased with the outcome.

Kitchen -- Upgrades and considerations

I'm planning to post some photos soon, but for now, just trying to get thoughts down....

Kitchen sink -- I ordered an amazing copper sink off of eBay for $700.  So far -- I love it.  Note:  be sure to visit with your builder if you do something like this

Trash bin cabinet -- my husband requested a sliding cabinet trash bin -- it is Fabulous

Drawers and doors -- I wish we had upgraded to soft close doors and drawers

Vent hood -- be sure to specify how the vent hood should mount -- in our case the cabinet maker did not recess the bottom of the cabinet, so did a retrofit that looks great, but much easier if it had just been recessed to begin with

Appliances -- Know if you need to add extra $$ into the contract for upgraded appliances.  The KitchenAid double oven with convection was a $900 upgrade over the Whirlpool double oven.

Microwave -- we chose to have a microwave shelf built -- Now I would have done it a bit different -- live and learn... some homes are lowering the double ovens and placing the microwave above the ovens.  They also make microwave drawers.... I'd like to know if people like them or not.

Drawer depths -- Some deep drawers are great, but plan out what you need and what depths are realistic for your stuff

Pantry -- specify how the shelves will be laid out and installed

Kitchen faucets -- verify that the builder's budget will account for your selection.  Our facet was an extra $90 (but cheaper than having to go back and buy another one)

Kitchen Paulette backsplash -- interchangeable design -- $450

Back splash -- upgrade to Silver Travertine -- $100-200

So... kitchen upgrades:  $600 for dishwasher; $700 for sink; $900 for double oven; $600 for backsplash upgrades; $350 for granite upgrades; $200 for microwave... total of over $3k out of pocket for the upgrades (not including bar light upgrades)

Still need to purchase and install cabinet knobs or pulls (guessing another $200)

I will post photos soon!

All things electrical (not lights) + water lines

We did lots of things correctly -- but electrical items are EXPENSIVE to change or modify... so if at all possible -- include them in the contract with your builder.

Barn -- remember that slab for a barn/shop -- we forgot that we would need to run electrical, as well as water to the barn.  The extra breaker and drop for the barn -- 100 Amp Circuit -- $400

Special outlets -- we added some isolated ground circuits for the TVs and computer plugs

Additional outlets and TV Cable -- we added extra outlets at the far end of the porch

Surge Protection -- we did not do this, but I would recommend looking into Whole House Surge Protection -- yes, warranties and insurance may cover a lightning strike, but the headaches of replacing that stereo speaker that took hours to set up... just some food for thought... it is an extra $700-$1000

Water lines -- to add an extra refrigerator line in the garage -- add $100

Add two duplex outlets above kitchen cabinets wired to switches for later use for cabinet lighting -- $50-100

When you do a walk through with the builder on electrical -- and preferably include extras in the initial contract.... things to consider:

Bathrooms

• Add an outlet that is close to the ground in the bathrooms (if permitted by code) for a motion sensor LED light
• make sure that the plugs near sinks make sense and won't be under the towel holder or in the way if you are installing framed mirrors
• Decide if you want sconces (these are recommended to make us look our best) or overhead bar lights -- electricians poke lots of holes if they have to change -- just believe me on that one

Garage

• Do you have special welders, refrigerators, or other equipment that needs a special circuit

Walk-in Closets

• Automatic switches that turn on and off when you open doors -- we had them and oh how I miss them -- particularly on the pantry -- where the switch is in the wrong place

Switch Locations

• Make sure that they are where you want and expect them
• example:   guests staying in the front two bedrooms have to walk through the living room to get to the light switch
• There are two sets of switches on one wall and on the other wall, there is only one set of switches
• Kitchen lights over the bar -- the switch is in a unique location
• Master bathroom switch -- it is on the wrong wall 

  

  Just a bit of a reach....

• Light fixture locations -- identify where and make sure they make sense

Dimmers

• Consider adding dimmers for your recessed lights.  When LEDs are dimmed, they use significantly less energy -- LEDs must be dimmable and the switch must be compatible with LEDs.  On a side note -- install the same brand, type, and wattage of LEDs for all that are on the same circuit (light switch).  Different manufacturers use different drivers for the luminaires (bulbs) so they may dim at different rates.

Smart Lights

• This will likely become more popular in the future... we bought one that changes colors and plays music (rather poor music quality) just to check it out.  Light is cool -- music not so cool -- but light can change to the beat and tone -- so that is cool
• UPDATE 2020:  We have added three Caseta switches in our house.  For the front lights -- we have two smart switches -- one for the uplights and one for the front porch lights.  These are currently set to come on at sunset and off at 11 p.m.  Can also program them to come on when your cell phone gets close (fence setting).  We also have one in the master bedroom that is also a dimmer.... so cool --- lay in bed and ask Alexa to turn off the lights.

Walk through

Double check and bring the most anal person you know to help you walk through before the sheetrock goes up.  We were missing the lights on the front columns and did not notice until after rock was up.... OOOPS!  And now they are unlevel!

Insulation and Other Energy Savings Measures... and things to consider

Our builder included spray foaming the exterior of the house for a very reasonable price and this was included in the contract.  When he was prepping, we requested that he also spray foam the North wall of the garage as well -- namely as we had pipes for the well running through that wall.  So far -- we absolutely love it.  Our builder put it in his own home and his son's home as well, so he also believes in it.

Doors -- we had solid core doors installed on the master bedroom door and utility room door to help with noise reduction -- it definitely helps

Walls -- I would recommend considering insulating the master bedroom interior walls to help with noise reduction

Tankless water heater -- so far so good after we adjusted the temperature

Well water -- this could be an entire blog on its own -- still working to get the well adequately disinfected.

LED lights -- we have recessed lighting with BR40 lights -- the builder installed 60W incandescent bulbs; so far we have replaced the master bedroom bulbs with LEDs -- For the exterior, we upgraded to LEDs.  LEDs will last 5-10 years, and save 80% or more.

Framing and Roofing

Framing -- once the slab is poured -- when they start framing -- it goes VERY fast.  We left for the Florida keys for four days with only a slab on the ground and when we returned -- there was a house with a roof.

Roofing materials -- we had no idea that there were so many choices for the roofing color.  Initially, we had discussed using a metal roof, but that was cost prohibitive for us.  Tile is another option.  I have to give our builder credit -- he gave us three colors for the roof -- he was having issues with his main supplier and was in the process of switching to a new supplier and the color we selected was only available from the old supplier.  He did not complain.

Planning the Layout

Our home is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 3 car garage, with a formal dining and a formal office.  As both of us occasionally work from home, and we have three children over 18 that don't live with us, it was helpful to have two guest rooms and two separate offices.

My recommendation is to take the house plans and draw them in SketchUp or use a room planner application or other software and make sure that the space will adequately hold your furniture. Or go in your back yard, mark room corners with stakes, stretch string and place boxes for furniture and walk through the space... or measure your existing space.  Remember everything needs to be to scale -- we've all seen furniture that is way too big for the space, but the opposite can also hold true as well -- the goal is to create a comfortable and inviting space.

Additionally, make sure that the kitchen layout works for you..... so when all was said and done, here is what we have discovered.  

Kitchen -- place your refrigerator where you have plenty of space to open the doors and drawers without causing a traffic jam.  (Note: the original layout was far worse than our layout)

Dining Room -- our dining room is 11'2" x 11'4"; we really needed 12' x 13' to comfortably fit the dining room table and antique china cabinet.

Master Bedroom -- 15' x 15' -- this room is perfect for our queen size bed... a king would fit easily as well.  We don't have an extra sitting room, but we have plenty of space.  Will easily hold a small desk, a mirrored dresser, a large chest of drawers and a bench at the end of the bed.

Guest Bedroom -- 11'6" x 11' -- placing a queen bed in here, plus a mirrored dresser, night stand and chest of drawers makes for an extremely tight squeeze.  I would recommend a minimum of 12' x 13' for a guest room if you are planning to place a queen size bed in it

Office -- 11' x 11'6" -- this is a bit small once the gun safe went into it -- again -- measure your furniture or layout your ideal furniture -- all of the major companies provide sizes and many of them have products already drawn that you can insert into SketchUp

Living room -- 17' x 19' -- this seemed reasonable, but once you deduct all the walkways, this room is very small... we have not figured out what to do for furniture yet

Accessibility -- Door width and stairs -- consider if you are going to move furniture upstairs, can you get a mattress or dresser up the stairs?  Also, having at least one bathroom and bedroom that has a 36" door may prove helpful if you or a guest might ever be in a wheel chair.

In the beginning.....

Thinking back to the beginning.... my husband and I had seen a house that generally speaking checked all of the boxes (4-3-2), but the kitchen just did not function or make sense for us.  The builder had other houses under construction, primarily 4 bedroom homes with 2 baths -- and we really wanted 2 1/2 or 3 baths.  So after calling the builder directly, we learned that the house plan  that we liked the majority of the layout other than the kitchen was going to be built in a different area, and that he was willing to make modifications to address our concerns -- it was a great fit.

Items that we modified:

Porch Extension -- added 15' onto the back porch.

This was the porch on the house that we modified and extended 15'

 -- 2020 Note:  Would have vaulted the ceiling and possibly made the wall straight across the back.

Kitchen --

Original Kitchen design -- did not like that chairs could not slide under counter on side closest to living room.

 Our modifications included -- adding a wall with an arch, a peninsula with a bar, a gas range, a microwave shelf, a vent hood, a sliding trash can.  Generally speaking -- very happy with the modifications.

Master Bathroom --

Original master bath design

Battle #1 -- my husband wanted to completely remove the tub and have one HUGE shower.  Compromise -- builder moved some walls and was able to make a walk-in shower with large bench.  We also removed the lower section, used framed mirrors and sconces (more on that later)

Garage -- the original plan was a two car garage and the slab that was poured was a three car garage

Sidewalks -- the builder agreed to pour 4' wide sidewalks (from prior home experience, if any of your landscape plants flow over the edge onto the sidewalk -- the sidewalk can almost disappear; additionally, if you ever have to get a wheelchair down the sidewalk, having a bit more room makes life so much easier.

Slab for the barn -- we included a slab for the barn/shop in the initial contract -- size was a different battle.

Surround sound wiring -- listed in the contract

Flooring changes -- added wood floors to the master bedroom and bedroom #4 (later added wood to the breakfast room); added tile in the master bedroom closet; the two guest bedrooms are the only spaces with carpet.

At the time, we thought that we had done a good job of covering our bases and should not end up making other upgrades that were going to be pricey.  If we had only known!

All of these items were in a contract addendum with prices, etc.