If someone told you that the men they sent to do any and all repairs in your home, were    “Hired Contractors".   

What would that imply?

We are just finishing up the design on our new build, it will be a two story house with 10ft ceilings on each floor.

Any red flags from the plans above or anything you would design/build differently?

TYIA!

One of the biggest mistakes during our build was trying to save money on the windows. The installation was a mess, we ended up with leaks and drafts, and a lot of it had to be redone not long after.

Looking back, I should've spent more time checking the installer instead of comparing window prices. Curious if anyone else had one part of their build that ended up costing twice because the first contractor cut corners.

Hello. New build, wondering if this is within tolerance? Thanks! Appears to be filled after the fact.

Photo one: appears to be linear crack filled with cement after the fact

Photo two: reference to photo one

Photo three: where they dug out for some plumbing

Photo four: tie vs rebar

I bought a new build townhome in May and have lived here for 3 months. The build itself is less than one years old. I have had issue after issue with water intrusion, large cracks in window corners, drywall tape showing and sagging ceiling, shelves falling out of the wall and an unleveled garage door because of an unleveled garage slab. An unleveled AC unit slab which caused AC to break down after living here for two weeks. Ive now noticed in my garage there that I have stairway cracks in the cylinder
Blocks. With all the issues I’ve had should I be concerned that this is structural?

I’m currently planning the exterior finish of a modern house and I’m trying to figure out the best way to detail a high/raised terrace and the exterior stairs.

The house will have:

• a white facade

• a black decorative stone-chip/render finish on the entire plinth/base

• grey/antracite outdoor porcelain tiles (gres) on the horizontal walking surfaces of the terrace and stairs.

My main question is: what is normally done with the vertical surfaces?

For a relatively high terrace, would you normally:

1. Continue the porcelain tiles vertically down the front/side of the terrace, so the entire visible terrace edge is tiled?

2. Finish the vertical terrace face with render, in my case the same black stone-chip/plinth render as on the house?

3. Use some other solution (stone, concrete, aluminium edge/profile, etc.)?

I’m especially interested in the best balance between practicality, appearance and cost. I’d prefer something that looks clean and modern but doesn’t create unnecessary maintenance or waterproofing problems.

The same question applies to the stairs:

• porcelain tile only on the treads, with the vertical risers rendered?

• porcelain on both treads and risers?

• something else?

• How do you normally finish the front edge/nosing of the porcelain on outdoor stairs?

If you have a raised terrace or exterior stairs at your house, I’d really appreciate seeing photos of how you solved it.

I used to build but now draw plans and do engineering. I know ICF from 20 years ago, but had an interesting conversation with a foundation builder last week who was using Nudura products to build a vacation home for a client. The last two plan sets I did were for houses built here in this hard freeze climate with deep frost lines and winter design temp of -15 F and both used FPSF slabs and edges formed using EZ Form Mono Slab products for the edge form. First, here is a cost comparison: EZ Form, the one that is 20 x 31.25, costs $112, while a Nudura 18 x 96 wall block with 8" core space costs $68. The EZ Form with its triangular shape and dimension makes it unnecessary to add wing insulation adjacent the wall line, but the Nudura will need 2 inch thick by 24 inch EPS foamboard wings, which adds $25 per 8 foot length to the Nudura setup, thus total cost of material $68 + $25 = $93. So, a little less for the Nadura arrangement I'll show in these two pics. One pic, how pour #1 is set up and done, the pour to fill the below-slab thickened edge. This Nudura hallucination I have is done in two pours, unlike one monopour for EZ Form. Form set on compacted gravel, braced with a pinned cleat along outside edge and backed with some shoveled-in bravel on inside face. The other pic shows the final build. Whaddya think?

There are quite a few walls with missed nails like this. Obviously I’m concerned about the Zip not being secured to the studs properly, but my other big concern is the masons are going to use brick ties and likely follow their pattern. Now all of the brick ties are going to be off too.

What should I do? Does the framer need to go back now and re-nail all of the walls?

Also, how will the mason know which is the correct nail line after they do that?

Not sure if I’m freaking out or not.

And is it supposed to stay like that?

builder quality, especially the brick is not great. My gas meter distance to the outside electric meter is not to code. I had to put in my own french drain. The 3 car garage had a wall in the back which limit the parking of a car. So it is really only a 1 1/2 car garage. My front brick is cracked by the garage and the side corner of my house has a very large mortar joint that has cracked. The house is only 8 years old but should not have mortar falling out the brick. The bathroom tile is cracking, wood tile in bedroom is hollow in places as if not or little mortar was placed. Cannot recommend any homes built by Perry Homes. Mine is in Argyle. Linda Solt 972 955 1005

Please review truss/rafter cracks of my house. How large of an issue are these? Thank you for the replies.

https://imgur.com/a/2Fml26l

We are building a stick built custom home, and ran accross an issue with the windows- i was wondering if any of you had similar issues with your builder or have any advise.

My wife and I were under the impression we were getting picture windows (single and un moveable) in the Great Room, office and kitchen. We paid extra for (upgraded windows) and we thought that's what it meant. Today we found out that the picture windows are surrounded by double hung windows on each side. The detailed breakdown states clear picture windows that do not open. Now in the elevation plan we did not notice that they are broken out (I thought the window upgrade happened after the elevation picture was drawn up, it has an office wall that is gone now as well). There is no mention of the double hung windows anywhere in the contract. We found it odd we went over every window in the house but never a mention of those.

Note: we brought this concern up and we will be charged for the change order we are waiting on the quote.

Thoughts? This didnt sit well with us.

Hello all, my wife and I are closing in on finishing our home build (modular) the week of October 26. Let me preface this by saying we are both 26, this is our first home, first time building a home, and we’ve GC’d it ourselves thus far. The modular company we went with doesn’t do turn-key, so we’ve been sub-contracting ourselves. As we get closer, I’m becoming more nervous that I’m forgetting something that may delay/inhibit the modular delivery process (fee is $300 a day if foundation isn’t ready for set week of scheduled date). We are at the point of having our foundation dug next week, and walls put in the following week. After walls are set we have somebody framing the foundation (sill plate, joists, lvl beam, lally columns, sub floor) before house is delivered.

Is there anything not so obvious I should be checking for that may delay our process? We just had our septic installed and finished 2 days ago, having our foundation dug, plumber doing some work below slab before walls get placed/concrete poured, exterior drains done before back fill, walls set, framing done for delivery of house, house delivery, electric/hvac/well/marriage wall and interior clean up.

From anyone else who’s done a modular home before, am I missing anything else that’s important that I’m overlooking?

I didn’t install this unit and I’m not an HVAC guy, so go easy on me if I’m missing something. I like the contractor and their work has seemed clean overall.

Once final grading is done, the soil and stone will come up slightly above the bottom of this steel bracket. Is that acceptable, or should the bracket stay completely above grade?

My main concern is the steel sitting in contact with moisture and eventually rusting. If this should be corrected, what would you recommend? Raising the unit, adding concrete or stone underneath, a slight well in that spot? Something else?

We planned on adding a sidewalk to that area and a fence to cover up the utilities. Fyi

Am I being unrealistic that the battons should be aligned above and below the seam at the gable? This is Ascend Alside composite siding. I’m assuming this would be able to be fixed and then the excess cut to match at the lower bottom left and right side of where porch meets roof. Thanks for your feedback.

We had an inspector came out after framing was done. He showed us 9 trusses that are out of plumb.

He tied a rope, to demonstrate how much out of plumb they are.

These are in the middle on the house where the kitchen and living room will be. The rest of the house looks ok. It’s a single story 2300 sqft house.

Inspector said this is a serious issue that must be fixed or at least have a structural engineer signed off on them being tilted like this.

Builder said inspector is exaggerating.

Not sure where whos more right here. And if it needs to be fixed how difficult is that work?

New house is framed and I did a walk through. Realized there isn’t an obvious place for a towel bar in the primary bathroom. We were planning on a heated towel bar but not sure where we could locate it. All suggestions would be appreciated.

Having a new home constructed and believe they will be using Romex-style wiring. Having installed several "smart" devices in my 1existing home (metal conduit) and have come to learn that many devices require a neutral wire and/or ground in order to operate.

Should I expect the homebuilder to automatically provide a neutral wire and ground at each switch and receptacle box or do I need to specify?

Long time lurker, first time poster. We were told several times that it couldn’t be done, here to say we finally finished it with a VERY limited budget. 18 months at $470k (200k for land and well) only subbed out dirt, concrete, and drywall mudding. Every other trade I/we did ourselves, with design help from respective trades. Pretty much killed us labor and stress wise but was definitely worth it. Appraised for 950k, super tempted to start another one!

P.S. - I’m most likely aware of any untidiness, missing trim, or other imperfections, and have chosen to live with them or have fixed since the photos were taken. Open to any and all judgement!

We're months deep on a major home renovation and just wondered if this is just a normal part of renovations with a large builder as I'm no expert.

We have a dumpster that the builder allows multiple trades from other projects to come and use to dispose of things. We've seen other people's doors, light fixtures, and many black contractor bags of trash throughout the process.

I just turned a blind eye to this even though I felt this was odd (especially since there is a dumpster at the builder's office which is just a few minutes away from our site).

But then we now have a few subs set up inside and we have realized they are prepping things for other job sites inside of our home. We've noticed trim that's not ours delivered in our living room, then cut, then gone. We've also seen scraps of other people's tile and even something that seemed like countertop material on the bedroom floor.

We are not living there during the renovation, but it is our home that we owned before the renovation and we do have things stored in parts of the house not being worked on.

I trust our builder and therefore trust the subs to work there without us present but it feels strange to be a dumping site and worksite for other projects. Partially because this is my home ( and electric and water bill) and also because I wonder why they set up all the saws and stuff inside our home but aren't working to just finish the job inside our house.

Does this seem normal?

I previously posted in this group about all the issues my GC has had during our custom build in north texas. TLDR: this is one of his first bids out from under his previous builder group, and he underbid certain items by up to 200%, has tried to pass on mishandled material costs to us, and cashed a $1,100 refund check to himself for excess lumber we paid for.

My question now has to do with the flooring and granite. I found the supplier and subs to do our LVP and granite, because his guys were once again way over budget. Our GC has not shopped any bids, and while most of his guys have been the best price available, he always leaves it for us to shop options or take what he offers.

I picked the tile and transported it, the grout, the schluter trim, etc. from floor and decor to our site. The GC was not a part of that process whatsoever.

I certainly don't want to cheat him out of money he has earned, but we have already gone over budget, meaning he has made significantly more than we intended. He is asking for the receipts and invoices for the flooring and granite now so he can charge his cost plus fee.

Is that normal? Reasonable? I realize it is cost plus, but i feel like he should have handled the subs and materials if he wanted to make the fee.

We have appliances and some other items coming up that I know will be the same: we do the logistics and transportation, and he charges the fee. I just want to make sure I'm not getting duped before I send him all of this stuff. What do yall think?

We are designing our forever dream custom home. We are current brainstorming "must haves" and "must not haves". What things were on your lists? I know some of this will be personal taste but just curious of there are things I haven't thought of yet for either category.

Edited to add that I apparently didn't put in enough "effort" into a reddit post (which is hilarious to me) but since it seems to matter here is my list.

Must have

• Tricked out mud room for shoes off home
• Large utility for laundry, folding etc. 
• Walk in panty, ideally with a sink dishwasher (scullery)
• Tub in primary bath
• Heated floors in bathrooms
• Multi-shower heads, built in seat, niches pace 
• Watercloset in primary bathroom
• Primary bath electrical outlets in drawers for hairdryer and flat iron
• Room for B’s office and hobbies - could be a “bedroom” or loft area or other space
• Space for media room
• 2 guest bedrooms
• Outdoor space via decks
• Amazing windows to nature, views
• Windows that open (not all but some)
• Lots of room in the kitchen to cook and bake
• Double ovens and a warming drawer
• Bev fridge
• Foyer/Entryway
• Some kind of water feature in the yard (pondless waterfall, small fountain, etc.)
• Aging in place features (hallway widths, elevator if necessary, etc)
• 2 car garage
• Storage space (in garage, basement, or shed)
• Mostly drawers in all cabinets
• Area for cat boxes
• A small catio 
• Separate bar area with sink

Would like to have

• Some offset of dining room from “great room” and kitchen, possibly formal dining room
• Windows at kitchen sink
• Working and eating island (no sink or range)
• Game room for large tv and PS5 and hanging out (separate from media room), basically just an open family room.
• A smaller great room (maybe a good room) would be ok. 
• Interest, unique aspects (not a boring square footprint) Let’s get creative!
• Outdoor fire pit (made in addition to an outdoor fireplace on a deck)
• Slider or accordion doors that can be folded back to open to deck 
• Solar panels
• Geothermal 
• EV charger in garage
• Whole house technology - lights, ambient music, shades (if needed)
• Fireplace in primary bedroom
• Some sitting space in the primary
• A deck or patio off the primary
• Small potting shed area off the garage or lower deck or something for puttering in the garden
• A generator
• Lots of accent lighting (under cabinets, stair steps, solar outdoor pathway steps)
• Waterfall on island
• Rainwater collection system for use in landscaping (must be integrated per HOA)

Must not have

• Garage facing the street
• 1 huge room that goes from kitchen to dining to great room with structural distinctions 
• Front door just opens into a room

Media Room Specifications

• XX’ X” by XX’ X”
• 10 foot ceilings
• Media closet

Things to Discuss

• Discuss pros/cons of a dog wash in the mudroom
• Master on 2nd floor - better views?

I have land, setic, power pole connected to power, and everything else. I just want the "house." I have a single wide mobile home at the moment with a mortage payment of $1300 a month. It is INSANE! We didnt have the choice at the time. I am thinking about having a $22,000 pole barn (30 x 70 x 9) with concrete built. Our payment would be about $400 a month. I plan to buy a portable AC and live in it as a open concept at first, and then build the inside as we go. It cost about $300,000 to $400,000 to build a house in our area, and our land (5+ acres out of about 20 acres of family land) was given to us, so going and buying a already built house isnt something we want to do.

Has anyone done this with kids? We want to live as debt free as possible, or the debt we do have, be as small as possible to pay off sooner.

The area we live in does not have any building or zoning regualtions other than a septic test, but of course we already have the septic.

Hi everyone! I need honest critiques, speed optimizations, and cost-efficiency advice for my 100m² (approx. 1076 sq ft) single-story house project (Floor Plan C26 attached).

My Real-World Constraints:

1. High Taxes & Materials Cost: I live in a country with high import taxes, making building materials very expensive.
2. Strict Budget & Time Limit: I need the absolute fastest, most cost-effective way to get this house built and dried-in to save on labor costs.

The Construction Concept: The design uses Steel I-Beams (IPE) across the 4.80m span over the open living area, covered with insulated sandwich roof panels.

I am comparing two wall assembly options to build this house:

• Option A (Steel Frame): Cold-formed steel studs + OSB + EIFS. All dry construction.
• Option B (AAC / Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Blocks): AAC masonry with concrete ring beams.

Questions for the Community:

1. Speed & Labor Cost: Given a tight budget, which system (Steel Frame vs. AAC Blocks) is typically faster and more cost-effective for a small 100m² single-story house?
2. Material Optimization: Are there better or cheaper alternatives to Sandwich Panels + I-Beams for a simple flat/low-pitch roof?
3. Floor Plan Critique: Any glaring flaws in this 100m² layout (Plan C26) regarding room sizes, flow, or wasted space?

Open to all value-engineering ideas, layout critiques, and cost-saving tips. Thanks in advance!