Determining the Home Style
and Size
After making the decision to raze the cottage and build
a new home, I had to first determine what type and size
of home to build. My lot was limited in size and required
careful planning to ensure that I would meet all of
the setbacks governed by the town I lived in. Although
I had these concerns, I decided to forgo the Architect
route. I deemed it too expensive and probably not necessary
for the style of home I wanted to build. Instead I picked
up a handful of Home Plan magazines and surfed the internet
for home designs. I also picked up an inexpensive software
package for designing homes and floorplans. After a
week of reviewing home plans, I found one that met most
of my requirements in terms of a floorplan. The footprint
was smaller than I wanted, but I concluded that I could
redraw the floor plan accordingly using my newly purchased
Home Design Software Package.
The Home Design Software package was not as simple to
use as the instruction manual implied, however after
a couple of weeks I had a floorplan with all the dimensional
information.
Assuming the role as the General Contractor
As I had indicated earlier, one of my goals was to assume
the role as General Contractor on this project. I quickly
learned that banks frown upon lending construction mortgages
to everyday homeowners and to folks who have little
professional building experience. I got around this
issue by deciding not to use the banks for financing.
However, from what I learned later, it may have been
possible for me to assume a construction mortgage if
I had quit my day job and applied for the loan as a
"full time General Contractor". Indeed, I
would have needed to complete a full proposal to the
bank with all costs and subcontractors identified, but
this is necessary anyways.
As the General Contractor I developed a build schedule
and task list. Some of the top items included: Identifying
subcontractors, pulling permits, and having a septic
design approved.
Carefully Pick your Sub-Contractors
Identifying the right subcontractors is the most
important task a General Contractor performs. Poor
selection of subcontractors can lead to delays in
schedules, cost overruns, poor workmanship and strife
between the various subcontractors on the job. Prior
to hiring subcontractors, it is important to visit
their current jobsites. Review their work on existing
jobsites and mingle with the other subs to judge the
working relationship. In addition get two or three
reference checks on the subcontractors. If there are
poor workmanship, personality issues, or references
move on. Do not settle for second rate subs, even
if it means slipping your schedule or costs goals,
as you will more than likely suffer even larger schedule
slips or higher costs by hiring the wrong people.
Pulling Permits
Once you have selected and hired your excavator,
chief framer, and foundation company, review with
them your plans. Make sure you walk the site with
them, and carefully stake out the house footprint,
paying careful attention to lot setbacks, septic tanks,
leach fields and well location. Once all are agreed
upon with the house plans and the location of the
home, contact the building inspector and review with
him/her your plans. You will need to submit a very
thorough package to the building inspector prior to
getting approval. There are frequently town and state
forms that need to be filled out regarding wetlands,
and home thermal analysis. In addition, detailed engineering
drawings of the proposed home may be required. In
my case the Framer was able to assist in developing
additional sketches of the house plan to ensure structural
compliance to local, state and federal building codes.
If I had used the initial home plans I had obtained,
those would have been sufficient. I also could have
contacted an architect with my selected plans to provide
additional details, however it was not necessary in
my case.
After about a week and several hundred dollars later
I had the permit to build a new home.
Septic Design
My home required its own septic system on site. As
a result, I required a septic design and an associated
permit for the new home. I recommend pursuing this
as early as possible in any new home project as this
can take up to 2-3 months to complete as both town
and state approvals are required, not to mention site
and engineering work.
Without knowing exactly where the septic system and
tank will reside, it may be difficult to locate the
exact position of the home and in many cases the building
inspector may not approve the building permit until
the septic design permit has been obtained. I was
fortunate in that the property already had a small
septic system on the lot, so the building inspector
gave me approval. I was at financial risk, however,
in the event the new septic design was not approved
or needed to be repositioned from the proposed location.
Fortunately that was not the case and I was able to
move forward on razing the cottage and beginning site
work.
To Be Continued ....
In Part 2 of "Building Your Dream House",
I will cover razing an existing building, performing
site prep work, and pouring foundation walls. Stay
tuned |
