Stopped to look at the house yesterday PM and...
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The framing is pretty much complete. All the interior walls are in place. The exterior walls are sheathed. The sub-floors are all in-place. The sub-roof is done. Most of the windows have been installed. So, two weeks to build the skeleton. I'm amazed.
It's the first time we could actually walk inside, as there was no inside, this past weekend. And so it's the first time we really got a real feel for the size and layout of the rooms. We built it flipped from the way the plans were drawn (in order to put the garage/driveway on the right side), so it's been tough to match the drawing to earlier stages of the house. Now, though, the house exists as a physical object, so we don't need to worry about the drawings. Verdict: some rooms are bigger, some are smaller, than I imagined. And the house is much much taller than I thought it would be. Not sure why that is.
Today, we go select kitchen appliances. Next week, once we know the size of all the appliances, we go to select cabinetry. We have to select the plumbing fixtures this week or next, too.
Today we have an appointment, arranged by our builder with a kitchen appliance dealer he prefers. We can buy the stuff anywhere, but we might get a discount or something if we go through this dealer (don't know, we just got the number of the place yesterday!) This will be our first time dealing with a builder's allowance. An allowance is where the builder says "you have $X to spend on these things. go pick them out." In this case, "these things" are the oven, stove, refrigerator, etc.. If you go over the $X amount, you pay the difference directly to the vendor. Digging through Consumer Reports, we learned that kitchen appliances can get very expensive; we could blow our entire kitchen allowance just on the stove, or on the refrigerator, for example. Most models are not that expensive, and it's certainly possible to do it all for much less than we're allowed. But still, it's going to be tricky to stay within the allowance, in the face of all that shiny new stuff. Right now, I'm determined to do it, but we'll know by 5:30 this evening if I was able to hold firm...
Wow. Fast work! You must be very excited to see the house spring up before your eyes.
So … why is it that most American houses are built out of wood? Is it a cost thing? Most UK houses are brick (sometimes with a timber frame) and I’ve always found these sort of country differences fascinating. The UK is pretty damp I guess – I wonder if climate is a factor.
We could do with more space so looked at some show houses on a new local development at the weekend. Very, very nice – wife in love with one of the designs. Getting a deposit together would be tough as we don’t have much equity in our current house. Most lenders are only doing 80% mortgages too (not sure why… mmmm …. ha) so if we bought a £250K house we’d need a £50K deposit. Gulp. Plus, at 41, I don’t fancy starting another 25-year mortgage from scratch which means a much higher monthly payment to reduce the term. Ack. Being a grown up sucks.
Picking a kitchen will be fun though!
So … why is it that most American houses are built out of wood?
even many large buildings are, as well. they put up a 3 story hotel down the road a couple of years back – all wood.
i assume that wood is cheaper. with houses here, brick is typically only used as a veneer on the outside – and even then, it’s rare to see it on the back or sides. it’s mostly an accent. i don’t think i’ve ever seen a new house with actual brick walls here.
Picking a kitchen will be fun though
sadly, no!
turns out we had scheduled an appointment with a person who didn’t tell us the company had two locations: one right next to another of the suppliers we’ll have to deal with, and one an hour on the other side of town. guess which location she worked at!
worst of all, we found that it’s going to be tough to stay under our allowance, unless we buy the absolute cheapest line the place carries (the one they stuck way in the back corner or the showroom). we had $6000 to spend. but when nearly all their refrigerators are $2000 (up to $10,000) and an oven is $2000, and a cook-top is $1500, you don’t have much left for the dishwasher and microwave. i guess it’s a bit of a high-end store.
so, nothing purchased. but we’re even more confused today than we were yesterday. so… progress.
I hope you’re not as picky as we were. We did a remodel two years ago and had the hardest time picking out fixtures to our liking, regardless of price.
i was picky right up until i saw the first $6000 refrigerator.