Design of the home -an excerpt from book Working for Subs, Ch. 3

Design Considerations:

Facade design by author in Tennessee

Covenant minimum square footage requirements for homes built in a subdivision are usually very low. You will find that the cost of the lot and character of neighboring housing usually determine the size of the structure and not the covenants, unless there are severe changes in market conditions once the development is completed. The cost of the lot usually necessitates a much larger home than covenants do in order to recover maximum value upon an eventual sale. Refer to Chapter 2 for a discussion of estimating the cost of the lot.

Your design will be critiqued by all of your neighbors and other builders in the neighborhood once construction begins. Many will approach you on the site and ask the size and style of your proposed home, so they can assure themselves that you are not bringing down values in the area by constructing a lesser dwelling. These self-appointed critics are not normally your friends, and most will confront you later with additional issues. Just smile, and tell them your design will not disgrace the subdivision, giving as little information as possible. You only have to appease the code authorities, yourself, and the lender, not curious passers-by or self-appointed neighborhood architectural police, unless on an HOA architectural committee.

If your project is located in a PUD or subdivision with a homeowner's association (HOA) your plans may be subject to review by an architectural control committee. This is just to assure the other owners that your home will not reduce property values or detract from the cohesiveness of the neighborhood. In other words your design must fit and not be too radically different from other homes in the area. HOA's do have the power to place liens or other encumbrances upon the property, so you must appease them. This modern trend of unification of design is thought by many to degrade the charm previously seen in the neighborhoods of your grandparents with their variety of styles, architectures, and colors.

When building in states like Florida with high wind, flood, and hurricane surge requirements a design professional, architect or engineer should be hired to determine code mandates and recommendations. There are many stipulations for elevation of the structure, enclosures below the base flood elevation, decks, pools, “V” and “A” zones, ⁱ etc., that are beyond the scope of this book, which is mainly devoted to construction scheduling and dealing with subcontractors.

Consider not building a separate living room in addition to a family room to save construction costs; instead look at a study or office just off the entryway that might become an additional future bedroom. Living rooms are seldom used and require expensive unused furniture. They consume the limited living space and budget of other rooms, and are an evolution of the parlor of old for greeting guests.
The modern home is becoming less formal with a hearth room open to the kitchen as well as an eating area. This allows families and friends to gather in one larger place more easily, rather than expecting them to scatter throughout the variously labeled rooms added to the house for specific purposes. Congregating is the natural tendency of groups regardless of your design intentions, and to ignore it will leave you with empty rooms while people are crammed into a smaller space. Everyone at a party groups naturally in or adjacent to the kitchen where the hosts, food and drinks are.

The dining room has remained as a permanent staple of our society that is fortunately slowly becoming extinct. It is a room that might be used two or three times a year, Thanksgiving and holidays, like Christmas, but otherwise ignored except for dusting. Your grandmother, your mother, and most everyone else in America has always had a dining room table under a hanging light fixture with a sideboard or china cabinet and a window. If you insist on a dining room, you will want a nominal twelve by fourteen foot space of about 170 sqft, unfortunately costing $20,000 or more in construction and furnishings. It must be adjacent to the kitchen for ease of access and separate from it for formal dining. This room will probably be best located off the foyer, since it can be an impressive entry feature, and uncluttered due to non-use. Don't omit the cost of conditioning and cleaning this vacant space year-round in your budget.

Rear porches and covered outdoor rooms with low ceilings should be no deeper than about ten feet, since they will darken the adjacent rooms, and to make them larger reduces their intimacy. The deeper the porch, the higher the ceiling should be, in order to avoid a low tunnel appearance. Locate the porch, patio, or outdoor room adjacent to the kitchen and family room for food service and clean up as well as to extend the common living area to the outside. Be sure to allow space for a grill, counter or bar, eating area, informal seating, and a possible outdoor fireplace. You may want to add a small patio off the master bedroom, obscured for privacy from the main living area. A large glass door could replace the master bedroom window adding natural lighting.

The front porch in most urban and suburban settings has become only useful for entry shelter from the weather or as a design feature. It is rarely used for extended living space as in days past. For these reasons its depth might be reduced. The entry porch should be covered, since this will not only give shelter from the elements, but also protects your door and other accoutrements from weathering. In a country or rural setting the front porch may be larger, since it could be used for a seating area due to less concern about privacy.

When arranging rooms and spaces in your design, strive to place a window in every room, or try to open the outside room walls to interior rooms for natural lighting with large passageways. Open passages may be attractively enhanced by  [continued in book, Working for Subs -amazon.com]

i FEMA “Homebuilder’s Guide to Coastal Construction.” http://www.toolbase.org/Home-Building-Topics/Natural-Disasters/coastal-construction-guide

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Introduction - (continued from book Working for Subs)

(below is an excerpt from the book's Introduction:)

In order to erect a home as a solo builder and realize the most cost savings you will want to acquire some working knowledge of local, state, national building codes, and energy codes, the permitting process, your local real estate, storm water requirements, population movements, environmental (“green”) concerns, some structural design, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, carpentry & framing, roofing, drywall, room finishes, kitchen design, fenestration (window & door) sizing and placement, painting, energy conservation, color selection, weatherproofing, fireplaces, concrete formation, landscaping, grading, solar & wind and other siting effects, lighting placement sizing, etc. These are just a few of the disciplines with which you should become familiar.

It is not necessary to be able to perform each task at a professional level; that is what subcontractors do. However, in order to hire and direct subcontractors, design or visualize components, and inspect to assure the final completeness of a home, a homebuilder must understand the basics of each discipline. The more expertise the homebuilder acquires the more expense he /she will avoid in the construction process.

Many states allow an individual to build one home per year for his/her own use without having to obtain a building license. The self-home builder will need to contact the local building department to determine this requirement.

The building code books used in your city and /or county may be also be obtained by simply visiting the building department (“Code Enforcement” or whatever your municipality chooses to call this division.) Call and ask an inspector what codes are required to build a home? Several county agencies sell the publications themselves. This book is based on the author's experience and on codes in Tennessee, Colorado, and Florida. The codes are continually changing and must be updated prior to every job.

The author has built homes from lot acquisition to final permit in as little as three months, but a comfortable pace for the first-time builder may require six months or more. There are many claims for title of the fastest house built, one in less than four hours including pouring a slab.ⁱ Your home construction schedule will be affected by many variables: weather, subcontractor availability and their experience, materials' scarcity, your own expertise, governmental regulations, and other unforeseen circumstances. This book attempts to help you to anticipate and prepare for, or to avoid many of these obstacles.

Most municipalities issue building permits for an ample one-year period, which can usually be renewed. One year is too long a time to drag out the process, for you will find that costs and effort will increase if you do not remain consistently diligent on the construction. These costs can manifest themselves as additional permit expense, weathering and wear on materials, theft and vandalism, price escalations, scarcity of materials and labor, changes in code requirements, etc.

i Claim of fastest house built by Habitat for Humanity in three hours, twenty six minutes. http://www.habitat.org/newsroom/2002archive/insitedoc002185.aspx http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-H1toqMB lM.

Iron Work -excerpt from book, Working for Subs

Wrought Ironwork:

If you are building an upscale home there may be a need for wrought iron looking appurtenances. Most so-called wrought iron accessories are in reality made from mild steel, since wrought iron is rarely used any longer. Some items you may want to order that are constructed of iron will be: exterior upper balconies (Photo 29, Ch. 19) and interior stair and balcony rails (Photo 14, Ch. 13) or maybe some outside fencing (Photo 27, Ch. 18).

 Iron gate in brick fence.

You will probably learn that subcontractors in your area, who will provide ironwork, specialize solely in the fabrication and installation work of this craft. The installing subcontractor is usually also the manufacturer of the assembled iron pieces placed on the job. He will have a shop with welding, cutting, polishing, and painting capabilities. There is considerable markup in the work as well as skill and plant requirements needed, so that companies can be profitable by doing ironwork alone. This sub is no less critical as an independent hire than other companies or people with whom you contract, so verify his insurance, and get a subcontract agreement as described in Chapter 5. Any one person or company who is not directly employed by you on a regular basis should sign a separate subcontract agreement and maintain their own insurance coverage if possible.

You will need to meet the iron salesman very early in mid-framing before drywall has been installed. This is because blocking and supports may need to be furnished in the wall structure for hanging balconies or to attach the heavy wall rails. There is also considerable lead time involved with iron work that requires a month or more advance notice. Some means of locating these support blocks will be required at the time of installation, so prepare a diagram or drawing with dimensions of the positions and sizes of the blocks for later use. Take a photo as well. After the drywall and stair treads have been completed the iron salesman will have to return to finalize his dimensioning to accurately fit the finish work.

There are many variations of balusters, railing styles, and paint finishes that are available for ironwork. This will require a trip to the showroom or a list of previous jobs you can visit that the iron sub has completed, so that you can make up your mind about colors and architectural forms well in advance of ordering. It would be wise to get a sketch along with your quotation from the wrought iron company to avoid any confusion later. If the company is too busy to produce these at the time, you should draw your own rough sketches, dimensioned to give a fair representation of the look you want with notes describing styles and colors. Email or hand deliver these to the sub soon after the quote is given. This will document the design upon which the price was based and prevent debate later. The cost of ironwork is considerable enough to merit the extra effort on your part.

After one installation an iron subcontractor asked me for payment well in excess of his original estimated price. I questioned this, and he replied that his cost were higher than he figured. I told him that I had turned down other bids to accept his and could have gotten the work done for much less than he was now asking. I continued that if I didn't want to know the price in advance, I would have forgone the quotation process, and just told him to build it, and charge whatever he wanted later. He wanted me to absorb the cost of his mistake.


This iron work sub then attempted to manipulate the situation with guilt, by saying, “You are getting a really great price on that, my friend.” You will be confronted with this tactic repeatedly, so keep these arguments in mind for your rebuttals. Subcontractors are supposedly experts in pricing their own work; errors are their cost of doing business. Perhaps a contractor would be more suited for another profession if he does not know what his costs are before hand. This is the way the free market weeds out incompetence and overpricing.

Trim Materials - excerpt from book, Working for Subs

Trim Materials:

Plan for your millwork package (see Appendix E – Trim Order List) to be delivered at least two days before the trim subcontractor is to begin, just in case there might be a delay in shipping. Your trim man’s time is too valuable and rigidly scheduled to risk not having materials on the job when he arrives. You will lose his respect, and your job may suffer if he leaves to begin someone else’s work instead. He will resent you, as his other customer probably was told to hold on his millwork order, and he will have to wait to begin that work.

Photo 21: Built up fireplace surround by trim subcontractor, shown unpainted under construction and finished product.

We rarely lost any trim materials to theft, perhaps since the expensive items, like doors, are too difficult to haul and specially sized. Theft is therefore usually not a reason to worry and delay your order. The only materials your trim sub will furnish are nails and staples.

Before ordering meet with the millwork company’s estimator after meeting with the trim sub, since you will have a better idea of what is needed at that time. Your trim sub can advise you on what to order for unusual items, like the scroll on a mantel leg or built-in shelving. Be sure to get precise prices on every piece of trim to be ordered before placing a purchase order. Let the estimator prepare a written quote, and then edit your purchase order to suit your own takeoff, since the supplier will over estimate materials to be cautious, to prevent extra deliveries, or to sell more product. Ask the cost of deliveries. We always got as many free shipments as we needed, even for just one or two missing pieces, since the millwork supplier had trucks making rounds daily just shipping odd pieces.

An unscrupulous salesman we dealt with once delayed faxing his quote, but gave an oral quote. We needed the order right away and had to trust his word. When we received the bill, it was a thousand dollars high. His boss assumed we were bilking him, since we did not have written proof, and our working relationship suffered as a result. Eventually the crooked salesman was fired (probably for multiple complaints,) and we received a credit, but we never recovered our reputation with the owner. Always get your quote in writing.

Some items that may surprise you in price include: flexible rubber molding for curved walls (some pieces can exceed $18 per lineal foot), extra height doors, fiberglass doors, or over sized wood veneer shelving (Photo 22.) Get accurate written prices on everything before ordering. Another expensive piece is a curved casing over an arched-top window. There are online videos showing building some of the more intricate moldings from old historic homes, duplicated with plaster molds and templates. If you are handy and somewhat artistic, you might attempt to fabricate these yourself, using a mold or a sculptured trowel. We had some trim men who could fabricate specialty items at home from wood rather inexpensively.

Ordering doors requires more detailed specifications than most finish items (See Appendix E - ...Door Schedule, & Door Hardware List.) We bought our doors from the lumber company rather than the millwork supplier, because the latter's were more expensive. A mystery to me at first was how to tell the difference between a “left-hand” and “right-hand” door swing. Our salesman had a silly but effective phrase to remember which; he said, “It’s comin’ at cha.” This meant when you are opening the door toward yourself, the side that the knob is on determines the swing of the door. Opening your front door from the inside with the knob in your left hand indicates a left-hand door.

Most of our doors were called “six-panel” even if stamped from one piece of Masonite hardboard. This is due to the original way doors were built with six different beveled edge panels of wood joined together in a frame. There are four-panel, solid slab, two-panel doors, and other variations, but the six-panel doors we ordered were traditional and seemed to never go out of style. Interior doors can be built of a hollow-core frame, sandwiched between two hardboard faces, or they could be built of more costly high-density fiber (HDF), or even more expensive and non-environmentally correct wood. The wood doors are more sound proof, but only truly so if weatherstripped, which is impractical for interiors; thus specifying wood doors alone to prevent sound transmission is ineffective. Exterior doors come in many different configurations and materials. Fiberglass veneers over a foam core are very weather resistant and durable, but they are more costly than many other types and less secure. Metal clad foam core, insulated doors are not attractive, but can serve for garage or rear yard access and are inexpensive. Wood six-panel exterior doors are attractive, but not weather resistant, and require more protection and maintenance to prevent warping, splitting, and discoloration.

Cabinets - excerpt from the book Working for Subs

Cabinets:

This book  (Working for Subs see link in other posts) is not intended to give extensive design or decorating pointers for your home. There are many other reference sources available for these endeavors. The aim of this writing is to give a step-by-step method for scheduling subcontractors and materials for the job. Some decorating decisions, however, must be made by the builder in selecting colors and shapes, since cabinets will be the backdrop for other accessories placed in the space. When it is time to select your kitchen finishes, you should prepare to visit several showrooms and read extensively to understand all the variations of cabinets, faucets, appliances, counter tops, sinks, and other components involved. Some specific items, like sink selection, may be discussed in this Chapter's pages, since they affect the schedule. The layout of cabinets and general sizes and shapes should have been at least sketched in the early drawing development stage of design for the entire home (Chap. 3.)

Some kitchen cabinets have a life expectancy of up to fifty years.⁶⁵ I have found that kitchen styles and tastes change about every decade. Cabinet designs change from traditional natural wood grain surfaces with ornate polished brass knobs to smooth-lined European types with hidden hinges and no handles at all, and cycle back again. Regardless of what type of cabinet you choose, it will probably be rehabbed after ten years during a kitchen redo. At that time resurfacing the doors and frames may suffice, and interior construction can often remain.
For my second home in the Colorado mountains I drove to Denver and hand-selected rough-sawn, random length and width mahogany planks from the lumberyard. These were then planed at the yard, and I delivered the odd assortment in a pickup truck to the job. A young neighbor architectural student who was also a talented carpenter built cabinets (Photo 16) on site from these planks.

  Photo 16: Author's son with stick-built mahogany cabinets in Colorado mountain house.

The same guy built my decks and a butcher block top on a mahogany island out of 2” hard rock maple (photo 17) from the mill. Once he had glued, clamped, and belt-sanded the maple top a couple of bottles of mineral oil were poured and smoothed over its surface for a sealer. Any other oil may contain degradable products or vegetable oils that would become rancid. This maple top could be sanded many times and used for decades.

Photo 17: Hard Rock Maple butcher block island top & Mahogany Cabinets.

Recently a more open cabinet has been the style for uppers, but when we began building in Tennessee the framer was expected to build a drop soffit from the ceiling to abut the cabinet tops. Be sure to have the framer include this if you want a connected look, and the drywaller will encase them.

Countertops:

Tops can come in many different materials including granite, marble, tile, concrete, laminate, or even wood, like butcher blocks. Stone tops can last a lifetime, but cultured marble vanity tops may only have a life expectancy of twenty years.⁶⁵ You can call the countertop estimator to come measure on the day before the cabinets are scheduled to arrive, and tell him when they will be installed. This will insure that he can possible set up an appointment to arrive the following day, and you won't lose a day of construction waiting on their delivery. Be sure to call him back if the cabinets are not installed as planned. The lead time on tops is usually about two weeks, so plan accordingly.

You will need to know the dimensions of sinks, whether your faucets are 4” or 8” on center, whether you want a soap dispenser built in, dimensions of drop-in range tops, lavatories, and appliances. Composite sinks make excellent kitchen basins, and they look good as well as save money over enameled cast iron sinks. If the accessory items and appliances are not on the job when the estimator arrives, it may be advantageous to have cut sheets available. Cut sheets are manufacturer's catalog pages, showing dimensions and other considerations for the items.


Natural marble does not make a good kitchen counter top, since it is permeable and porous, not like granite. Cultured marble for a built-in lavatory works well in a bathroom vanity. Your marble whirlpool tub supplier can supply these tops in integral lavs. Formica makes a good inexpensive top. Corian will burn and discolor with hot skillets placed upon it, and works best for bathroom vanities. Tile tops require a 3/4” treated plywood substrate and some sort of nosing for the edge. We have successfully used 1x2 stained and varnished oak nosing for this, fastened to the plywood base by casing nails prior to installing the tile. Twelve inch mat squares of small tiles can make a perfect backsplash on the wall above the top. 

Excerpt from book Chap. 1 - Preliminary Construction Considerations

Preliminaries:

Preliminary preparation tasks to be accomplished prior to buying a lot are
numerous and largely laid out in Chapters 2 and 5. Design and drawing or drafting of plans
are discussed in Chapter 3.

Early Quotation s:

Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning, and electrical quotations from those
subcontractors should be solicited as early as possible after plans are developed. These three
disciplines require the most time to prepare estimates and their own in-house drawings than
any other subs. These three subs will require much advance notice to schedule your project
with their other jobs and ordering materials, resulting in a long lead time, between reaching
agreement with you to beginning work. It is prudent to contract with them at an early time.

The homebuilder should request informal bids (quotes) from at least two
subcontractors in each field of work, and three would be better. You will also need prices
very early from a framer, concrete supplier, lumberyard, excavator, and foundations
engineer. There is no reason to hesitate in gathering all of these quotes very soon after the
plans are drawn and before receiving the building permit.

Once you have decided upon a subcontractor in each category and after
signing an agreement, you should contact all the other subs and vendors (materials
suppliers) you will not be using to thank them for their bid. This should be standard practice
throughout the construction process. It is not necessary to give an elaborate dissertation
about why you decided the loosing bidder’s price or scope of work was not adequate for
your project. You may merely call, speak to your salesman directly, or if he is not in you may
leave a message with his receptionist, stating that you appreciate all the work he did in
preparing a price for you, that you will not be able to use them on this job, but you would
like to be able to get another quote for future work when it arises.

Be sure to keep a journal or spreadsheet, titled “Thanked, but not awarded,”
which shows to whom you spoke, and the date. Many times the receptionist will not notify
the salesperson or that person may even forget you spoke to them about this. We have had
unprofessional bidders who were so insulted that they called to ask why they had not been
notified that they lost. Since we kept a record, we were able to tell them that we had left a
message with their assistant, and thank them again. Be sure to let them know that you do
not shop their bid (see Glossary,) and you would like to get a quote from them on future
projects.

To call and thank the people you do not use is a courteous gesture and the least
you can do for the free work of their quotation. They also must take your job off their list of
prospects for planning purposes, and will call you anyway if you do not preempt them. This
will maintain good relationships with your subcontractors and suppliers if you build again,
or even use them later during the same project.

Temporary Power Pedestal:

You must order a temporary electrical pole or pedestal from your local power
company in advance for installation after the lot has been cleared and graded. Discuss the
delivery of this with your grader and electrical sub, so that there is little down time for your
foundation contractor, waiting for power after the lot is ready for him. You may be required
to furnish and install a post for erection of temp power by the electrician according to detail
drawings available from your power supplier. This might consist of a treated wooden 4 x 4
and a plywood backboard within a specified distance from a utility line transformer. Verify
requirements with your local electric company. The temporary power pedestal will provide
electrical receptacles for your foundation subcontractor’s saws, air compressors, and other
power tools for most of the project. Until the house power is turned on, usually within about
the last week or two, the outside temporary supply will be the sole power source. See Chap.
4, Detailed Schedule part C and Appx. B for more information.

Other Preliminary Tasks:

Chapter 2 contains information on warranty and insurance companies, which
you may want to contact prior to construction. Many other items mentioned in the Brief
Home Schedule of Figure 1 are discussed in detail in later chapters of this book.
This brief schedule has subcontractor types highlighted in bold text upon first
appearance of their trade to indicate that before allowing them to walk on your lot you must
have a subcontract agreement signed (see Chapter 5 and Appendix D), their I-9 form (proof
of citizenship,) certificates of insurance, and other information.
Inspections:

The last column in the Brief Home Schedule (Fig. 1) is a list of common
inspections that your local building department may perform before progressing to
subsequent tasks on the list. Be sure you know which ones you are to call and which your
subs are to call. Consult with the subcontractor who’s work is being inspected about a day or
two in advance of when you guess he will be completed. Ask whether he will be ready for
inspection if you call it in for the next day. Make the call a day before needed, or whatever
your building department uses as advanced notice.

The list of required inspections may be obtained from your local building
department at the time of permitting. We have built in rural counties where there was no
formal code enforcement department, and a lone city engineer with no building experience
was providing that service. He informed us that only one inspection would be made at the
end of construction, because he was too over-booked to do more.
In contrast, however, you may begin to believe that many building
departments have become extensive labyrinths of tax-collecting bureaucracies that
seemingly only serve to delay your project and fatten the public coffers. You must be patient
while waiting for your building permit to be approved, which might seem like waiting for
an inefficient commissar to stamp your work release in the old Soviet Union. Anger at the
clerk will not expedite your permit and may even prolong it.

Building Purpose:

Whatever your reason for building your personal abode, self-expression,
pioneering spirit, a design outlet, control of your quality of life, thirst for knowledge, love of
shopping, competitive drive, quality control, or financial savings, be sure it is something you
have the time and determination to complete. Once you begin the process it will be quite
expensive, and if you decide this was not really an endeavor you wanted to undertake you
could lose much of your investment to that point. In that case you may have to hire a general
contractor to complete the house and take responsibility for the outcome, who will add a
factor for not knowing whether the work to date was performed properly. He will want to be
paid well for this risk, and your construction will be delayed also at a price. It's more
expensive to stop your supervision mid-construction that to hire someone else who is
experienced to finish the project from the middle.

C. Geoffrey Kremser, ...........................................................PE Page 8 of 289

(continued in book, Working for Subs)

home building schedule - excerpt from book, ,,,,,, Working for Subs

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The below table is an excerpt from a book, Working for Subs.  The table is expanded with a "Detailed Schedule" that discusses many more items in detail in the 19 chapters of the book.

A brief building schedule for construction of your home.

The following list of tasks is discussed in detail in the book "Working for Subs" by this writer / blogger.   See below for book preview.

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