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ken0042 · 09-11-2019, 06:45 PM

Single biggest piece of advice I can give is to get a realtor. CP's own Travis helped me when building, and he was able to cut through some of the BS and get us the things we wanted that the builder wasn't moving on. You do have the invoke the realtor early though; like before anybody knows who you are. If you don't have a realtor yet, tell them you do.

Next, make sure you and your spouse know what you each want. Must have, nice to have, etc. We almost got stuck with a tile neither of us liked because we each thought the other liked it.

Focus on the things that are hard to change after. Like others said, I bumped out the garage to 22x26'. It cost me nearly $10K, but worth it. Also seriously consider the basement bathroom position and layout. Mistake I made there. Good thing with my basement, bumped it to 9' ceilings. Was cheap, but makes a world of difference.

If not developing the basement, get them to develop to the bottom of the stairs. That's one of the hard parts about developing later with all the corners. Also makes a huge difference in the main floor feel.

Get conduit in a few key places, and plug ins at TV height. Think of the position of light switches and plugs. I had the framers add some backing for me in a few key places as well for wall mount TVs.

I also got steel toe boots and a hard hat for going on site. Most trades were great, and I tried to get as many as possible setup with Tims cards, coffee, hot lunch, etc. I swear I got my money back 10 fold in workmanship and a few extra little favours. Now the builder is going to tell you "no going on site without prior permission." Mine was fine with me going until I started pointing out a few serious issues. The sales person at one point threatened to have me charged with trespassing, and I dared them. I may have even "fating dare you." They did quickly back down from that stance and tried to make things more amicable.

Final thing, take your time at the design studio. Our 4 hour appointment took 8 hours. Get it right, have extra time available, and have a solid meal before or solid lunch packed. Might be the most decisions of your life that day- both in terms of impact as well as quantity.

Edit- 2nd final thing- do check out road noise at your site; several times of day. You could end up being way to close to Stoney and hating it.

09-11-2019, 06:45 PM	#18
ken0042 Playboy Mansion Poolboy Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Close enough to make a beer run during a TV timeout Exp:	Single biggest piece of advice I can give is to get a realtor. CP's own Travis helped me when building, and he was able to cut through some of the BS and get us the things we wanted that the builder wasn't moving on. You do have the invoke the realtor early though; like before anybody knows who you are. If you don't have a realtor yet, tell them you do. Next, make sure you and your spouse know what you each want. Must have, nice to have, etc. We almost got stuck with a tile neither of us liked because we each thought the other liked it. Focus on the things that are hard to change after. Like others said, I bumped out the garage to 22x26'. It cost me nearly $10K, but worth it. Also seriously consider the basement bathroom position and layout. Mistake I made there. Good thing with my basement, bumped it to 9' ceilings. Was cheap, but makes a world of difference. If not developing the basement, get them to develop to the bottom of the stairs. That's one of the hard parts about developing later with all the corners. Also makes a huge difference in the main floor feel. Get conduit in a few key places, and plug ins at TV height. Think of the position of light switches and plugs. I had the framers add some backing for me in a few key places as well for wall mount TVs. I also got steel toe boots and a hard hat for going on site. Most trades were great, and I tried to get as many as possible setup with Tims cards, coffee, hot lunch, etc. I swear I got my money back 10 fold in workmanship and a few extra little favours. Now the builder is going to tell you "no going on site without prior permission." Mine was fine with me going until I started pointing out a few serious issues. The sales person at one point threatened to have me charged with trespassing, and I dared them. I may have even "fating dare you." They did quickly back down from that stance and tried to make things more amicable. Final thing, take your time at the design studio. Our 4 hour appointment took 8 hours. Get it right, have extra time available, and have a solid meal before or solid lunch packed. Might be the most decisions of your life that day- both in terms of impact as well as quantity. Edit- 2nd final thing- do check out road noise at your site; several times of day. You could end up being way to close to Stoney and hating it.