We’re starting a house, actually already have and are using a GC that I know personally and has a good reputation. What are some things you guys that have been through this could shed some light on thatvyou wish you would have known before? Slab was just poured this week so we’re in the beginning stages.

When you get past the layout and get to the interior designing aspects (flooring color, kitchen cabinets, countertops, paint) give your wife the GCs phone number and remove yourself from the situation. Tell him to please only involve you if there is a budget issue.

It's going to cost more than you think, so budget for it.

Spend money on the kitchen, flooring and bathrooms you won't regret it.

Sign the papers and take a year's vacation to Needmore, Al.

Already done, seriously.

I have instructions before we started to figure everything higher than a giraffes ass. By the looks of the cost estimate, he did. I can find a lot of places we will come in under. That being said, there will be places we’re over to wash it.

I may not be doing the right thing but I’m building out of pocket right now. I don’t plan on taking any draws until the first 100k is toast. This damn foundation took care of a nice chunk of it.

Do foam insulation and thank me later. Home water service box so you can turn off each room individually. Use a tankless heater.

Home storm shelter.

Anticipate everything that you MAY want to do later and wire for it. Cable, security cameras, anything extra. Put cable and electric wall outlets high to mount TVs on walls which is common now.

Great advice, thank you. Does anyone have any intel on the underground sage rooms they dog in after the fact? We’re wanting to do an underground safe room below the garage and that’s what I’ve considered doing.

Insulate the laundry room and bathroom walls to cut down noise

Depending on your age/how long you plan on living in the house, not a terrible idea to make the doorways wheelchair width.

I think this is great advice, I’m one step ahead of you already. Some rooms make sense to dump it into and some just don’t.

I’m 34, but do plan on being here long term. I bought this 24 acres when I was 27 and have no plans on moving anywhere else. Way too much sweat equity in this place already.

Solid idea, our laundry room is relatively close to the master bedroom so that will be big time. A mouse fart will wake me up so anything like that is helpful.

Let the wife pick out what she wants and you just pay for it. Otherwise y’all might be fighting. Get a good contractor that won’t rake you over the coals and take your money halfway through the build and not come back. I can say I’ll never build another one ever again after the hell we went through with this one

The time to consider this is BEFORE you pour the concrete. Now your talking mucho dollars if the slab has been poured.

Dead wood in walls where you might want to hang something heavy. Video all walls before they are closed up. Go to the job everyday and just look around. Put a camera on the dumpster, just to see who is filling it up on the weekends.

Also in the kitchen run the exhaust fan OUTSIDE. Not into the attic.

One thing I forgot to do was be able to control the exterior lights outside the garage from inside. I have to go into garage to turn off/on the lights outside my garage. I placed two industrial fans on the wall in my garage slaved to a switch that I run when I’m the garage. Really helps with heat.

They do these after the fact, as backwards as that seems. I know a lot of folks that have them and they put them after their houses were completed. Seems crazy as hell to me but that’s how it’s done.

I live onsite so I see it everyday. I took them bastards a garbage can yesterday so they will stop chucking water bottles every damn where.

I’m not dead set on doing one of these. There something inside of me that can’t fathom cutting through concrete to do a damn safe room. Blows my mind honestly.