New House - Central Air

[InlineDieselFan]

Jagmandave, $200 sq foot, for the house it self, or does this include land?

If it is just the house, can I come use your solid gold toilet.

What are you doing for $200 a square foot? I did 9' ceiling, hardwood floors mostly about 1,850 square feet, slate entry, heated tile in master bath, Silestone counter tops in the kitchen 70-80 sq feet, Corian counter tops in bathroom, real wood trim, solid wood interior doors, fiberglass entry door with the leaded window and side windows, fiberglass french door onto the covered trex deck porch, higher end cabinets, several Miele appliances, built in book cabinets, generator ready, lots of elctrical that goes to nothing now like for a future hot tub, and fountain, all Hardi plank siding. We came out to $140 and we live in western WA.

steve

 

[Alan L.]

Jenn Air Cooktop $650

I would scratch the Jenn Air cooktop if it is one of the downdraft vent types. This is the worst idea in venting a cooking surface I have ever seen.

Hot air rises & trying to force it down means too much air flow.

Go for a real hood over a cooktop.

Thanks for the warning. Actually the one my wife wants is just a 5 burner flat top cooktop, 48" wide. The one she liked is made by Jenn-Air (Maytag).

 

[Alan L.]

Eddie:

Thanks for that good information. Here are responses that might clarify the situation:

1. My friend is not a big builder. He actually has a full time job and actually makes about $200K at that, but he and his brothers and another friend started building spec houses back in the 80s and he has been doing 3 or 4 houses a year since then. My daughter lives in one, until yesterday I owned one as a rent house (sold it!!) He has built maybe 15 custom homes in the last few years.

I grew up in building and I have been impressed by the subs that he uses, framers, trim carpenters, etc. He told me long ago that he has alway gotten the best deal on materials from Foxworth Galbraith lumber company. He gives them a plan and they give him an estimate for the entire job, itemized. If he sees anything out of whack He might go somewhere else to get it.

I have the Foxworth estimate and went down to Home Depot and randomly priced some dimension lumber - studs, joists, OSB, etc. I found the estimate to be less than HD's marked price on every item except sheetrock. HD was about 10 cents a sheet less as they were having a big sale. I have been talking directly to the Foxworth guy and he has been very helpful. Randy says their estimate always comes in real close, usually a little higher than actual.

I do know that the estimate had $13,500 for Andersen windows, but the Foxworth guy told us we should try elsewhere as they don't have a good source for them. We have a $7500 estimate from HD.

I'm at a little disadvantage on the lumber because some of it I don't know what it is or what it is used for.

2. Maybe the framing labor is more here at $4.50 a foot. That seemed a little high to me too, but they are in demand and can get all the work they need for that.

3. I fully agree about the leading edge insulation. I think I went into this figuring to get the latest and greatest, but now I am backing off somewhat. I still would really like foam in the walls, however, as I think it would seal it good and permanently, whereas the other products can deteriorate over time.

4. We looked at the cabinets at Home Depot. Did not like them as compared to the cabinets done by the sub that my friend uses. They seem more factory produced, but to me, extremely light and flimsy. I guess "cheap" is another word I have for it. I think the painters always finish the cabinets but I have been happy with what I see. They use a spray on finish that is very smooth and uniform. We are planning to have wood grain pine, hickory, or maple cabinets.

5. On the painted vs stained doors. We originally and still want a log home. However, with the need for energy efficiency, problems with insects, settling issues, lender issues, etc. So, we decided conventional house, but real pine trim, thus the Andersen windows, solid wood doors, and hardwood floors.

6. On the Home Depot discount, I do not currently have a HD credit card. I use the regular cards (but pay them off every month). Maybe I should get one and save $750 on my windows!

7. On the carpet, I have been happy with most of the carpet we have bought, and have never spent more than $16 or so laid with pad. So we don't plan on any super high wool content carpet, and no berber.

What should I pay for tile for walls in the bathroom (only one will have tile) and the floors of the baths and mudroom? By the way, this house has 3 full baths. Master has my shower, my wife's 6-foot jacuzzi, and two sinks. The other one off the mudroom has a fiberglass shower enclosure and the one upstairs has a fiberglass tub enclosure. How does the plumbing estimate look?

 

[Alan L.]

Alan,

I want to emphasize a point made earlier here - pay carefull attention to your windows. When I put my A/C units in I went over the J-spec calcs. I was considering upgrading my insulation in the attic (from R30). Turns out that the 4 double pane windows were as much a heat loss/gain as the roof. You may want to consider triple pane (if you can afford it). I do hear they are heavy to open as double hung style...

The windows we have selected are 400 Series Andersens with "low E sun" double hungs, and 3 casements. They have U factor of about .35, and most important is the solar gain coefficient of .25. While they are dual pane, they have a second reflective layer and are supposed to perform as well as triple pane without the weight. Plus, 16 of our 20 windows are under porches.

Our electric rate is about 13 cents, 18 months ago it was 7.

Buy the way, is it worth renting a propane tank just to use a tankless water heater? Seems like the cost savings wouldd be minimal if the the cost of the tank is a factor. And, maybe there are more efficient electric tank heaters than their used to be? Our heat will be strictly heat pump (with emergency elements that would seldom be used).

 

[hazmat]

Sounds like you already did your homework on the windows. I have the 200 series Andersons - the cheapies (we are the third owner).

Re the water heater - I doubt it is cost effecient to rent the propane tank for H/W - especially if you don't need it for anything else. I'd look into a solar hot water heater - you shoud be able to do that for ~$2-3K. I'll bet the Texas sun will make you more h/w than you can use...

Lastly - I did some homework on geothermal when I put my A/C in. It costs a fortune up here, but from what I hear, may be reasonable in other parts of the country - especially if you already have an excavation contractor on site for the foundation work. It is supposed to cut your energy costs by ~75% compared to conventional a/c and heat. I'm assuming this is the last house you plan to build - If you can get less than 10 year payback on the geothermal, go for it... You get "free" hot water with a geothermal when the a/c is running.

 

[Alan L.]

Sounds like you already did your homework on the windows. I have the 200 series Andersons - the cheapies (we are the third owner).

Re the water heater - I doubt it is cost effecient to rent the propane tank for H/W - especially if you don't need it for anything else. I'd look into a solar hot water heater - you shoud be able to do that for ~$2-3K. I'll bet the Texas sun will make you more h/w than you can use...

Lastly - I did some homework on geothermal when I put my A/C in. It costs a fortune up here, but from what I hear, may be reasonable in other parts of the country - especially if you already have an excavation contractor on site for the foundation work. It is supposed to cut your energy costs by ~75% compared to conventional a/c and heat. I'm assuming this is the last house you plan to build - If you can get less than 10 year payback on the geothermal, go for it... You get "free" hot water with a geothermal when the a/c is running.

The solar water heater, though pricey, might make sense. The guy that did my plans has geothermal. He says it has been a disaster. His has broken down on several occassions, and he has been down as long as 5 weeks waiting for parts. He has already replaced part of the system with regular air heatpumps. Of couse this is one situation, but the problem is that we don't have many HVAC constractors down here that do it, and so if any thing breaks its hard to get someone that can fix it.

 

[WhyNot]

Alan
I second what Eddie said about the Home Depot cabinet's. If you look in the project's section and for the thread kitchen remodel the cabinet's are the second grade (Home depot has 3 grades around here) Honey Maple cabinet's. The frames are laminate all the joint's are glued and nailed and set in datto's. The drawer's and door's are made from solid wood. My parent's paid around 2 grand for the cabinet's and laminate counter top. Would have been more but the sales rep took $600 off with out even having to haggel. You measure the kitchen and take them the measurement's they then take your measurement's and give you a very detailed plan and if you decide to go with them they send out their contractor to double check all of your measurement's (no cost to you). Excellent customer service when they delivered the cab's they didn't deliver the counter top's so they took the delivery charge off again with out even asking them to. When it came time to install the cabinet's found out the filler strip's were the wrong wood called H.D. up and had them a week later no ?'s asked. So as you can see I would recommend them to everyone and would definetly use them again.
Also, to save some money on the plumbing you could do it yourself and run PEX if it is allowed in your area. Nothing more than running "garden hoses" from the fixtures to a main dist. manifold. No soldiering needed.

 

[Alan L.]

Alan
I second what Eddie said about the Home Depot cabinet's. If you look in the project's section and for the thread kitchen remodel the cabinet's are the second grade (Home depot has 3 grades around here) Honey Maple cabinet's. The frames are laminate all the joint's are glued and nailed and set in datto's. The drawer's and door's are made from solid wood. My parent's paid around 2 grand for the cabinet's and laminate counter top. Would have been more but the sales rep took $600 off with out even having to haggel. You measure the kitchen and take them the measurement's they then take your measurement's and give you a very detailed plan and if you decide to go with them they send out their contractor to double check all of your measurement's (no cost to you). Excellent customer service when they delivered the cab's they didn't deliver the counter top's so they took the delivery charge off again with out even asking them to. When it came time to install the cabinet's found out the filler strip's were the wrong wood called H.D. up and had them a week later no ?'s asked. So as you can see I would recommend them to everyone and would definetly use them again.
Also, to save some money on the plumbing you could do it yourself and run PEX if it is allowed in your area. Nothing more than running "garden hoses" from the fixtures to a main dist. manifold. No soldiering needed.

Wow, sounds like Home Depot cabints are popular. I guess the answer is that we want something more substantial, more real wood and plywood as opposed to particle board. More unobtrusive hardware, etc. The particular ones we looked at in HD just seemed very lightweight nad not inexpensive at all.

 

[Alan L.]

Alan,

I'm no expert, but I have a friend here is Dallas that is a builder/remodeler and he tells me that $100/sq is a ballpark estimate for a good asphalt roof, and $175-$200/sq would be a good estimate for a roof using material like Mueller's CF Panel - Mueller, Inc. - Steel Buildings and Metal Roofing. Neither one of those quotes include the decking, which is usually included in the framing cost, but would include all labor and materials above that.

63 squares @ $200 would only be $12,600, so I'm not sure what kind of metal roof you're considering, but it must be nice! Also, I assume you are planning to use a radiant barrier, like TechShield Radiant Barrier – LP, right?

edit: the above numbers were for a house I am considering, which is very simple rectangle with a large shed dormer on one side and none on the other. Eddie Walker can probably give you better information on Mueller costs, since I think he & Steph just put one on their house. Better yet, maybe they'll come over and install one for you!

This is what I thought, but I received a bid directly from Mueller that totals about $340 per square for their galvalume CF panel. Called two other roofing contractors and they esimated from $160 to $300 per square for labor alone. My 12 pitch roof has something to do with this.

 

[dubba]

Buy the way, is it worth renting a propane tank just to use a tankless water heater?

Could you pair it up to a gas dryer? Maybe you don't need a dryer in texas? I only have a small propane tank to run the gas dryer on my property, I have been wondering if I put in the tankless water heater if the small tank would suffice.