Bought My First House

Thanks for the kind words and suggestions gents!!

Detailbarn--Ok bud, the builder's name is Johnny Prescott. Again, he is with Venture Homes, Inc.

Drew--
Sounds like notes from an experienced gentleman, thank you! I agree, quality upgrades are a must. However, some of the upgrades they really jack you on. For instance, power garage door openers are $450 EACH. I went to Sears and they have 3/4 hp ones for about $175 each. It really doesn't take that much time to install them, so I skipped out on that. I spent more than I thought I did on the kitchen, but I plan on spending some time there, so I'll make it worthwhile. I also upgraded the carpet pad, as that was definitely worth the investment. I'll will for sure take a look into the garage lights you suggested.

Here are some pictures I took yesterday when I stopped by......THE ROOF IS ON! The upstairs wasn't even framed yet last Sunday, so I was pleasantly surprised. The second one is my view from the kitchen and living room windows, as well as the Master bathroom bay area. The final picture is of the basement area which will be about 3/4's of the size of the main floor.
 
Ha, ha, no pool this time around. We had one at our old house in CA, where you could easily get in 365 days out of the year. Here in GA, we're not that lucky. However, I do have an olympic size pool, tennis courts, workout facility, banquet room, and a basketball court the next street down at the ammenities.

What we have considered though is putting a jacuzzi where you see the basement door. That will be conreted once finished, so I figure put one of those right outside the basement door.
 
Nick,

I think the garage has gotta be a tiny bit bigger... just a tiny bit! :D How about a jacuzzi to watch your car? That's an idea! :lmfao
 
Why is there a mix of sheathing? Why not all plywood (well, the yellow material LOOKS like plywood) or all OSB?
 
Yeah, I agree Nick, some of the upgrades are a joke. But you are sensible and have the right idea. You will love the hot tub if and when you get one. Make sure you have the breaker space (should take a 2pole 60-80Amp circuit breaker). It really feels good to climb into after a long day. I love the location. It seems very peaceful. And I couldn't believe all the amenities in the area! That is just great!
 
I dont know what the two types of plywood is for, but there is probably a reason.

Looks like you have a decent builder. Nice footer for the deck. Plus the posts are under a beam instead of notched and continued up as railings, way better trust me *rolls eyes*
 
About the tar paper under the shingles....

Where i lived in Mass. the building dept. just started enforcing this about 3 or 4 years ago. You should have heard all the roofers complaining about it lol.

I know quite a few who tried to roof the backside of the house without TP, and were made to strip the what was done lol. There is no sperate inspection for the TP up there.
 
Hey folks,

The weekend went great. I sent Leanna on a scavenger hunt to some places we visit a bit around town....all of which ended up with us in the new house. The last clue has in a hard hat that I got from the builder. We always call her "Princess", so I bought a Tiara and hotglued it on the hard hat. It was pretty funny.

She was super excited when I told her that I bought the house. Then I told her that I needed someone to share it with, and that's when I got on one knee and asked, "Will you marry me." Before I could even finish, she was tearing up and said "YES"! The ring fit her perfectly. We then came back to her house and our parents had gotten a lot of family and friends together for a night of celebration. It was such a great time.
 
TW85 said:
Why is there a mix of sheathing? Why not all plywood (well, the yellow material LOOKS like plywood) or all OSB?
Click to expand...

I am not quite sure what that is. I read this post right before I went over there for Leanna to meet up with me. I felt it and it feels like a really hard foam??? Not sure if that is sheathing or not? I don't know why they mixed that in either, but it's on my list of questions to ask.
 
TW85 said:
Why is there a mix of sheathing? Why not all plywood (well, the yellow material LOOKS like plywood) or all OSB?
Click to expand...

Good catch, but I don't believe it is either OSD or plywood. Looks more like glass board. Glass board is very common under areas where stucco or similar type finish will be applied. If you look at the yellow materiail Nick it probably has small fibers all over the face of it. Hard to tell from the pics, but that is my best guest. Look at your exterior elevations and look at the details around the windows. Does the exterior change at that point?
 
Couple more items for you Nick,

On the photo with the whole house there is a white pipe sticking out at the right side of the house about 9' up in the air. I am assuming this is the drain line off the air conditioner that is probably on the second floor.

Why not have them bring that down the interior wall lower and then poke it out. That way their is no chance the condensate off the air conditoner will run all over your siding.

On the photo of the back of the house, I can see a black tar like substance on your foundation wall. I am assuming this is a basement water proofing. Find out what type of warranty that stuff carries. Some of those water proofing systems carry a 10 year warranty or more. That warranty may be void if insulation is not installed over the top of it. Helps protect it from rocks and other such debris.

On your 3rd party inspector, good idea. Just make sure they are qualified. I don't know about your state, but a lot of states don't requrie a licensce to be a "home inspector". Some of us spend years mastering a trade, and some of these home inspectors do it in 10 min. Don't get me wrong some of them are good and some aren't worth the ground they walk on.

If you need help Nick, just PM me. Glad to help you out for a change.
 
OI812 said:
Good catch, but I don't believe it is either OSD or plywood. Looks more like glass board. Glass board is very common under areas where stucco or similar type finish will be applied. If you look at the yellow materiail Nick it probably has small fibers all over the face of it. Hard to tell from the pics, but that is my best guest. Look at your exterior elevations and look at the details around the windows. Does the exterior change at that point?
Click to expand...

I was actually thinking the same thing (why I mentioned it only looking like plywood). The board was used on our screen porch ceiling (stucco) and the manufacturer appears to be different but the appearance is identical. With where the yellow sheathing (whatever it is) was used, I have a hard time thinking it is for stucco because there is no consistency in its usage. I also can't imagine it being used when a moisture barrier and wire mesh still have to go up (meshing only if stucco is used, obviously).

:)
 
I went back and looked at the pics again tonight. In a lot of areas of the country, it is becoming (sadly) more of a practice to only sheet part of the house with OSB or Plywood. Done at the corners and other areas for wind bracing and adding stuctural strength. In the area I live in you see many builders using 1" styrofoam on the exterior of the house. Put 1/2" sheeting in the corners and by windows for wind bracing and structural strength. Then they add 1/2" styrofoam over the sheeting to get back to a flat surface.

I think that is what they are doing on Nicks house, they are using the glass board because it is cheaper then OSB. Going back and relooking at the first picture, what I don't like is they have three different materials used on the exterior. You have OSB, Glass Board, and that black fiber material on the second floor. Look at the house next door, notice they used no black material upstars. Notice the black material is only used where it can't be soaked by rain. In the end I think it is just a cost saving between the glass board and the OSB. You may want to ask your builder about this Nick
 
OI812 said:
In the area I live in you see many builders using 1" styrofoam on the exterior of the house.
Click to expand...

Yep, very common practice where I used to live. Our house in Arizona had styrofoam sheathing, with OSB only being used as decking. There was not a piece of wood sheathing on the house.

What is the black material? I originally thought it was tar paper but there are not enough capped nails for it to be and the very same capped nails are carried onto the glass board. One thing that concerns "me" is if those capped nails are all that are holding the glass board in place,though I do realize you do not have nearly the high wind risk that we (coast) do.

Nick, tract homes tend to move along quickly. What is the status of your house?
 
Well, the house is certainly moving along quickly as TW85 predicted. My family and Leanna's family spent the bulk of the day there on Saturday prewiring for surround sound. We did one system upstairs based out of the loft, and another downstairs based out of the living room. This was all in preparation for insulation and drywall late this week. The stairs to the upstairs and the ones to the basement were put on the day after the proposal, so we were able to take a look up there (picture)

-Yes, the roof does have tar paper under the 30yr. shingles (Thanks Jeff).

-Yes, there are dryer vents going outside and visable caulking around them.

-My floors have a 50yr warranted wood on them that was glued, then nailed by the builders. He then has a seperate company come out and screw them down. So glued, nailed, then screwed (jeez, putting it that way sounds like a bad day for someone). (picture)

-As for the black stuff around the portions of the house, it is the same type of tar paper as on the roof, however, the yellow sheathing and/or plywood is behind it. There were some small gaps in between some of the boards (more of the yellow sheathing than the plywood). Some foam insulation was on the property, so I went around sealing any gaps I saw prior to the insullation being installed. I went through the two cans they had there, and another I went to go get at Home Depot. (prev. picture)

-Couple pics of the new bride-to-be and me from the view of our upstairs loft (converted from a 4th bedroom).

-I was able to talk to the electrical company two different times while I was out there and managed to get an extra outlet in the garage ($125 through the builder), another in the family room ($75), and the 220 one outside for the jacuzzi ($350)....you can never have enough outlets.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top