Remember drains on your back patio

When the builders were discussing our back patio, we spent a lot of time discussing gentle slopes that would allow for water to drain to the sides. In all of this discussion, I simply cannot fathom how Mr. Big or I didn't question whether we should put a drain somewhere in the patio.

Fast forward to this morning and you would find me rinsing down a few morsels of potting soil, just begging for a drain in this mammoth patio.


That would be today's little nugget...definitely think about those drains!

Building for dummies part trois

These tips may not/likely will not apply to a wider group of ambition home builders, but in case anyone might benefit, here we go once again.

1. Plant a fragrant plant at your front door. Our landscaper secretly placed a Night Blooming Jasmine outside our front door and near our outdoor entertaining area. It's a pleasant surprise at the end of a long day and starts our home hours off just right. We get a lot of comments from friends when they arrive and leave as well. "What is that great smell?"

2. Carefully consider levers vs knobs on doors and gates. We ultimately went with levers throughout the house and garden because I liked the look much better. But seeing as our dog can now let himself out of the yard (yes by pressing on the lever), I cannot imagine what kids might do in the future. And no worries about Jordan, he's learned how to let himself back into the yard. (Ugh...and people question the intelligence of dogs.)

Nice paw scratches huh?

3. Consider matching your rain gutters and down pipes to your exterior colors. Our builder was at serious odds with our architect on this one. "They don't need to match the drains to the windows". We ultimately pressed on, and in the end, the architect is spot on. Even these silly little finishing details really pulled together the final product. I never would have bothered if he had not insisted.


4. With that being said, remember to say no. Our architect was an absolute inspiration to work with. All the options, all the goodies, all the costs. Originally, he wanted to cover our front door and window area in real stone. "It will be fabulous". We almost fell for it, but reason kicked in. We ultimately went with a faux styrofoam-type moulding, which turned out great. Could it have been better? Possibly. But I'm pretty darn happy with what we got (and I'm happier that I don't have stark white rain gutters).

5. Make sure you supervise the whole way through. When the walls are going up and windows going in, it's natural that you are privy to the daily decisions at the house. But towards the end when the little details are getting finalized, it's easy to trust that the builders know your preferences and slack off a bit. I wouldn't want you to come home one day expecting a normal sidewalk only to find a stained and stamped concrete alternative. You might just be disappointed that your attention temporarily wandered.


Hope some of those items might be helpful!

"Building for Dummies" Part Deux

One of my best buddies is out there maneuvering through the house planning pre-building stage right now. In some ways I envy her fresh start. But in other ways, I'm not so sure when I would choose to do this all again. In her honor and anyone else who's interested, here are a few more tips we picked up along the way.

1. Don't be too worried about matching wood stains. Seriously, don't do it. When we started out, I was really concerned about doing exactly this. The floors had to be the same color as the cabinets which were to be the same color as the windows, etc...all through different manufacturers...as if. As soon as I let go of my obsession, it became apparent that slightly different wood tones actually added character and depth. Oh and by the way, white baseboards do work with dark wood doors.

2. Consider automatic lights in your closets. This is the best. It costs about $50 per closet and it makes a huge difference. Open up those doors and everything is well lit for your browsing pleasure. (If you can do it, try out-swing closet doors...we love them compared to sliders or bi-folds). And the same automatic light is worth considering in your garage as well. You'll be thankful when you've got your hands full of dirty building materials.

3. Get an "All Off" button. If you plan for any type of lighting control system, an "All Off" button at your beside is perfection. (Except when you forget that you have guests and you shut the house down on them...not that we would have done this...multiple times!) We also have a security button at our bedside for those scary evenings when Mr. Big isn't home. The only time that I used this, I later came to find out that these strange noises were coming from a random land crab scratching around in our second story gutter. I'm sure that the outdoor and indoor flashing lights kept me from his harm. :)

4. Don't forget your security system. It's simplest to meet with a security company to design your system as you are building, rather than retrofitting later. It may feel like one-thing-too-many at the planning stage, but you'll be pleased later.

5. Be picky about your grout color. Picking wall/floor/shower/whatever tiles is so exciting. If you're like me, you'll have visions about what it will look like finished. They put down most everything in our house in a light grey "bleh" color before we realized that grout comes in about eighteen hundred different colors. The areas where we matched the grout to the tile certainly seem more finished.

6. Visit your construction site regularly. We spent hours, days, what feels like a lifetime designing our house. And the actual guy reading the plans spent about two milliseconds interpreting our dreams. Things will inevitably get misinterpreted...and it's simplest to correct mistakes quickly. In the first 4 months, we probably visited 2-3 times a week. After that, we were on site daily. (Oh and on that note, be careful about giving your all your phone # to your contractor...I got pulled out of a few pretty important meetings only to deal with the placement of doorstops. Wow.)

7. Order your windows the day you break ground (or before). This was our major delay and it was painful to see the house s-i-t without any activity while we waited for windows. Unfortunately, our future neighbors across the canal are facing the same dilemma (and yes, they are using the same manufacturer). Not a lot can happen inside until those windows get in...and who are we kidding...the inside is where it's all at!

So how are those thoughts? Useful? Unimaginative? Basic? Are there other areas that would be helpful? We'll get some more thoughts posted, but honestly, you may not want to learn our lessons. :)

Miss you Mrs. E!

"Building for Dummies" was written for us

It's amazing how little we understood about the building process when we started our project. (And yes, I actually bought the guide...wonder where it is?) Now that we're getting to the end of the process, it might be worthwhile to share some of our experiences, impressions, joys and disappointments for others that may find it useful. Feel free to do with them as you wish. Here's a start:

1. Be involved in selecting sub-trades. Although our project manager had preferred sub-trades, we took it upon ourselves to meet with 2-3 different companies, including their recomendations, to get their input on our project. It was so insightful and we received loads of additional advice. Most of the time, we ended up going with a different company than recommended (ironically our project manager now regularly uses our choices on their other jobs). While this process took a bit of time, in the end, the sub-trades that we hand selected gave us the best levels of service, without question. The others were certainly more challenging.

2. Seriously consider employing trades that l-o-v-e their job. It was really easy to feel those individuals who loved what they did, from those who were doing their job. (One guy told us that he was keeping his landscaping company until his hot sauce business took off...um, ok?) Not surprisingly, we got the best suggestions and most creative ideas from those with a bit of passion. And when it came to getting the job done, they delivered. Their pride for their work was palpable, and obviously we benefited from that. Plus they were the most fun to work with.

3. Stairs are challenging...don't give up on them. Mr. Big is really tall and we specifically asked for a wide stair tread. When the original plans seemed to have narrow stairs, we were told that they would be fine. When they were constructed, there were a further challenges, and in the end, the stairs are even too narrow for me, let alone Mr. Big. I later learned that stairs are actually one of the most difficult aspects of a house to get right. In retrospect, we both wish that we had listened to our instinct. Narrow stairs are a drag...(and they're killing the tips of my favorite heels!)

4. Consider cabinet pull out drawers everywhere. No joke, everywhere. Our cabinetry designer put under-counter pull out drawers in the kitchen. The problem is that I'm now completely addicted. We don't loose things to the depths of the cabinets any longer. Organization is just so easy! Once we're off this silly budget, these puppies be going in all of our bathrooms as well. If I could go back in time, I would put these sanity-savers everywhere.

Simple Human option from Bed Bath and Beyond

Okay, well there's a start, but there's more to come (I just need to get to work...boring).