Getting Lit Without Getting Burned - New Construction Electrical Advice

"Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself."

- Desiderius Erasmus -

Phew!  Has it been this long since I have updated you on the farmhouse build?  Things seem to have been happening fast!  The electrical doesn't show a lot of progress (at least to my untrained eye) but man those guys were always working.  I guess it is a lot of work running all of those cables/wires...

Well, after some twists, turns, and moderate shocks (pricing-wise), we were able to settle in on a great electrical design.  Here are some details that we ran into and how we settled out.  Enjoy!

Contract advice

When we were reading our contract, it was difficult initially to know what was included in the electrical lump sum.  Almost all builders include something similar to 'electrical to code', but what the heck is code?  I was worried that I wouldn't know what was in, what was out, so I asked for a list of the electrical components to be included as an exhibit to the contract.  Without the specific pricing, the list looked something like:

     75 watt can lights - 86
     Single pole switches - 90
     Three-way switch - 54
     Entry fixture - 2
     and so on...

Looking back, I think that this was helpful but I needed to educate myself more about the terminology used by electricians that were not obvious to me (I was okay with figuring out "entry fixture", but this other stuff was Greek).  While not required, especially if you are building a spec home, I found it comforting to see exactly what was included in the base price and to see exactly what was an adder and (in rare cases) a deduct.  However, having a builder like J.S. Robinson made this task so much easier and (in hindsight) less necessary.  So, humor me by sharing some lessons learned :)  Full disclosure, the discussion below is made by a non-electrical homeowner.  Please forgive any inadvertent mistakes! 

Single pole switch - The pole is the light switch you use to turn on and off lights.  Something like:

     
Light switches with two poles would have two single pole switches combined.

Two-way, three-way, four-way Switches

Now, consider this:  you often want to have a single light that is operated off of two different light switches.  For example, we have a long hallway that we may want to have an on/off switch for the lights on either end.  This situation requires a special type of switch - a three way switch.

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Full disclosure - I read several websites trying to understand the anatomy of the three-way switch well enough to explain it on my blog.  Total.  Fail.  I leave you with the knowledge that if  you want to have a single light that is operated off of two separate switches, each switch will need a three-way switch.  Or if you have a single light operated off of three switches, then you would need three four-way switches, and so on.  

Receptacles

This is a trash can, right?  Not when you are talking electrical!  This is where you juice-up your phone!

If you want a four cord outlet, you need two receptacles:

GFCI Receptacle - A ground fault happens whenever electricity escapes the wiring it is supposed to be in and takes a shortcut to the ground.  People can be killed or seriously injured by electrical shocks from a ground fault.  Cue an engineer to save the day!  To prevent such accidents, Charles Dalziel, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of California, invented the ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI), in 1961.  A GFCI receptacle monitors the difference in the electrical current flowing into and out of an outlet. But when that difference exceeds 5 milliamps, an indication that a ground fault may be occurring, the GFCI shuts off the flow quickly.  GFCI receptacles are  GFCIs are required by the National Electric Code in all new kitchens, bathrooms, crawl spaces, unfinished basements, and most outdoor receptacles.   Source  


Cut-in Receptacle - These are outlets that are "cut-in" to cabinets.  My parents were interested in having all electrical outlets installed in the bottom of the upper cabinets (to get a no-electrical-outlets backsplash look).  For each of those outlets, they much be cut-in the cabinets.

W.P. receptacle - The W.P. stands for weather proof.  These are your outdoor plugs.

Fixtures - The electrician will wire for your fixtures, Different fixtures require different wiring and complexity, therefore each is typically described differently.  Here is a quick cheat sheet:
  
     Fixture Standard Interior/Exterior - These are your typical ceiling flushmount lights (not can lights).  Something as cool as:

Frankfort Semi Flushmount

Edgar Flushmount

     Fixture Other Interior/Exterior - Think sconces!  These are typically wall-mounted lights.

     Keyless - Just your standard light bulb in a socket.

Electrical Design - Advice and Selections

It is extremely easy to go hit your budget, drive by your budget, then shoot for the stars :)  While there were many items that we considered, we had to be realistic and decline many cool things.  But that being said, we still got some great upgrades.  

First things first, most electricians will draw out code before you arrive for your electrical walk-through.  What that means is that they will draw, on the framing, where each switch/light/etc. is located (as required by code).  Then you walk through each room and consider light switch locations, additional lighting, etc.

Here is a list of the above-code considerations, and why we either decided to get them or not.

     Extra Outlets - "You get an extra outlet, you get an extra outlet..." Yes, okay, we went overboard.  But seriously, you need extra outlets!  Here were some of the locations that got outlet-ed: 

• Inside the bathroom cabinets - for toothbrushes, hair dryers, potential instant hot water heaters, etc.
• In the bedrooms, we located outlets to be where nightstands would be located.  To do so, you measure the width of your queen/king bed, locate them in the room, and then move outlets accordingly.  I hate when an outlet is behind a bed or piece of furniture...
• We added outlets in our closets for potential additional lighting, charging, etc.
• We added a lot of outlets in our mudroom area for charging iPads, phones, and other equipment.
• In the kitchen, we added an outlet under the sink for instant-hot.
• We added weather proof outlets in the roof eaves for Christmas lights.
• We added some electrical outlets higher on the walls for a fold-down ironing board, TVs, heated towel bar, etc.
• We added extra outlets in the pantry along the countertop for small appliances.
• There is now an additional outlet in the kids' playroom under the stairs for charging devices.
• There will be outlets in the floors for lamps/etc.
• There are also two sets of outlets on both fireplace mantles.
• In the garage, we added a lot more outlets (both an upper for a TV potentially and also just everyday tools).

     Sconces - My Mom and I are both fans of eye-level lighting, not top-lighting.  Can lights are great, but man, I'm really sure I don't look that old...

That led to a large quantity of sconces.  Huge.  To give you some idea (as long as you promise not to laugh), here is goes:

Source

Either side of the master bedroom beds - saves night stand space by eliminating a lamp.  However, this does require that you find hardwired bedside sconces with a switch or you will need the electrician to add a light switch next to each bed.  I wanted a cleaner look, so no light switch.  

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Master bathroom lighting was a struggle.  I wanted to make sure that we had lighting that was face-level (so as not to accentuate any wrinkles/eye bags).  Thus, the flanked mirror sconce was added!

Home Bunch

Laundry rooms need some love too!  I just swooned over this laundry room.  We are hoping to do something similar but have the sconces over the actual floating shelves.   

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We also added some above the floating shelves in our kitchens.

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The long central hall connecting our main house to my parents' house?  Yes, you need sconces too!

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Given that our fireplace extends upward two stories, we were encouraged to add some sconces that highlight the height.  Thus, fireplace sconces.

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Outside sconces are great too!  We added two on our entry pillars.

Okay, I see it now.  We have a sconce obsession.  Admitting it is the first step, right?  :)

     Can light vs. Standard Fixture - Can lights are expensive upfront, so it can be tempting to just get wired for a standard fixture.  But then, you have to buy the fixture.  Also, if you have can lights in a room (like your great room or master bedroom), you eliminate the need for a light kit with a ceiling fan (which can save a lot of money).  My initial temptation was to eliminate can lights, but looking back, I'm so grateful that Mitch (our project manager) talked us into keeping a lot of them.

     

     Puck Lights - These are the little lights inside of kitchen cabinets with glass doors.  The electrician wires for them but you purchase the actual light from a lighting store.

     Art Lights - Unbeknownst to me, there are special can lights you can purchase that sit flush with the ceiling and shine an art-friendly light at an angle.  We installed these in several places throughout the house where artwork will hang.

     Motion Light - We installed one on my parents' side pantry.  When you open the doors, LIGHT!  Apparently a motion light is better than a toggle switch (that opens when the door opens) because people will often have someone close the door after they enter.  The motion switch will keep the light on while you are in the pantry, deciding which carb to eat :)

     Heated floors - Our master bathrooms have heated floors, so there is special wiring and thermostats associated with that choice.  Cha-ching!

     Stair Lights  - Sigh, we are getting to things we passed on. This was a tough one for me.  But it was so expensive that we passed.  I have found some other options online that I will share later that will hopefully give the same effect without the cost.

 While I do feel like I forgot something, I hope that this gives you information on what to expect for your electrical walk-through on your new construction home.  As usual, J.S. Robinson was exceedingly patient in managing this process.  While some items are easy to pick out, electrical is just pretty overwhelming and takes several appointments for custom homes.  

Check out the attention to detail and the, dare I say, beauty of the electrical subcontractor's work...J.S. Robinson seriously has the BEST subcontractors in the business!  All of those wires so perfectly pulled and run...

Modern Farmhouse Design - Kitchen, dining, outdoor areas oh my!

NC Home Design

And so, the spotlight process continues...this time focusing on Matt and my great room, dining room, kitchen, and some of the outdoor areas.  But just to get you in the mood, isn't the above kitchen dreamy???  

Starting in the great room, it is a pretty standard hang out area.  We are contemplating a shiplap fireplace with tile around the surround.  Any suggestions for the side built-ins would be welcome!  Maybe something like this:

One of the early decisions we had to make early was whether we wanted the TV on the wall opposite the kitchen, which would be awesome except the fireplace would then take windows from the wall facing the field.  We decided to put the TV over the fireplace and keep the wall of windows (spoiler alert, my parents chose the opposite)  :)  

Because we don't have a formal dining room, so our brilliant architect made some helpful suggestions.  First, there is a larger-than-normal distance between the dining area and the kitchen island to allow us to move the table at an angle if we need to accommodate a lot of people.  He also designed a larger-than-normal distance between the kitchen island and the fireplace so we could add a smaller table there.  

Finally, he said that the screened-in porch...errrr....lanai....would be a great place for overflow eating space.  He therefore designed a double slider to create a seamless flow between the two rooms.

And on to the kitchen...

We wanted a no-wasted-space floor plan, so there are no formal dining areas, no formal living areas, no formal-anything!  As for the kitchen, it has large island with a farmhouse sink.  Need to start putting money aside to fund this amazing farmhouse sink that I fell in love with...

Native Trails Sink

Can you imagine, no spots?  I love the curve front as well.  

The gas range will have a pot filler above it and a framed-in hood.  There is a spot for a wine fridge, but we all know that we drink wine out of a box, so the wine fridge will likely (definitely) be a canned adult beverage refrigerator.

Funny story about pot fillers--I have a good friend who had a house with a pot filler installed.  She said that the pot filler has flooded the house on two occasions.  At first, I assumed that the valve leaked or something similar.  But alas, no.  The first time, she started filling a pot and then walked away.  She forgot to go back right away until it was too late.  Same thing happened to a chef she hired to host a girls' party at her house.

It makes sense--you usually fill up a pot in your kitchen sink that has a drain.  I tell you this story only because I am in the hunt for a self-shut-off pot filler.  I am more scattered than my friend, so I think this is a definite concern :)

Thanks for reading!  Make sure to go to my instagram account to enter for a give away for a $100 gift card to an awesome farmhouse  etsy shop!

Instagram link  - HERE

Farmhouse Etsy store link - HERE

Modern Farmhouse Decor - Rustic Windmill Wall Art

When I think of a farmhouse, I think of images like this...

One common feature -- a windmill!  While we will have a later post on the actual windmill we select to water the belted galloway cattle, this post centers around a local female rustic decor artisan that features her art and vintage farmhouse finds at Bella Patina.  If you are not familiar with Bella Patina, you need to be!  Need. To. Be.

Bella Patina is a vintage and antique shop in Kansas City that features many booths of shabby chic, industrial, primitives, and farmhouse chic items in three floors!!!  The shop is located in the West Bottoms and are open on First Fridays!  Love them!

After hearing that this blog features modern farmhouse art, including local Kansas City artists and female super stars, my friend connected me with the amazing Shannon Gardner.  Shannon has a booth at Bella Patina which features, among many items, actual reclaimed windmill blades.  

Actual.  Reclaimed. Windmill. Blades.  She picked them up in Wyoming and brought them to Bella Patina.  Some of her personal home windmill blade art includes:

Here is a shot she took after reclaiming them before she headed home...

So, now I have to have them, right?  After all, I'm loving this artwork, like:

Mr and Mrs 2015

Hinz 57 shop

And so I am buying my own windmill half to probably put over the bed in the master or guest room.  SO AMAZING!!!  

Please check out Shannon's booth and many other amazing vendors at Bella Patina at its website, and more effectively, at First Fridays October 7th!!!

Face Lift! My blog got UPGRADED!!!

First, let me thank everyone for the amazing outpouring of support for our blog!  It is truly amazing how many people have contacted us with questions or atta-girl-s...all the while I continue to write about our many missteps in this crazy journey of building a modern farmhouse :)

In a surprise to no one, our adventures in blogging have enjoyed similar miscalculations.  But perhaps that was understandable given that the purpose of this blog started off as an information repository to house emailed information I had sent to friends/co-workers/family   Admittedly, my focus was not really on the aesthetics of the blog...until now :)

Thanks to Designer Blogs, I now have a blog that is easy on the eyes!!!  There appear to be two main blog platforms, blogger and Wordpress.  I started off using blogger so this article references that platform.  

Many of you know that I am just a little busy, just like all of us.  I work full time, have two rambunctious and adorable daughters, a cute ginger hubby who works a lot, a photography passion...and awesome friends I don't see enough...and now a blog!  Phew!  It takes a lot of planning just to get content out, let alone figuring out how to make the platform pretty.  The idea of trying to teach myself how to update my blog seemed like a hill too high to climb.  Again, WRONG!

Enter Kate Gaj from Designer Blogs.  Apparently, there are companies like Designer Blogs that have premade templates that can be customized.  The biggest selling feature for me???

THEY LOG INTO YOUR ACCOUNT AND DO THE UPDATE FOR YOU

In other words, I did not have to figure out have to copy over all my content to a new blog.  I just selected the options I was interested in and Kate emailed me with questions!  She then sent me design previews for me the review and make changes.  Designer Blogs offer different levels of assistance, from beautiful blog platforms that you would upload yourself, an in-between option that allows you to customize certain items, and a full-out customization option.  Check out the results!  My blog head went from this:

Blah, not horrible but not great, to this:  

I know what you are thinking....

I know.  It is a clean look, modern, categories with dropdowns to make the blog easier to read and navigate.  Then you get to the blog post section:

It went from this:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 

. . . to this!

Modern Farmhouse - Favorite Blogs so far...

I am a super fan of Chip and Joanna Gaines and their show Fixer Upper.  So when we first started talking about this crazy modern farmhouse build, I set out to learn from others who have done this before.  Since then, I have started following several blogs for farmhouse design, new home construction, and other farmstead-ing topics :)  Enjoy!!!

Modern Farmhouse for the Modern Family - mine! http://modernfarmhousemodernfamily.blogspot.com/

My blog is organized by several topics, which you can sort at the top of the screen:

• Decorating a Modern Farmhouse
• Designing a Modern Farmhouse
• Multi-generational Living
• Picking your Pasture 
• Progress Pictures of our Modern Farmhouse

City Farmhouse - http://cityfarmhouse.com/

I first starting reading this blog because, well, every pinterest link I pinned seemed to link back to them!  Haha!  They have such great style and great DYI tutorials!

My Sweet Savannah - http://www.mysweetsavannahblog.com/

Seriously drool-worthy style and ideas for modern farmhouses!

Olive and Ford - https://www.instagram.com/oliveandford/

Okay, I broke the rules a bit and posted an instagram account instead of a blog, but OMG.  You will understand why when you see their amazing ideas for farmhouse design.

Christina's Adventures - http://porch.com/christinasadventures/

With her designs being featured in Country Living magazine, I was already sold.  But her 1902 farmhouse remodel is breathtaking!

Randi Garrett Design - http://randigarrettdesign.com/

If you want to be inspired, or visit every best dream farmhouse room, look at Randi's blog.

Four Generations Under One Roof - http://www.fourgenerationsoneroof.com/

Well, this family is way ahead of us!  This awesome extended family blogs about ideas, DYI, and multi-generational issues that arise when living together.

PlayHaven Farm - www.playhavengreen.com

This is a local Kansas City couple that blogs TONS of information on farmsteading and belted galloway cattle.  In addition to presenting all of this helpful information, they are seriously amazing people who will answer questions from total novices (me)!

Little Red Farmhouse - http://redfarmhouse.blogspot.com/

This couple from Oklahoma has such a great writing style.  Love their sense of humor!

Little Baby Garvin - http://littlebabygarvin.blogspot.com/

Confession - I have been following this blogger for a long time....a long time.  She has such a delightful writing style and down-to-earth vibe.  Did I mention that she also has a keen eye for decorating AND has three adorable little girls that remind me of my two munchkins?  :)

Selecting New Home Construction Upgrades PART 1 - EXTERIOR/MECHANICAL CHOICES

Ah yes, the exciting yet terrifying process of deciding which new home construction upgrades to select upfront.  My initial response is ALL OF THEM, but then that pesky budget thing creeps into the decision process.  While I am sure this post will miss some of the upgrades we considered, I hope it is a good start to listing out what we selected/omitted and why:

• Architect optional items - Designing the basement.  In a prior post, I discussed the typical payment structure for architects in the Kansas City area.  There was on item we could have paid for, which we didn't, which was to have our architect design our unfinished basement.  We would have jumped at this option if we had any clue on how we were going to use the basement.  This upgrade is a great option because if you can plan out the plumbing fixtures in advance, your basement contractor will not have to jack hammer concrete to reroute plumbing lines.  In later blog posts, I'll talk about Matt's workshop in the basement and how we have ZERO clue about the future design of the basement (media room?  workout room?  blogging room?  dance studio?  bowling ally-okay, not likely)
• Builder selection - The biggest decision we made on the upgrade selection was the choice of builders.  We received bids from many outstanding companies, but only a few seemed to have the base level that we were after.  It just seemed exhausting and frustrating to use a lower-base price builder and contemplate each and every upgrade we wanted or could imagine.  At the end of the day, I was convinced we would forget something.  We selected a builder where many of the items below were not upgrades but rather included in the builder's base home build.  
• Set-back from the road - In a prior post, we discussed how we decided the farmhouse setback distance.  Link to this discussion is here:  Setting Your Setback Post
• Sealing the driveway - As discussed above, we have a super long driveway.  Our builder suggested that we seal it, and we will.  We just decided this was a "Honey, please go out and seal the driveway" activity rather than one we wanted to pay for upfront.  
  
• Impax water coating foundation - You know how recent experiences may elevate the importance of items that before seemed of little consequence?  My cousin lives outside of Baton Rouge and found herself and family flooded.  She did not live in a FEMA flood zone but nevertheless, her neighborhood experienced a 1-in-1,000 year flood.  Her experience definitely impacted Matt and I's decision to pay the extra $$ for an extra layer of waterproofing.  As discussed in an earlier post, my cousin's flooding experience also changed where we placed our house on the property, given that cute little creek on the property.
• Type of basement (standard, daylight, walk-up, or walk-out) - As discussed in prior posts, this decision can impact your multi-generational design.  If your parents will be living in a finished basement, then a walk-out is almost essential to accommodate for potential wheelchairs.  In our situation, Matt needed a shop to keep all of his tools, half-finished projects, and other dirty things that I would rather not see on a daily basis :)  We decided to have his shop located in the basement with double doors to allow him to keep a mower, golf cart, and boat.  However, we also loved the convenience of a walk-out-on-grade option for the main level.  We therefore located the walkout on one side of the house.
• Windows - This selection will require its own blog post.  Needless to say, difficult choices!!!
• Siding - LP Smart Siding vs. Hardiboard - Discussion
• Roofing - Standing metal seam vs. 50-yr composite - The initial goal of the whole design was to get a standing steam metal roof.  Who knew they would be so darn expensive???  When we first learned that it was an outrageously expensive item, we cut back the metal roof locations to just the wrap around porch, stair tower, and clerestory...a mix of materials  like the following:  
  
   Haha, even with that significant reduction in locations, we were still looking at $15-22k ADDER.  Matt and I kicked around the idea for a while, but basically landed on the idea to upgrade this in the future. 
• Landscaping - Almost every builder suggested between $8-15k for landscaping.  The allowance for landscaping did not include sod, box prep, sprinklers, or grading...only plants/trees.  Matt initially suggested cutting this number to, well, zero.  Haha!  We settled on the idea of limiting but not eliminating this option.  As our architect said, there are a few types of houses that can look awesome with limited landscaping, and a farmhouse is one of them!

New Home Construction Contract - Details for the Specifications

Building specifications and allowances - more of an art than a science!

Every builder will have their own standard specs that they use to bid your project.  Here are some areas where clarifications are suggested that we negotiated for you to consider:

• Utilities - Most builders will assume a certain length of water/gas/sewer/cable lines.  I would clarify what is included in the base bid and discuss whether these lengths are reasonable.  In our case, our house is planned to start 100 ft off the road with meters located further back. 
• Driveway - Since the cost of the driveway is included in the base, I wanted to confirm that the base price included the driveway as drawn by the architect (and not based on a smaller, more typical driveway)
• Windows/doors - Because these were included in the base price, I want to clarify the brand/model number for the windows.  If the builder provides an allowance for these items, clarify how the builder came up with the allowance price.  In our case, the allowance was based on a bid for a particular door, so I had that model # included in the specs to confirm that we could actually get that door for the allowance listed.
• Trim/Interior Doors - Have the builders specify what size of trim is included and where those sizes are included.  We also asked the builders to confirm the amount of crown/ceiling trays that are included and the locations of each of those items.
• Countertops - We asked each builder to specify what material and level of countertop is included and which areas are included.
• Plumbing - Some builders will provide a total allowance for all plumbing and some will provide an upgrade allowance.  The upgrade allowance contemplates that the buyer gets a certain level of faucet included in the base price and the buyer can use the upgrade allowance to, well, upgrade.  I asked the builder to list out the base brand/model number for the fixtures that were included in the base.
• Electrical - Builders will likely include some or all of electrical in the base price.  Given this trend, we asked the builders to list out specifically what was included in the base price.  From a lot of builders, we were told "we priced per code."  Well, I'm not familiar with electrical code, so I pushed the builders to provide a list of exactly what was included.  I was happy to finally get a breakout list of the base price for electrical, including #can lights, # outlets, etc.  
• Exterior stone - We asked the builders to clarify that the base price included the stone as is shown on the architectural drawings.
• Interior stone - We asked the builders to clarify that the builders included fireplace stone in the base price and, more importantly, the height of those fireplaces.
• Cabinets - This is a difficult item to compare between the builders.  We ended up touring various builders' model homes and asked each to tie the quality of the cabinets to those offered in the model homes.  We also had them specify that each had the hidden hinges and soft close throughout the house.  I also asked each to specify that the base price included enamel paint and two-colors for the island and cabinets. We also asked each to specify that the base price included all lower deep drawers rather than cabinets.  Consider whether you intend for the vent hood to be enclosed, because that is typically an extra unless it is specified.
• Mirrors/shower doors - We asked the builders to specify that we wanted frameless glass shower doors.

I would also suggest pushing the architect to include as much detail as possible in the plans and require the builders to include the plans in the contract.  For example, our architect designed all the mudroom and dropzone cabinetry and I wanted to make sure all of that was included in the base bid.

It was difficult for us to select a builder because so many were awesome.  Although it was a lot of work, it was extremely helpful to get all of the builders to clarify each of these areas so we could accurately compare them against each other.  

New Home Construction Contract - Basics and Changes We Made

Sadly, I think it is very common that home builders send over the construction contract expecting the buyers to make no changes.  In fact, every builder we interviewed in Kansas City simply sent over their contract as a PDF, as if to say that the contract is not subject to discussion. 

It is important to get input from your legal counsel regarding the terms of your agreement, the particularities of your home construction project, and any state-specific requirements or case law.  Here are some general items that we encountered during our builder selection process and negotiations.

When I looked at the new residential construction contracts sent to me by builders, I was evaluating several issues, including:

• Payment - what payment structure did the contract contemplate
• Changes - how are changes orders or differing conditions handles
• Insurance - what type/level of insurance is provided
• Warranty - what is the length of warranty and any exclusions
• Indemnity 

Payment - I don't mind anybody I hire making money, and in fact, I WANT them to make money.  After all, how hard or careful would you be on a project where you were not making very much $$?  However, I do want to know where the contractor is making their profit.  There are many different compensation models out there, but most residential home construction contractors either offer to build based on (1) fixed price, or (2) cost-plus.  In general, fixed price means the builder provides a price that the builder expects based on certain assumptions.  You (buyer) generally does not know what amount the builder pays any subcontractors nor do you really know what amount of profit the builder makes.  Cost-plus means that the builder will provide the buyer with the actual invoices from the builder's subcontractors, and mark them up (with the builder's profit).

What surprised me, and what is worth reviewing, is how allowances are handled.  Most builders will provide the buyers with a set amount for allowances (such as $6000 for appliances, $5000 for landscaping, etc.).  Most builders explained that the term allowance means that we just shop for what we want--we get a credit for spending less and we pay out of pocket for going over on our selections.  Makes sense, right?

Well, consider this:  if the builder states that your appliances are to be purchased from a particular vendor, does that mean the builder marks up the price of the appliances?  Most builders answered no but their contracts read differently.  Specifically, every contract we were provided by builders referred to allowances as reimbursable costs, which included the direct price for the item plus an amount for reasonable builder profit.  If I was going to pay markup on appliances, my preference would be to just remove them from the builder's contract and buy them outright.  For example:

$6000 allowance for appliances WITH a 15% markup would mean that I would actually get $5,100 in appliances and pay $900 in markup to the builder.

Carefully read your contract and really have the builder explain how the words mean what he/she describes.

Changes - I noticed that every builder contract I was provided stated that the builder was going to be paid a flat fee (ranging from $150 to $500) for EACH proposed change we asked the builder to price during construction.  Um, NO!  Also, I wanted to make sure that all changes required both parties to sign prior to executing the change.

Insurance - During construction of a house, the builder will generally provide builder's risk insurance.  This insurance will generally cover any property damage or bodily injury that occurs prior to substantial completion (final walk through).  However, it is important to clarify that any builder supplying this insurance should take the risk of paying the deductible and should take the risk should a claim not be covered.  Also, many of the contracts that were sent to us required the buyer to be responsible for losses in excess of the builder's risk insurance.  Again, I struck that language for several reasons: (1) what if the builder does not get enough builder's risk insurance or buys a low-cost policy with tons of exclusions?, and (2) there are many normal exclusions from builder's risk insurance coverage that I still don't want to be responsible for paying.  Imagine this scenario:  you are building a house and the builder's electrician starts a fire.  Then the builder calls you (the buyer) and says "there was a fire by my sub, so I am going to need an additional $25k to cover the deductible."  Yeah, no.

Also, I wanted to make sure the builder named us as an additional insured on his casualty insurance policies.  If an employee of a subcontractor is injured during construction, the last thing I want is for me to be paying legal fees to defend ourselves in court.

Warranty -  I specifically wanted to know what the warranty period was and more importantly, what the exclusions were.

Indemnity - It seemed like many of the construction contracts that were sent to me required us (the buyers) to pay to protect the builder in the case where we (or someone we invite) to the construction site is injured by the builder. I made this mutual.

Other considerations - My main experience with construction contracts is that disputes mainly arise in two different areas: (1) is something an adder or included in the base price; and (2) how did the defect arise (was it poor workmanship or caused by someone/something else).  On the first, it is very very important to lay out base items specifically.  I will write a separate blog post to refer to all the items we had to clarify in the specs.