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.