New Home Construction Checklist
New Home Construction Checklist
- Prevents oversights & poor practices
- Saves money
- Easy to use
- Links to more information
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Would you like to have a checklist of some of the top things I've discovered make the perfect, or near-perfect home?
Can you imagine waving a magic wand and having my years of experience at your fingertips?
It's possible. You can access the tips just below.
Must-Have Tips
I've tried to collect as many of the tricks and tips I've discovered from building new homes and fixing defects in those that weren't build so well by other builders.
The top tips are in my checklist. When you see them all, you'll understand why it's important to make sure you include as many of them as you can in your new home.
Save Thousands of $$$
Just one of the items in the checklist could save you thousands of dollars in the future. Here's an example:
Ceramic Tile Backer Board - Avoid using green board drywall. It's not waterproof. When the paper rots after getting wet, the tile WILL FALL from the wall.
Use pure cement board or GP DensShield, or equivalent, waterproof board.
If you're forced to use green board, you can try to make the green board more water resistant, but it may not last forever. CLICK HERE for more information about this topic.
Peace Of Mind
See how that one tip could save you vast amounts of money? What do you think it's going to cost you in five years to replace all that ceramic tile in all your bathrooms that were placed over the crap green board?
Here are four more checklist items:
Building Lot - Does your lot have superb drainage? Is your lot susceptible to flash flooding?
The ideal lot has at least 4 feet of fall across it so water runs away from your home.
Lots at, or near, the bottom of a V-shaped gentle valley are where water runs. This valley, before homes were there, had water in it during periods of heavy rain.
CLICK HERE for more information about building lots.
CLICK HERE for more information about how to read topo maps about ground slope.
Concrete Slabs - Will your new concrete driveway and patio resist large cracks? Will the surface of the concrete not crumble?
Outdoor concrete should contain reinforcing steel, either 1/2-inch rebar or mesh. This holds the concrete together.
Slab thickness should be 5 inches minimum for driveways and patios.
Water added at the job site can dilute the Portland cement in the concrete mix. Don't allow finishers to sprinkle water on the concrete as they finish it.
CLICK HERE for more information about reinforcing steel in concrete.
CLICK HERE for more information about finishing concrete.
Bath Fan Vents - Will your bathroom fan vents exit the house at the right location? Will the builder use inferior flexible accordion-style plastic pipe or solid-steel pipe?
Bath fan exhaust needs to be vented to the outdoors. The best place is out of the roof if you live where you get little snow. If you're in a snow region, vent it out a sidewall away from a roof overhang. Never vent a fan at a soffit.
Bath fans should be vented using solid galvanized pipe or smooth PVC pipe. Joints need to be sealed and the pipe needs insulation if in a cold climate.
CLICK HERE for more information about bathroom exhaust fans.
Roof Ventilation - Will your new home have continuous ridge vents? Did you know these don't work to exhaust hot air in the summer?
Continuous ridge vent is over hyped. You can have it installed but you should also install at least two 14-inch turbine vents. Turbine vents can suck all the air out of an attic in less than an hour providing excellent ventilation. They're inexpensive too.
CLICK HERE for more information about time-tested turbine vents.
Instant Hot Water - Will your new home have a simple return loop so you can have a gravity hot-water recirculation system? Are you being pressured to buy a tankless water heater?
A good plumber can install a simple length of pipe from the fixture farthest away from the water heater back to the heater in just a few hours. This pipe creates a loop so you can have hot water in two seconds each time you need it.
Tankless water heaters consume energy at a rate three times higher than a traditional storage water heater. They burn at this rate for however long you have a hot water faucet open. Many people who have tankless water heaters see higher fuel bills.
CLICK HERE for more information about a gravity hot-water loop.
CLICK HERE for more information about tankless water heaters.
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