Homebuilder/Designer Questions (new home, purchasing, construction)

[Ghostrider16]

Time is nearing to make the move to our place in NID. With that, comes the beginning of the planning stages to build a new home. I did some searching here, but the most recent threads I could find were a couple years old and things change so, I have some questions I was hoping some of you could help me with.


Of course, personal experience is preferred, but knowing someone well who had feedback on a particular builder would be good also. I would be grateful if that was specified in any response.


If it helps, were looking to build an approximately 2500 sq. foot home in the Sagle area. We are open to one or two floors and basement or no, but we are leaning toward a farmhouse design with a wrap around porch and dormers.



1. Who are the QUALITY homebuilders from CDA north? Money is always an object, but I understand quality will cost. Who to stay away from would be appreciated also. If you don't feel comfortable putting that out in the forum, feel free to PM me.


2. Who are the quality architects in the area?



3. I'm torn between hiring an actual architect and going with a builder who does the designing in house. I'd be interested in hearing the pros/cons of either.




Thanks in advance to all who choose to help!

[nm9stheham]

These are just general observations and questions; I don't know the firms in that area. So I hope this is of some use to you.



Are you looking for a custom house in any way? Or higher end trim and interior packages or something else out of the ordinary? At 2500 square feet, I'd guess not, but don't want to presume on what you may have in mind. If it a straightforward house design, then there are tons of 'pre-canned' house designs that you can find online to pick from. Have you looked at those?



It is not clear from your post what you want out of an architect in this case. Some things to think of with architects: They sometimes like to put their 'personal' stamp on things, and also make some of their money being the customers agent to the building contractor. They may also do well with special requirements like high energy efficiency. So:
- If you have good or strong ideas of what you want, and the house design is straightforward, then an architect may be an uneeded fifth wheel in the detail design process.

- As for being your agent in the process, you may want that if you are remote and want a pair of eyes on the process who are only beholden to you, but that will cost.



BTW, do you have the land already? I ask because if you do, and it is steep or complex, then engaging an engineering firm will be a better investment to solve any complex soil or other ground issues. An architect can subcontract that to an engineering firm if needed, but again, that is another cost factor thrown on top of everything else.


Do you have a specific locale in mind? I ask that because the local permitting process in a few places requires specific steps be met. An example would be in areas with higher levels of seismic activity. (In a very few strict locales, like around Jackson WY, it requires an engineering firm put together a drawing package to be submitted for permitting.)



(FWIW, I deal with professional architecture and engineering firms from time to time on commercial projects. I've also been my own architect, engineer, and builder for our home and am starting that process again for a place out there.)

[nm9stheham]

Why the 'head slap' emoticon DC? LOL

[Spokaneinvestor]

Originally Posted by DCCougar

After purchasing our home in NID, Mrs. Cougar wants to completely remodel the interior. We're using Miller Stauffer Architects in CDA. She interviewed a couple designers and liked Miller Stauffer much more than the others.

Miller Stauffer is EXCELLENT! Monte and Dick do great work. Stay away from Gordon Longwell/Cory Trapp - unless you want a project that is plagued by cost overruns, poor drawings, lots of field changes, permit issues, late delivery and other amateur mistakes. As for builders, it all depends on what price range you are building in but I would not use a builders in-house design team.

[Ghostrider16]

Originally Posted by nm9stheham

Are you looking for a custom house in any way? Or higher end trim and interior packages or something else out of the ordinary? At 2500 square feet, I'd guess not, but don't want to presume on what you may have in mind. If it a straightforward house design, then there are tons of 'pre-canned' house designs that you can find online to pick from. Have you looked at those?

Yes, a custom house is what we're looking for. As mentioned, we like the farmhouse with wrap around porch and dormers concept. We have looked at canned designs, but nothing exactly like we want. We do have ideas & pics saved from various sources that we would like incorporated into the design. Also, looking for better than average materials. Not super high-end, but not average either.

Originally Posted by nm9stheham

It is not clear from your post what you want out of an architect in this case. Some things to think of with architects: They sometimes like to put their 'personal' stamp on things, and also make some of their money being the customers agent to the building contractor. They may also do well with special requirements like high energy efficiency. So:
- If you have good or strong ideas of what you want, and the house design is straightforward, then an architect may be an uneeded fifth wheel in the detail design process.

Knowing the style of house we want, we were thinking of an architect to draw up plans based on the interior features we found/like from various sources.

Originally Posted by nm9stheham

BTW, do you have the land already? I ask because if you do, and it is steep or complex, then engaging an engineering firm will be a better investment to solve any complex soil or other ground issues. An architect can subcontract that to an engineering firm if needed, but again, that is another cost factor thrown on top of everything else.


Do you have a specific locale in mind? I ask that because the local permitting process in a few places requires specific steps be met. An example would be in areas with higher levels of seismic activity. (In a very few strict locales, like around Jackson WY, it requires an engineering firm put together a drawing package to be submitted for permitting.)

Yes, our place in Sagle. We have 26 acres with a manufactured home that we will live in while the house is built. The sites we're looking at are fairly level. No significant terrain variations or anything.

Originally Posted by nm9stheham

(FWIW, I deal with professional architecture and engineering firms from time to time on commercial projects. I've also been my own architect, engineer, and builder for our home and am starting that process again for a place out there.)

Thanks much for the input!!

[Ghostrider16]

Originally Posted by Spokaneinvestor

Miller Stauffer is EXCELLENT! Monte and Dick do great work. Stay away from Gordon Longwell/Cory Trapp - unless you want a project that is plagued by cost overruns, poor drawings, lots of field changes, permit issues, late delivery and other amateur mistakes. As for builders, it all depends on what price range you are building in but I would not use a builders in-house design team.

Thanks Spokaneinvestor.



Why would you not use a builder's in-house design team?

[Spokaneinvestor]

Originally Posted by Ghostrider16

Thanks Spokaneinvestor.



Why would you not use a builder's in-house design team?

My experience with in-house design teams is they design to what they can build. I want a architect that can think about all the possibilities and then we go find a builder that can build it.

[Ghostrider16]

Originally Posted by Spokaneinvestor

My experience with in-house design teams is they design to what they can build. I want a architect that can think about all the possibilities and then we go find a builder that can build it.

Makes sense.... Thanks!

[Clark Fork Fantast]

We went the other route: We drew up the initial plans ourselves and gave them to our builder-designer after having stayed on our land in a travel trailer for three summers, deciding on the general area where to build the house, and discussing details. So we knew what we wanted, and he computerized our drawings and made them work as a designer blueprint. Except he talked us out of a log home, so we went with a timber frame hybrid instead, and we're very glad we went with that suggestion. We're lucky that our builder is essentially a craftsman with the same values as we have when it comes to quality. Our place is custom, but only 1100 sq ft altogether--it is a cabin, after all. 1 1/2 story (ground floor and loft), cheaper than building out. We hadn't planned on a great room with as high a ceiling as we ended up with, but that was our builder's local expertise: the pitch has to be so steep that the snow will slide off. The more dormers, the more traps for the snow, and the more costly it will be. Going with a balcony dormer was an expensive decision, but we're very happy with it! The view is awesome from up there. We added another dormer on the other side of the house, so we get a cross breeze in the loft.

Crawlspaces are more common than basements in NID, and they are usually 4 ft below ground and 2 ft above. I can just stand up down there, but a taller person can't. One thing we should have done from the start is have a floor in the crawlspace; as it is now, it is dirt. But that can be amended. Otherwise, very few second thoughts.

Good luck--you're in for an exciting and sometimes frustrating time!

[nm9stheham]

Originally Posted by Ghostrider16

Yes, our place in Sagle. We have 26 acres with a manufactured home that we will live in while the house is built. The sites we're looking at are fairly level. No significant terrain variations or anything.

OK Very good. If the soil and land is straightforward then all that is needed is to be able to know the soils adequately. Knowing the soils and any underlying layers for the foundation design needs to be checked into at some point in the process; your new home may be in an area already familiar to the local firms engaged where they are confident of and know what needs to be done. I'd also look into any wetlands classifications on a Wetlands Mapper site maintained by US Fish & Wildlife service. And the seismic category in Bonner County looks to be low enough to not require anything special, but I would still ask about that at some point in the process.



Someone you pay ought to take care of setbacks from property lines, but I'd make sure to know myself where the lines lay. We had one local builder who thought he knew and literally had to 'shave' about 8' off the end of a spec house after construction!


Looks like in unincorporated Bonner County, you don't need any thing like a licensed architect or engineer to sign off on plans for a single family residential permit. Here is a useful document from the county to become familiar as a check on the process; it has a list of other things to be aware of on a later page. You might visit the permitting office to make sure you have the latest copy.

https://evogov.s3.amazonaws.com/medi...dia/127452.pdf



Sounds exciting!