if i was to build a custom house...

LMAO!!!

I can just hear it now!!!

 

F1Ace - Absolutely gorgeous. Great shots.

 

I practiced architecture for about 12 years and have been a construction attorney for the last 7. I was going to give you the lecture about the traditional method of hiring an architect and then a general contractor ("GC") versus design-build until I saw your most recent post. What you are considering here is a design-build contract wrapped into a real estate transaction. It is a "custom home" only in the sense that you are picking options from a predetermined and limited list.

I would caution you to carefully review the contract - these types of agreements I have reviewed in the mid-atlantic region are notoriously unfriendly to buyers. They typcially have you waiving every conceivable warranty - express and common law. They also usually only provide a "best efforts" goal for a completion date - you have practically no remedy if the construction completion is late (one contract I saw provided that the buyer had no right to terminate until the substantial completion date was more than 14 months late - hard to plan your life w/ that kind kind of term). Often the only remedy in these buy-the-land-and-we'll-build-your-house contracts is a return of your deposit. The bad news is that the developers rarely, if ever, negotiate any of the basic risk allocations - there will always be someone else to buy the property . . .

 

Wes:

Nice!

It reminds me of the early modernist work that still had a classical influence -- symmetrically balanced and very clean.

I like your particular choices of exterior materials and colors, but the design is strong enough to have been successful whatever you did there.

 

Very nice! What started my curiosity was a small item that I read about the 1939 World's Fair in NYC. There were apparently a small number homes built on the site during the fair to showcase modern designs. Some of those were ultra modern art deco designs. But they weren't big mansions. Just average smaller homes. I also tried searching the net but found very little. I did find one book with modern home designs of the 1930s, but they weren't radical enough for my tastes. Still looking.

 

Here's mine.... BYOF
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Thanks for the kind words guys I really appreciate it. Especially you Scott, as you know 'design' more than me. All I can say is make lots of models!

I wanted to make sure the garage did not dominate, and I wanted symmetry. I had 4 lines of defence in building this house:

1-Make the outside attractive, but if that fails,
2-Make the interior layout great, but of that fails,
3-Choose the best materials, but if that fails,
4-Get the best furniture and fixtures you can find.

So if #1 isn't your style maybe #2 is and so forth.

Personally I love the pool table. I designed it and had it made here. It's 5x10.

In case you thought the entrance was tight here's a pic of it as well.

Best!
Wes
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Just find a house you like and buy it.....you pay a HUGE price, both financially AND psychologically when you do the custom thing.

You'll have to pay for designing, engineering, title 24 energy calc's, all sorts of bizarre inspections, permits...and don't get me started on how hard it is to find good sub-contractors:

You call 10 contractors and only 7 return your call
Of the 7, only 5 make it out to look at your project
Of the 5, one goes "Bermuda Triangle" and never gets back to you, leaving 4
Of the 4, 3 of them are bloody expensive and just send out morons if you hire them
Maybe...just maybe you'll find one guy who is partially on the job himself, has a reasonable price, shows up on time, stands behind his work and actually has a license & is worth dealing with.

You'll have to repeat this process with everyone...the framer, roofer, electrician, plumber, concrete guy, siding, drywall, etc, etc, etc.

OR you can hire a General who will do all the hiring of these various sub-contractors....and he'll mark the price up 15%-100%

Now....I'm sure this will stir the pot a-plenty with the comic pack (here comes the jokes)...but I'm telling ya straight: unless you absolutely MUST have a custom design and can not live with what is available on the market....AND you don't mind paying a premium (both financially & psychologically...cause you will end up suing someone on the job!!!)....then just wait to find the right house and just buy it.

Either way, plan on getting to know your local Home Depot intimately.

 

Thanks.....I think?

 

Take the fork out of your mouth for a second Mr. 818er

The wife gave her opinion.

When you rolling strong to the 661?

 

Ditto.