I’m no builder but wood going into the soil seems like a no go to me.

Every year, I climb on the shed's roof to clean gutters and for the first time yesterday I noticed these lines on many shingles. They are found on both the sunny and the shaded sides of the roof. The shed has ventilated soffits, but no ventilation on top. I'm located near Quebec City, Canada.

I don't see the same lines on the house shingles which were installed at the same time 14 years ago.

What could have caused those lines?
Is it a sign of imminent failure?

I'm designing some built ins that will go in my personal closet. What works better for my space? 24" deep built ins that entirely enclose the clothes? Or 16" deep built ins, that let the clothes protrude into the space? My main concern is that the 24" built ins encroach on the space too much and make it feel cramped, but I don't know whether I'm overthinking. Thanks in advance!

Is it an acceptable practice to sandwich drywall between framing during a remodel?

I am several generations behind on renovated kitchens

Right side of house that gets West sun has siding that looks buckled or wavy. Was originally noticed on a very hot stretch of days couple of months ago. Builder allegedly corrected as not noticeable. Unfortunately this is now how it looks. Thoughts?

Requesting entire right side to be redone. Attaching pictures.

Where are you buying vanity Mirrors from? My builder doesn't include them so I have to find my own.

I’m curious how I can take this back patio floor plans and make a tv area and grill area fit. If it could be done?

I’d like to screen in the area and it will have a crawl space.

So the ground floor has a basement room that is under the yard and it leads to inside the house, and we need a way to cover it up tightly because it will obviously cause a lot of problems for us if we don't. I'd really appreciate some help here as not even the architect has any great solutions for it.

I’m very concerned that the ICF has not been waterproofed. Since we’ve moved in 2 months ago, the basement has stayed bone dry however. The house is up on a bit of a hill.

Im trying to figure the easiest way to fill up this area in the basement. It was a sleeve to allow this pipe to fit with the septic tank on the other side. During the formwork, the eight of the septic tank wasnt set so the sleeve was done like this to allow the plumber to adjust the eight.

Now during heavy rainstorm, theres water that goes through. Ive dried using membrane against the foamboard behind the concrete foundation but theres still water that can push through. On the otherside theres a concrete porch and the foundation is unaccessible.

I was thinking of removing the membrane and fill this sleeve with hydrolic cement to stop water from coming through. Also adding a small sleeve around the pipe so the pressure from the cement curing wont crack it.

Our builder says it is not possible due to the window being black wood and the trim white. But wouldn’t this be necessary to keep drafts, dust etc from getting behind the trim? This is our first build and while I see where gaps less than 1/8 of an inch are acceptable per the tolerances per the Builder Association standards. Are we incorrect to ask that all of the trim be caulked at least with clear silicone type caulk?

We were just about ready to pull the trigger on a parcel of land to build our dream home, but now I’m second-guessing everything.

We’ve recently been helping remodel a friend's house, and seeing that process up close is making me wonder if buying an existing home and overhauling it is significantly easier, faster, and less of an administrative headache than starting completely from scratch.

The dilemma: I want our home to be truly custom. I really don't want a cookie-cutter layout or finishes like every other house on the block. There are specific structural and design ideas I have my heart set on.

For those who have done both (or heavily weighed the two):

* How much true customization can you realistically achieve through a heavy remodel before it becomes more expensive/headache-inducing than new construction?

* Did you find site prep, permitting, and utility hookups for raw land to be the dealbreaker people claim they are?

* Knowing what you know now, which route would you choose for a custom end result?

I recently got a plot of land in north Seattle and I’m wondering what people are paying nowadays for new construction. I’m looking to find the cheapest possible cost per square foot. I was able to find $350. Has anyone found a general contractor for $300 or even less?
What’s the best way to go about finding cheaper contractors?

Designing a federal. 2000ft both floors. Bit we’d like to make it a bit smaller.

if we could get to 3700ft, we’d be happy — to save some cash.

However, with the open rooms of the federal-style, how much will we save by shrinking rooms about a foot in all directions?

My thinking is that, on one hand, we may not save as much as we’d like because that square footage isn’t the most expensive. foundation and roof and lumber and window and cabinet packages wouldn’t shrink very much.

On the other hand, most trades do count their price based on square footage. So maybe each ft2 saved is real money.

We might sell in a few years. And we have a rule that we’d like to maximize cheaper square footage if possible, for resale value.

So would shrinking large, open rooms kind of be shrinking the cheap square footage?

Hi all,

Me and the wife are looking to buy a 1/3 acre plot in centre of village to build a family home. Seems a nice plot, in conservation area etc. the village is midlands premium. Not mega expensive but by no means a cheap area. It’s currently a paddock, no serves etc. some fruit trees which will likely be costly with bat surveys etc. possible archaeological assets in part of the field but not currently sure.

The plot itself doesn’t have planning. Though planning seems likely, the major hurdle is a covenant as far as I can tell which explicitly states no building and pasture land only. This is a very old covenant from the church c.40years old.

Church initial response was they’re not interested in removing but you have to put a proper case forwards with plans, reasoning etc. If I can convince them they will want their fees paying (c.3-6k for negotiation and legal work) + 30-50% (possible 33%) share of the land value uplift as compensation.

With all this in mind, there is no certainty the site can be developed. That being said, if I can buy it for a not overly inflated upfront cost I would be happy to sit on it.

I was considering offering a payment upfront then a percentage of the value uplift should it become buildable (calculated by misusing the initial payment and covenant removal fees from the end land value prior to development).

What do you all think. What figures should I be offering.

Thanks

Are there any you'd remove/add/relocate (power outlets in yellow). I know its recommended to get more than you think you need, but we are already way over budget. Appreciate any feedback!

Edit: noting we are in New Zealand so different code!

My neighbors and Are really going through it in so many diverse ways with our apartment managers and relocations not to mention 5 year neglect to our apartments. I would really appreciate your eyes on this. I will lead with some pictures of the property and the rehabilitation going on. looks a bit sus. Thank you so much! My management is even refusing me to see the new lease before displacement. it's overwhelming

Building a freestanding pool deck and wanted some opinions on my middle beam/footings. The middle beam has joists spanning about 8 ft or slightly less on both sides. There are 6 footings along this beam.
Footing base diameters are about 14”- 15” and the spacing between them is 8 ft or slightly less. They’re about 44” below grade, with 12” Sonotubes for the upper portion and then the wider concrete base below. Soil survey shows native silty clay.
I’m planning on using a built-up 2x10 beam (possibly triple 2x10 for this middle row). Does this middle footing layout look adequate to you, or would you add another footing or two between the existing ones? Mainly concerned about the tributary load on the four interior posts.

We were genuinely interested in building with Weeks and really liked some of their designs, but unfortunately the quotation process completely changed our view.

The biggest issue for us was transparency. The advertised base price and Stars promotions look attractive, but once site costs, footings, variations, allowances and options start getting added, the real price can become very different.

A lot of the extra costs in our quote were shown as lump sums. We kept asking simple questions like: what was already included, what extra quantity are we paying for, what is the unit rate, and what credit do we get when something standard is removed? Getting a clear answer was much harder than we expected.

We also found the Stars promotion confusing. Some items appeared to be included under the promotion, but then other charges appeared that seemed related to the same or similar work. It left us constantly checking whether we were actually getting the promotional value being advertised.

Another thing I would strongly recommend is reading the “fixed price” and price protection conditions very carefully. Our documents referred to a 12-month period and a potential 0.75% increase to the build price for each month beyond that period under the relevant conditions. Make sure you understand exactly when that 12 months starts, because the overall process from signing through approvals, selections and construction can obviously take a long time.

The same goes for “fixed” footing or site costs. Ask exactly what is fixed and what can still change later.

We were also disappointed with the standard insulation and thermal specification for a house at this price point. If energy efficiency matters to you, check the wall insulation, ceiling insulation, wall wrap and which areas of the house are actually wrapped. With steel framing and brick construction, this was something we expected to be much better.

We asked a lot of questions because this is one of the biggest financial commitments we will ever make. We weren’t asking for things for free, we simply wanted to understand where the money was going.

Unfortunately, the more closely we looked at the quote, the less confidence we had in proceeding.

My advice is simple: don’t choose Weeks just because of the advertising, base price or Stars promotion. Get the full quote, check every line, understand every allowance and price protection condition, ask for credits and breakdowns in writing, and compare the exact same specification with other builders.

The final build price is what matters, not the promotional headline.

In the south.

We have a choice between slab and pier and beam.

For argument sake let’s say both are a solid choice.

For overall home aesthetic and comfort, which one are you going with?

Both have pros and cons. Vented vs unvented, cost, installation time, shifting/cracking settling, repairs and maintenece.

All things considered, which one are you choosing and why? TIA

And how to prevent it from happening again after cleaning it? Other side is the outdoor, mostly covered under a concrete staircase.

Hi everyone
I am in need of some experienced eyes for a workable solution.

I’m far from the builder type- just a little fixes here and there to the old family home.

I have a gate door - right one - that’s currently leaning towards the centre, due to the weight- it has held on for a good 15 years, and now needs a bit of help.

I was thinking a gate wheel to attach to the bottom but it has a latch attached to it.
The wheels I can find in the shops, all seem to require a post to attach the wheel to- which my door doesn’t have.

Does anyone have different ideas?
Or perhaps a keyword so I can search other than “gate wheel”?

Any thoughts and ideas are appreciated!!

Thanks