Building a new home in Wiley, Texas and I got some questions (2 Viewers)

[Keith Mickunas]

Six cables?!? What's up with that? I thought they were sending HDTV on some of the same satelites. I figured you just needed a bigger dish or something. I think I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

 

[Robert_J]

Six cables if you have your multi-switch mounted inside. Otherwise you mount the switch outside under the eve of the house and run one cable per receiver (or two if you have a dual tuner model).

Dish has the majority of their programming on the satellite at 119, extended programming is on the satellite at 110 and HD, some locals and foreign programming on either the satellite at 61.5 or 148. Minimum requirements are two dishes and one switch.

DirecTV has their core programming (with current locals) at 101 and their Spanish, HD and soon to be added locals at 119. Their are rumors of all had programming moving to the 110 sat. You can receive signals from all three satellites with an 18"x24" dish with integrated switch. A more advanced system will require a different multi-switch.

Have you given any thought to where you will mount your antenna for OTA HD?

-Robert

 

[Keith Mickunas]

I've got Dish 500 now and they put the switches at the back of the dish tucked in the mount. I hope they'll do the same at the house. I'd like the dish hooked up at the roof.

I'm not worrying much about OTA. I should be able to put the antenna in the attic and drop a line down the wall, hopefully. My theater is upstairs, so this shouldn't be much of an issue.

Does RG6 transmit HD signals ok?

 

[Robert_J]

I've got Dish 500 now and they put the switches at the back of the dish tucked in the mount.

That means you have a Dish500 with two dual LNB's. If you are using the Dishmover program, there's no telling what you might get. Also call dish and ask your local channels over satellite. If Dallas has some locals on one of the side satellites (where HD is also located) you can make them bring you a Dish300 to point and the necessary switches to tie everything together. Since Dish didn't get their spot-beam sat launched before the "must carry" law kicked in on Jan.1, they put the lesser watched locals on the sides. Just tell them you are missing some locals and they have to bring you another dish and install it.

-Robert

 

[BrettB]

If you do Christmas lighting you probably need to have extra outlets installed in the eaves and whatnot as most builders typically only do one wall outlet in front and back. That's pretty much the only thing I missed a couple of years ago.
Congratulations

 

[Keith Mickunas]

Robert, my dish is all good, I love it so. I'm going to use dish mover for the install, but I'm in an apartment so I got to take my dish. Maybe that means I'll have to pay for the install since they lose the incentive of leaving it behind. Then again, my contract will be up, so I'll threaten to drop it if they don't do it. I've heard if you threaten to cancel because directtv is giving you a free receiver or whatever, they'll match it. So if directtv will hook up my home for free, that's what I'll tell them.

I signed the contract, I'll be back for an update later but I must eat and relax. I left an allowance in the contract for wiring, so hopefully I can get close to what I want. I spoke to the builder briefly. They do home runs already, and I think he said they plan to put it in the attic which will work well enough and he can put a box in the soffet(?) for the sat people to plug into.

Christmas light, no, I don't need them. I got two outlets on the front and back, plus some porch lights to tap into.

I was asking about RG6 between the dish and receiver, and ant. and HDTV receiver. Sounds like its good.

 

[BrianB]

Congratulations on signing, Keith!

 

[Keith Mickunas]

Thanks Brian. I'm quite excited by this.
I've decided that I'm just too wiped to get in the long update. So for now I'll just say that I took the suggestions here to heart and ended up doing a few more upgrades than I planned, but that I'm sure will payoff big time in the long run. A couple that come to mind include the upgraded shower and the gas drops for the dryer and thing in the kitchen that does something to food (I have no idea what that's about, all the food I eat goes in the toaster and microwave). And I've put an allowance in for more wiring. Did I mention that earlier? I'm just really tired.
Thanks to everyone in this thread and who's e-mailed me this week with suggestions, thoughts, advice and questions. Its all been a big help and I don't think there's anything that I missed. Of course, I don't really know that yet, do I? I started this thread not to long after getting home from putting a hold on the lot. In one week I've learned a hell of a lot from you all, and it is really, really appreciated. I don't think I would have felt comfortable moving so quickly had it not been for everything I learned here.
Well that was longer than I thought it would be. Anyways, I think roughly expresses how I feel about the house and this forum too. G'night all.

 

[Bill Kane]

Congrats on all your research coming to fruition on the dotted line.
One thing, "mr. I know wireless LAN technologist," just exactly what is that kitchen "thingy" they're giving you? A stove plate warmer...an undercabinet 'salamander' plate/food warmer...convection box? Really got my curiosity.
bill "I used to be a cook"

 

[Keith Mickunas]

They call it an oven. Its got a big box on the bottom, with funny swirly things on top. Rumor has it that it heats things up. I recall once putting a frozen pizza in one, and it came out hot. Weird.

Keith "I started a fire making campbells soup once"

 

[Bill Kane]

(nt!!!)

 

[Keith Mickunas]

Well here's the long update. I think I've covered everything. I took some of the suggestions here, such as upgrading the shower in the master bath, and got a little carried away on Friday.



Extra sink in master bath

Shower Option 2 which includes a bigger shower with seat, garden tub, and cultured marble for the tub and shower

Extended vanity in bath #2

Tile for the entry, kitchen, and all bathrooms

Upgraded cabinets which includes 42" upper cabinets

Rounded edges on the kitchen counters

Gas drops for dryer and oven

Microwave

Upgrade carpet pad to 6#

Sod for the back yard

10' x 10' patio[/list] Some things that I'm considering are:



Carpet upgrades for each room

Ceiling fan hookup in living room

Prewire for 3 pair of speakers in loft

Prewire for 1 pair of speakers in family room

Cabling run for satelite and cable modem

Cabling run for audio/video distribution

Electrical hookup for outdoor hot tub[/list] These will be decided on March 9th when I go to the design center. Most of those will be done, I just have to decide how much of each. I have learned that the phone and cable lines will all be run to a central location, either in the attic or in the back of a closet. They will not allow me to do any wiring myself, nor will they run some conduit to make things easier for me. I won't have much attic space to work in so I hope that I can get what I need run, and figure out ways to add stuff in the future as needed.



The house comes pretty well loaded as it is. The front and sides of the yard are sodded along with some landscaping and a 6' privacy fence. The family room contains a direct-vent gas fireplace next to a TV nook which is shown next to the back door on the floor plan. The tech center consists of a small desk which matches the kitchen cabinets and counter tops. The kitchen has electric appliances, and a fridge with water and ice dispensers is being supplied as one of the incentives. The furnace and water heater are gas, and the entire house is Energy Star compliant. The windows are Low-E windows which means they are very effecient and tinted to reflect UV rays. The exterior is 75% brick with the rest being a hard surface that resembles wood. Hose connections and GFI outlets are provided on the front and back of the house. I believe that the AC will be placed in the attic instead of one of the upstairs closets, but a final decision hasn't been made.



Again, thanks to everyone for your suggestions and comments. I came out with a pretty good deal I think. Now I just hope all goes well with the build.

 

[Keith Mickunas]

I've got my first dispute with the builder. It seems the tech center does not come standard with cabinets, its just a countertop. I was led to believe by Elizabeth, my salesperson at Ashton Woods, and the contract that it does if you upgrade the cabinets. But Saturday Denise at the design center told me it was a $900 upgrade. It seems until Friday morning even she had thought it was standard, and some of her other clients were upset too. I checked with Jim Martin, another member here building a similar house, and he thought the same as me. Here's the language from the contract:

"Cabinets: Kitchen, butlers pantry, and if down stairs: Home mgt center, tech center or desk get the same level of cabinets selected for kitchen. If upstairs, the Home mgt center, tech center or desk will be the same level as baths."

Denise is checking into it with her manager and she felt my interpretation of the contract was correct. I spoke with Elizabeth on Sunday and explained my stance on it. She did mention to me at one point that the standard tech center was just a countertop. However then she went on to say something like "if you upgrade the kitchen cabinets, you automatically get the same cabinets on the tech center". I'm hoping that since I'm not the only one believing this way, they'll give it to me and those who complain and that in the future they'll clarify it for others.

Anybody have some opinions on how I might go about handling this? I can see both sides of this, but I feel like they've made a big enough mistake in how they've been selling this that they should make up for it. I've been quite civil about this so far, and I don't plan to raise a big ruckus over it. But I liked the look of the tech center, but I don't want to pay such a high rate for something I was pretty certain came with the house.

 

[Keith Mickunas]

Well its over with. I closed on Monday and have been moving in since then. Saturday is the big move. Here's a pic:

Its pretty sweet and I'm quite pleased with it. Dealing with the builders at times was a bit tough, but overall things worked out well.
I want to give a big thanks to all the people here who gave me advice on this. I did pretty well for myself and got just about everything I wanted out of it. I missed a few things, but nothing too major. Also, I need to give an extra big thanks to Jim Martin for buying a house there also and getting me that referral fee. Now I just have to wait for the check to arrive. :frowning:
Eventually I'll put up pics of the HT. However most of the stuff isn't there yet, and when I do move I'll be without broadband, one of the more frustrating aspects of this ordeal. Hopefully AT&T will hook things up next month. I'll just have to wait and see.

 

[SteveA]

How in the world can your new house have such a nice lawn already? We moved into our new house in February and the lawn still looks like crap! Of course, we are in the middle of a drought in Virginia - with mandatory water restrictions.

 

[John Berggren]

Congratulations. Good luck moving It's a big pain, but when all the dust settles, it's well worth it! Of course my dust hasn't settled yet...

 

[Keith Mickunas]

Steve, its fairly fresh sod, and it looks better in the picture than it is. Its bermuda so it isn't nice grass either, but it is easy to grow. Strangely, here in Texas we've had really good weather this summer with lots of rain. Its just now getting real hot, but even still we had a nice shower last night.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Congrats, Keith!
That shower was so good last night that I could hear it over the sound of my HT...hmmm, must get better insulation next time.
- Steve

 

[BrianB]

Congrats on the house, Keith

 

[ikiru]

My wife and I are building a house in Corinth, TX (between Lewisville and Denton) and we just had our pre-sheetrock meeting with the builder. Here are some things that I have picked up.
1. When they put the wiring in, make sure that the phone wires do not run parallel to the electrical wires. The electricians are not into doing more work than they have to, especially in texas, and they like to use the same holes for all their wires. This could be potentially bad, especially if you like to talk on the phone or do dial-up internet.
2. My friend and I wired our house for home theater. Originally, we paid to do so, but when we found out what he did, we decided to do it ourselves. BTW, he did run the speaker wires that were supposed to be for the surrounds right next to the electrical wires. As much as I like 60hz, I dont want it to be hearing it all the time coming from my rears. We wired everything up so that all of my home theater equipment (except for tv) would be in the closet next to the family room. A home theater closet is just too cool.
3. Look for trash. The builders eat at your homesite and leave trash in the weirdest places. We found a styrofoam cup sitting on a stud high up on one of our tall walls and a bag of cheetos behind our fireplace. Clean it up wherever you find it.
4. Ask about everything. We have found little things that werent necessarily bad, but turned out better once we asked about it. Light locations, electrical locations, etc...
5. Ants. Look for them and try to get rid of them as you see them. Remember tip #3? Well, where there is food/trash, ants are sure to follow.
6. You are not bound to anything until closing. They may make it sound like that, but you can opt out at any time for any reason.
7. For the most part, builders dont mind you doing extras in the house (DIY wiring, insulation, etc..) just as long as you dont mess up their inspection and/or get hurt. Inspections can really delay the process. If you get hurt, it is their butt on the line. We didnt ask before wiring the house for the HT, we just did it. He didnt seem to mind, in fact, he was very impressed with the job. Wow was the word he used
8. At the design center, ask for samples of everything you select. A lot of time can pass between design center and closing, so there may be a bit of anxiety about what kind of decor you chose. Most places will be happy to send you home with samples of what you chose.
9. Insulate the interior walls. Builders do not typically do this. I asked my builder to do this, and he told me that they dont, but he suggested R-11 and gave me a time that would be best for doing it (after inspection of course). Insulating the interior walls makes great sound barriers between rooms. Im going to go to town on the stuff
Ill post more as things develop.
Here is a link to the model we chose (although the plan is kinda squished...but you'll get the idea).
Model: Debra Ann
Sq Ft: 2771
http://www.buescher-homes.com/Debra.htm
-ikiru