I've mentioned Matt Risinger's Blog before. You might want to check out his last two postings to see if they shed any light on your question.

Matt is a builder in Austin, and I've found his blog pretty informative. Hope it helps you.

risinger.blogspot.com

These are an example:

adooringdesigns.com. Just one of several companies.

Your point about windows vs. doors is well taken. Thanks.

Robert, you are a little further ahead than me, but I have a couple I can give you. 

The electrician I will most likely use I met on another forum. I was out of town one night when my wife called and the freezer had gone out. We called Ralph and he was there that night to take care of everything for me. My mom and sister then had an issue at their house and he took care of it along with some other issues he found. His charge to them:  NADA. Just wished them a Merry Christmas. He has told me that he won't be the cheapest but he also won't do it "to code". He goes beyond code. No 15-amp breakers at all.  This man has won my trust.

myelectrician.wetpaint.com

The second would be a roofer. I can't really tell you about pricing. My wife is his CPA, so that is how we got to know him. He was here one day and asked if he could look at our roof for us. He ended up talking to our insurance company and put a new roof on for us. I was very pleased with the job he did. He also ended up doing three more on my street.

Name:	Benchmark Roofing, Inc.
Phone:	(972) 231-0794
Address:	PO Box 853091
	Richardson, TX 75085-3091

Ask for Neil.

I think I got lucky. A buddy of mine is having a custom home built a few miles from my lot. My goal is to go by everyday to watch the progress and steps they go through.

I discovered very quickly but not quickly enough that I'll need to be there every day or I'll miss something. Went out there weekend before last, and the framing was in for the foundation. Barrier was down, post-tension cables laying there across it, PEX, drain and vent pipes sticking up. Went by Wed. of this week, 9 work days later, and the house framing is nearly done... all two stories. WOW, it moves fast. I've been back Thurs. and today, Friday, and if you blink, you'll miss a stage.

I think I'm really going to find this helpful just being an observer to the process and seeing how one of the local custom builders does it. 

With all the reading I've been doing, I am picking up on some things I'd do differently or call them on if I were the owner. In one spot, we noticed the studs came up to the first floor top plate, second-level subfloor, second-floor bottom plate, and continued on up with the second-floor studs. It is right where the stairs go up, so you can't help but look at it as you climb the stairs. Your shoulder passes right by it. The bottom plate for the second floor isn't even with the edge of the subfloor. It is recessed back in about 3/8 of an inch in one area and one piece of subfloor extends out a bit more than the next piece. I want to be there when the sheetrocker starts taking the framer's name in vain and see how he will fix that. I had a buddy with me and neither one of us can figure out how they are going to get the sheetrock to look right.

Also got the names and numbers for the framing crew and figure if I am out there daily, I should be able to get a lot more subs' contact info.

I'm still a ways out from construction, but stopped by a Habitat for Humanity ReStore today and saw a large selection of ceramic tile. Didn't see a manufacturer's name on it. I've also seen posts on this site about folks buying their tile in Mexico.

How do you determine the quality of tile? I'm familiar with the name Dal-Tile, but is it any better than the stuff at ReStore or Mexico? What should I be looking at when it comes to quality, durability, etc.?

Anyone ever been? I called, and it is open to "custom home builders".

nationalhardwareshow.com

Trying to figure out how these work together. Hire a designer to design/draw the house plans. Then, I hear and read about kitchen designers, lighting designers... how do these work together?

Just throwing this out for folks to consider. Today, many homes have a security camera at the front door for the homeowner to see who is ringing the bell. Some also cover the driveway and the pool. 

Coming from a law enforcement background, here are some of my general observations. Most burglars came through the back or side doors. Electronics are a target. Bedrooms are targets for jewelry.

Some suggestions:

1. Install covert cameras covering all doors. They may come through a window, but they will go out a door. Use covert cameras that don't draw attention to themselves and get attacked/disabled. Do a Google search for "covert cameras" and you can find lots of sources.

2. Install covert cameras inside covering major traffic areas such as hallways leading in and out of bedroom areas and the main living/family room.   

3. Zero the cameras on the doorways. You don't need large views. You need ID-quality video. You might also consider a camera that you can aim at the driveway entrance. Again, you don't want a large view, you want the license plate.

4. Don't feed those cameras to monitors that someone walking through the house could see and realize they are on candid camera.

5. Don't put cameras in private areas... bathrooms, bedrooms, etc. where you could get jammed up with inappropriate video. Stick with the public areas.

6. Feed the cameras to a DVR. Go with a DVR that will record and when full, begin to overwrite the hard drive. Some DVRs have the ability to set up an alarm such that it only records a camera if something within that camera's field of view changes. That can save on the hard drive. You want to record as high a frame rate per second on each camera as possible. 30 fps is real time. If your camera is only recording at 10 fps per camera, someone could walk by it and you might miss them. Some DVRs will divide the 30 fps between cameras. Find one that will let you set the fps for each camera. They will cost more, but you will be glad you have it if you get burglarized.

7. Hide the DVR!!! If they steal the DVR, you are out of luck. Consider a hidden room or compartment large enough to hold it, a monitor, and a UPS to power the DVR in case power to the house is cut. Make sure you disable the alarm on the UPS if it has one. Make sure there is ventilation for the equipment.

8. Do NOT hook up audio if it is available. Too many issues with those laws.

9. Check with your local prosecutor's office if you are concerned about legalities, as they can vary from state to state.

These are just a few things you might want to consider. I can't tell you how many burglaries I answered where there was no evidence. A picture is worth a thousand words.

I've been watching a house that is currently under construction for a buddy of mine. I was expecting to see housewrap such as Tyvek go on, but the next thing I know, the house is sheathed and then windows go in without any Tyvek. I later noticed another builder's home doing the same thing. 

From what I've read, you put the housewrap on, roll it inside the window openings, tape it and then set the windows. I asked the builder of my buddy's house about it and he said he might wrap it, but if he does, he normally tapes to the window flanges on the outside.

I had him or another construction manager tell me that they sometimes have their painter paint the sheathing with a primer before they start the brick work. One of them also said that they don't always put a vapor barrier on the inside.

I recall one of them telling me that they have been getting to the point of making the houses too tight and having the issue of a sick home, the fireplaces not drawing correctly, etc.

What is your take on all this? Is this a regional deal?

I ran across this builder's blog through the Fine Homebuilding website. I then went looking for his own blog site and found him. Very good, IMHO.

risinger.blogspot.com

I'm still in the planning stages. I think I know which designer I will to use for my plans when we get to that stage. He offices with a builder and he gave me some addresses of houses he designed and that are under construction. One of them, we don't care for the design. Two is finished, looks great and the owner had nothing but praise for the designer. Three came to a screeching halt several weeks ago.

A buddy who just had a house built around the corner from #3 tells me he heard that there was a mess-up and it was designed too tall; owners are attorneys and it's all tied up now. The designer told me it was held up for some special doors that were on order, but I don't see where those type doors would go on this house and that shouldn't stop everything for weeks. My buddy said he had also heard of issues with this builder. I checked BBB and there were three or four complaints about lack of warranty followup by that builder.

I went by the house the other day, and a LITTLE more work has been done. BUT, there is a yellow tag (sheet) on the wall from the inspector. The house was failed in four categories... Rough plumbing, rough elec., rough framing and something else. I couldn't read the inspector's writing to really tell what all was listed but it was a LONG list.

As an outsider looking in, where would your concern lie? Subs for poor work, builder for poor oversight, or is there perhaps something missing in the plans and it falls to the designer?

I still plan to act as my own GC with the help of a buddy who is a construction supervisor for a large builder, so using that builder is out but what about the designer or any subs he might recommend?