Instead of putting the joists on top of the foundation wall, you could make it a little deeper to meet the 4" above grade requirement and put joist hangers around the inside of the wall so that the main floor is slightly sunken inside the foundation. That way it can match the height of the garage, which will be slab on grade.

Don't lose heart. You just need to keep interviewing contractors. I had to talk to a minimum of 5 or 6 to get one reasonable bid in every area.

Why are you telling the contractors that you are purchasing the materials?

Off-white colors are going to cover better than a high white. I assume that "Swiss Coffee Trim" refers simply to the color of trim paint. It sounds like his "good quote" might only include a single coat of paint and he is worried that your choice of white may not provide complete coverage. This might be even more the case if he is planning to use a cheap paint.

As an owner-builder, you need to provide a certain minimum amount of the contract terms in order to assure success, else you are at the mercy of the contractor who can downgrade in order to make his bid look more attractive. If you sign a contract for a single coat and cheap materials, you will have a hard time getting any leverage to repair what turns out to be crummy-looking job.

The idea that subs get the best prices is not entirely without some basis in reality. Most often, you see it in situations where the wholesale house wants to protect the subs that buy through them. In those cases, I have found that it is nearly impossible to break through and you need to just move on to another supplier. I do make it clear to them that they have lost my business, either directly or through the sub, but that doesn't seem to have much effect.

The reason is that a single sub buys ten or twenty times as much stuff from them than you do. Your business might be interesting if it were full retail, but you are asking for the same discount as the subs, remember?

But, here's the flip side. If the subs do buy cheaper, my recent experience has been that they want to mark it up at least as much as you would have to pay at the wholesale house anyway. They just want to keep the difference and can think of all kinds of reasons why it makes sense. I don't like working with those guys. They are almost always lazy in other ways.

I have found that I get on best with the subs who have a good work ethic and just want to ply their trade. They just want to make billable hours. A number of them have been thrilled to have me buy the supplies and have them ready at the job site. In those cases, I have found no problem buying at a good price from the distributor. Those are the guys I like to work with. If they have been helpful, I have no problem giving them a "bonus" at the end. It's usually about 5% of the total material cost, which makes up for some of the markup they might have gotten on the supplies. But, they didn't have to do any ordering, waiting and hauling for it either.

Sounds like the "low-emissivity foam" is some sort of radiant barrier hucksterism. There is nothing affordable that delivers an effective R-50/inch. Radiant barriers have applications, but that is not what you are looking for.

Option One is what you want to do in most areas. Even one inch of rigid foam will provide the thermal break you need, but while you are doing it, you can easily go to 2" or more to further insulate your walls.

There is a preference on location of the foam, but locating inside is fairly rare and used in Arctic and Sub-Arctic climates, I believe.

If you haven't already done so, then you should visit the "Building Science" website and see what they have to say about this and vapor barriers.

buildingscience.com

Who is providing liability coverage on the property right now?

It depends on the kind of home you are building. If you are building your high-end dream home, then you probably want those things to come out well and you might want to spend some money on specialists to make sure that it works.

It's possible that your house designer can incorporate the kitchen features that you want. If they don't know much about kitchen design and you don't feel too competent in directing them, then it would be a good idea to hire a kitchen designer to contribute some to that portion of the design before anything gets too set in stone.

Architects usually cost more, but my experience has been that they can be like geniuses, able to incorporate nearly everything in the plan. An architect should be able to give you a fine kitchen. Of course, there are architects with less skill and designers with more skill, so none of this is cut and dried.

Same goes for lighting. If your designer understands lighting, then it can be reflected in the initial plan. At some point, someone has to draw in the exact lighting for estimating and construction. That can be the house designer (additional billable hours), it can be you (need to know what you are doing and it takes time) or it might be an electrician. The electrician can figure a few additional hours into his job cost to draw up the plan for you. What you will get from an electrician will probably be a more generic plan unless they have a particular interest in lighting.

Finally, if your designer or you or your electrician know enough to get you a workable plan, it is possible to wait until you have some building envelope up and then call a lighting designer in to evaluate what you plan to do in order to keep their hours to a minimum. They might save you money at that point or they might cost you money depending on how much work has gone into the lighting plan by then. However, if you are going to make a big mistake, having a lighting designer catch it at that step can save you a lot of time and money.

Hope that helps.

Where it really gets complicated is when you start thinking about interior designers.

Too many variables to predict when the fence will start streaking.

Cedar is an acidic wood and is hard on fasteners. When the reaction gets to iron is when the streaking starts. Electro-galvanized nails have a very thin coating of zinc protecting the iron and the streaking starts quickly. My understanding is that some galvanizing even contains a small amount of iron to facilitate the process and those fasteners will streak as well. Hot-dipped galvanizing (ASTM A 153) is one type actually allowed by the cedar industry because the coating is very pure and very thick.

In your case, the coating has been ground away on the ends, and even though the iron in the nails is sticking out of the board, it won't be long before the ends start to rust and runs down the cedar.

Stainless fasteners (and other, new, special coatings) are the safest in contact with cedar.

ADA requirements are federal in nature, so they shouldn't change from state to state. You will find that they have to do more with commercial or public facilities than private residential construction.

Here is a little help in looking up a .pdf that has some simple dimensional guidance for bathrooms.

bradleycorp.com/UniversalDesignGuide.pdf

The bank isn't loaning money blindly. With a construction loan, the bank wants you to have a viable home at the end. That's what they are loaning against.

It's best to involve them from the beginning. What they will do is get an (estimated) appraisal for your property with the type of home you plan to build on it. Then, like any other real estate, they will loan a portion of that amount to pay off the old and build the new. They want to see your plan to ensure that it is workable. They aren't going to embark on a plan that leaves you with a half-finished house, because that will be their collateral.

In other words, they aren't going to short you money. They want you to succeed.

I guess the take-home lesson for all of us is to read your contract very carefully before you sign it. When there is a written contract, the notion that there is some verbal addendum is just not too viable. My banker gave me a copy of a sample contract even though I didn't ask for one and she had a copy for my construction manager so he would know their policies, too. In advance.

1) Since you and the bank are essentially partners after signing the contract, for you to take your funds and use them in some way inconsistent with the agreement would be a breach of contract. That is why withdrawals from the fund require joint approval.

2) Material deposits are one of the biggest ways in which people get into trouble on owner-builds. When I asked my CM how much we allow for "upfront" payments and "material deposits", he laughed and said "NONE". Payments are made as materials are either delivered into our control or items are finished. As an example, we can take delivery of the reinforcing steel and cut a check, but we can only control 10 yards of concrete at a time. Hence, payment can be made for the steel once it is received, but we can't pay $10,000 in advance on the concrete needs. Stone can be returned, but maybe adobe can't, for example.

3) Haven't had one yet, but I can see how inspections need to be held at arms' length. Not being able to get the information in the inspection is odd, though. The bank wants you to know what is hanging fire so you can correct and move on to the next step.

4) Build periods are critical. According to what I've seen, this is another major area of difficulty. It is VERY important to understand what your responsibilities are in the contract. If you can't manage a schedule, then you had best give yourself extra time because the bank deadlines are set in stone.

I can't help but noticing that the website you got those plans from has a FREE cost estimator on it. It's customizable by location and quality of construction.

I can't remember seeing a septic permit application that didn't require a site plan, so when you say you have done "no planning" that is a little confusing.

Generally speaking, I see no reason why you shouldn't put the septic in before the permit expires. It will increase the value of the building lot by at least the cost of the system and will go towards owner down payment when you apply for the construction loan.

If you have a relatively small lot, exact placement of the system is more important than if you have a large tract of land. When you say "survey", are you talking about the actual surveying crew? Could you be a little more specific as to what your concerns are?

I think what you might be looking for are grilles that create "simulated divided lights". Building an actual window with real diamond pane divided lights would be a disaster as far as modern window expectations go, not to mention extremely pricey. That's more the realm of firms that create architectural reproductions.

Window manufacturers like Andersen offer the grilles in different patterns to go outside or between the panes of insulating glass as a decorative feature. Some of it is even snap-on to allow for easier window cleaning. Andersen windows are really quite modestly priced as far as the range of windows goes. Since that pattern is relatively rare these days, I would be surprised to find lower-end window manufacturers offering it except as maybe a costly customization. 

There are firms that specialize in simulated divided lights and you might look into them as something you could add after your choice of windows were installed. Here is a link to one of them:

jjjspecialty.com.

All of the building supply businesses I have contacted will do a materials "takeoff" from your plan set.

Well, in my case, I wasn't a "builder" per se, and no amount of running down and answering 40 questions on a test to get a GC license would change that. Using the Homeowner's Umbrella Liability Policy seemed to be a better fit and it was the one suggested by my insurance agent.

Consider if you were to have your furnace changed out or your roof redone on your existing home. Sure, the duration of the work is only a week or two, but you, as a homeowner have essentially the same types of risks from workmen performing those activities as you do on a new build. The liability coverage on an umbrella policy is rarely less than a million or two and might be $5 million or even $10 million. The material coverage is substantially greater than your regular policy, too. In most cases it is more than enough to cover what happens during a build.

There is a product called Warmboard that does pretty well with carpet over. It can take the place of subflooring, and has grooves in it to receive the PEX heat tubing. Comes up to temp much faster than a slab, and is much better than having to use up floor or wall space for baseboard heaters.

If you are going to have a slab, make sure you tube it. It's cheap, and gives you much more flexibility down the road.

There is no one "best" insulation method that applies to all types of construction and environments. It's not uncommon for a combination of methods to be used in order to properly address all issues.

This is a VERY important decision with considerable impact on your health, home durability and energy expenditures for years to come. Do NOT base it on any one particular subcontractor or another. All methods of insulation have their advantages and their drawbacks. Those negative things you have been told are not unheard of, but they aren't necessarily always true.

For example, recent tests on fiberglass insulation has shown that it doesn't perform as well (under some circumstances) as previously thought, but it is still a good all-around insulation. Blown-in cellulose can settle, but if done properly, it won't. Spray foam can crack, but if done properly, it shouldn't.

I will be using two inches of spray foam followed by compressed fiberglass batting in the remaining space. This both seals the construction and reduces the cost of going with all foam. This combination method is also used with cellulose instead of the fiberglass.

This would be a good issue to consult a building professional on; one who does not have a financial interest in what you purchase. If you have a knowledgeable consultant, it shouldn't cost much to get his opinion. With an existing heat load analysis for your home, it might take another two or three hours at whatever his regular rate is in order to come up with an insulation plan. If you don't have a heat load analysis, it might be good to get one done at the same time. I have also seen O-B's comb the Internet to learn about vapor barriers, R-values, air exchange and material specs, but that isn't for everyone and certainly does take time.

A bond is like a small insurance policy that a third party (the bonding agency) is authorized to pay out on behalf of someone (the bonded party, usually a contractor). Bonding is usually specified by law, sometimes as one of the requirements to hold a contractor's license, for example. It is intended to grease the wheels of commerce by making one party more willing to engage in business while still providing a measure of protection regarding performance by the second (getting paid on a job, or proper results thereof). It is a bit like credit worthiness, but guaranteed to a certain amount (the amount of the bond).

The bonded party (the contractor, or in this case, you) usually pays for the bond, but other arrangements are possible.

If you are acting as a GC on your own place, the law may still require you to get a bond like any other GC. The reason would be that the subcontractors need to have the expectation of performance from you (getting paid). If you own the place, the ability to lien the property should suffice, but sometimes the rules become more important than the intent.

It should be relatively easy to get a bond on your own place. Contact a bonding agency. Sometimes, bigger insurance offices can do it. There will probably be a credit check. The cost can run anywhere from $200 to maybe $700 for a simple bond. Before you just run out and get the bond, make sure you have the details about the bond's requirements (bond terms, amount, agencies, persons or parties who must be named, etc.) Ask the office that is requiring you to have one.

You will want to familiarize yourself with how the bond works in your jurisdiction. One example might be a plumber from whom you are withholding payment because of a dispute. If he hasn't paid the plumbing warehouse for the parts supplied, they might be able to "access" the bond (get paid from it). Of course, you could then deduct that from what the plumber claims he is owed, but it gets complicated...