Networking & Communications

Leviton Cat

17 Things Your Builder Will NOT Do…Unless You Ask

The information that follows is based on my experience as a REALTOR, and in having my own home built several years ago. To help you stay on track, and enjoy your new home once it's completed, here are 17 things your builder will NOT do…unless you ask:

1. Cat 5/6 network wiring and jacks throughout the home - even in the dining room (It make become your office one day. Mine did.)

Make sure to have it installed on the patio and in the garage too. Sometimes your Wi-Fi can't reach a room in the house, so it's important to be able to connect your room to your router or cable modem via these RJ-45 jacks.

2. CATV (coaxial cable for cable TV) jacks - at least two per room…EVERY room - throughout your home, patio and garage. You may want a TV or router there one day. It's much more difficult to add these after the fact, than it is while the house is still in the framing stage.**

The cost to the builder at the framing stage is negligible - maybe $30 or $40, if anything at all. However, if you wait until after the house is built, the local cable company may charge as much as $150 per outlet!

Better to have it done during framing, and let the builder pass that cost on to you as $30 or $40 per outlet.

3. Phone jacks - at least two per room. Yes, I know you plan on using wireless phones or your cell phone. However, it's a minimal cost now - and if you ever do need a phone jack…(See #2 above)

4. Consider using structured wiring when building your home. It costs more initially, but will allow you to connect all your home wiring, internet and multimedia for current and future use. And without having to run new wires throughout your home - tearing up the walls and ceilings in the process. You can read more about it on the Leviton site http://www.leviton.com/connectedhome.

5.  Attic flooring - make sure your builder installs plywood flooring in your attic. It should be at least 1/2 thick for proper support of you and your belongings. Don't allow all that space to be wasted - you will always need more storage space than you think. I wouldn't consider the builder-grade OSB (Oriented Strand Board) for the flooring, since it doesn't hold up as well and feels flimsy underfoot. There are stronger versions available, so you'll want to let your builder know that you want the "good stuff".

That's just my opinion. When our home was built, I had my garage attic space floored with OSB. It was a mistake - I should have specified plywood, or checked to see if there were stronger versions of OSB (which there are). When I walk on it, I keep thinking about ending up downstairs in the garage. Eventually I'll replace it with plywood.

One more note - be sure that all seams run along the joists. Otherwise, you may end up stepping through the ceiling below when the floor flexes.**

6. Electrical wiring runs. Make sure both the builder and electrician know that running the electrical wiring across your attic floor is a big NO-NO. The reason you wanted a floor in the first place is to create usable space, not make it easier for the electrician to wire your home.**

7. You need at least two lights with a switch in the attic. Hey, it's dark up there all the time. The switch should be downstairs or up in the attic right next to where you come up the ladder. One light should be near the entrance, and the second should be at least half-way across the attic.

8. Attic access stairs. If you're not a gymnast, you seriously want to consider that the builder install wide attic pull-down stairs. Most builders install a narrow, 13 1/4 inch wide (that's the inside dimension of the ladder - how much space you have while standing on it) ladder access which is difficult to climb, requires a contortionist to get through, and - in my opinion - is unsafe to use. The access pull down door is just 21 inches wide!

The steep and narrow construction will not give you any warm and fuzzy feelings when you think about your spouse or children having to climb up there. You want a ladder (a stairwell would be much better) that is at least 20 inches wide or so (and the opening should be up to 36 inches wide.) This will also make it easier to store your furnishings, the holiday displays or the kid's stuff, without having to fight the very small opening and treacherous stairs.

Something else to consider is the type and construction of your attic access stairs. Turns out the flimsy-feeling wooden steps are not the only choice. Going with a better-constructed access ladder won't increase the cost too much. And whenever you need to go up in your attic, you'll be thankful that you invested in wider and stronger stairs. Here are a couple of links to attic ladder manufacturers: Werner Ladders, Bessler, Calvert USA.

9. While we're still in the attic, let's talk about the HVAC system or the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system that may be placed in the attic. It is of paramount importance that you take care of this - otherwise you can lose almost all of your usable attic space.**

When the system is installed  - usually when a home is built on a slab foundation – the blower and ducting is run through the attic space. If you haven't told the HVAC Installer and Builder that you don't want the HVAC system to take up all the accessible attic floor space - they will do as they see fit. This usually means you'll lose most of the usable space in your attic. This will make it much more difficult to install catwalks so you can access all parts of your attic, and for installing any flooring for storage, or an addition later on.

So, you need to make sure that everyone concerned does not block your use of the attic floor space. They have ways of running the system so that it sits above the floor area and out of your way. It's still accessible to technicians, but doesn't stop you from using your home.

10. Let's go outside and look at your yard. If you have a lawn, how are you going to water it? If you're like most, every spring and summer you'll be in charge of the water hose roundup. Moving hoses and sprinklers from place to place all summer long, so that your investment in that lawn isn't lost to the drying effects of the sun.

I played this silly game for years - even in my new home. I was so involved in having my house built that I didn't think about how I was going to water the yards. At the time, no one even mentioned underground sprinklers.

Let alone the time and money I could save.

Trust me - you really want underground sprinklers. They will save you time (you won't need to get up every 30 minutes to move the hose/sprinkler), money (for all the hoses and sprinklers you won't waste your money buying every couple of years); improved water conservation - the lawn is watered in sections for only so many minutes at a time and on the days you choose. The best part is that you'll never wake up in the morning to find that you forgot to turn off the sprinklers the night before!

The cost is small when you consider both the annual cost and the additional resale value it brings to your home. My system was about $2,200 two years ago. Think about it: you could spend hundreds of dollars over the years on sprinklers, adapters, hose reels and hoses. Or, you could enjoy the peace-of-mind, savings, low maintenance and convenience.

11. Let me return to the attic once more. Recently, many builders have started putting the hot water heater in the attic, so that there is more usable square footage inside the house. This - in my opinion – doesn't seem like a good idea. There are pro's and con's, which you should go over with your builder or plumber. Then you can make the decision as to where the hot water heater will go.

While the idea of having more floor space is good, the thought of having any major water damage seems risky. Even with an overflow tray and a drainage pipe (not always installed but should be), you're probably asking for trouble down the road.

Another point is that even though your home is insulated, the attic is not. So if you decide to allow the hot water heater to be placed in the attic here, please consider the following:

• Wrap the hot water heater with insulation designed for a hot water heater. This will prevent heat loss during the winter.
• Make sure the builder installs a catwalk so you or a plumber can get to the hot water heater, for maintenance check up's and eventually to replace it.

12. If your builder places the hot water heater in the garage or in a utility room, make sure it's at least 24 inches above the floor, and wrapped to preserve the heat. The reason for the height is safety. In a garage, there's gasoline and other vapors which could ignite. This is especially important if you're using a gas-fired hot water heater.

13.  Garage doors and openings. In the past few years, I've noticed that some builders (and they know who they are) have started building garage openings that are much too small for anything but a compact car to get in.

The door openings are barely six feet tall, and the width would require pulling in the mirrors on both sides of a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Who wants to stop and pull in their mirrors every time they go in the garage? Not me, and I'm willing to guess – not you either.

You'll need to take some measurements off the blueprint for this. The opening of your garage should be at least 95 to 99 inches wide. (This is the width at the narrowest part of the opening - what you'll need to drive through.) Anything less will require pulling in your mirrors, parking in the driveway or buying a smaller vehicle.

You also need to check the height of the garage door opening. It must be at least 7 feet – if it's less you won't be able to get your SUV or pickup truck inside.

You should also think about the depth of the garage. How long is your vehicle?

Measure from bumper to bumper, add at least two feet more so that you can maneuver around it with the garage doors closed. The depth should be at least 20 feet. Less than that, and you won't have enough space to pull in and close the door.

14.  Insist on garage door openers. Some builders call this optional. It's crazy - they've likely already pre-wired the garage for the door openers and safety limits on either side. Why should the actual opener be "optional"?

Truthfully, it's just a value-added profit item for the builder. Like your local fast food restaurant asking if you'd like a lid for that cup of hot coffee. The lid is part and parcel with the cup, and the cost has already been included in the price - whether you want the lid or not. Same thing with the garage door opener.

The chain drives are okay and will last many years, but they aren't as smooth, and make a lot of noise. Consider a belt-drive model if you want a quieter garage door opener.

15.  Backup electricity generator. For years, we had talked about getting one of these, if we ever built or bought another house. You can probably guess what we didn't think of while building our new home. Yep - no backup electricity generator; specifically I wanted a Generac residential generator (http://www.generac.com/Residential/ ).

If you can't stand being without electricity, even for a few minutes or worse…for hours or days, you need to seriously consider installing a Generac. If the power goes out, the generator kicks on in about a minute or less. This saves you the aggravation of not being able to stay warm or cool, to cook or just have a hot shower. Let alone having a way to keep the kids (and adults) occupied with their computers and video games.

And if you're in an area that experiences adverse weather, such as hurricanes - this will save your bacon…and eggs, and anything else in the freezer or refrigerator. I know this personally, because we lost all our food during a 3-day power outage after a hurricane swept through our area back in the middle of the 1990's. And we had just purchased a freezer and all the food to put in it!

A Generac to run your whole house will cost about $5,500 or so to install while building your home. It should be less as far as the plumbing (the natural gas hookup) and the electrical, since the framing will still be open.

16.  Geo-exchange systems. These last two items will help you reduce your dependence on electricity, and be a little greener in the process. How would you like to have an electric bill that was just half of your current bill?  In the middle of the hottest part of summer? And you were cool the whole time?

What if you could have that lower electric bill AND get your hot water heated for free? Or, have your home heated perfectly in the coldest winters for the same or less than your normal electric bill?

It's not magic or a gimmick. What I'm referring to is a geothermal exchange system to heat and cool your home, and in the process heat your hot water.

Essentially you're using the near constant temperature (about 54 degrees F) of the earth below your feet to cool and heat your home. A system of closed-loop tubing is buried in the ground, that either draws in the warmer temperature from the ground in winter. Or it uses the much cooler ground temperature to pull in cooler temperatures in the summer.

That hot water thing? Well, the company that installs the geothermal exchange system can run tubing though a customized hot water heater so that the heat from the ground helps heat your water. (Note that your water is still safe and pure. The system doesn't pull any water from the ground - just the heat in the enclosed tubing.)

WaterFurnace is one of those companies and has more information on what you can expect from geothermal.

In the US, there's a 30% tax credit with no upper limit. This credit applies to both the equipment and the installation for geothermal exchange systems.

17.  Solar. Have you considered generating your hot water or supplemental electricity from the sun?

Solar panels today are flexible and more affordable than ever.  Many places in the world use and have been using solar water heating for decades - and not just in the high-end housing areas either.

In 1975, I lived in Israel, and it appeared that every home and apartment had solar hot water heaters. The water was heated on the roof, and inside the house, there was a storage tank to hold the hot water.

PowerFilmSolar - makes a solar panel that is flexible and can be rolled out over your roof shingles. They have several solutions for OEM's, Consumers and the Military.

Well, that's it for this article. I hope you found it useful, maybe enough to keep you from making the same mistakes. Here is a link to all of the resources in this post: http://bit.ly/fNLC0b

** Personal experience with my own new construction home. In most cases, I didn't realize I needed to do this, and my real estate agent (who worked for the builder) didn't know about them and thus, failed to mention them as well.

Copyright 2011, David W. Orr. All rights reserved.

About the Author

I help people achieve their dreams and desires, in finding and purchasing a home to call their own. Some to move up to a larger home for their growing family. Or a smaller home, now that the kids are grown. And sometimes it's to get that little house in the country they've always dreamed of. Then they can say - just like the song, that "My Home's in Alabama". My name is David Orr, and I'm a REALTOR in Phenix City, AL.

What is the best brand of ethernet/CAT 5e cable?

I'm connecting my computer to the Ethernet port in the wall at home (the router is in the basement). Does it matter what brand of cable I buy? Are some better than others?

Home Depot has a brand called Leviton. Is that good enough? Or would I be better off with Belkin or something like that?

No, it does not matter. I believe all Cat 5 cables are built basically the same with small external detail changes but they all deliver at the same speed. They all do the same thing so just pick one up from a price range from around 5 to 15$ depending on lenght and it should be fine.

Cat 5e Jack Termination.mpg