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Sewer Cleanout Locations
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Owner-Builder, Quality Check, Save Money
It’s common for new homes that are located in an area with city utilities to have a sewer cleanout in the yard. This cleanout is a pipe that typically terminates at, or near, the finished grade and is used for access to the home’s sewer service line. Some common questions regarding the placement, use, and […]
Four Ways to Lower the Cost of Your New Home
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Owner-Builder, Save Money
If you’re like me, you like to shop several stores before giving up your hard earned cash to buy something. Besides shopping around, I also look for alternatives for getting the job done more efficiently. We work too hard for our money to just throw it away. It’s good to apply this same type of […]
Permit Previously Built Project: A Reader Question
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Build Your Own Home, Owner-Builder, Quality Check
Here’s a reader question that came in to Armchair Builder last week… My wife and I bought our house back in 1996. At that time there was an unfinished room above the garage. HVAC and electrical were already in place. With the help of a contractor friend of ours we finished the room (sheet rock, […]
How to Build a Home, Step 48 The electrical trim is the next step in our “How to Build a Home” blog series. Over the past several months we’ve taken you through the first 47 steps to building your own home. Now we will be sharing some of the fine points associated with the electrical […]
Insulating Your Home
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Build Your Own Home, Owner-Builder, Quality Check
How to Build a Home, Step 39 We start insulating your home once all of the rough mechanicals and draft stopping are completed. Since this is the last activity prior to closing up the walls with drywall, it’s extremely important to get things right here. There are some very critical items to review prior to […]
How to Build a Home, Step 35 After framing your new dream home, it’s time to start the plumbing rough-in. This step in our how to build a home series of articles covers the schedule, preparation, and quality checks for the plumbing. There are some key items that professional builders use to get a quality […]
Framing a Home
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Build Your Own Home, Owner-Builder, Quality Check
How to Build a Home, Step 33 Framing a home is step 33 in our blog series on how to build a home from start to finish. The framing activity, also called rough carpentry, is extremely important to the success of your project. A properly framed new home creates the foundation for the rest of […]
Home Foundation Quality Check
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Build Your Own Home, Owner-Builder, Quality Check
How to Build a Home, Step 26 What are the important items to consider in your new home foundation quality check? To say that your foundation is a major element in your new dream home is an understatement. Not only does it support the entire structure and its contents, but it also is responsible for […]
How to Build a Home, Step 21: Excavate for Foundation
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Build Your Own Home, Owner-Builder, Quality Check
The next step in our blog series, How to Build a Home, is the foundation excavation activity. This is the first major activity in the construction of your new dream home. The old saying, it all starts with the foundation is only partially true. In fact, it all really starts with the excavation of […]
Add Brick to Your Home
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Build Your Own Home, Owner-Builder, Save Money
You can add brick to your home to improve the look and create value. But what is required to add brick to a home? Are there any special design considerations to accommodate the new brick? What if you want to build your home so you can easily add brick in the future? Add Brick in […]
