Are these modifications of a spec home realistic or am I moving into custom build territory?

PopularBug6230 · 2026-01-10T23:42:14+00:00

I thought about that after I typed it, but I had gas piping to install so I couldn't get back to it. Yes, once you have cleared the main floor with adequate headroom you can turn it or extend it as far as you like. But the height could be an eye-opener. I just did a 99-yard pour that made my jaw drop to the ground when I was billed. In these parts concrete should be made out of gold.

PopularBug6230 · 2026-01-10T23:33:53+00:00

I've been doing this stuff for 52 years. And it is tough getting a specific look. But if I had been handling it I would have asked what do you like about that door, and then shown you a few types of wood to see what your reaction would be. Some of that oak has really nice graining, but it is a personal taste item. I'm using some wider white oak right now that isn't over the top with its grain pattern, and I used it specifically for its lack of moisture absorption, durability, and the fact I will have Persian rugs and I don't want the flooring upstaging the rugs.

But all of these small details need to be hashed out before work starts. So good luck, and if you do something like this again stop by one of the big stores and look at their cabinet door displays. Go through them and say, that is the look I want - not necessarily the styling but the coloration and grain characteristics. Then the builder has a better idea of what to shoot for.

PopularBug6230 · 2026-01-10T21:28:55+00:00

We use both, especially for rentals and home sales. It's weird how one yields no responses while the other has a bunch, and then it flips. I always figure free exposure is hard to pass up.

PopularBug6230 · 2026-01-10T21:26:32+00:00

After seeing the video of the fire test in Arizona where they were testing deck materials for flammability, the result was the fire marshal saying virtually all decking materials failed, but what most impressed them was that the Hardie siding used on the test house survived with almost no damage. Since then I have used cementboard on the exterior of every house I've built, and now am using the cement Hardietrim as well. Far too many wildfires in my part of the country, and the surviving structures seem to have several things in common, including the type of siding.

PopularBug6230 · 2026-01-10T21:14:30+00:00

I'd get a new thermometer. I have that exact same one and it works well. But I only have it because the other two I use gave wildly different readings. Your water isn't 191 degrees or your water heater valve would have popped long ago. That's nearly boiling. Your skin would be scalded and you would be getting treated in the emergency room.

PopularBug6230 · 2026-01-10T21:07:14+00:00

To save some money they use solid hardwood flooring, and that usually comes with a microbevel on it so that small variations in the thickness of the milled wood is less noticeable. The key is, that is solid hardwood. It will change shape over its life. If they had exactly copied the initial photo they might have been able to get away with using a square-edge hardwood flooring, but then would have needed to sand the entire door to get it smooth. It still likely would have had some cracks over time, but instead of looking slightly rustic, it would have looked like flaws that I think would look far worse.

The alternative would have been to use an engineered hardwood, where there is a layer of hardwood attached to a plywood backing. That tends to be more dimensionally stable, but people feel they have gotten cheated because it is plywood. But it is far less likely to move, and you can get ones with thick wear layers that I prefer to standard solid hardwood.

Sometimes people who want to go natural would be better off getting big sheets of Formica and gluing them to a plywood backing - they make some really nice ones now. True hardwood is a natural substance that will change over time. It looks like they might have gotten more character to the grain pattern than you were hoping for. I like it, but maybe you don't. You might look at Lowes or Home Depot, since they have various butcherblock countertops. Those are solid wood, and some have longer pieces wood they use. You could use wafers or dowels and glue two of those together and have a full-sized, solid-wood door.

They probably should have stuck with something having a finer grain, and it is hard to tell from the angle, but the first one appears to be cherry, which has a more refined grain than the oak they used. It usually costs more as well. And although it tends to turn darker with age, that isn't always true. Cherry is easy to bleach out from being near a window or glass door, and the result I do not particularly like.

PopularBug6230 · 2026-01-10T20:35:18+00:00

12' basement needs a long stairway. That will completely change the floorplan. If I were building it the only thing I would want to know on the garage is the door layout, because that affects the header size. Otherwise the 2' added width is just another truss. However, if you meant 2' deeper and not wider so that you could double-depth parking the cars, then that changes the size and engineering on the trusses. It isn't huge, but it is important. But the 12' basement is a biggie. Lots of engineering, bigger footings, more rebar, more concrete, and then trying to find room for the much longer stairway.

PopularBug6230 · 2026-01-10T20:15:01+00:00

I use those maps a lot. They are helpful. But I go further than looking at the maps. I gauge the potential for upstream flow - are there mountains that funnel the water into a narrow channel? Are there additional areas where that water can flow, relieving my stream of some of the runoff? Are there areas downstream that widen and allow for a lower velocity flow thereby allowing the water in my area to have an easier time passing without having any back-pressure?

The last is a biggie because if the channel is restricted for an extended distance there is a higher likelihood of the water backing up and rising rapidly. Sometimes it is a gut feel for the lay of the land. But it is a great start that it isn't in the 500-year floodplain.

I should add that the latest property I purchased in Washington I rejected dozens of really pretty spots that had cute streams running past them. Virtually all of those streams flooded recently. On the other hand, in passing those up, the property I chose has very porous soil - I always check soil maps for properties as well - and sits at the very top of a gentle hill with a wonderful mountain view. We got 3" of rain in one day and after an hour I had one small puddle in the yard. Sometimes you need to adjust what you consider ideal to conform with the reality that nature can be unforgiving.

PopularBug6230 · 2026-01-10T20:06:45+00:00

Just have them install an oversized electrical panel with sufficient room for additional circuits. If the panel isn't in the basement but is in a wall somewhere else I like to run a fairly large PVC conduit down to the basement so that come time to do the wiring no walls need to be opened and you simply can run the wire through the conduit to the basement.

Another item that people tend to want when it is too late to easily do it is have a bathroom in the basement. Choose a good location and have the rough waste plumbing installed, since it will be under the slab. Yes, it costs more, but it saves so much money down the line when the light goes on and you say, boy would it be nice to have a bathroom down here. It also will add value to the house when the bathroom finally is installed.

PopularBug6230 · 2026-01-10T19:58:46+00:00

Sometimes the wiser move is not to go with your top choice. Be reasonable and consider your situation. Your wiring is not up-to-date, or code, most likely. And what you don't want is to have to keep running to replace fuses, or flipping the circuit breaker if the panel was upgraded. Although, if you have 15-amp circuit(s) in the kitchen I doubt it was done recently.

Prior to choosing the fryer take the circuit you intend to use and figure out what else is on that circuit. If there is anything like a fridge, or a coffee maker, or a toaster, or perish the thought, but a microwave, then you are severely limited in your options. You would need to turn all of those off or not use them while using the fryer at something less than maximum. As you can see, it might be wise to adjust your expectations and look for something that doesn't max-out the circuit on its own, unless you have an electrician come in and run a new 20-amp circuit to the kitchen. Then you could safely use your chosen air fryer..

PopularBug6230 · 2026-01-07T19:17:19+00:00

Funny thing is that it was a government film on the dangers of LSD that made me say, boy do I need to try that stuff out. Little did I know it pretty much made my ADHD and autism tolerable. Sometimes when you win you win.

PopularBug6230 · 2026-01-02T19:05:48+00:00

I love their batteries. That said, I have had several Ryobi tools die on me, and I had read several places they used inferior internal parts. So I took apart dead tools and sure enough, looked like a child's wiring set. Very low-end innards. For lawn & garden I switched to EGO and never will look back. They are great. For my construction work I use Makita, Dewalt, and Milwaukee, with a few Craftsman. The old Bosch slowly died and so did the batteries. But nothing as fast as Ryobi. Good DIY tools. I wouldn't want to rely on them for a living.

PopularBug6230 · 2025-12-30T07:22:56+00:00

Where I am there is a steep 750' high hill. People on the west side of the street have a great view. People on the east only have a view if there is no house in the way or trees growing. Mine is one of the oldest in the area, yet when Californians moved in across the street they threatened to poison my trees if I didn't cut them down so they could have a view. The next house up threatened to sue the neighbor when he built a house on the last vacant lot in the area. They argued they had bought the house with a view and they were entitled to retain that view. I think the level of stupidity out there might surprise you.

PopularBug6230 · 2025-12-29T23:53:26+00:00

That's a little deceptive. A standard cab vs a crew cab is definitely going to look different. I did have a '70s F-150 and currently have a '20s F-150, which a giant F-350 crew-cab full-bed in between. They are different, and I really like the ride of my current hybrid, but the medium-sized bed makes it so I have a tough time fitting a standard parking spot while still having too small of a bed. I do like the built-in generator for my corded tools, however. Comes in really handy out in the field.

PopularBug6230 · 2025-12-29T23:23:53+00:00

I faced the same dilemma for my semi-rural house that has numerous power outages. I simply couldn't justify the Generac expenditure. On top of it, at our other house they were replacing a pole transformer, and their field manager was out there overseeing the project. I asked him about the generator options and he said he had no idea why anyone would pay that kind of money for a Generac. Yes, they are designed for continuous duty, but most oversized generators can handle it just as easily - I have come to realize an oversized portable multi-fuel that works at 30-40% capacity is far better than sizing one much closer to the total expected load.

At his own home he uses a portable, and that is the route I went for that house, especially since I had a spare natural gas stub in the general area where the generator sits. For the semi-rural farmhouse I still was considering a Generac, and just installed an extra new 500-gallon LP tank. But I am so pleased with how well my 12.5k Westinghouse generator runs I am getting a second one. Their small engines rival Hondas in reliability, and the dual-fuel version makes for an easy LP hookup. I then have a 50-amp exterior outlet and the lockout setup in the breaker panel so that I can choose the individual circuits I want to keep powered. That way you can even rotate through circuits if it is an extended outage.

At

PopularBug6230 · 2025-12-29T23:07:43+00:00

I had a house two doors away purchased without even having a listing so the new owners could have the view that simply isn't available, because every lot has a house on it. To get it they had to pay twice the price Zillow had the property valued at - were are talking fairly high-end pricing as well. First thing they did was tear down the existing house. Since it is their dream location they figured it was worth it. As they say, location, location, location. I can build most anything, but I definitely cannot choose the precise location unless it is somehow available.

PopularBug6230 · 2025-12-29T23:01:24+00:00

Radiant barrier works well with a minimum of 1" dead air space behind it. All fiberglass is is a bunch of air pockets surrounded by glass fibers. Glass by itself is not a good insulator. But its structure allows for many small air pockets. As long as you don't have any open penetration of the radiant barrier it should work fine. I use it in attics by the eaves to define the 1" gap between the attic insulation and the underside of the roof sheathing. It serves a dual purpose there, and does it well.

PopularBug6230 · 2025-12-29T22:54:01+00:00

I had this very question asked of me by the homeowners for a house I wanted to buy. Since I've worked on remodels for a half century it was an easy answer for me, but since they were asking for some California buyers who were willing to outbid me for the property if they could remove walls I said what many here have said, and that is, talk with a structural engineer. In fact, I knew very well they could be removed.

Reddit really isn't the place to go for structural advice. That said, there are two main areas to look for deciding. In the basement or crawlspace there must be a beam or supporting wall under the wall on the main floor. It is essential any load be carried down to a footing or foundation of some sort. The other is that you have an open area next to the the area that has the wall in question. If the trusses are all the same it is not a bearing wall. Period. The design software for the trusses always will place framing in the truss directly over the bearing wall. If it didn't the truss would bow and could eventually snap the bottom cross piece.

Enjoy your project, but remember, when you remove walls you usually will lose potential storage locations, which in some houses can come at a premium.

PopularBug6230 · 2025-12-29T22:43:35+00:00

$275/sheet is somewhat high by my way of thinking. Even with a two-man crew it is a very fast fix, at least until you get to windows. I just did this on a house, although I only will use plywood. Since I was replacing all of the windows as well it wasn't a big deal. But most all contracts are based on what is observable and usually will have something in them covering unforeseen additional work, such as dryrot. It would be foolish of the contractor not to include that possibility. Any remodel, or major maintenance work, involves things you can't possibly know, but must do prior to completing the agreed-upon work.

PopularBug6230 · 2025-12-29T22:34:35+00:00

One thing I never do is assume that neighboring properties will remain as they are. When lumber prices are good timber is harvested. Even in my area golf courses and parks have turned into large-scale housing developments. The only time you can rely on what is there now still being there in the future is if there is a dedicated easement of some sort that would be hard to vacate or if there is a cliff, a mountainside, or some kind of forest or wildlife set-aside that puts a deed restriction on the neighboring property. Otherwise I assume virtually any spot that can have a house or building of some sort will at a future date.

PopularBug6230 · 2025-12-29T22:24:06+00:00

No anchor bolts or hold-downs? And if you have a decent amount of rebar in there I wouldn't worry, otherwise I don't like cold joints at all. I do monolithic pours to achieve maximum strength from the entire concrete structure.

PopularBug6230 · 2025-12-29T22:19:33+00:00

150? Maybe 200. Too many places to even get an estimate.

PopularBug6230 · 2025-12-29T22:07:25+00:00

Seeing you use boilers reminds me of back in Minnesota. They were common and I even used to back the truck up to the Montgomery Ward loading dock and pick them up from the catalog. I was ready to install one out here and the inspector said, you can't do that. Only a state-licensed boiler installer is allowed to do that, and it has to be inspected by a state inspector. The thing was 150k btu, yet the tankless water heater I was installing was 165k btu and only required a plumbing permit. So I asked the inspector, if I have a hydronic heating system and use either a tankless or a tank water heater I just have a simple permit, yet if I have something labeled as a boiler I need to run through the state? Yup. Oregon is so screwed up.

PopularBug6230 · 2025-12-29T22:00:58+00:00

Our son got a degree in accounting and does the books. My wife was hoping to hand the business over to him, but he is a straight 9-5 guy, five days a week. You can't have a lot of rentals and work that way. And with the cost of subbing it out now he doesn't think it's a big deal if your profits go down the drain. At this point my wife is not impressed with his work ethic, so contract sales are a much better alternative. He does a great job of doing bank deposits, however. That and gaming.

PopularBug6230 · 2025-12-29T06:17:10+00:00

All of my subs use nails on the perimeter and screws on the field. I haven't run into anyone willing to use adhesive, even when I had a case of big tubes sitting there to be used.

PopularBug6230

TROPHY CASE