Do you want the granite top to lay flat? Then you’ve to to prep the sill. That and more in this video update from Mike.

Mike gives us a video update of the job including cabinets, flooring and more.

The mudroom! Also know as a laundry room or as we know it “come in, throw off your shoes and other stuff” room. Because we knew this room would take a lot of beating we chose to go with a vinyl. that way it was a cost effective way of making the room look nice and be able to take a beating!

Eric shows us the mudroom floor and tells us why they chose that flooring.

Prepare – Jeff gave us some really good advice. He explained picking out the interior items would be a long day and a lot of decisions being made. These are things like light fixtures, faucets/plumbing, cabinets, and flooring. He suggested that over  the few days before we go shopping to go to the local Home Depot or Lowes to see what colors, styles, etc. we liked. That way when we were at the vendor’s locations we had a feeling of what we wanted and more easily found it. This saved us a lot of time and frustration.

A good idea to think about before you go shopping for the interior is where you want to be. We obviously wanted to stay within our budget but wanted to have as many nice features (some may call them upgrades) as possible. So we kind of just picked out everything we really liked, not being aware, necessarily, of the pricing. We also had them price out some features that we knew were going to be more but just asked them to put them in and it was always something we could take out later.

Cost of inside. People always say that it’s what is on the inside that counts and to be happy with what you have. Well, in this case, it’s the inside that costs and you’re starting from a blank slate. So remember, this is where you will break your budget, freak out, and then bring it back to a reasonable price. After all this is done, think of all the time, fun, and memories you’ll have in a house designed for you (and by you).

There’s a lot to consider when filling up a house. It’s an amazing shopping spree, especially with a custom builder. Mike actually met us at each of the product showroom locations and walked through the selection process with us. This was amazingly valuable. I can’t stress that enough. Why is it valuable? The larger builders will give you a list of upgrades to choose from. Each higher level increases the quality/look and price. I believe one big builder rep said there were 8 or 9 levels of carpet upgrades. You just have to choose from the list and upgrade to what you like that matches the budget.

The value of choosing a custom builder like Freedom is your budget is the only limiting factor and you have an expert with you all the way. Mike understands (and explained) the building implications behind the selection process. For example, we had seen a beautiful tiled shower with glass doors in a magazine. First thought, way too expensive. After seeing the picture, Mike was able to figure out how this beautiful shower would fit into the space allocated in the bathroom. We just made a small adjustment to the walls (the fun of custom builders). It ended up fitting in about the same area a regular plastic molded tub would. It’s amazing what can be done when you can adjust the layout and individual walls.

The cost difference was minimal because the wall that was moved was already in the cost. The glass shower only uses a shower basin, tiles up the wall, and glass doors instead of a full molded plastic shower. The basin is inexpensive as well as the tile we chose. Glass doors…not that cheap, but the design is going to be amazing. The price for this? Couple extra hundred dollars for a beautiful shower.

Building a totally custom home is unlike most anything we typically shop for. Clothing you pick out colors, patterns, size, but don’t really have too much choice in material. Cars have a base model. You can upgrade the suspension, touchscreen, color, engine, sunroof, and some other things, but these usually come in packages. When we started building with Freedom, it was a whole new world of possibilities. As long as we could order the item (and it exceeded building code), they could build it into the house. Any color, any manufacturer, brand, style, layout, angle, etc…within budget of course.

There is quite a bit to shop for and you can get as detailed as you want. Here’s a short list of things to think about. You’ll want to make sure many of these things complement each others color scheme. We’ll go over some tips for matching home colors in a minute.

List of things you’ll be picking out:

• Floors (wood, carpet, vinyl, tile, etc…)
• Cabinets (overlay, face style, type of wood, stain, extras like no-slam)
• Cabinet hardware (style, feel, and metal)
• Counter tops (granite, cultured marble, tile, Coreen, formica)
• Counter top backsplash
• Appliances
• Toilets
• Sinks
• Shower/bathtub
• Wiring (ever want a plug and there’s only one behind the dresser…right in the middle?)
• Light fixtures

There are some things to think about before you go and pick the interior selections of your house. This about the following:

• Styles/feeling
• Plumbing
• Lighting
  • Package included
  • Fans?
• Flooring
  • What works with wood vs vinyl
  • Full hardwood vs manufactured
• Counter tops
• Cabinets
  • Colors
  • Slow glide, 5 panel, and expensive add ons
  • Handles/Hardware
  • Matching bathrooms to kitchen and laundry
• Flooring
  • Carpet
  • Tile
  • Wood
  • Carpet
• Appliances
  • Gas/electric