Buy and renovate instead of building!

I worked for a home builder for 8.5 years. My best advice is to never skimp on anything structural-insulation, roofing, exterior doors, windows, anything permanent. Almost everything else is cosmetic and can be changed down the road.

thanks, that's what i was thinking! we bought some land, so we have build.

I agree with the above.....prioritize structural items and things that are difficult to change later. If you need to have laminate countertops and/or less expensive bathroom vanities and cheaper light fixtures for a while to stay in budget, so be it. Those are easy to change later. You can also keep the elevation and roof relatively simple......no need for a bunch of unnecessary jigs and jags.

It can be a stressful process and very overwhelming but very rewarding at the same time. Good luck!

It's certainly a process! The more ideas from others really helps!

You can start watching your pennies right now. How much are you being charged for your plans?

We chose to get interior 3d, to be sure we know what we've designed. better than getting in the house and saying...this isnt what I wanted.

Good idea Megan! The little bit spent up front can help eliminate costly mistakes later on.

The most cost savings that you can realize is a simple, good, well designed plan, that is well specified for everything. The value of a design professional far exceeds the costs associated with engaging a Pro. There is so much to learn to be able to design a home successfully that it's difficult to know what you don't know. It takes an architect 8 years of education and supervised work to be able to design a home.

Do you have a set of architectural plans or are you trying to make one yourself?

The cheapest thing (since that is what the original question is) is to buy a ready-made pro-designed plan from some place like homeplans.com. If you're trying to "design" it yourself, please, please get an architect. It isn't just about what room goes where.

we are working with a architect.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/build

Houzz has a Home Building Forum.............here is the link.

When we built our house my husband insisted on a contract that required us to provide all materials. This ended up saving us from financial ruin when the builder went bust after job was about 95% completed. We were not dragged into a situation of builder owing suppliers any payments for materials used on our home. We just hired a lawyer to get court permission on witholding the final builder payment, then found someone else to finish it all...