New Construction?
 

Been looking for a retirement home for a little over two years now. Always something wrong with the house, if not the house the location, if not the house or location it's the taxes, if everything is right the price is wrong. Has been pretty frustrating.:(

Because of the above Tadpole and I are considering building. We like Meredith a lot and just got a line on a development there called "Crestwood Estates". We will be heading up this weekend to check out the lots, model home and see what the already built homes look like.:rolleye2:

Calumet Construction Inc. is the contractor building the homes. Wondering if anyone has had any experience with this company and how things went such as quality, meeting deadlines, standing behind work etc.:confused:

Also would be great if someone on this forum actually lives in Crestwood Estates or knows someone that does and could give an opinion as to how things are going there.:rolleye2:

Location, tax rate, price seem all to be right.:)

Any and all information and opinions welcome.

THANKS :D

New construction
 

Don't get me started on this one. Here's some advice.

See if you can get a home owner's warrantee from the builder or developer. Two years at minimum.

Calumet's owner has 30 years of experience in construction and engineering. Probably not a bad thing. How long has Calumet been in business? Website doesn't say. Also Crestwood is the only project listed. To me a red flag. He is from Pittsfield so he does not know the local subcontractors. Another red flag. See if the owner can give you a list of prior customers. Call them randomly. If he only gives you a handful of customers after 30 years in the business. Another red flag. He was selecting only good customers.

To be energy star rated, the building must have a certificate from PSNH or National Grid. They hire an engineer who inspect the home during construction then test the home when finish with an infrared camera for leaks. They also test the house for air leaks. See if you have a valid certificate.

Don't believe everything the developer's sales staff tells you. They are like car salesmen. Do your homework. Check to see covenants and restrictions to the site from the town planner's office. If there is a homeowner's association governing the estate, make sure you know all the rules and what you can or can not do on your property. If you own recreational vehicles such as RV, snowmobiles, boat you may want to see if they are allowed. Most of them do not. I only seen one so far. On another lake I saw one homeowner's association has a lot where recreational vehicles are stored.

Good luck!

New construction is a great idea......but this place you are going to look at is a ghost-town. There's about 60 house lots that have been sitting empty there for at least 6 or 7 years & perhaps 9 homes built. Save yourself a trip up; the development is going nowhere from what I can see. It looks like he took off $80,000 on his basic model home several months ago. If you go up there I would knock on some doors & talk to the several people who live there.

Some good points and some clearing up.
 

A minimum 1 year warranty is required by the State of NH on all work performed by a contractor, by LAW. Any good company will provide you at least double that.

Going to the town to review the lot and restrictions is a must and is great advice.

Just because a builder only provides a handful of references, shouldn't turn you off. There may be other reasons for that, even with 30 years experience. For example, I am not going to give you a reference for a bathroom remodel, if you are looking to build a new home or renovate a kitchen. We have 6 different reference lists for a variety of different types of projects that get updated every year to include new projects. Your only as good as your last job and getting a reference that is 15 years old is not going to do you (the customer) any favors.

Plus, anyone that can show me a company that doesn't cherry pick reviews in their favor when they have the chance to control that aspect, feel free to let me know. That's some honesty for anyone that is not familar with running a business.

I personally and professionally would recommend not having a house built in a development that you cannot buy the lot and choose your own builder. They control everything and you have no choice in the matter.

Some advice that I will give as a professional in the industry.
1. Building a home is very different than buying. The amount of stress that this will put on you and your wife will be far greater than you think.
A. Do not sweat the small stuff as it will eat you up.
2. Just because the builder doesn't have 10 people working on your house when you come up to check things out, doesn't mean they don't care about you or your project (some of the nicest homes I have ever walked through, were built by very small crews (1-3 carpenters), that cared more about how that Miter or Return looks than how fast they trimmed that door; if your not familar with those terms, get familiar; a picky customer is a good one).


And my last piece of advice. Draw a circle on a piece of plain paper, divide that circle into 3 pie pieces. Label one PRICE, label another QUALITY and the third SQUARE FOOTAGE. You and your wife get to pick 2 of the 3, the builder determines the third. Just because you are building your own dream home, doesn't mean you can have your cake and eat it too.

4. And don't take the lowest bid in this economy, you are going to be devestated by what you receive. We are seeing contractors coming into our area competing for work that have driven over a 100 miles to find work. They weren't here yesterday and they won't be here tomorrow.

Take the lowest bid, if that contractor can look you straight in the face with a 20 plus page specification and agreement and go through line by line, and prove how he can produce the same work as the next guy at a fraction of the cost.
(send me a pm, if you would like an example of what I am talking about, I have them on file, anywhere from a 10K bathroom, to well over the million dollar lakefront home, they are all handled the same way)

Good luck and hope your retirement in this area is everything that you hope it will be. Merry Christmas!

Great advice jmen24
 

Wish I had talked to you before building the house. My Dad used to be a very reputable builder and I learned a lot from him.

I guess I was too picky and fired two builders. Took three builders to build one house. LOL!

No builder mentioned to me about NH law requiring a minimum of one year warrantee. Definitely have to talk to my lawyer. The builder completed last month and final payment was paid. After the last thaw and rainstorm, I noticed the roof is leaking. The builder choose not to take responsibility and claims the gable was designed wrong. He washed his hands.

Good Builder?
 

Why would any "good" builder build something that he knew would fail (designed wrong)??

i must say that at i'm impressed by your reply. i'm a carpenter in Moultonboro and i like your style it's called reality good job.

New House
 

Hello Toad, Calumet is good firm and I am in the same business so I know of them. You should do well to use them. We as builders have various styles and different ways about us. You need to trust the person you hire plain and simple. All the references in the world mean nothing if that first impression is not good. The other user is right on our crew is 3 plus me and we care about the project. Big crews and big companies lead to big headaches. Hope this helps.

Good one. Probably my fault. I question the use of ice and water shield as a replacement for metal flashings in the gable and hip areas. After talking to the 'expert' at BG and watching 'Holmes on Homes', it looks like it is the new technology. Apparently not. I should have use my better judgement.

Broadhopper, even if a valley is not an open pan valley, it should receive a layer of Ice and water shield and then a metal pan over that, before the shingles get weaved over the valley.

An open pan valley starts out the same, but the metal remains exposed and requires additional waterproofing out of the valley.

Not everyone does things the same way and some will say that is overkill, but a call back is a black mark in a customers mind.

Things like this are why some companies are more than others, anyone that has been playing by the rules for years will tell you, that you are not going to become a millionaire swinging a hammer. But it is nice to step away at the end of the day and see what you have produced.

Good luck with getting your issue resolved.

*And just to be clear to Toad or anyone else reading, I have absolutely no knowledge of the builder that the OP had questions about, they may be good or they may be bad. That is not for me to decide or speculate about. I am not a competitor, as we do not work around the big lake.*

Goodguys advice on trust should be A#1 on your list of musts when working with a contractor, without that, you are in for an Ulser.

TOAD, I have seen some of your previpus posts, I was wondering what you were up to.

I have built a few homes here in MA and I have been looking for a water access lot to build on for my family as a vacation/future retirement home.

I have driven thru that Crestwood neighborhood, a few of the lots there have really terrific views. I am generally not a fan of having the developer of the subdivision also be the builder of the house. Typically my advice to people is to purchase a lot and then contract with a trusted local builder for the construction of your home.

The location or town is your choice. But I would check real estate taxes and services that they bring.

A new house is great but there are some good newer used houses too.

But it you do build it's best you pick the builder. Ask around. Talk to as many people as you can. There are some great builders around and some that have a lot to be desired. Big is not necessarily better.

Everything begins on the foundation. Just make sure you have a good foundation and make provisions for a basement pump. Make sure basement is insulated and has been properly sealed. All should be water tight. Make sure you know and understand what a parimeter drain is.

You really have to do some good homework or research. Do you want a metal roof? Shingle? 15 year shingles? 20 year shingles? 30 year shingles? Architectual shingles?

The list goes on and on.

Are you planning on an alarm system? What about structured wiring? Do you even know what structured wiring is?

What about the heating system? My suggestion is to build in some redundant heating systems. Skip the propane althogether for heat. Put in oil and electric or oil and a couple of Monitor heaters. A good wood stove in basement doesn't hurt either.

Everything is in the details. You physically have to "view" every wall, every floor, and every ceiling - and make sure the builder knows what you want.

And then the price or cost. Lowering the cost may mean lower quality doors and windows - and then you are back to where you started.

I have heard some great stories about local builders doing a fantastic job. And I have heard some horror stories. One newer house down the road from me built by a big name builder here had to have all the sheetrock taken down as none of the windows were installed properly. Leaking roofs on some new homes is not uncommon as Ice and Water Shield were not used. One new home I viewed had a high tech heating system. Unfortunately no one could fix it when it broke the 2nd year and the whole heating unit had to be replaced at homeowners cost.

Good Luck!

All great responses. Thank you very much and we are mulling all the information supplied. :D

It's a big undertaking building a house in new territory where you really don't know anyone or have a whole lot of information about suppliers, contractors etc.

I considered buying a lot in Meredith or Alton but there was nothing that struck our interest. I would definitely prefer dealing with a small, reputable local contractor....just difficult when you are 3.5 hours away to develop the necessary contacts and local knowledge.

Look up Jason Drouin custom homes in Gilford NH. Jason built a home for a family member of mine and did a good job.

Local Contractors
 

I had my shares of local contractors/subcontractors. Very few are reliable. if you want names. PM me, as some of them advertised here.

Trouble with NH, anyone can be a general contractor. In other states, a general contractor requires a license and practicularly a degree in construction engineering.

I had good luck with a builder out of Peterborough. He's expensive and has his own small crew. Takes him a few months but will offer a 10 year HOW warrantee. He built my last home in Litchfield. In the current construction, I started dating a single woman who was being taking advantage of. She has already started construction without a contract!

I became a general contractor by spending countless hours reading up on mfg websites and the residential building codes, 2009. I also work for my Dad back in the 70's on many high end homes around the Lakes Region area. I lost touch in the 40 years and I know very few subcontractors. That is where I fell apart.

Good luck on your new project. :)

And no I don't want to contract another home. :rolleye1:

Hello Toad

My name is Scott Compton, of Scott Compton Builder. I am a 4 man General Contracting company located in Meredith. I am a 3rd generation builder and I am in the process of completing my company website, which should be up and running Feburary 1st. I would love the opportunity to speak with you and provide you with a comprehensive proposal for your new home, if you are accepting competitive pricing. If you wish to speak further I can be reached at cell: 603-234-1277 and home/office: 603-279-1029.