How much money would you spend on Design Center?
- Thread starter NewIrvineBee
- Start date
NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
We had the builders do the prewire for the surround sound and fans...it was about $1000 in total.
Best way to decide between builder and outside contractor is to get quotes from outside contractors prior to your final decision.
For flooring, majority of the time, outside contractor is significantly cheaper, but some builder do have very reasonable prices on flooring upgrades.
It also depend on the sq.ft. too. If the area is not that big, the price difference between the builder's and outside contractor's might not be that big and might as well stick with the builder.
But electrical stuff is good to get through the builder.
And yes, since LEDs are available as regular light bulbs, no need to "upgrade" to those.
For perspective, I recently stopped by Tompkins Flooring showroom to get gauge on pricing and decent wood floor will probably cost ~$7+ sq ft for the wood and then ~$4+ sq ft for install. Laminate options would be cheaper, ~$3 + $2 sq ft maybe?
So estimating ~$10 sq ft for 800 sq ft is already $8,000+. And that's for a pretty small size coverage
That's about the same through our builder's design studio.
Fyi also, when they gave us the upgrade price list some of the upgrade prices seemed ridiculously high (even by builder's standard). We questioned them and eventually got reductions on some of them. And in one case, it was because it was a price entry type (e.g. single basin kitchen sink was listed as $1,000+ upgrade! Eventually they corrected it and it was $250 upgrade). If we hadn't questioned it, we would have skipped it. Basically, question/challenge them on the price if it seems unreasonable. Sometimes the designer that's working with you can get approvals for exceptions or find out that it was a mistake on pricing.
Price sheet differs per plan as well because materials needed for some upgrades will differ based on each plan's design. For example, surface area needed for backsplash differs for each kitchen layout and each bathroom size. Even something simple as cabinet hardware depends on the total number of cabinet doors for the plan.
So you really have to get the price upgrade price sheet for the specific plan and not just for the specific builder. This is readily provided by the builder once you sign a sales contract.
Irvinecommuter
New member
thatOSguy said:
We had the builders do the prewire for the surround sound and fans...it was about $1000 in total.
NewIrvineBee said:
Best way to decide between builder and outside contractor is to get quotes from outside contractors prior to your final decision.
For flooring, majority of the time, outside contractor is significantly cheaper, but some builder do have very reasonable prices on flooring upgrades.
It also depend on the sq.ft. too. If the area is not that big, the price difference between the builder's and outside contractor's might not be that big and might as well stick with the builder.
The Motor Court Company
Well-known member
plumbing, structural and electrical upgrades through the builder
the rest - outside contractors
the rest - outside contractors
If you have a homebuilder with great customer service, I think that paying a bit extra for having things done through the builder is well-worth it. We did a large number of upgrades through the builder for our new home, and dealing with any problems has been a breeze. The stuff we didn't do through the builder, any issues that come up have been sometimes quite problematic to deal with. Unless there's an outrageous, ridiculous price difference, I'm a big fan of sticking with the builder. Now, if your builder's customer service sucks, then it's a whole different situation altogether.
NewIrvineBee
Member
I just think upgrade options are not enough. Whatever I asked them the style or pattern or colors, they don't have it. 
One thing i haven't seen mentioned is that if you go with the builder, they roll a majority of the cost of upgrades into your mortgage. That's huge, because you can pay it off over 30 years at historically low interest rates. Irvine Pacific rolled 75% of the cost of our upgrades into the mortgage, except for structural upgrades which were all up front. This usually has no effect on your property taxes despite the higher purchase price.
Everything from outside contractors is much harder to finance.
Everything from outside contractors is much harder to finance.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Heh.eclipxe said:
But electrical stuff is good to get through the builder.
And yes, since LEDs are available as regular light bulbs, no need to "upgrade" to those.
What a coincidence.... I was just looking for ceiling fans right before I saw this post. As for the upgrades, I just had to go through this as I closed in June. I opted to go with a contractor for flooring. In the end it, it saved me $3000 + 4 days to install ($15.5K vs $12.5K).
incognito
New member
NewIrvineBee said:
For perspective, I recently stopped by Tompkins Flooring showroom to get gauge on pricing and decent wood floor will probably cost ~$7+ sq ft for the wood and then ~$4+ sq ft for install. Laminate options would be cheaper, ~$3 + $2 sq ft maybe?
So estimating ~$10 sq ft for 800 sq ft is already $8,000+. And that's for a pretty small size coverage
incognito
New member
thezeb00 said:
That's about the same through our builder's design studio.
Fyi also, when they gave us the upgrade price list some of the upgrade prices seemed ridiculously high (even by builder's standard). We questioned them and eventually got reductions on some of them. And in one case, it was because it was a price entry type (e.g. single basin kitchen sink was listed as $1,000+ upgrade! Eventually they corrected it and it was $250 upgrade). If we hadn't questioned it, we would have skipped it. Basically, question/challenge them on the price if it seems unreasonable. Sometimes the designer that's working with you can get approvals for exceptions or find out that it was a mistake on pricing.
incognito
New member
AA said:
Price sheet differs per plan as well because materials needed for some upgrades will differ based on each plan's design. For example, surface area needed for backsplash differs for each kitchen layout and each bathroom size. Even something simple as cabinet hardware depends on the total number of cabinet doors for the plan.
So you really have to get the price upgrade price sheet for the specific plan and not just for the specific builder. This is readily provided by the builder once you sign a sales contract.