Upgrade Suggestions Please

I

Irvine

New member
Hi Everyone,

Like lot of others, I have been reading suggestions and experience shared by TI members and it has been really helpful in making decision.

We signed out contract last month at Sartoga Plan - 1. Now getting closer to our Stage - 2 Design center appointment.

As of looking for suggestions on couple of items.

1. Electrical Upgrade from Builder (As suggest by all, we are planning to go with builder) , but need suggestions on what we really need to upgrade as relates to electricals which can add value to the house in the logn run.

2. Wiring for Sound system - I have not been able to convince my self that this is a good option due to the fact that now the technology has changed so much as to we can have really good wireless speakers with out much wiring, but would like hear from pros and cons, before we can make our final call on that

3. flooring is going to be in Sate 3, but based on every oen suggestions, we are thinking of goign with Venetian and got a quote for plan-1 1st floor $10,200/-. Let me know if this is reasonable or we can negotiate a bit.

4. Carpet - Have seen couple of suggestions, but have no idea how much it would cost for us to upgrade our carpet to a good one 2nd floor and stairs using builder or external contractors. Suggestions please.

5. Back yard will worry a little bit late, but would like to hear your feedback on the Trellis Covering. IP is asking $2800/- and I am not sure of the price. ANy suggestions here would be really helpful.

Thank you in advance.





 
Congratulations on your new Saratoga home and you are in good company of TI members .

1. Electrical Upgrade:  As you mentioned, you should go with the builder.  I don't think these upgrade add much to the resale value since next buyer can easily hire a contractor to add these items if the house don't have them.  It's more important for you to get these upgrades now if you wants them.

2.  Wiring for Sound System:  I guess these is more of personal preference and how good of a sound system you want to get.  If you are not a hardcore audiophile, I believe those wireless speaker are good enough.  You should check out this thread:http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,11372.0.html

3.  Venetian flooring pricing:  $10k doesn't sound too bad but it all depends on the brand of wood and sq.ft. of your first floor. 

4.  Carpet:  I would go with outside contractor too.  Get an quote from other contractor and compare.

5.  Trellis:  It depends on the size and material used since the price can varies a lot. But $2800 sounds high.
 
RE 1: Recently moved into our new place and have recessed lighting in all the secondary bedrooms.  I think it was like $300-$400 per bedroom.  This makes a huge difference.  In the past all our bedrooms were lit by either floor lamps, table lamps, or light from the ceiling fan.  Having 4 recessed lights in every bedroom and having them all on a dimmer is great.  When they are on fully its brighter than I've ever had a bedroom before, and then of course you can dim them as necessary.  Would highly recommend doing this.
 
aquabliss said:
RE 1: Recently moved into our new place and have recessed lighting in all the secondary bedrooms.  I think it was like $300-$400 per bedroom.  This makes a huge difference.  In the past all our bedrooms were lit by either floor lamps, table lamps, or light from the ceiling fan.  Having 4 recessed lights in every bedroom and having them all on a dimmer is great.  When they are on fully its brighter than I've ever had a bedroom before, and then of course you can dim them as necessary.  Would highly recommend doing this.
Click to expand...

Agree. If someone can't afford to pay 1200-1600 for recessed lighting in all the bedrooms you shouldn't be buying the house.
 
Is the house prewired for home network?  Can you increase number of ports and types of connection to each room

The main family room could use an Ethernet port for the TV, cable/satellite, roku/fire/apple tv, potentially a port for wifi signal booster, port for sound system and any future devices we come up with.

Plus you may wish to have convenience ports available to plug computers in because wifi spectrum is becoming increasingly crowded and performance is dropping due to too much noise and devices sharing bandwidth


 
Irvine said:
Hi Everyone,

Like lot of others, I have been reading suggestions and experience shared by TI members and it has been really helpful in making decision.

We signed out contract last month at Sartoga Plan - 1. Now getting closer to our Stage - 2 Design center appointment.

As of looking for suggestions on couple of items.

1. Electrical Upgrade from Builder (As suggest by all, we are planning to go with builder) , but need suggestions on what we really need to upgrade as relates to electricals which can add value to the house in the logn run.

2. Wiring for Sound system - I have not been able to convince my self that this is a good option due to the fact that now the technology has changed so much as to we can have really good wireless speakers with out much wiring, but would like hear from pros and cons, before we can make our final call on that

3. flooring is going to be in Sate 3, but based on every oen suggestions, we are thinking of goign with Venetian and got a quote for plan-1 1st floor $10,200/-. Let me know if this is reasonable or we can negotiate a bit.

4. Carpet - Have seen couple of suggestions, but have no idea how much it would cost for us to upgrade our carpet to a good one 2nd floor and stairs using builder or external contractors. Suggestions please.

5. Back yard will worry a little bit late, but would like to hear your feedback on the Trellis Covering. IP is asking $2800/- and I am not sure of the price. ANy suggestions here would be really helpful.

Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

I would get:

#1 - recess lighting with the builder. You get a one year warranty. If you get it with a third party, if something goes wrong after they installed it, who knows if they will fix it or how long it will take to fix it since they will be at another job site.

#5 - Trellis: you should get it, I did my research that if you do this by yourself or hire a contractor a permit is required since it will be attached to the structure. So let's say you do it in 2-5 years from now, your property tax possibly might increase since your adding "significant improvements" to your property.  The key word is "significant improvement".
Or you can chose not to get a permit later on, but for safety I would. Since I don't trust some contractors and their labor crew. (You don't want to bbq with your kids, and all of the sudden the Trellis falls. Some contractors take the short cuts to save cost. That's why you should get it permitted.)
 
Thank you Everyone for suggestions.

Electrical - Yes agree with you all on the recessed lighting, which is on our list already. Only questions would be about Kitchen, Family and Dining area. Builder already provides 6, 6 & 3 in each those areas, do we need to add more?

eyephone:

Thank you for suggestions on Trellis. Will go with the builder then.

Inc:

Thank you for the suggestions on audio wiring and other items. I think we will not go with builder.

qwerty:

suggestions please, no judgement ;)

TheOSGuy:

Would like to do as much network wiring, but not able to come up with right plan.  I would love to hear about your 14 stationary devices and how many network ports you have an where.

Good suggestion on garage.


 
Anything electrical that you will need, you should probably get.

Upgrades that would be easier to do pre-drywall, you should think about.

OS seems to be at one end of the spectrum when it comes to wired connectivity but his list of devices makes sense to provision for that if you plan to have anything close to that.

If the builder carpet is good enough, you may want to stick with that and change it out in a few years (easy enough). But flooring upgrades in the bathrooms, might be better with the builder because of the plumbing warranties.

Any other flooring is probably cheaper outside... but that depends on how much you want to spend outside of your mortgage.

I don't really think wired sound systems have an advantage over the current wireless ones but I am not an audiophile.

As for the trellis... depends on what you want to do in your backyard. I prefer the Cali Room or a covered trellis than just the trellis itself... it seems there is a premium on shade in Irvine. :)
 
unfortunately, i think it's really hard to give useful upgrade suggestions because
1) so much variation from builder to builder on what they price cheap and expensive
2) things that are commonly listed as "must do with the builder" due to the hassle factor are also the same things that are often most overpriced

if you are moving into your home in the winter months, you might have an advantage. sometimes contractor labor is much cheaper in these months when they're less busy.

as others said, it comes down to how much contractor hassle you're willing to deal with and whether you have time constraints/costs the more time it takes you move in post-close. remember almost all of these items (incl plumbing, structural, electrical) are routinely done in resale homes cheaper than what builder offers - just with more hassle.
 
1.  electrical upgrade.  recessed lighting in bedrooms, loft, and great room/living room.  CAT 5e inputs in every room.  2 CAT 5e inputs in great room/living room and loft.  220volt in garage.  pre-install 5.1 audio audio in great room/living room and loft.  pre-install for central vacuum.  additional outlet in bathroom near toilet for seat warmers.  additional outlet in the backyard.  (bbq, water fountain, security camera) 
2.  plumbing upgrade.  reverse osmosis at the sink connected to the refrigerator and spend as much as you can afford to make your kitchen and bathrooms awesome!!! 
3.  I would pass on the window treatments, wood flooring, upgrade carpet, additional cabinets, and backyard with the builder. 
4.  Hire home inspector to check everything before the drywall goes up. 
5.  Enjoy..
 
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