Foundation - part 1

In our Hawaii building code, there must be no "cinders" under the concrete foundation - this is in effect whether you are on post and pier or slab on grade. Cinders will continue to compact as time goes on. This will affect the stability of your home. Use base course or 3/4"- to dress the house pad. Compact it with a plate compactor. A plate compactor looks like a lawn mower with a flat plate on the bottom. You can rent one for under $75.

If you are doing a slab on grade, try to get the house pad to within 1"+/- of level. This will save you quite a bit on labor and concrete. Do not think you can "eyeball" it. Use a transit. Grade can be very deceiving.

If you are on post and pier, your foundation will consist of shear wall corner footings and possibly 24" x 24" footings or pier block footings. If you are on slab, your foottings will be incorporated into the slab - they will be 16" x 18" and 4" of slab. Rebar is cheap insurance on a slab. It keeps moving in one peice if we have an earthquake. Also use a PSI of 3000 of more helps keep the footings secure. This is not a place to skimp.

Painting - Buy good primer paint

First and foremost: Buy good primer and paint. Do not skimp. It will not save you money. If you are hiring someone to do your painting, hire someone whom you have actually seen their work. Look down the walls. Do you see striping? (May have been caused but uneven application of primer). Check their edge lines? Is it acceptable to you? Do they show up and do what they say? Timely?

Now if you decide to do it yourself - again buy good primer and paint. Buy a good roller and cut brush. Do not save money on these items. You will save money on yor good roller. Lambswool is nice and about $15 a piece. Yes a piece. About the cost of a box of Coronas. It will lay paint on evenly - saving you money and work. Wash it out well and resuse. That will save you money, too. My SO has one he has had for about 3-4 years. I have probably spent $100 on rollers in the last 3-4 years.

Here's where we skip backwards:
If you are DIY'ing your home, take the time to paint a termite resistance substance - like Terminex - on all the cut ends of the foundation posts. Paint the posts before they go up will save you time and effort - use a good primer and a good paint. This is something that typically only a owner builder would do because it is labor intensive.

To prevent rust from coming through paint - make sure nails are in all the way. Use a nail set if they arent, and tap them down. A good coat of primer and paint over a well set nail will keep you from having those rust lines on your home.

Buying versus Buidling part 2

Recently on a punaweb topic the discussion again come up about buying versus building. At this time, it is a really hard question to answer. Much will depend on what you want to do, and how you want to accomplish it. A few years ago as pricing for homes was skyrocketing, building in Puna made the most sense.

Some of the questions to ask yourself when trying to decide are:

Is this an investment property that you will rent out for a number of years, then sell?
Is this some where you might eventually live in but not right now?
Or is this going to be your dream house?
Can you afford to build at $125/SF or more? This SF price should include all space, not just living spaces.
Can you buy lot, then start building as you have cash and when done have no mortgage?
Do you intend to participate in the building? Do you have the skills necessary?

Lets take at one item: an investment property to sell at a later date. You may find in the current market a great deal on some else's loss. Can it be rented for the market rate? What will be your return then after PITI, and maintenance, tax deductions? If you build, is a kit house that goes up quick with "builder" grade appointments in the rental market range? The market wont bear many $2500 a month rentals in Puna. Look at the classifieds - what is the median rental range right now? What time frame can a builder put up the house in? (In this case, time really is money - the longer it takes to build, the longer you wont have tenants in it.) But if you are paying totally cash as you build, you also when done wont have a mortgage to worry about and then wont worry as much about vacancy.

On the other hand, if this is your dream house, do you have the patience and money to see it through while building? Is your marriage good enough to withstand the stress and strain of building together? This is a big cause of divorces right behind death of a parent or child, and moving but if you think about it, building your dream house is moving. Again, based on the current real estate market, is there a home that is "almost" your dream home that remodeling may be cheaper?

This debate continues to be the chicken and the egg argument - which comes first? It really depends a lot on you, and your family, your finances, and most importantly your level of patience.