construction questions

does anyone know where to obtain a list of what construction features are good v/s bad... or what are their +s and -s?

What I am interested in is whether one insulation is better than another, whether wood construction is better than concrete or brick, etc.

These items are often listed on the property sale listing, but I don't know what they mean nor which is better.

Thank you

as for the foundation you mean?

the only reason is really varies is b/c of when the house was built.. the older houses are usually made of brick and the newer ones of wood..

as for insulation.. where does it say that?

Marcella, I meant for the actual house, but yes, including the foundation, but also the walls, roof, etc.

I thought I remembered 'type' of insulation being listed, but perhaps I am wrong. I was trying to give an example.

Here are the options where I wouldn't know what's good vs. bad (on weichert's site)

Carpet
Ceramic tile flooring
Wood floors
Natural gas fuel
Hot water heat
Radiator(s)
Natural gas water heater
Vinyl siding vs. Wood shingle siding
Asphalt roof
Shingle roof

How do you know which siding, roof, way of heating/gas delivery is better?

Okay now, everyone has their own opinion of which is best.. I'll tell you what I think is best..

Carpet (doesn't matter to me.. b/c if there was carpet it was coming up b/c I think it's gross to keep the seller's existing carpet, but ask them what's underneath.. whether it's concrete or floor)
Ceramic tile flooring (pretty cool to have.. and see if they have extras in teh event one cracks or breaks)
Wood floors (def a plus)
Natural gas fuel (def a plus.. if they have central, even better)
Hot water heat (as in oil or electric?)
Radiator(s) (baseboard?)
Natural gas water heater (good)
Vinyl siding vs. Wood shingle siding (def vinyl)
Asphalt roof (I prefer asphalt, make sure it's in good condition)
Shingle roof (this is ok, just make sure it's in good condition)

as for heating.. I would have prefered gas.. but I ended up with oil.. whichever it is.. just be sure that the equipment itself is up to date..

as well as the electric..

Here are some energy saving and other info you may find useful

R-19 Ceiling Insulation is the best. Their is also an R-30 insulation. But I heard the R-19 is the best. It's a thicker insulation. R 4.2 for all exterior walls, R30 blown insulation in attic and R19 Faced Batts in Garage walls is fantastic.

Basically R-19 and R-4 are the best in energy savings

Weatherstripping on exterior doors to reduce heating and air conditioning costs

Flooring
High Quality Vinyl (lanolium) Especially if you are building a home. Tiles are wonderful, but in a brand new just built home, they are not practical. The house is still settling and the tiles will sepearate and crack

You also want to make sure they do termite or ant protection UNDER the slab

Carpet w 7/16 pad is good. Its not too soft, but not too hard where you think you are walking on the ground

Dimensional shingles on the roof are good. Try and get at least a 30 year warranty on them. They last a long time, but you never know.

I forgot to mention another good energy saving feature

a 50 gallon quick recovery hot water heater is great.

If you are also building make sure to get a builder warranty. Some will be for a year but try and get one for 5 years

And also get a two/fifteen year home buyers warranty

Are you building???

Marcella, thanks for answering a lot of these!!!

Why is vinyl siding better than wood? B/c of durability since its a synthetic material?

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Posted by alina

Marcella, thanks for answering a lot of these!!!

Why is vinyl siding better than wood? B/c of durability since its a synthetic material?

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no problem...and yes, that's why I feel that vinyl is better

Melissa:
We're most likely not building, but I still would like to know what makes a good home...

Just doing some homework

Always do your homework

I'm jumping in a little late here...
the choices for roofing in the Long Island areas are not many, so it is more a matter of age or condition when buying a resale.
about 90% of houses in this area have standard asphalt shingles. It is best to know how many layers of roofing a home has. For example a home built in the 50's may have its orginal roof, with another layer put over it in the 70's & a 3rd layer installed recently. The problem with that is if the roof over was done over any damaged or wet areas you will have problems again in the future & you CAN'T put a fourth layer on, you need to rip it off, repair the wood, new Ice dam, new ridge venting if nessecary & new shingles. As for 'asphalt' roofing, that might refer to a flat roof which if it was done in the last 15 or so years is an asphalt torch down(known for water problems)
There are a few areas on Long Island where flat roofs are a part of the architecture..the problem is 70 years ago when they were built the flat roofs contained asbestos(they lasted for years with few problems) of course we don't use that material anymore.

As for siding, vinyl vs shingles if the shingles happen to be hand split cedar perfections then they are equal or perhaps better than vinyl. Most homes in this area that have 'shingles' have concrete or asbestos shingles which require lots of maintainence & look a bit dated. Additionally siding that was installed 10 years plus ago may not have todays standard of shelter wrap & may require being replaced in the future to due to engery loss.

You will be hard pressed to find a resale with the proper insulation unless it underwent major renovations. The NYS building code increased all of the insulation codes in January 2003 & the materials called for were not even in production 5 years ago.

Foundation is a big one, the majority of homes here are on a concrete or block foundation, if it does not show any signs of sagging, leaking(if there is a basement) you really have to depend on your engineer to let you know if there is a problem you can't see.

Windows, most people know that Andersen, Marvin, Pella are far superior to builders windows or replacement windows-something to consider there-if you purchase a home with replacement windows & think 'we'll just put in Andersens' most likely those windows don't have proper headers & framing to support andersens so the project becomes large scale.

Wow, that got long..hope I helped!

Kelly what a source of info you are!!
You need to be one of those ladies on those home shows (like a female Bob Villa!)

Richsbride thanks so much for all this wonderful information