Hey guys,
Been looking at a new house in lawrenceville except i've got the feeling the builder is being an asshat. I'm not 100% familiar with all of the rules and regs regarding building inspection so maybe someone can clue me in.

As some of you may know, gas appliances cost 3x-4x more to operate than electric. The new place i'm looking at now says that gas comes standard in the house which is all fine and dandy. But i want electric. I was able to do that with the house i'm living in now but they wont do it in the new place which is priced more expensive anyway, so i think they should.

They tell me that "gwinnett" county is very strict when it comes to building inspection. That when they submitted the building plans to gwinnett county for approval, the plan called for gas appliances. He says that he can't change anything out to electric becuase the house wont pass inspection.

Is this true??? When i bought my current house back in 99 it was one of the "cheaper" homes around the area and even they had no problems at all putting in all electric instead of gas. Electric appliances are cheaper than gas in cost and cost less to install becuase there are no gas lines to run. So what's the deal here? :shifty :shifty

I dont get it... if such requirements exist... then i'll be quiet... but when this house was built, there was no such thing.

thanks in advance.

BTW, i was thinking about redoing everything myself once i moved in... but that'd be a huge waste of brand new heating and A/C and water heater. So if anyone could chime in i'd appreciate it.

There is some truth to that. They have to submit the plans prior for approval before they can build, and they just can't change one thing like that easily without going through some process like changing the architectual plans, and I guess getting it resubmitted. When I bought my townhouse, I made a suggestion on getting rid of the lights on the ceiling above my staircases and using sconces on the wall going up the stairs. You would need a 17 ft ladder just to change a freakin lightbulb, and on top of that, there is no way to position a ladder in the middle of a staircase to even get to the lightbulb. I got 3 burned out lights that I can't even change. I mentioned this before the sheetrock was even up. He couldn't change it and he even mentioned my idea was better than the current setup. He said in order to resubmit the plans they would have to change the architectual plans, but he said he would make the changes for the next townhouse subdivision that the builder was going to start. I went into the new townhouse neighborhood a few weeks ago and the changes I suggested was used.

It would depend on what stage the house is in.

If all the wiring/piping is already in, then it would be a bear to redo all that to accomodate electric vs. gas appliances.

If it's still in the framing or "rough" stage, it wouldn't be that big a deal.

Depending on that, the builder may or may not be jerking your chain a little.

He may have to submit new plans, but that's not a huge deal, a few days delay, max. He may just need to go talk to the building official and have the plan amended.

Dean, that builder owes you consulting fees on every TH that has the modification. Time to bust some balls.

Carter

I assume this builder is still building more houses? Tell him to put in his appliances for the inspection, then once you take possession of the house, move them to the next home.

Also, as far as the inspections, it depends on the relationship with the builder and the inspector. When we were building out the store, our landlord has a good relationship with the inspector, so we were allowed to massage some things during construction that weren't specifically spelled out in the plans.

I don't understand why they wouldn't put in utilities for both. Both houses I've owned have had both available.

I assume this builder is still building more houses? Tell him to put in his appliances for the inspection, then once you take possession of the house, move them to the next home.




I wouldn't recommend that approach. When your house burns down because of some wiring issue related to the appliances or something similar, the insurance company will have an easy excuse to deny the claim.

I wouldn't recommend that approach. When your house burns down because of some wiring issue related to the appliances or something similar, the insurance company will have an easy excuse to deny the claim.

Good point.

Bottom line, you're paying 2.8 gazillion dollars for something. If they don't want to give you what you want... there are a hundred other subdivisions being built right now in every county in the metro. Get what you want for your money or walk the hell away.
CW

Gas appliances don't cost 3x-4x more to operate than electric. They've only recently become more expensive at all, but not even 1x more (2x).
I doubt than gas water heaters are more.
The difference in cost for a range top isn't enough to matter.
Heat pumps have gotten pretty good, but you still need gas as a backup.

If you've got links to some good comparisons I'd love to see them.

I love my gas appliances. If you like to cook, you can't beat them. I will never go back to electric.

My electric water heater that I had for just myself in a 1 bedroom apartment made my electric bill about $250-300 a month.. With gas its a lot cheaper..

I don't mind having gas for my stovetop/oven. I like the quickness for cooking. What sucks is having gas to heat my house. Luckily, I never got raped this year when the price of gas therms went up. I dunno why? I never locked in a rate and just said ef F'it and took a chance. My price didn't jump like it did years ago when everyone I knew including myself had $300+ monthly heating bills. I wish I had electric heat, but I guess what sucks is if power goes out in the winter you are SOL.

I wish I had electric heat, but I guess what sucks is if power goes out in the winter you are SOL.

Even with gas heat, don't you have electric blower units to distribute the heat? I am still screwed if the power goes out.

I love my gas appliances. If you like to cook, you can't beat them. I will never go back to electric.
.

Except for heat. I may score an electric heater for my room. $200 gas bills FTL.

Matt

I may score an electric heater for my room.
Just follow the precautions that come with it, so you don't end up on the news. :az

Just follow the precautions that come with it, so you don't end up on the news. :az
What? You mean I can't use it to dry gasoline soaked rags?

Matt

What? You mean I can't use it to dry gasoline soaked rags?
That would probably work at least once... :ponder





...and by "work" I mean, "end in your fiery doom." :b_hot


:cool

Since this thread's already hijacked... :D

I buy gas from Georgia Natural Gas and recently noticed on their website a volume discount plan. Anything over 74 therms a month gets billed at a lower rate. It saved me $35 last month.

Gas appliances don't cost 3x-4x more to operate than electric. They've only recently become more expensive at all, but not even 1x more (2x).
I doubt than gas water heaters are more.
The difference in cost for a range top isn't enough to matter.
Heat pumps have gotten pretty good, but you still need gas as a backup.

If you've got links to some good comparisons I'd love to see them.

Well... There's the proof right there. His townhome burns about $300/month. My current electric bill is only $150/month MAX! No gas in here currently. So... i can imagine with an actual home, the heating bill will be higher than $300. I had a friend of mine tell me that they accidentally opened up a neighbors bill before that didn't lock in their gas rate the prior year, it was $400 and the house isn't only slightly larger than the one i'm thinking about.

I don't mind having gas for my stovetop/oven. I like the quickness for cooking. What sucks is having gas to heat my house. Luckily, I never got raped this year when the price of gas therms went up. I dunno why? I never locked in a rate and just said ef F'it and took a chance. My price didn't jump like it did years ago when everyone I knew including myself had $300+ monthly heating bills. I wish I had electric heat, but I guess what sucks is if power goes out in the winter you are SOL.

It would depend on what stage the house is in.

If all the wiring/piping is already in, then it would be a bear to redo all that to accomodate electric vs. gas appliances.

If it's still in the framing or "rough" stage, it wouldn't be that big a deal.

Depending on that, the builder may or may not be jerking your chain a little.

He may have to submit new plans, but that's not a huge deal, a few days delay, max. He may just need to go talk to the building official and have the plan amended.

Dean, that builder owes you consulting fees on every TH that has the modification. Time to bust some balls.

Carter

The house hasn't even been built yet. Hasn't even started. If i put down a deposit tonight, they wont even begin building it until 6 months later. :shifty

Like stated above, if the house is already plumbed for gas, its hard to change it, but can be done, takes maybe another week to two but is fairly easy. I do plumbing in new homes so I know a lot about all of this. I dont really know why the builder will not allow for the electric appliance, most builed will call it an "upgrade" for the home and just charge more, seems like the builder is just lazy, whos the builder?

Like stated above, if the house is already plumbed for gas, its hard to change it, but can be done, takes maybe another week to two but is fairly easy. I do plumbing in new homes so I know a lot about all of this. I dont really know why the builder will not allow for the electric appliance, most builed will call it an "upgrade" for the home and just charge more, seems like the builder is just lazy, whos the builder?

Well... it's understandable if the house is already plumbed for gas. But they haven't even begun anything yet. The lot is an empty lot. Plus they have to run electrical lines up there anyways because although the furnace is gas, it will still take electricity to run.

The builder is "pulte". Supposidely the largest in the country.

I would say go with someone else then. Gwinnett is WAY to big for you to get a home you arent 100% satisfied with

I would say go with someone else then. Gwinnett is WAY to big for you to get a home you arent 100% satisfied with

I guess. The location, model selection, size, and price range is about perfect for me though... i haven't found that many others i've liked in Gwinnett. Oh well... I guess i'll suck it up if i have to live there. Plus resale is better with gas i guess right??

You do plumbing as in water plumbing? which builder are you contracted with?

we are with a lot of contractors right now, mostly jones and maniere (thinks thats how to spell it) but we do homes in snellville, lawrenceville, and then all the south side of atlanta. whats your price reange. there are TONS of homes comming up around where I live. Also you looking for all brick? 3/4 brick? let me know and I'll tell you what I see around here.

Ahh, the national builders...

I worked for their biggest competitor in '04-'05. The scale of the development is what is keeping them from making the change, not the change itself. Pluses and minuses to the system.

Since they pretty much spec all the houses before they even begin, that whole neighborhood is pretty much going to be stuck with gas appliances.

My suggestion is to try and find a smaller (local) builder that will be more receptive to what you want instead of telling you what you get.