We just had plantation shutters installed in our whole house by Shutter Professionals. All 4" louvers. (2 huge windows, one set of sliders, lots of smaller windows.) They look great! Just my opinion. :)

kathy

We built our own home with with quality material. We choose conduit for our electric so wires were protected , it’s also code in suburban Chicago. We choose copper for water instead of cpvc for taste. That been said Florida weather is different that up north Thank God and rust is a problem down south therefore materials are different. No criticism just facts

I don't remember the brand that was originally installed but the icemaker in the refrigerator was very noisy on the filling and drop cycles and we didn't like the side-by-side doors. The dishwasher was the worst, when they pulled it out to put the new one in there was no insulation on the old unit, just a hard plastic shell that echoed inside the kichen cabinets. It was not unexpected; we had the same issue with the supplied dishwasher in our last house (outside TV) and replaced it also after a year or so. The stove, my wife didn't like it, I replaced it, no questions asked, I've been well trained over the last 40 years.

The Samsung appliances we replaced the originals with have proven themselves less than stellar. We had the icemaker issue that has plagued Samsung. The dishwasher's internal computer needed frequent resetting (cycle the breaker). The stove and microwave however work great. My son did us a favor on Monday, he stumbled in the kitchen and fell on the open dishwasher door and bent it beyond repair and economical replacement. He's fine but the dishwasher was a total loss. So far so good with the new Maytag I installed on Monday afternoon; and the old Samsung is now at the county landfill.

Since a majority of us have no idea about home construction and as a consumer we rely on the county inspector to ensure code compliance, I honestly wonder if the county inspector are just "checking-off" and not verifying the builders quality of build.

Point of concern. My Lanai was glassed-in by a supposedly local reliable contractor. The county inspector responded and after a total of 45 seconds of his time, the county inspector checked-off my Lanai as passing code. My Lanai has been an ongoing concern. After many months of contention, my Lanai was finally repair by the original contractor.

Just saying, with so many homes being built so quickly, I really wonder if the county inspectors are doing their due diligence to protect us as consumers.

I was impressed with the build quality as far as fit and finish. I found good attention to detail, tight corner miters, no nail pops in the drywall, caulking done well. The contractor, like most, does skimp on interior products. The wall paint seems quite thin. I figure it was sprayed on.
We had looked at homes in south Carolina and the build quality there was less than desirable.

Simple answer, better than average but not as good as a true custom built home.

POOR CONSTRUCTION, not a square corner in the house, half the electrical outlets dont have boxes(bathroom light over sink) microwave vent not connected.

I was thinking the same thing. I just say brick or wood when talking about the 2 choices.

We have brick and is is great.

Brick is usually just a cosmetic facade attached to a wood framing system. The wood framing is the load bearing part of the wall, not the brick. However, the concrete block houses in The Villages, use the block as the load bearing part of the walls, so load bearing wood framing is not needed. Other houses use a load bearing wood framing system with vinyl siding.

check location the property for sink holes and check with Neighbors for location
 

[That is very important to do before you move in amongst all the other thing you have been told to do. Sink holes are very bad for any structure's.

Yes, it is way better than in Chicago. I live up here, my house is down there is better built than my 2007 build condo up here, or for that matter, any house I have had in the Midwest.

I am not familiar with the apparent unique building codes in Chicago. But, I would much prefer to have plastic water pipes instead of copper pipes in my house. Also, I would not want to have my electrical wires installed in metal conduits. The Romex wiring system seems to be plenty adequate and more flexible for making changes than metal conduits.

As I understand it sink holes pop up as they pop up.

Will agree it would not be a good thing to wake up in a new home 50 ft below ground.

No worries
 

My business partner and I flew down here to look at homes before I bought. He was a home builder for the last 2 decades. He insisted on going to see the homes under construction as well as those fully built. He was impressed with the quality and said it was way above average in the US.

No, you are not "up north". All Florida homes settle after first year, usually resulting in cracks in tile. Most Floridians know this & do not add tile until two years after. As for copper pipes, not good down here. Too much lightning, copper pipes are not pure & so as storms approach & electricity is in the air & ground, copper alloys pop out & leaks occur. That is why most older homes in Florida are repiped, with PVC. This is usually done thru the attic or crawlspace as you cannot dig up the slab. All slabs will crack, problems occur if slab cracks completely thru, usually it is only superficial. We usually use a waterproof agent or paint to seal the slab before adding new flooring. I didn't do this to our new home in TV, home is well built & I can only hope that I do not get cracked tile, so far after 4 years, things are good.