[Retiring]

Any assistance is appreciated. Will visit design center in 2-3 weeks for new construction. Narrowed it down to 2 or 3 models.

I’ve been told some items are best to buy/install on my own post-closing. This is what I’ve been told, feel free to add, subtract, refute, etc.

Appliances (gas): take a credit, buy my own. If this is good advice where should I buy.

Crown Molding: might want it in a room or two. If not the builder, who do you recommend?

Closets: I do not want the builder special wire racks. Who do you recommend? Do they also do the pantry and laundry room?

Ceiling fans: Bedrooms ok from builder. Living room, might want to go high-end. Where to buy?

Attic stairs: Would like to go electric? Any suggestions?

Blinds: 48 hour blinds recommended. I want electric blinds for the lanai sliders.

Light tubes: Some love them, some hate them. Is it just another place for a leak to form? Your opinion…

Security: Want to install a quality alarm system, with monitoring. Maybe an exterior camera.

A partial smart house: Any thoughts? Lights, blinds, sound system, temperature, etc.

Air Conditioning: 2 AC systems, house and master bedrm. Is it best to have builder install both units? I saw this as standard in the formerly offered premiere series. BTW, I’ve begged them to build me a St. Charles, a quick no. Premiere no longer offered.

Recirc pump: Does tankless hot water need a recirc pump, should it have a pump, can it have a pump? BTW, I don’t mind waiting a minute for hot water. Waiting minutes might be annoying.

Nova water filter: Do I get this directly from Nova or the design center?

Entertainment center: Want BIG (85” min.) screen tv and associated DVD player/burner. Along with wall furniture to house tv and equipment. Who should I call?

Over the next week or two I will have more to ask. The above is all I can remember at this moment.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your experience. You can also PM me and I’ll give you my phone number if you would rather talk about it.

Blessings,
Frank

[Kenswing]

We did our design process last month.

Appliances: We were told that they wouldn't leave the wall oven or cooktop hole empty. So we bought the cooktop, wall oven/microwave combo and dishwasher from them. Refrigerator and washer/dryer on our own. As to where to buy? We bought at Appliance Direct. But look around at Best Buy also. It might come down to who actually has inventory. Order early if buying on your own.

Crown Molding: We'll be using Creative Finish Carpentry after we close. Creative Finish Carpentry – Central Florida's Crown Moulding Specialists

Closets: We went with the builder wire for now. Will upgrade myself after we move in.

Ceiling Fans: We went with the builder white without even thinking about it. Dan's Fan City is a good source as is Lowes. Amazon if you can install yourself. We will probably upgrade the Master bedroom and Living room right away and the lanai later. https://www.dansfancity.com/dans-fan-city-leesburg

Attic Stairs: If you're looking for motorized stairs Majic Stairs look great. Majic Stairs | Push Button Motorized Retractable Stairs

Blinds: We had the builder put blinds on our master bedroom window only. We will do shutters when we move in. We're looking at Blinds Plus Shutters but haven't decided yet. Blinds Plus Shutters & Shades - The Best Blinds, Shades, And Shutters In Central Florida

Light Tubes: We are waiting until we move in to evaluate if we need tubes. If so we'll be going with The Solar Guys. The Solar Guys: The Villages & Central FL - Solatube(R) Skylight Experts

Security: Haven't made up our minds yet. Might just do Simply Safe on our own.

Smart Home: Not yet sure what we're doing but Villager Audio Video seems to be the go to guy. https://villagerav.com/

Air Conditioning: We went with their single unit upgraded system. It comes with an Ecobee smart thermostat.

Water Heater: We upgraded to a recirculating tankless water heater. The unit itself has the recirculation pump. They run a return line back to the unit from the farthest faucet.

Water Filter: You arrange direct with Nova. Get on their list early. https://novafilters.com/

Entertainment system: We ordered furniture from Babettes. Not sure if they have anything big enough for an 85" though. Ours is for a 70". We haven't bought our equipment yet but will probably just go to Best Buy.

Hope this helps.

[Kenswing]

I also started a similar thread a few months ago when we were at the same stage you are now. Lots of great information and suggestions.

Your Villages Building Experience..

[Dan9871]

Originally Posted by Kenswing

Smart Home: Not yet sure what we're doing but Villager Audio Video seems to be the go to guy. Home Audio Video Sales & Installation in The Villages, Florida

.

+1 on Tom for TV and other audio/video.

[cj1040]

Just went through this in Sept with closing Feb 12. Design center...we already had chosen our model and revisions we wanted. They give you about 5 days for everything including smart home appt, landscape, closets, window treatments, pool. I felt the cabinet quality not the best...Lowes and Home Depot have a better selection in colors and quality and the same for tile and flooring. So unless you want to get the basic house and later change out on your own you are trapped with what the design center has. Fixtures are not priced so you select what you like and get surprised when you later see the price contract. We knew that getting the master closets and plantation blinds thru TV would be more expensive but decided to do it anyway for the sake of convenience since we are moving from the northeast and wanted it done. We got the basic smart wiring pkg. We added a fitness pool and you get that done with the build as they are booked far out otherwise. We struggled with the landscaping as they did not or would not get plants I wanted that I had seen in nurseries there. Finally settled that with palm types and will add what I want later. No scruffy plants for us! We will get bids on the other closets and shop for lighting when there. Just got lanai fans thru them and had rest capped and wired for fan/ lights. Got Bosch dishwasher thru them as they are expensive to install otherwise. We wanted LG for all other appliances and they do not carry that brand so we ordered at Home Depot black Friday sales. Many take 3 months to get so order early. They will deliver ours day after closing. We will get garage sealed by independent contractor day after closing before movers come. The design center will set up all of the above and if you buy they add in to your contract. Watch for errors and ask questions when you see your price sheets. It was stressful but they are very nice and patient. The will do custom colors for your house and front door too. Roof colors were limited. They let you move walls. Change windows, change closet sizes etc ..very flexible for a price of course. We will take our time shopping for lighting/fans etc. Good luck. People have been sending photos and it is looking great so we are excited.

[GNXGuy]

Following. Our design appointment is Feb 15th. Building in St Catherine

[John_W]

For the TV, VillagerAV (Tom) is the person for installation, but he's not the guy to buy your TV and your stand from. He could set it up or do whatever you need after you have the equipment.

I would look at three places, Best Buy, Sam's Club or Bob's TV in Summerfield. Bob's specializes in big screen home install and you can find many good reviews on this site, they would provide the products and install them. Here's their website.

Home Automation Installer Ocala, FL: (352) 245-2183

If you decide to buy your TV from Best Buy or Sam's, which is what I did and then I searched for a cabinet for 75" TV, which is the size of my TV. I found this cabinet on Walmart's website for $300 with free shipping, also check Wayfair for cabinets.

https://www.walmart.com/search/?cat_...uery=tv+stands

TV Stands & Entertainment Centers | Up to 55% Off Through 01/19 | Wayfair



With appliances and washer & dryer you can search and find many opinions about the brands and the stores. I bought all new appliances in 2017. I opened a browser with Amazon, Best Buy, Lowe's and Home Depot sites and did about 10 hours of research. I came to the conclusion that the washer & dryer with the fewest complaints was a top loading LG washer, the model was 5.2 cubic feet stainless steel drum with no agitator and a top glass door. I Also bought the matching dryer with a glass door and can open the door from the side or from the top of the door, makes it very handy.

I did the same with appliances and came up with LG appliances, refrigerator, stove, microwave hood and dishwasher.

Then reading reviews of the stores, I found Lowes will deliver from the store of purchase, which means a much smaller inventory to choose from. Best Buy delivers from a central warehouse near Orlando and have most of the appliances on their website in stock. Between the four stores I went with Best Buy. My neighbor bought a lot of appliances from them and they negotiated much like a car dealer.

At Best Buy I found was best to ask for an assistant manager. I also bought my 75" TV a couple of months later and asked for the same assist manager and he gave me a deal on the TV. On the appliances he matched Lowe's 10% veteran discount even when the appliance was already cheaper than Lowes and gave me additional discounts for buying a group and he threw in a $100 store credit card and sent me a free Google Home Smart speaker.

The appliances have changed since 2017 when I made my purchase and you may need a bigger refrigerator, my stove is electric and you need gas, but just to give you an idea this is how the LG appliances look in my small 10 x 10 CYV kitchen.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

I have worked at a networking company right after the internet was opened to commercial use. I worked with the engineers, and have some practical design experience. in the early 90s the engineers were designing the cable tv internet everyone uses today.

what you might want to think about is 1) do you want to have internet streaming tv? if so, you might want to think about a wired connection versus a wireless connection. 2) you might want to think about 4 outlets instead of 2 outlets in the wall, if you want to have more than just the TV and cable box powered up. 3) you might want to consider a whole house surge protector instead of having power strips at each outlet. 4) you might want to consider the same connections for other rooms in the house where computers and monitors and tv's might all be using the same outlets. 4) outdoor tv? streaming there? you might want to consider wired internet connection (ethernet cat 6) connection for the TV. . . 5) want surround sound theatre? you might want to wire the house for that during construction. . . I have the wireless access point put in the ceiling in the middle of the house, great coverage and very strong signal everywhere inside. My cable modem in the garage wiring closet does not do wireless. . .

Its much easier to wire the house during construction if you plan to use streaming tv over ethernet wiring than coax. . .

And I don't know what the standard package is, since they didn't have one when we designed ours 2 years ago this month. . .

So the networking design / electrical design should be well thought out prior to the design meeting, as all of the wires are in the walls.

Oh, and don't forget central vacuuming, and you will thank me later. . .

[valuemkt]

All responses IMO and reflect what we did for our Fall 2019 build:

Appliances (gas): take a credit, buy my own. If this is good advice where should I buy.
Depends what brand you;re thinking about, whether its a push in range or cooktop. If it's a cooktop you will probably have to go with builder, because they need it to cut size into quartz / granite and they would not accept third party provided product. OTOH we did leave wall cabinet openings for two wall ovens, and both electric and rough openings were done by builder to mfrs specs. For Kitchen Aid and Wolf Appliances we used Aggressive Appliances out of Orlando - no problems whatsoever, install was done a couple days after closing.


Crown Molding: might want it in a room or two. If not the builder, who do you recommend? I had builder do it. If you want it done post close, I've used JSR in another house and was very satisfied. Be aware of their lead time

Closets: I do not want the builder special wire racks. Who do you recommend? Do they also do the pantry and laundry room?
If you want it done as part of build, you have a choice of one.. Inspired Closets. Owner will meet you as part of design process. Expensive, but a good product.

Ceiling fans: Bedrooms ok from builder. Living room, might want to go high-end. Where to buy? High end fans are at Dans Fan City in Leesburg - Some of their fans can lift your house off of its foundation

Attic stairs: Would like to go electric? Any suggestions? If you want electric, MajicStairs is the leader. Budget around 4k.. make sure you;re comfortable putting stuff in 100 plus degree heat before going that route

Blinds: 48 hour blinds recommended. I want electric blinds for the lanai sliders. There a million "budget" blind companies around. Also many other credible places. Village shutters and Blinds in Oxford carries Hunter Douglas and other lines.. high end product.. not cheap

Light tubes: Some love them, some hate them. Is it just another place for a leak to form? Your opinion…
IMO, they are so yesterday .. If you;re concerned about your house being dark (and many Village homes are), go crazy with Can lights on dimmers.. you can;t dim a solar tube. Then upgrade the can lights to bright LEDs.. Amazing difference to the standard bulbs - if builder wont do it, put it on the immediate after move in list


Security: Want to install a quality alarm system, with monitoring. Maybe an exterior camera. You can do most things with NEST products.. If you want a lot of low voltage pre-wire, again, you have a choice of one - Galaxy - my experience with them was not positive.

A partial smart house: Any thoughts? Lights, blinds, sound system, temperature, etc. Almost all of this can be done post install via wireless. Remember that most internet cable connections terminate in the garage. Decide where you want your modem / router and make sure you get wiring to that spot. I found after the fact that most pre-wire was not done properly and had to be fixed post move-in. Depending on house size, you may find a single router won;t do the trick - Villages AV installed mesh network, TVs, soundbars surround sound along with the apps that control the network and sound system; as well as NEST products. Tom will also show you how to integrate with Alexa or google

Air Conditioning: 2 AC systems, house and master bedrm. Is it best to have builder install both units? I saw this as standard in the formerly offered premiere series. BTW, I’ve begged them to build me a St. Charles, a quick no. Premiere no longer offered.
The Villages will never get an award for HVAC design. Our house from Atlanta had separate HVAC in first floor master. We briefly looked into it, but cost was exorbitant. We have numerous hot and cold spots throughout the house - as much as 3-5 degree difference. I don;t think doing it post build is practical, with all the duct work changes required. However, what you can do pre or post build is to add a zone board to essentially have 2 thermostats for the same single unit. I didnt think about that at the time, but then remembered some of my townhouse rental units had them.. Not sure if builder will agree to do it or not, but have casually spoken to HVAC people - if youre looking to keep your master cooler than rest of house at night, go back to comment about Dans fan City


Recirc pump: Does tankless hot water need a recirc pump, should it have a pump, can it have a pump? BTW, I don’t mind waiting a minute for hot water. Waiting minutes might be annoying. Don;t hesitate and do the Recirc Pump .. the pipes are laid in the ground as part of rough in. Without it, you can perform 2 of the 3 S's and still have an intolerable wait for hot water for the third.

Nova water filter: Do I get this directly from Nova or the design center? Not Needed. Drink the water from your refrigerator that is perfectly filtered. Total waste of money IMO

Entertainment center: Want BIG (85” min.) screen tv and associated DVD player/burner. Along with wall furniture to house tv and equipment. Who should I call? Timberwood Cabinets built us an awesome Entertainment Center post close.

Make sure that all counters and vanities are at adult height, as well as toilets. Plastic shut-offs are garbage - they would not put real ones in. Bathroom fan/lights are also garbage - can't exhaust anything (smell or steam) - didnt realize until too late - jsut replaced all of them .. I'm already out of blanks in my electric panel - see if they will size up to 250 from 200, or what a 100 / 150 subpanel will cost.

Feel free to PM me with other questions

[TheSolarGuys]

For the Solatube's we recommend waiting until after you have moved in. That way your furniture placement and window treatments are in place. We can come in to give location and size recommends based on how you are using the home. We also have dimmable options as well as different fixture styles that allow you to customize and match decor. Of course you are welcome to visit our showroom just North of The Villages.

[nick demis]

When considering the model keep in mind that you can do major changes in the house. We converted the master closets into an expanded master bathroom, made an oversized closet, added a walk in pantry, extended the 2 guest rooms and increased the guest bath into the living room, extended the living room by converting the lanai to living area, and added a lanai to the side of the house to just name a few of the changes. Spend time with your agent to see what is possible before going to the design team. We got lucky and were delayed in the middle of the process by the holidays and found out what is possible, changed the model and ended up with what we really wanted instead of what we were willing to settle for.

[Villages Kahuna]

Knowing what’s available now, I’d hang the big screen TV on the wall with no surrounding cabinetry. Then below the TV I’d place one of the new electric fireplaces. They are wall-mounted, various lengths, extending 5-inches from the wall. They have fake “logs” and look extremely realistic. The light from a LED’s reflect off of a spinning light refractors made up of three-dimensional patterns. This reflection creates the realistic illusion of flickering flames and the glow of fire within the fireplace. In some models, the sound of crackling accompanies the glowing flames. The option of heat is created by a fan that blows heat from a heating coil out into the room. Beautiful, not expensive. Research them. Then I might have cabinets or bookcases surround the “fireplace”, for books, storage or audio components.

You have some really good suggestions above. One other thing—definitely opt for a tankless water heater (if you have natural gas, Not certain about how good the electric models are). Also, Perry’s Decorative Glass for upgraded or simply different front door/sidelights. Also consider having them replace the shower doors with 3/8 or 1/2-inch frameless glass doors with their uneven chipped top-edge design. Go to their showroom in Spanish Springs to get ideas and discuss alternatives. And Creative Finish Carpentry is the best for crown moldings. I also had them design/install wider headers above front door and rear slider using nicer millwork , also wider window casings than offered by shutter installers and wood cornices above the plantation shutters we chose. (You just tell the shutter installer to do the shutter only, then Creative comes and installs and paints the header, cornices, and window casings.)

[Ccbarb]

Originally Posted by Retiring

Any assistance is appreciated. Will visit design center in 2-3 weeks for new construction. Narrowed it down to 2 or 3 models.

I’ve been told some items are best to buy/install on my own post-closing. This is what I’ve been told, feel free to add, subtract, refute, etc.

Appliances (gas): take a credit, buy my own. If this is good advice where should I buy.

Crown Molding: might want it in a room or two. If not the builder, who do you recommend?

Closets: I do not want the builder special wire racks. Who do you recommend? Do they also do the pantry and laundry room?

Ceiling fans: Bedrooms ok from builder. Living room, might want to go high-end. Where to buy?

Attic stairs: Would like to go electric? Any suggestions?

Blinds: 48 hour blinds recommended. I want electric blinds for the lanai sliders.

Light tubes: Some love them, some hate them. Is it just another place for a leak to form? Your opinion…

Security: Want to install a quality alarm system, with monitoring. Maybe an exterior camera.

A partial smart house: Any thoughts? Lights, blinds, sound system, temperature, etc.

Air Conditioning: 2 AC systems, house and master bedrm. Is it best to have builder install both units? I saw this as standard in the formerly offered premiere series. BTW, I’ve begged them to build me a St. Charles, a quick no. Premiere no longer offered.

Recirc pump: Does tankless hot water need a recirc pump, should it have a pump, can it have a pump? BTW, I don’t mind waiting a minute for hot water. Waiting minutes might be annoying.

Nova water filter: Do I get this directly from Nova or the design center?

Entertainment center: Want BIG (85” min.) screen tv and associated DVD player/burner. Along with wall furniture to house tv and equipment. Who should I call?

Over the next week or two I will have more to ask. The above is all I can remember at this moment.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your experience. You can also PM me and I’ll give you my phone number if you would rather talk about it.

Blessings,
Frank

If you are building in St Catherine join the Facebook group if you use Facebook. Folks have been sharing experiences as they go through the design phase. Also search through other postings here. There is a wealth of knowledge. As we do research I write down every name and number for recommendations. Good luck!

[thevillagernie]

Originally Posted by Retiring

Any assistance is appreciated. Will visit design center in 2-3 weeks for new construction. Narrowed it down to 2 or 3 models.

I’ve been told some items are best to buy/install on my own post-closing. This is what I’ve been told, feel free to add, subtract, refute, etc.

Appliances (gas): take a credit, buy my own. If this is good advice where should I buy.

Crown Molding: might want it in a room or two. If not the builder, who do you recommend?

Closets: I do not want the builder special wire racks. Who do you recommend? Do they also do the pantry and laundry room?

Ceiling fans: Bedrooms ok from builder. Living room, might want to go high-end. Where to buy?

Attic stairs: Would like to go electric? Any suggestions?

Blinds: 48 hour blinds recommended. I want electric blinds for the lanai sliders.

Light tubes: Some love them, some hate them. Is it just another place for a leak to form? Your opinion…

Security: Want to install a quality alarm system, with monitoring. Maybe an exterior camera.

A partial smart house: Any thoughts? Lights, blinds, sound system, temperature, etc.

Air Conditioning: 2 AC systems, house and master bedrm. Is it best to have builder install both units? I saw this as standard in the formerly offered premiere series. BTW, I’ve begged them to build me a St. Charles, a quick no. Premiere no longer offered.

Recirc pump: Does tankless hot water need a recirc pump, should it have a pump, can it have a pump? BTW, I don’t mind waiting a minute for hot water. Waiting minutes might be annoying.

Nova water filter: Do I get this directly from Nova or the design center?

Entertainment center: Want BIG (85” min.) screen tv and associated DVD player/burner. Along with wall furniture to house tv and equipment. Who should I call?

Over the next week or two I will have more to ask. The above is all I can remember at this moment.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your experience. You can also PM me and I’ll give you my phone number if you would rather talk about it.

Blessings,
Frank

Just listen for noise were you buy..good luck

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by tsmall22204

Who should I call, where should I go, and what about. You really do not know anything about buying a house or getting it move in ready.. you are just looking for someone to blame if things do not go like you want it to go.

i think the op is merely gathering ideas from who has already experienced a build. what to look for, what NOT to do, etc. this is really good thread with lots of info i wish i'd known, lol