Custom Home Build

[Bill M]

Many good suggestions given you in this thread. Every one that you list as wanting, make sure to add the dollar amount beside it. When I considered building myself I about choked when I asked the plumber doing the work on our house how much he charged per fixture opening. About $550 more than what I paid 6 years ago on my last build.

Example of getting subs on site. My builder has been in business for 45 years and still can't get people he's used for years on the job exactly when he would like. Been waiting on the trim man all week and now he says Monday.

I built a few homes over the years. Here's a sampling. Styles and trends have changed quite a bit. https://billmorris.smugmug.com/Priva...omes/n-xhFVN4/

[Sasqy]

Chases and conduits for additional tv/data cables !

[OldRiverRat]

My wife and I are in the early planning stages of designing/building our first house. I've searched and read through several "must haves" on home build threads. We are planning a custom home build along with a shop/barn. Looking for ideas/necessities for both the house and the shop/barn. We have been through a handful of model custom homes in our area just for ideas- but we will likely be contracting the house ourself.

For those of you who have built recently, what would you do differently or regret and what did you do that you love?

may send a note to Brett Chamberlain (Sticks&Strings) he is a custom builder, sure he could give you lot's to think about.

[TeamAmerica]

is that what they call a manifold ?

Yessir

[44mAG]

We just moved into our forever home after going through the build process the last year.

A few pointers I have for the process overall. Be ready to spend a lot more money than you though in the beginning. Most subs will not do a written estimate or guarantee before work begins. On almost every step of the process, we were given an estimate, and then months later when their part of the build was completed, our bill was way higher than they said. The bad part about building is that unless there is a written and signed agreement for every job, the home owner has zero leverage. Subs will just charge what they feel like, then demand the money. If you don't pay, they can put a lien on you.

Also, if you want your house to be worth a darn, you will have to sacrifice and be present for pretty much everything (even with a general contractor). Or at least the start of everything. I had only a few pleasant subs work on my home, and they all said that the motto for most subs during a house build is "I can't see it from my house". I actually made two people quit (Tile and trim guy) on the spot just by being there and asking that they use a level to make something level. They said it was not part of their job to waste time on the small details, and that they could not work with the home owner present.

In the end, we ended the build with only a handfull of issues due to poor work, but it was a VERY stressful process. If you yourself are not very detail oriented than the process would be much more pleasant.

[Grayson]

We just moved into our forever home after going through the build process the last year.

A few pointers I have for the process overall. Be ready to spend a lot more money than you though in the beginning. Most subs will not do a written estimate or guarantee before work begins. On almost every step of the process, we were given an estimate, and then months later when their part of the build was completed, our bill was way higher than they said. The bad part about building is that unless there is a written and signed agreement for every job, the home owner has zero leverage. Subs will just charge what they feel like, then demand the money. If you don't pay, they can put a lien on you.

Also, if you want your house to be worth a darn, you will have to sacrifice and be present for pretty much everything (even with a general contractor). Or at least the start of everything. I had only a few pleasant subs work on my home, and they all said that the motto for most subs during a house build is "I can't see it from my house". I actually made two people quit (Tile and trim guy) on the spot just by being there and asking that they use a level to make something level. They said it was not part of their job to waste time on the small details, and that they could not work with the home owner present.

In the end, we ended the build with only a handfull of issues due to poor work, but it was a VERY stressful process. If you yourself are not very detail oriented then the process would be much more pleasant.

Did you have a GC? That sounds like a nightmare build.

[cnc_xt]

We just moved into our forever home after going through the build process the last year.

A few pointers I have for the process overall. Be ready to spend a lot more money than you though in the beginning. Most subs will not do a written estimate or guarantee before work begins. On almost every step of the process, we were given an estimate, and then months later when their part of the build was completed, our bill was way higher than they said. The bad part about building is that unless there is a written and signed agreement for every job, the home owner has zero leverage. Subs will just charge what they feel like, then demand the money. If you don't pay, they can put a lien on you.

Also, if you want your house to be worth a darn, you will have to sacrifice and be present for pretty much everything (even with a general contractor). Or at least the start of everything. I had only a few pleasant subs work on my home, and they all said that the motto for most subs during a house build is "I can't see it from my house". I actually made two people quit (Tile and trim guy) on the spot just by being there and asking that they use a level to make something level. They said it was not part of their job to waste time on the small details, and that they could not work with the home owner present.

In the end, we ended the build with only a handfull of issues due to poor work, but it was a VERY stressful process. If you yourself are not very detail oriented than the process would be much more pleasant.

Thanks for your thoughts! The good news is that we are building only around a mile down the road from our current house- so we will be present daily.

[cnc_xt]

Many good suggestions given you in this thread. Every one that you list as wanting, make sure to add the dollar amount beside it. When I considered building myself I about choked when I asked the plumber doing the work on our house how much he charged per fixture opening. About $550 more than what I paid 6 years ago on my last build.

Example of getting subs on site. My builder has been in business for 45 years and still can't get people he's used for years on the job exactly when he would like. Been waiting on the trim man all week and now he says Monday.

I built a few homes over the years. Here's a sampling. Styles and trends have changed quite a bit. https://billmorris.smugmug.com/Priva...omes/n-xhFVN4/

Nice work! I'm looking forward to facing the challenges that will undoubtably arise.

[texan16]

Many good suggestions given you in this thread. Every one that you list as wanting, make sure to add the dollar amount beside it. When I considered building myself I about choked when I asked the plumber doing the work on our house how much he charged per fixture opening.


Might be the best advice on this whole thread so far. All the little "extras' and "wants" are going to add up. Just make sure you stay within your budget or close to it.....

[Gclyde12]

I have no experience self GC'ing a home however my neighbor did his and his build took about 9 months longer than ours and both started around the same time. As others had mentioned, he just couldn't find anyone to perform the work and the ones who did show up seemed to rake him over the coals. No telling how much material was stolen by his own guys and then resold to him again as the subs knew exactly what they were doing since they didnt care about the relationship or future work.

Last i heard he was close to six figures over what a builder had presented him.