Tips for building a new house

[Bows Up]

Hmm. We hired a framer, plumber and drywaller. Various backhoe operators etc. The rest we did ourselves. Had engineering for the trusses and the gluelams, of course. How could I forget the #$%$# Waste Management Practitioner.
My wife designed. Started with a lofted cabin, shop and a well house. Learned lots, waited two years and then did the house. Permits required were electrical and sewage.

Framer was a true tradesman and knew everybody that mattered. We know that without him it would have been a lot harder. We were the framing crew.

Pineapple Express had it when he said "sweat the details in the design phase". The better half spent days working with the details and it was worth every minute.

If you are the general only one of you speaks to the contractors. In my case any questions got referred to my wife. Period.

 

[Corey_lax]

Check worksafe clearance for the contractors, otherwise I believe you will be responsible for the workers if something happens.

 

[Foxsea]

Check worksafe clearance for the contractors, otherwise I believe you will be responsible for the workers if something happens.

Great advice. If you hire a general contractor he should be doing this. It only takes a minute and proves your due diligence. Worksafe can ultimately go after the owner as prime contractor in the event a sub or general is not registered and current in their premium payments and where you do not have clearance letters. Also, before work commences, Worksafe requires you to file a Notice of Project.

 

[MadJigga]

We pull clearance letters on subs quarterly. If it were just one job I’d pull one before and after the job to prove absolution of responsibility.

 

[ImDone4]

Put a Outside Hot Water Spout beside the cold.
Comes in handy for many things.

 

[redram99]

I’ve owner built a few houses where I was my own general.
The next biggest item for me after planning was to really get the message through to the sub trades about timeliness, cleanliness and corporation with the other trades. Ie - be a pain in the butt, it may be a pain in the butt to get paid. However, be a team player, get in and get done and don’t leave a mess and you will leave with a check in hand.
That motivated my subs to get their jobs completed.

 

[MadJigga]

Put a Outside Hot Water Spout beside the cold.
Comes in handy for many things.

I have three around my house. Hot and cold exterior taps.

 

[Foxsea]

I’ve owner built a few houses where I was my own general.
The next biggest item for me after planning was to really get the message through to the sub trades about timeliness, cleanliness and corporation with the other trades. Ie - be a pain in the butt, it may be a pain in the butt to get paid. However, be a team player, get in and get done and don’t leave a mess and you will leave with a check in hand.
That motivated my subs to get their jobs completed.

In my experience most good subtrades are reluctant to work for the owner-builders. The often cited reasons are that they are inexperienced, unrealistic, poor communicators, indecisive, poor at scheduling and site coordination. They are grinders and are often slow to pay. Some are into the blame game. And some are control freaks on petty power trips. There is really no upside for good tradespeople in working for owner-builders. Too much hassle so we are always "too busy."

Good contractors model the behaviours they expect to see. So if punctuality is your peeve be punctual yourself. If cleanliness is your issue, pick up a broom now and again. If you are confrontational, you cannot expect cooperation.

If you choose to with-hold payment due on completed work the first thing I would do is tell the other trades of this. The second thing I would do is to file a builder's lien against your property and the third thing that I would do is to get a garnishee before judgement against your bank account (so your banker knows) and initiate a suit for non-payment.

Everyone in this industry has been burned at one time. As for reputation, I will never work for you again and I probably don't want to work for your friends, either.

 

[leaseman]

Make sure your "buffer" has enough room for all the little add ons......!

 

[Gong Show]

Make sure your "buffer" has enough room for all the little add ons......!

Hahaha!! For renovations, I call it the Timmy Ho Buffer, double double.
Double the quote amount and the timeline!

For new build, it is somewhat less...

 

[Rain City]

My estimates never creep. The scope does.

 

[ryanb]

This is a really helpful thread. We are in the design phase. We have a builder in mind, but definitely want to have a few different builders bid on it once we have the completed plans for due diligence. Any tips on what to look for from bids from different builders?

 

[Foxsea]

This is a really helpful thread. We are in the design phase. We have a builder in mind, but definitely want to have a few different builders bid on it once we have the completed plans for due diligence. Any tips on what to look for from bids from different builders?

Have not only detailed plans but also detailed specifications. I cannot stress this enough. Beware of unrealistic budgets, especially for cabinets, flooring, lighting fixtures, etc. Ensure everything you expect is included in your agreement. It's not good enough to specify a heat pump but what brand, model, how many zones, return air in bedrooms, etc. What level of reinforcing and compressive strength in concrete? Built to code is nowhere good enough. Same detail for roofing, windows, faucets, sinks, door hardware, etc. Details, details. Yes, it's a bit of work but that is part of your job. You do it now or get surprises later. A good builder is experienced so don't allow conditional and contingency clauses in your contract. I say your contract, not the builder's. Have an experienced lawyer review everything before signing.

 

[halimark]

I agree with ryanb, I have a 650 ft memory room addition currently with the engineer, not a standard build, no interior walls, no windows, 10 ft walls and 15' cathedral ceiling, so questions and engineering things I had no idea about. Wish this thread was a couple months earlier, I would have had spent more time picking a designer, did not like the "build to code" on plans or learning the fact that roof design was going to dictate insulation. This has been changed, but should designer not have full knowledge of those things? Total new thing for me, sharp learning curve. Keep the info coming for 32Knots as I am definitely learning.

Thanks All

HM

 

[wildmanyeah]

I would hate to have to attempt build something on my own. I would feel like I was getting ripped off at every turn. My company I work for has accounts with suppliers that is often 40 to 60% off list price.

My father in law has worked as a superintendent in the construction industry for over 30 years. When the housing marking is hot in the lower mainland getting trades to show up to site can be a major issue and any little thing can set them off and they will walk from you site. Even if you have multi million dollar contracts with them. They don't care they can go to a different site the next day they are busy. sometimes they will even pay the penalties in the contract to walk if something bigger and better comes to their plate. Of course none of this can happen at your site and it can be a breeze.

should designer not have full knowledge of those things?

Some architects are really good with the engineering side and some are horrible.

 

[halimark]

My designer was not horrible, somewhat costly yes. I just think that if I could find issues and correct build after 3 hrs internet searching codes why did she not know this? I.e. 2x8 rafters = special insulation requirements, larger rafters do not. My fault, took a recommendation from someone and did not complete my due diligence. Have done for engineer and will certainly do for builder.

I had/have my last dream house fully designed, then because of exactly what wildmanyeah stated above changed plan and bought as close to perfect as possible. Horrible stories from friends who are in the trades and feeling it now.

HM

 

[Bows Up]

Send out requests for quotations for lumber, electrical etc for the job. Pricing we got was good. If the supplier is doing a $20,ooo bid, pencils do get sharpened. Open accounts early. Some are easy, some take a while.

Outdoor hot water is a must. We did an outdoor shower, tapping into the lines on an adjacent bathroom. Dogs love getting cleaned. Visiting mud puppies see the hose and shy away until the warm water hits them. Then they become docile. Summer people showers in the sun are quite alright.

Put in exterior tap with the shut off 2' in the ground. I don't remember the proper name. Makes mid winter motor rinsing and general cleaning possible with no worry about freezing pipes.

If you want clean, clean the site every evening. Stack materials to be ready to rock at 8am. Tough to do if you aren't working the job. We paid every Friday for work completed. Surprised a few but never had anyone blow us off for a day elsewhere.

 

[dance a jig]

we built a custom home recently and wished we had a better budget on finishes/cabinets. Builder we selected really had el cheapo in mind and provided an allowance, and it would have been simple to specify materials and have an accurate number. Once the plans were done, we took them to the Seattle home show and found lots of kitchen design companies sitting on their hands, so... we asked them to critique our kitchen design and as a result came up with some great improvements in design, cabinetry ideas, etc. We also met some architects as show who were sitting on their hands, and asked them to look at plans and make comments, and although they gave us maybe 20 minutes, some excellent ideas came forth which our architect seemed to like to. Lastly, when a budget is put forth by builder, ask which line items he is self performing, and for the other items he will be subbing out, who is the sub and contractor's past relationship with. We found our builder had some great relationships and knew the work quality, but a couple subs caused us major heartburn.

good luck. DAJ

 

[redram99]

One other thing I wish I would have thought about a bit more was to be more realistic with how long we were going to stay in the home. The last two we built were going to be our forever homes. We built in a bunch of high end mechanicals, electrical and structural additions. We also finished them very nicely. When things changed and we sold, it was hard to get the extra money that we put in out of them.
We aren’t in either home now.

 

[Aquaholic]

One other thing I wish I would have thought about a bit more was to be more realistic with how long we were going to stay in the home. The last two we built were going to be our forever homes. We built in a bunch of high end mechanicals, electrical and structural additions. We also finished them very nicely. When things changed and we sold, it was hard to get the extra money that we put in out of them.
We aren’t in either home now.

From my real estate appraisal course work book:

Law of Decreasing Returns

The premise that additional expenditures beyond a certain point (the point of decreasing returns) will not yield a return commensurate with the additional investment; also known as law of diminishing returns.

This never applies to boating though.