Tips for building a new house

[Rain City]

I think what you wrote isn’t the norm and likely why you appear to be quite successful . Honest question here. If I hired you to build my house and my framing package and trusses were 150k retail but under my personal account was 135k and under your account was 130k which would you charge the customer and which does the 10% get added? I only ask because I know what most guys do and in the end it ends up a lot more than 10% for the customer. Most builders I know would charge customer 150k and add 10% to that. Meanwhile the builder paid 130k.

My clients get my discount on everything with original receipts. No markups. That includes my plumbers price on fixtures and equipment and my designers rate on tile. I insist on this out of all my trades. Essentially my fee pays for itself. 100% transparency. I actually don't work with trades that ask "what do you want to tack on?". I hate that stuff. There's enough money to be made without being a criminal.

And yes the vast majority of builders do those kinds of things. A lot could care less about the details. Most have far too many projects on the go. But there's some good guys and in Vancouver I'm lucky to work beside and compete against some of the best.

 

[RiverBoy]

I tape off the flashings and protect the siding.
I lead the framers (my own guys) and make sure things are perfect.
I tell the drywaller what beads to use where.
I insist on best practices on all installations that my team isn't self performing.
I scold people daily (not by choice)
I update my trades on the schedule months, then weeks, then days ahead of time.
I bring along an interior designer to have all the specs established before we touch any lumber. That spec package is a contract for everyone working on site.
I correct the Engineer.
I correct the Architect.
I keep the designer in check.
I answer my phone 100% of the time.
And I keep the marriage working by communicating constantly.

It's so disheartening to hear people blaming trades or architects when stuff goes wrong on a residential build. Stuff ALWAYS goes wrong. A good builder just deals with it because there's nobody else to blame.

All that for 10%? Sounds like a no brainer.

how do you do all that out of a Commander ?
again, i’ll see myself out

 

[Thunder21]

My clients get my discount on everything with original receipts. No markups. That includes my plumbers price on fixtures and equipment and my designers rate on tile. I insist on this out of all my trades. Essentially my fee pays for itself. 100% transparency. I actually don't work with trades that ask "what do you want to tack on?". I hate that stuff. There's enough money to be made without being a criminal.

That’s awesome and in that case your 10 percent is 100% worth it and likely more than covered by the savings in materials.

 

[Aquaholic]

how do you do all that out of a Commander ?
again, i’ll see myself out

Clearly he bought that brand of boat because he is the commander!

 

[MadJigga]

I think what you wrote isn’t the norm and likely why you appear to be quite successful . Honest question here. If I hired you to build my house and my framing package and trusses were 150k retail but under my personal account was 135k and under your account was 130k which would you charge the customer and which does the 10% get added? I only ask because I know what most guys do and in the end it ends up a lot more than 10% for the customer. Most builders I know would charge customer 150k and add 10% to that. Meanwhile the builder paid 130k.

In my experience there are a lot of honest equitable builders out there. There are also scammers. The builder I’m currently contracting for runs at 100% transparency on all costs and the trades are all paid by the owner directly. There are good and bad apples in every buisness. Some people are still old school and strength of character rules their actions. Others are ruled by the almighty dollar. 10% is more than fair Raincity. Many builders are 15-20%

 

[halimark]

My response was too the original ops question. How to save $$$ and how hard is being GC. I would not call all builders dishonest, on the contrary, most were straight up and told me what to do to save the "extra" add on expenses. All stated 20% was the fee for them organizing the build and carrying the bills and that was street costs +20%, even I bettered street price. Some wanted nothing to do with build after they became aware that I was the GC, I purchased all materials, received and organized/coordinated deliveries. Time is money, my time is way more cost effective than tradesman. I would loved to have given Rain City the chance, but I could never live in Van.

I stand by my thoughts on shoddy, slap up homes to get done fast and easy at what costs. I challenge anyone to walk around current construction and not see WTH's. Found out yesterday that my builder put the sill Tyvek on inside out??? Being the GC is not perfect but I did intervene and alleviate some of the issues as well as keep 15K. As for a complete house build it would be a Pacific Homes/Amco type modular build.

HM

 

[Rain City]

In my experience there are a lot of honest equitable builders out there. There are also scammers. The builder I’m currently contracting for runs at 100% transparency on all costs and the trades are all paid by the owner directly. There are good and bad apples in every buisness. Some people are still old school and strength of character rules their actions. Others are ruled by the almighty dollar. 10% is more than fair Raincity. Many builders are 15-20%

Thanks. And the sad part is the 15-20 guys generally give you zero site time for that money.

 

[Foxsea]

I stand by my thoughts on shoddy, slap up homes to get done fast and easy at what costs. I challenge anyone to walk around current construction and not see WTH's. Found out yesterday that my builder put the sill Tyvek on inside out??? Being the GC is not perfect but I did intervene and alleviate some of the issues as well as keep 15K. As for a complete house build it would be a Pacific Homes/Amco type modular build.

HM

??? Who told you that! ???

Tyvek® HomeWrap®, Tyvek® StuccoWrap®, Tyvek® DrainWrap™ and Tyvek® CommercialWrap® are equally effective in both directions and the logo may be on the inside or outside. - from the manufacturer.

 

[halimark]

??? Who told you that! ???

Tyvek® HomeWrap®, Tyvek® StuccoWrap®, Tyvek® DrainWrap™ and Tyvek® CommercialWrap® are equally effective in both directions and the logo may be on the inside or outside. - from the manufacturer.

City inspector told me that during second framing inspection. Had me cut off and remove the portion showing from under sill on the bottom 18" of exterior walls. I now have a complete 9' wrap with another 36" strip around top, without the flipped up sill portion. I am told this is now correct, have inspection tomorrow. Engineer also made me correct a few other things before framing inspection pass, one rafter had no nails on one side of simpson tie?? There were other things that I had to do, not for website. I don't argue with inspector, he provides the permits and I am still learning.

HM

 

[Foxsea]

City inspector told me that during second framing inspection. Had me cut off and remove the portion showing from under sill on the bottom 18" of exterior walls. I now have a complete 9' wrap with another 36" strip around top, without the flipped up sill portion. I am told this is now correct, have inspection tomorrow. Engineer also made me correct a few other things before framing inspection pass, one rafter had no nails on one side of simpson tie?? There were other things that I had to do, not for website. I don't argue with inspector, he provides the permits and I am still learning.

HM

Not worth getting into a discussion but it sounds like your inspector is still learning, too. Dow has plenty of literature available online regarding correct installation and important considerations

 

[Rain City]

I just realized what the pros must think when they read the boat build threads lol.

 

[dradons]

I just realized what the pros must think when they read the boat build threads lol.

I think that is for every profession. I get that when reading about tax online.

 

[Bows Up]

We were the general for our builds, cabin, shop, wellhouse and house. Marvelous experience and can say it strengthened my marriage.
Both of us were familiar with getting dirty. The good wif sweated all the design details. I did all the electrical and we were the framing crew.
We lucked out and got a master carpenter that definitely made the deal.
If you build you will have screw-ups. Overspray on the master bath, drywallers that board over electrical boxes. I think the game is trying to minimize them. Like Raincity intimated, planning is huge. Deliveries that are timely is a must.
Be prepared to put your back into it. Your master carp shouldn't be digging holes, that's your job. He's the brains and will appreciate being treated as such. Respect goes a long way, I think.