re: Advice on building a house?

quote:

---

Even if all i'm doing is reconfiguring the walls and redoing the floors?

---

You also mention in another post that the house is raised. So, I'm assuming it is an older home. Which is another kettle of fish: peeling back the walls will reveal god knows what. Unless you built this house, you have no idea what's under the sheetrock/paneling. After living in a string of older houses and undertaking renovs of various sizes, you have to be prepared for anything from massive termite damage to substandard electrical requiring an upgrade to asbestos, plus a laundry list of other possibilities.

In my last house, I gutted a bathroom and replaced all of the surfaces. Sounds simple, right? It never, ever is. New joists, new plumbing, new sewer line: in short, $8K more than I planned to spend going into the project. And yes, the very competent contractor had thoroughly inspected prior to costing out & starting work. Stuff happens, esp in old houses.