re: Advice for a first time home builder

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Yeah, lot of chicken littles in this thread telling homie to hire some scab builder to wrangle the subs. In reality, you’ll be doing that for the GC.

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this is true. i've had to yell at my GC because the subs weren't doing their job. by the end of this, i was communicating a fair amount with some of the subs myself.

but again, i'm working here every single day, so I see everything that goes on. i know it's pissed off the GC, but so be it. it's a balance thing. i know i could save some money with no GCs, but i also know that i'd get a higher bid for each job because i'm not a GC. the stress of having to bid crews and get fixtures in on time is just not my strong suit. i'm not that organized.

fortunately being friends with a few home builders, i learn where to put pressure and where not to put pressure, what things are in the GCs control, and what things are not. i'm not planning on being friends with them afterwards, but i don't want a reputation of being an a-hole either.

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Picking the wrong GC is certainly a possibility, but picking the right GC will save you time, aggravation, and (odds are) money.

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our GC is fine. i don't regret picking them out of the 4 we interviewed. they just got over their head with a complete remodel of an 80 year old house and me being here every day seeing slow progress made it more stressful than somebody swinging by a couple of times a week.

one GC we turned down does really good work, but i could tell that i would have butt heads with his wife (the designer part of their team) the entire time.

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3nOut

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Damn, describing our recent wrapped up build to a T. Overall happy with our contractor and final product but felt like I was riding his arse about subs all the time.
One thing I really liked was our cost+ build. Our contractor was right on with the bids and budgets, I saw where very penny went. And most importantly we didnt feel like subs were not showing up because they weren't being paid or our draw $ was finishing the house before ours.

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One thing I really liked was our cost+ build. Our contractor was right on with the bids and budgets, I saw where very penny went. And most importantly we didnt feel like subs were not showing up because they weren't being paid or our draw $ was finishing the house before ours

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We have to beat ours up on where we are on budget. I feel like we ask for a budget update every week.

I doubt they’ll ask for recommendations afterwards but I’d make a suggestion of keeping a running Google doc of what has been spent on. They’re fine to take me for a ride because it’s not my realm, but let me see what budget vs reality was.

Most things bid were pretty spot on but we ate up contingency pretty quick due to an 80 year old house (new headers, no insulation, electric up to code, decided to replace AC ducting since ceilings were exposed, etc.)

Tempted to throw pics up here, but I’ll probably do it on the H/G board. All we have left is baseboards, countertops, and reconnecting plumbing. Should move back in next Friday.

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A friend is a GC and I asked him about this. Earlier in his career, he put pressure on a sub to finish and withheld the payment till they did something right and then he was blacklisted from that all the other subs in that category for a while due to word of mouth.

Just in my renovation, we had a 3 week delay on plumbers coming to redo the whole house. Despite me walking thethe initial bid with them and the GC, they showed up and acted like it was too much work and walked off the job. So now we have to rebid and I wasted a whole month and a half of mortgage and rent for temporary housing for 0 work to be done. They can fire the plumbers and never use them again maybe, but I was just screwed.

Another example was after we got done with plumbing, was waiting on drywall. Replacement lumbers finished 2 weeks before Thanksgiving and drywall said they’d be out to get started. Didn’t come. I asked before we left to see our folks if it was going to get started during the break and GC said yes. We get back and nothing was done. Then nothing starts the next Monday. Then I call GC and he said he’ll start Tuesday. Don’t come Tuesday. I don’t even text my GC because he knows they didn’t come. I get a text at 5 pm that he has a promise they’ll start Wednesday. They don’t show Wednesday.

As much anger as you have over it, they’re dealing with the same thing. I like I our GC, but I’ve been pretty pissed at them more than once. It’s just the nature of subs.

My brother in law used to be a manager at Sherwin Williams and he made a statement that very few painters chose this life, life chose it for them. Same applies for most subs.

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Building right now in LC....and yea this is pretty much the story with every sub right now in Lake Charles, even the really really good ones. They are so busy, its very hard to get them there.

If he is planning on being the GC its going to be much worse for him than it has been on me having a GC.

I saved enough getting specific contractor discounts to pay my GC fee. I did use my own plumber, AC guy and flooring/tile guy. He allowed me to bid almost everythign out and get 3 bids as he has relationships with most subs in the area.

so as far as suggestions, there have been a lot on here that are all really good, take every single one into account.

#1 thing hire a damn good designer/architect that is going to allow pretty much unlimited changes. Go through the plans with the wife over and over.

#2 make your living room bigger than you think you need.

#3 run cat 6 to every location you run cable for tv. all future tvs need this to be able to stream which is the way almost all electronics are going and a hard wired connection is much better

#4 go ont he tech board and get advice on the how to setup your home network. Use ubiquiti equipment. This is overall a much bigger deal than you realize and you want it to work seamlessly and to be fast.

#5 make sure you run conduit to allow the hard wired internet connection to be run in with ease. Also make sure if not putting a generator, you run gas and conduit back to the breaker to allow one to be installed later.

#6 keep in mind any future wiring expansions you made need to make, run conduit if you think any way possible you may want to add on later

#7 get with alarm company early if you are not runnign yourself. Understand if you do yourself how POE works and make sure you have a plan were each item will go


#8 wait to build in another year

I started way before the hurricane back in late June...yea it has kind of sucked since the hurricane.

I’ve done 2 in Moss bluff. Went smooth both times, under budget both times. Keep close track of your money and don’t get carried away.

Also... wait, prices are sky high here right now for everything

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Given your name, you a glazer?

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Nossir, just an AOL screen name I have maintained for over 25 years even though AOL is long since gone in my life.

I'm an engineer but grew up around woodworking here in N. Alabama. Have done it all around houses for the most part and used to have a 2500 sq ft workshop where I made cabinets and furniture. I still do the odd bit of wiring and finish/cabinet work for friends and family.

My ancestral home is Vicksburg, where my grandfather worked for decades at Anderson-Tully when it was the world's largest hardwood sawmill.