re: Recommendations for builders in Livingston Parish?

John Blount is legit. Known him all my life. Stand up guy.

John Blount doesn’t do custom residential work anymore. Focuses on his development work and commercial construction.

He will often send his custom residential requests to McLin, who started up his own business after leaving Blount.

Gallman and Blount are both good Builders.

Highly suggest steve mclin. wont be the cheapest around but does great work

Didn’t hire a GC, but a GC did have his subs bid for me. He encouraged me to get a few quotes on my own as well. All the quotes I received were at least 25% higher than the quotes the GC got for me. The money you think your saving by not using a GC will be offset by higher sub prices. I’m not sure how to calculate cost for living area vs under roof, but I built 2500 sq ft living & 4700 under the roof for $290k in 2015. Cut some costs by building my own house pad, provided all the wood for cabinets, crown & base moulding....was able to tear down an old home built with virgin cypress so only had to pay to have it milled. Also saved a little by doing my own stained concrete floors in all closets, pantry and utility room. Reclaimed heart pine throughout remainder of home exept for brick floors in kitchen and bathrooms. Also have a friend who does foam insulation, so I was able to foam insulate my home for only a little more than cellulose. I highly recommend going with 2x6 exterior walls and foam insulation. My brother built a 2100 sq ft living home with cellulose in 2015 and my utility bill is always at least $100 lower than his. It also saved me on the hvac tonnage required for my home.

Also suggest on demand water heater. Water heater, stove, oven and fireplace are gas and my gas bill is typically around $17 per month.

Definitely come see us at CretinTownsend Homes. We specialize in building on peoples lot. We do plans in our library and will give you a quote on plans you bring. We give upfront pricing and will give you a good baseline to work off of to figure out what things cost.
We build enough homes that if you like our included features, it won't cost anymore than if you contract out yourself. We negotiate on recurring work and preferred brands and get great pricing on labor and materials. We also do custom items that aren't in our included package, and the value isn't as good, but we still get competitive with pricing on those items.

Good subs of reputable GCs get enough work through them (and know who they will be working for) that most of the time they bid super high or flat out refuse to bid someone who is contracting themselves. You will get better subs through a GC.

I also endorse Gallman/Blount.

John Blount built my first home in 2008 but at this point even if he still did them would be way over my price range. He’s come a long way in 10 years.

McLin is a stand up dude. Like others said,may not be cheaper,but he will be honest with you. A very desirable trait when it comes to building.