re: Why is building a house ALWAYS a pain in the arse?

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100% every fricking time it turns out to be a huge pain in the arse.

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The pain in the arse part from the homeowner almost always results from one of two things: 1) lack of patience and 2) lack of realistic expectations. People choose the lowest bid and then proceed to expect perfection at a lighting fast pace.

Fast
Good
Cheap

Pick one, because you rarely get two and you sure as hell won't get all three.

You get what you pay for. If you get (pay) a good contractor, these are their problems and usually taken care of before the homeowner knows.

I built ~300 between 2004-2007. Everything from 1,400 to 18,650 sq ft. Every project is different and have their own issues. We had a house with a first coat of primer inside and the cabinet guy asked if we could move a window over a few inches because the cabinets they ordered were not centered with the window.

We built an NBA players house and had 14' 4" thick solid oak double doors installed. We had a crane and everything ready to go when the door arrived. Guess what, the door company sent hinges for a door you'd get from home depot.

People make mistakes all day every day, just depends on the order of magnitude.

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I would never try to have a house built.

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probably because most people are too emotionally invested, aren't familiar with the process, and are intimidated by it

That is exactly why people hire contractors to oversee every detail. The contractor deals with the roofer, plumber, electrician, carpenter, etc. the home owner only deals with the contractor.

Building on the Lakes? Subtle Flex

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For me, it's the most exciting time of my life

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I would agree. Watching what you designed go up it amazing from framing to cement to the finishes. Yea there are arguments and compromising but its a smooth process for something on that large of a scale.

Biggest thing is to go to your build DAILY to verify things. If not you get a cascade of effects that you probably dont want and costs a lot more $$$ to fix

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If she saw it on tv or Pinterest you can bet your arse you’re going to be seeing some change orders

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that's where it really gets fricked up, letingt the wife get involved, most builders hate this

Contractors

I am 16 months deep in our build right now. Still have 2 months to go.

Its not been a fun experience. Just waiting and watching it sit there for long periods of time while they do nothing then have to come back and redo shite they already finished has been just painful. Its my second time buying a new home and the crap process has made it miserable. Last weeks big news was, we got door hardware. A full week and they put the door knobs on.


Just got the yard graded yesterday...

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That's construction. It's fluid. shite is supposed to go wrong. It's the adjustments that separate the good from the bad.

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As a PM myself in the industrial sector, this is correct. The end user likes to complain but most of the time it’s harder on the contractor/PM when something goes wrong. You manage the good and the bad.