If you do your own GC, quality materials is a key. My wife did all of our procurements, it was funny because she would show up at 7:00 at the lumberyard along with all the other contractors. The clerk would pull her to the front of the line and let the other guys wait ....she also got to go out in the yard while things were being loaded and reject any substandard stuff. Our builder was amazed at the quality of the lumber..Doug fir, all straight, no knots, no warped boards etc. When we bought our kitchen cabinets and counter tops, they subbed the counter tops out....that's the only project that went sideways. The counter top guy was a lunatic. My wife had to chase him off the property.
Quality materials are key whether you do it yourself or have it done. Quality subs are even more important. If you do it yourself, you are not going to be as high a priority for scheduling as someone a sub gets a lot of work from so you need to account for that when you figure out the time. You have to keep after even the best of them to make sure they are not cutting corners. It's probably been said several time already, but I cannot emphasize enough having a very good set of plans. Whether you have them done, or buy from a catalog, go over location of outlets, cable/data drops, anticipate furniture locations, light fixtures, blocking for toilet accessories and wall lamps. Make sure door swings don't hit furniture or interfere with each other. Select your appliances early and make sure the rough-ins are there for ice makers and hoods. You will always need more outlets than you think, and there are some creative locations for them (such as under a bathroom vanity for the wife's hair dryer to remain plugged in and store in a drawer) that will make life easier . What looks nice on a plan may not work with your furniture. Building a house is not that complicated. It isn't rocket surgery and people have been doing it for eons. Making sure it works requires a lot more effort.
Know exactly what you want down to the damn light switch plates. We built this home and lived out of town at the time. Good builder but there's a lot we would have done differently had we known the sequence of building. For example we wanted to put on a custom deck with Ipe. Framers built the deck while framing the house. When framing was almost done builder told us to get him the plumbing fixtures ASAP. Had no idea the plumbing was the next step and they had to have all the fixtures / valves before they could do it. The the damn electrician made us walk through the house and decide where to put every damn outlet and switch. Oh, go pick all the light fixtures today, we have to have them tomorrow for wiring....Then the cabinet guy screwed us royally, but that's another story. I have a friend who is an architect. She works really closely with the builders and knows who is worth a shit and who tries to cut corners. She does fixed cost houses only. Says the contractors have no motivation to get shit done on time and efficiently when they work on cost plus basis. Start buying a ton of design / decorating magazines to get ideas of features you like / want.
I recommend having everything (or as much as possible selected and on order before you start. Allowances can really bite you in the rear and bust a budget in a hurry. The price ranges on material and products is huge. Some don't matter, others, there truly is a difference. For instance, regardless of brand, the appliances you get from a big box are built to a price point and not necessarily the best quality...regardless of brand name.
yah and many times are not "standard" sizes or prices! http://www.subzero-wolf.com/wolf/ranges/gas-range/36-inch-gas-range-6-burners Ironically a "commercial" grade stove unit is about 1/3 the price!
Unless you have a lot of contracting experience and a lot of extra time, hire a good home builder. If not you'll probably have a bad experience. Subs will charge you way more than they would charge a builder. You fight subs during the whole process for things like...quality, scheduling, pricing, insurance, materials, job cleanliness. And someone mentioned donuts. A little gratitude goes a long way. Five dollars a day for cooler full of ice waters will gain you respect from the subs, go out and talk with them. Let them know you appreciate the job they're doing. That few hundred dollar investment of goodies will get you a much cleaner job site, maybe even a better built home. Not every builder is a con man. The good builders usually have good subs, and they treat each other respectfully.
That's the type of bullshit real contractors have to deal with. DIY, Property Brothers, Holmes, etc. There's no verbal mention of the materials being donated and the station picking up the labor tab. I guess people think those things fall out of the sky. Yes, I know you were kidding, but even at the level of work we do, people actually think 4 months worth of quality work can be done in 48 hours. I just chuckle.
A few years ago I gave an older guy a proposal for a home project. He said he already had 6 proposals! I told him I'm probably not the cheapest, maybe not the most expensive either, but it would be done right. He thought for a few seconds and asked if I wanted the project, I said sure. He then told me he just felt better talking with me than any of the others, and I was the only one that looked him in the eye while talking. He said one guy showed up smelling of alcohol, an old junky truck leaking oil, had 3-4 kids with him, and never got out of his truck, just spoke through the window! That's our competition.
well i think that with social media and reality TV being more and more mainstream nowadays-Holmes' shows-whether it be his earlier series, down to his newer one, with his kid-he tries to educate the public more on what to watch out for and how to do it right-the first time. (can't speak of the other shows mentioned, since I only watch Holmes) Of course-the homeowner still has to do their research, where and how much the materials are, and what to look out for, but in the long run-nothing beats an educated consumer.
An acquaintance went to a Porsche driving school with other investment contemporaries and, when the day(s) was done, they all talked about which Porsche they were gonna get. My buddy said, "I'm gettin' a Maybach and ridin' in the back." His wife prolly has the $30K stove.
This. Figure out what you want, hire someone you can trust, and treat them well. And for fucks sake do not go online and become an expert in everyone's field, and come tell them what you've read about how things should be done. If you hire good people, and then keep an open mind, they're going to give you a better finished product than you could do on your own. I'll maintain the same quality, but the difference between i like this guy and this guy is a fucking asshole can turn into either billing for a few hundred in extras or not. Or changing a faulty GFI for free when the house is just outside of warranty.
