"marson" wrote in message
...
On Jan 2, 6:08 pm, "
wrote:
Okay to be more specific--

One story home on almost 10 acres, with a well and septic, completely
flat cleared land. Just a basic house I guess, nothing out of the
ordinary.
We want quality, energy efficient, but no marble
Maybe pergo or some type of laminate, tile, nice but not over the top,
affordability is important, which is why I am asking.
How do I go about planning a good project without going way over
budget. We want a nice house and heard horror stories from hiring the
wrong GC, so were considering taking it on ourselves. I am wondering
are the questions I should be asking and how do I go about finding
quality work?
Does this answer questions? If I need more specifics please ask, as I
don't know the answer without the question

Taryn, I really can't say what building costs are in Florida. Where I
live, a basic new house runs 150 a square foot, but that is here in
the frozen north. Prices in Florida SHOULD be lower, but I don't
really know.

With all due respect, I think you are over your head in trying to be
your own general. You really need to have a pretty good understanding
of the building process to serve as your own general and your question
leads me to believe that you're not there. Some homeowners have
successfully contracted their own homes, but I bet they started out
with a better than average knowledge of the process. You have to know
quite a bit about every trade to effectively coordinate them, for
example: How high do you want to set your house? Where will you
bring the utilities in at? What if the framer complains that the slab
is out of square? What if the plumber runs a vent in the only spot for
an HVAC duct? Oops, you forgot the thermo wire. Was that the
electrician's responsibility or the HVAC guys? Are there enough
screws in the sheetrock? Who scrapes the floor after the tapers? Do
finish floors go in before or after setting doors? Yes it has been
done, but it will be a lot of mental anguish. These are just sample
questions. Many subs have tunnel vision, and they will always try to
do what is easiest for them. The GC is the one with the big picture.

Think of it...instead of finding one good GC, you will have to find a
good concrete guy, excavator, framer, electrician, etc. etc. They are
all used to working for contractors, not homeowners, so you will be at
the bottom of their priority lists. I do this for a living, and
running the subs can definitely be the most frustrating part of the
job if you get the wrong ones. And not only should you know what each
sub does, you should know what they charge. It's all pretty
overwhelming for an amateur.

I would focus instead on finding a good contractor. Ask around--word
of mouth is the way to go. Good contractors are out there, and the
good ones don't advertise in the yellow pages.


I tend to agree with Marson. Unless you have had some experience with other
houses or additions you may be in over your head. Of course it depends on
your circumstances as well. If you are retired and have a load of time on
your hands and you have two or three years to build, then you can brush up
on your construction knowledge. If you are working full time and are not
living near the site, it would be best to find a good general contractor
that you can work with.

The important thing is to have good plans as well as good specifications to
go with the plans. You should have all the details worked out BEFORE you
begin. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to wire a kitchen
without a kitchen detail. So my work comes to a halt as does the plumber's
until the owners figure out where the sink and stove are going to go and
what kind of appliances they will be installing. If you want undercabinet
lights I would need to know before the wall gets covered up; Not after the
cabinets are installed. I recently wired a detached garage with an upstairs
apartment. I had to wait six weeks after we signed the contract because the
owner did not choose a roofing material ahead of time. I went one day to
try and get a head start and it started to rain inside and outside. I had
to stop my work because I couldn't let the wiring get wet. When the roof
was on I went back to do my work.

First get an architect to draw the plans for your dream house. Ponder it
for a few weeks and make notes about changes and additions. Then go back to
the architect and have him or her incorporate your changes into the
drawings. Keep doing this until you have a clear picture and very specific
drawings. Then make up a list of specifications such as all kitchen lights
to be such and such brand and model number. Have specifications for each
room down to the last detail such as what type of outlets you want
installed. Next hire a kitchen designer to draw your dream kitchen. Make
sure to have specifications and locations for all major appliances. Don't
forget utility closets for the furnace and water heater or will you have a
basement? If you are retired you may not want to have too many stairs.

When you have all of these plans and specifications finished and refined to
perfection make up five copies of each and give them out to five different
contractors for pricing. This way you can compare apples to apples when the
contractors come back with their estimates.