"gpsman" wrote in message
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On Jan 2, 11:40 pm, "SteveB" wrote:
wrote in message

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Hello everyone,

We are looking to build a 3000 sq ft home in Fl. 4-5 bedrooms 3 baths.
We are looking at some of the owner builder programs. Does anyone have
any advice on cost and how to go about hiring subs, making sure work
is done right?
About how much would a project like this cost?

Thanks in advance.
T. Stevenson

It's just like a girl on the stroll. How much is it going to cost?

Depends on what you want.

It's that simple.

Pretty much... depending upon what you know.

If you feel a need to inquire here, you might add 50%.

If you don't know what you're doing, I think it's best to buy an
existing home. If you want the education, build as much of it as you
can yourself, and be prepared to pay, perhaps dearly, for tuition.

If you're 25, that education might be worth it. If you're 55, cut 20
years off your life expectancy, and go ahead and die upon occupancy.
The savings in assisted living fess will please your heirs.
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- gpsman

I've built one home, remodeled two TOTALLY, and am adding a 1,000 sf casita
to my present house.

It ain't rocket surgery. It is a lot of work. Each project has its own
peculiarities. Things can and do go wrong.

It's just a poor place to immerse one's self. In particular, the size and
scope of the project the OP describes.

He intones that he has little or no experience with subs. If that's the
case, then he'll be eaten alive.

It is impossible to learn it all on one project. On my first, I studied it
all for about a year, and then went forth. It went pretty well. The others
varied. Point is, if someone is intelligent, does a lot of preparatory
study, and manages and supervises people well, things should go okay. That
is not to say some things turn into a nightmare, but in my experience,
unless you go into high end granite work, complicated plumbing, out of the
ordinary loads that require engineering, complicated roof structures, or
other costly alternatives, the standard construction can be reasonably
predictable. It's just when you get into specialties that it can go crazy.

There's a million details to keep straight and all at once. Ordering.
Payroll. Quality control. Exhibiting a presence so the subs know you are
at least watching what's going on. Calling them on bluffs, overruns,
add-ons, and bull****. Working out change orders on paper. And then
there's the financial aspect, whether you're doing an OC construction loan
and have to have everything inspected and verified, or you're working out of
pocket and it works a little more fluidly. Flow charts, projection spread
sheets, graphs, and all kinds of stuff can be done in advance, and that's
good. Then there's the reality line that is penciled in as it goes.

After having done it, I would never have a general do the total job, but use
a general for the major part, and handle some of the subs myself. Most
contractors are okay with this unless they are involved in high end houses
and want to make all the money. And those are the ones that will cost an
arm and a leg. Everything will be fine in the end except a big hole in your
wallet.

On my casita, I have saved money on almost every aspect by shopping subs,
and getting good referrals. Only had one doofus on the drywall and ran him
off after three hours. I'm doing a portion of the work myself, and saving
even more. I buy all materials, except for the framing, trusses, stucco,
hvac, rough plumbing and slab. So, if you know how to do stuff, you can do
more yourself and know when someone's jerking your chain.

A lot of it depends, too, on how much time you can take off. A lot of
people can't take off long enough to build a house. So they have to pay
someone to do it.

In this current market, I think I'd just buy a ready built one. I'm sure
there's lots of NEW houses in that area which would be a better investment
than risking a lot on a first time project of this proportion.

Steve