The wife and I are building our house now. We are in the framing stage which is the first thing we have subed out. I hated to sub that part out, but I figured I might not live long enough to do it all myself. It just takes so long when only one person is doing it. I thoroughly enjoy the work though.So far we have cleared the lot, dug the foundation and installed rebar, poured the foundation, and layed the blocks. Then I framed up the floor system and installed sub-flooring. I turned it over to the crew at that point. I am fully capable of doing every step of home construction which helps a lot when I'm looking for a sub and negotiating a price. I found that getting the lowest price on materials isn't that hard either. I just keep in mind that they want to sell the stuff, I only need to find a reason they should sell it to me at the lowest price. Doing some of the work myself and being my own GC is the only way we can afford the house we are building. We've been at it now for nearly a year and it's finally starting to take shape.
I see that you've decided to hire a GC. That's probably your best choice since you have no experience. Keep in mind that the housing construction market is depressed in most of the country right now. That ought to enable you to shop around and get a good deal. I waited 90 days after my first quote to frame the house and my price reduced by over 60%. The price of material is also a good bit lower right now that it has been. No hurricanes is a big help. I have the luxury of taking my time though. My only concern with time is keeping up with the permits to make sure they don't expire.
Good luck with your project.
