Well I know I didnt do a good job keeping this thread up to date while we were building, but two weeks ago we moved in. I attached some pics for everyone with some of the cooler things we did.
In the end, we ended up doing all the finish paint, stone, tile, hw floors, rough/finish plumbing, electrical and HVAC. We have 4200 finished sq feet with 4000 more in the basement.
Final sq foot price was right at $115.00 with all top of the line stuff. Travertine, Brazilian Walnut, etc. We were able to setup contractor account everywhere, get direct pricing, and we cut out all the middle men, and no realtors. I did have to get more $ from the bank to finish the house, as we did go over about 50K on budget due to upgrades, but that wasnt a big deal
Looking back, I wish I would have outsourced the Iron Gas Piping, as I had major issues getting all the leaks gone. Almost every single contractor I had, either walked off the job having 98% done, or didn't come back. Mexicans were the hardest and best workers. The sheetrockers were awesome, insulation and roofers, all 100% top notch with no issues. Had nothing but problems with the framers, and trim guys. White, lazy and never showed up on time, and left w/o finishing the job. Not trying to dog my fellow white guys, but it is what it is. Sorry if I offend you...I kept $3000 from my framers as a holdback, for them to finish some stuff and they just walked off, and left me and the money high and dry.
Would I do it again? Yes, this time I would have a better idea on the budgeting aspects and overages.
Here are a few pics, let me know if you want to see anything else.
