"The House" $40K paint job? $110K GC fee?

[JJT]

Re: \"The House\" $40K paint job? $110K GC fee?

Why not eliminate the drywall and go for knotty pine or cedar? I also have a timber frame and hate like heck to paint/wall paper - guess what, there isn't a sheet of drywall in my 3000 sq ft home, or in my 1000 sq ft garage. I sealed all the knotty pine before it went up, (actually a couple of high school kids at $6/hr sealed all my pine paneling and cedar siding - over 50K ft).

$110K for a GC? I'll do it for $80k!

 

[tgello]

Re: \"The House\" $40K paint job? $110K GC fee?

just built a 2100 sq. ft. house. 12'6 ceilings. me and the little lady primed the whole house and painted the ceilings in two afternoons. i taped off all the windows the afternoon before. i used an air less sprayer and then i back rolled it. i worked off a piece of staging called a baker ,as in a bakers rack. our house has many recessed lights and outlets and networking plugs to tape off, skylights. don't know what you make in salary per week, but it might be worth taking a couple weeks off and do it your self. you can rent an air less sprayer and some staging.

 

[MReeter]

Re: 40k Paint job

web,your GC will ALWAYS HIGHLEY recommend HIS subs.He will enjoy a nice kick-back from each and everyone of them.This also includes any materials that he will order from HIS specific suppliers.He is not only making that tidy 10%-20% Contrators Fee,but making money from every aspect of your project.My wife and I have built two new homes,and have been through it all.My 2 cents...find another GC.Good luck,as it becomes very tough to get anyone else within a short frame.

 

[dmccarty]

Re:

Webbmeister,

I would be finding a new builder....

I said this in another thread but when you build a house you are marrying
the GC for a year or so. If you don't feel comfortable with the person up
front its only going to get worse....

I'm TRYING to get a house built. I was hoping to get it done this year
but the wifey is out of work and I think until she gets a job we are not
going to be able to build.

We have finally found a builder we really like. I've talked to one of the
clients he built a house for and they were very happy with him. The house
was REALLY different and he did a good job. I've been looking for builders
off and on for about 10 years now and I've only found two and heard of a
third that I would let buiild my house. I have talked with a few others
that could not build a dog house without problems.

Two of my neighbors built their houses and had major problems with
the builders. I have a family member that is building a house right
now that is a disaster.

If you don't trust the guy at this point I doubt you will later on when
he has YOUR money....

The builder we are almost certain to use is charging 10-12% for his fee.

The ONLY way I can figure a justification for your builders 20% fee is that
its a timberframe. If he does not have experience with this type of building
then he is going to raise his price to cover his learning curve. At first I wanted
to build our house with ICFs. Our builder has never built this way and wanted
to build on a cash plus basis. Which is the best way in this case.

I have seen contracts that are fixed price and cash plus/cost+materials. Fixed
price contracts are tough. The person bidding really has to know what they are
doing to get the right price AND have the ability to get the job done at that price.
If the bid is low the contractor will have to work faster to keep from loosing money.
Which means the person paying the bills is most likely not going to get a quality
product. On the other hand, if the contractor is not familiar with the technology
and its a fixed price contract, they might bid higher to cover themselves.

So the guy paying the bills is either paying to much or not enough.....

SOOOOoooo, for an ICF I was more than willing to go on a cash plus
contract. Then you just have to make sure that the estimates for the
construction are reasonable and make sure the builder sticks to the work.
Which gets back to TRUST.....

Hope this rambling helps...
Dan McCarty

 

[MDNY]

Re:

dmccarty,

We had a meeting today to review the "final plans" and the architect found a minor item or two that needed correction. A window that the window supplier quoted wrong (simple typo issue) and some minor detail items he has to put into the final plans. We expect to get the final prints with a repro copy as well in about two weeks.

No one showed up from the builders company or the sales agent. I was never told they wouldn't be there and since they stopped taking or returning calls we just don't feel confident any longer. It has caused me a great deal of distress that it has cut into my job.

So to make a long story short the wife and I are moving to another builder. I was reffered by several people who buit with or have friends who built with a local builder to the area we are moving. We have a meeting on thursday and will know more after that. Fortunately for me I know just about every detail that is going into my house and I am prepared to reselect carpet and kitchen/bathroom stuff, but it won't take long.

I can't have someone spending $300k of my money on a project that doesn't call me back. We have no contract, and no committment to them. They are losing the sale, because they just didn't do the basic job requirement. Take care of the client and do the job right.

Wish me luck. Oh yeah everyone loves my house design adn I can't wait to put it into wood, and concrete.

 

[GlueGuy]

Re: \"The House\" $40K paint job? $110K GC fee?

Sounds like some negotiating is in store.

About 5 years ago, we had the whole house painted in preparation for sale. Our realtor recommended one guy (call him Mr. F.), she said he was the best in the valley. He quoted us $7500. We called around, and he was the high bid. We also got a bid from anothe guy (Mr. Q.), who quoted us $3500.

Well, we were about to go with Mr. Q., as we were just trying to spiff the house up for a sale, when Mr. F. called and said he really wanted the job. We said, no way, his price was too high. He said he would meet the low bid, and we told him what it was. He took it.

They took 7 days with a crew that ranged between 4 and 6 guys. Six days preparation, one day painting, and the job was terrific.

The only kicker on this was that it was 5 years ago. That said, it was also in Silicon Valley; a place that is not well known for "bargains"...

 

[Rodneyd]

Re:

I found a web site that might be of interest to many of you. I am in the process of starting to build a small house and will act as my own general contractor and subing out the work that I cann't do. The site is www.Get-A-Quote.net On the first page there is a pull-down menu that says "Select a Book". Click the menu and select the first item which I think is General Construction or something like that. This will then take you to another menu of every thing you could imagine to building your house from dirt to slab to roof. I t will give you national averages for material and labor costs. It will at least get you in the ballpark for planning purposes. The site is set up to sell their books but gives you access to all the information. Your specific area might be off but it will give you a sanity check on what your contractor is charging. For me the items were plus and minus maybe 10% to 20% but the bottom line came in about what the quotes are running. Keep in mind also, a custom house will tend to run more.

Rod

 

[webbmeister]

Re:

What a fantastic resource! Thanks! --Jim

 

[BillG_in_TX]

Re: ICF decision

<font color=blue>"At first I wanted to build our house with icfs"</font color=blue>

Dan,

I have read through your posts from last year regarding building with ICF. What changed your mind - the selection of a builder who isn't familiar with the product? Or other factors?

I'm considering ICF walls, so I'm curious.

 

[dmccarty]

Re: ICF decision

BillG49,

I still want/like ICFs. We decided against ICFs for a couple of different
reasons.

1-) The cost. All the literature says add 5% or more to the cost of the house.
Our current plan is really at the limit of what we can afford and 5% would
force us to leave off brick or something else.
2-) The builder has never used ICFs before. I think he can do it since he is a PE
and has lots of experience with concrete. The builders lack of experience
is not enough to stop us from using ICFs but it adds to the Don't Use ICF
List.
3-) We are building a passive solar house so we have lots of windows. I like
windows and I want to see the property we own so every room has at least
6 feet or more of windows. Some will have 12 feet or so. Since windows
are just holes in the wall for money to pour through, I started to wonder
why are we paying for ICFs for energy efficiency and then poke these huge
holes in the wall? Does not make sense to me.
4-) With 2x6 walls and the proper insulation we can get to the same R factor
as the ICFs.

Number 1 and 3 are the real heavy reasons for us to not use ICFs. I still would
like to use them but I'm not sure I can justify the cost.

There is a passive solar house at NC State University. My family went and visited
right after Christmas last year. It had been in the teens and low 20s for about a
week. The day we went it was in the low 20s. The house was built like a horse
shoe with the middle being a solar space. All interior rooms had a window/door
into the solar space. None of the windows/doors where opened to the solar space
that day and the temps in the rooms where in the 70s. The solar space was about
95 degrees. HOT! The solar water heater was generating 140 degree water.

So we got sold on Passive Solar ASAP. Plus NC has some tax credits than can be
applied for solar use. Its not much money and it depends on how much one pays
in state taxes but one can finagle things to pay for some solar features. Of
course you could build a house with ICFs and make it have Passive Solar features
BUT I dont see the ICF's saving me money over a wood frame house.

We REALLY want ICFs for the strength of the house. That has lots of points in
the Build With ICF column but there are more points in the Don't Use ICF list.

So, today, and this may change, /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif, we are not doing ICFs.

We got a call from our First Choice Builder and he is going to have surgery
and be out of work for all of April. So its possible we may have to
get a new builder and all of the above could change! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Hope this helps....
Dan McCarty