contracts, materials, temp power pole.........................

and a bunch of mexicans so you can save a buck

What kind of contracts?

Um...the house plans? LOL, sorry, I just couldn't resist.

Blessings,
Haley

HAHA! You guys are great!

Booze, advil, band-aids ;)

A sense of humor, a grasp on what battles are important (we can help with that here,) and a grounding in the relative importance of things vs relationships.

You already have BAH :)

Here's a link that might help:

Here is a link that might be useful: ob'ing

-Construction insurance?

-Patience and reasonable expectations for your time schedule with some time away from the project figured in. Chiroptera mama is right on the money with some very good advice.

Jumping through the hoops and red tape for power, phone, cable, etc. took way longer than we thought, so fill out all the paperwork ridiculously early. We already had power to the former residence on the property, so thought that part would be fairly easy and quick...NOT. But I'm sure that changes with the area and providers you have.

Take lots of pictures and allow yourself excellent, accurate tools for any of your sweat equity.

Mmike0032 said: "and a bunch of mexicans so you can save a buck"

Excuse me???

Don't forget Workers Compensation insurance and a large liability policy co-joined with a builders risk policy. You are legally responsible to carry work comp for anyone who is injured on your site and without a corporate shield you will be liable for their injuries also. Since you have decided to GC your own project you should do the research and understand what being a GC is....we don't just stand around and wait for a check. We make sure EVERYONE is paid,(are you collecting lien waivers?) safe (do you know how and when roofers need to wear harnesses, or when safety glasses are required?) and completing their work to a quality standard( I know you don't know this) that will keep your house together for a long time. Without the knowledge of what the above entails.....

I also have to add my agreement to some of the other GC's in the forum. Why do people think we get paid to build houses? If it were easy, everyone would do it!

Good luck and don't take the insurance advice lightly or your could lose everything you own.

I suggest consulting an attorney to make sure you have your ducks in a row concering your legal and financial risks. Don't forget that if you employ someone, you may be required to make SS payments. You may also have to file withholding with the IRS.

It's one thing to hire a business to do something. It's quite another to hire an individual. I believe that the IRS has publications that cover and clarify which is which.

Did I write clarify and IRS in the same sentence? Must be getting late. :-)

If you hire sub's make sure they have the required workmans comp insurance (then you won't need it). A 1 million liability insurance is cheap and to add on to your course of construction insurance (it was $8 a month for us to upgrade from 300K to 1Mil). As long as you hire subs, you do not have to pay any SS or tax withholdings.

If you need labor, you can hire cash under-the-table, through a temp agency, or find a contractor friend and offer to pay his payroll and tax costs above and beyond the hourly wage of needed labor.

It is tuff to GC and DIY a lot of the work. It is also fun and rewarding.

All the subs we have contracted are bonded and have insurance. We are not dealing with any individuals. These are very reputable builders who do all the work for the major GC in our area. They know codes, work with each other and are great at working their schedules together. Example: The slab guys, and plumper, and framer have just completed working together on the framer's house.

I already have builder's risk and i think 1 million liability. Now if I can just get the electric company to get the temp. pole up.... haha

Thanks for all the advice. Keep it coming!

in my area the electric company does not put up the temp pole. you have to hire an electrician to erect the equiptment and then the electric company will only connect the power to it.

You didn't mention sewer hookup or other septic arrangements. Pipe placement needs to be determined before the foundation is dug. If a septic field is involved, it's easier to get that done before the house foundation.

Do read sierraeast's link. All of it. Even the parts you are sure don't apply to your build.

And then we'd like to see the floorplan. It's ever so much easier --and cheaper-- to make changes on paper. Once the foundation is dug, figure that you will pay 5x the going rate for any change, so don't do it. Whether or not you agreee with the comments, there is truth in the adage about what fresh eyes see.

Contracts -- anything that is written and signed in agreement between you and someone else; in construction everything involves your money, as stated in the contract. If it isn't written (and in detail) and signed in agreement by all involved parties, then don't expect to get it. That goes for everything from the drainage under the foundation to whether or not there's a chimney cap. Never, never, never sign for anything that is written in generalities, and never sign for anything that doesn't have a specific price quoted. Estimates are estimates and very handy to have, but you want a detailed bill of lading before getting out your wallet. If it involves earthmoving (foundations, wells, septic, retaining walls, driveway), you won't know the total cost until the job is done, but you should know what the labor charges are based on and have a guesstimate from the contractor. And when the job is completed, don't be surprised at having to pay double the guesstimate. BTW, a lot of folks are pretty casual about have the bulldozer guy do some landscaping or shrub-moving while he's shoving out the driveway. Please remember that he is smiling in agreement at all your requests while planning to charge extra for them -- and that is fair!

... extra money in the bank. It inevitably ends up costing more. :)

And if you are not a smoker/drinker, now may be a good time to start.

(Just kidding!)

.....haha! Here is where we stand:

Building Permit
Water and electrical at site.
Dirt work is FINISHED!
Got Insurance
Have contracted: foundation, framer, plumber, electrician, brick mason, roofer (shingles are going up in our area, so these have been ordered)
We have accounts with the lumber yard and plumbing supply company.
Construction loan is ready for draws
Bricks on order
Windows and doors on order
Custom cabinets on the books to be made in about 2 months

We have several friends who are DIY owner/builders and they have put us in touch with excellent subcontractors who are very reliable and bonded.

Here is our schedule:

Foundation/rough in plumbing - 3rd week July
Scoring for acid staining on bottom floors- 4th week July
Framing- 1st week August
Roof/Brick- end of Aug-1st of Sept.
Interior - plumber- electrical-security system -Sept.
Drywall, painting, flooring, driveway poured- October
November- finishing carpentry, cabinets, appliances,lighting, plumbing fixures, etc.
December- dirtwork for landscaping, hope to move in middle to end of December

OKAY, OKAY, I know this is a pipe dream, but I gotta have a goal right? How unrealisitic is this? Here is the floor plan.

Added 3rd car garage and open patio from the keeping room to the end of the house.

What ya think?

Wow. 5 months? Wow. We hired very few subs and did much ourselves, so our project doesn't really compare. We are to 2 years and still have trim and some cabinets to do... If you can do this in anything close to 5 months, I'm very excited and happy for you...But I'd also be surprised. I think my sister's 1-story house (about the size of your main floor) took about that long, but it was in a development, matching a lot of other houses in the development, so the builder and subs had the plan down to a science, and the subs were able to jump from one house to another precisely when needed. I do wish you the very best, and hope it all goes according to plan! :-) Please keep us updated!

OOps here is the 2nd floor. I hope we can move along.

rhome: Did you sub everything out? How long before you moved in? Did you move in prior to finishing?

We hired very few subs, and did most on our own, which is why I said our situation didn't really compare to yours. There were long gaps of little progress during the year when dh had to concentrate on his day job. We moved in when we had the certificate of occupancy, but there were/are things still being finished...Some of the cabinets, cabinet painting, interior window trim, etc., etc.

We poured the footings on July 30, 2006. We started sleeping in our bedrooms, but still officially living in the single wide mobile home that was here when we bought the property, this past Christmas when we got heat. We got the Certificate of Occupancy and really started moving in, cooking and eating here, etc. Feb. 26th of this year. We still have a long list of tasks and our 2nd anniversary of actual building will be in 15 days.

Wowzers!! Love your floor plan -- looks like what I *wish* we were doing...haha :) -- mine is the baby sister to yours. We started today with excavating, so we will be on a similar track -- race ya! haha!! No no no, can't go into it with that attitude. We are telling ourselves it will take 9 months *though we are secretly hoping for six..shhh...don't tell*. There is no way I will tell myself I'll be in the first week of December, because I happen to be a holiday nazi - if Christmas came and went and I was let down, I'd probably be in the fetal position for weeks!! Here's to Christmas '09!! :o)

PS - You've done a great job thinking ahead. Your list has given me a couple of things to check on. Thanks!!

jnjmom- I do not know if your keeping room has a vaulted ceiling, but we are not vaulting it... we are going to make the "vaulted" area as a walk in attic space off the loft. Our framer said it was a great idea. Also, we are taking out the door in the keeping room and putting in french doors in place of the windows in the great room. We are also taking out the great room fireplace. I want the wall space for furniture. :) Let me know your ideas too!

:) Okay.... the race is on...haha....(not really)! Are ya'll sub'in everything out?

mdc - well, this is the part where the *wish* comes in :o) The original plan I was hoping to build had a keeping room, however, that got axed really early on. Unfortunately my DH saw the exact plan without the keeping room and figured it would be more in our budget...sigh...

Your ideas sound well thought out. When you say Great Room, I guess you are talking about the Family room? I'm surprised the Laundry area isn't bigger, but I am drooling over your pantry!!

Well, since we had a redneck style fire going on after the clearing of the land today, we are technically winning ;o) Yes, we are sub'ing out everything (unless we run out of $$$ - hmmm, never poured a driveway before...). We, too, have several OB friends, and we have found our subs much more willing to work with OBs than we thought -- of course, ask me again in 6mos.

Like rhome, we did our own. My husband did not have to concentrate on his day job though and my father spend about 20 hours a week working with us too.

We broke ground May 4, 2007 and we moved in on March 21, 2008. We moved in before the house was finished and it was still 11 months to get to that point.

I'm sure your subcontractors can work more quickly than my DH and my Dad but there are often delays with scheduling which we didn't have to deal with and we didn't really take any days off.

I hope you can get it done in 5 months but I would be prepared it could take longer.

I couldn't help noticing that the subject of this thread is DYI Owner/Builder (not DIY).

Does that stand for Do Yourself In?

HAHAHAHA................. I certainly hope not! Okay need positive suggestions for that acronym~~~ I say it is "Deductible yearly interest"....HA...if ONLY!

How about Doubling Your Investment?

Woo Hoo!!!

Add to your list of things you need:

A good strong marriage (believe me...this will test it)
A lot of patience
willingness to bend a little
Vision

My DH and I are in our 5th or 6th year of our DIY build. I don't remember exactly when we pulled the permit. We are paying as we go, so it has taken a while to do this. We have done most of the work ourselves. DH is disabled, so I have done much of it with the help of friends for things too hard to do alone (like standing walls, setting trusses, etc). This weekend, I'll be laying the quartersawn white oak flooring. Cabinets should arrive in the next 3 weeks or so, then we will get the granite countertops going. Appliances are on order...some have already arrived. This is our 3rd and last build. This is my forever home so it has to be perfect. Building it yourself is SO incredibly satisfying and also very hard work but when you are done you will have a home you can be very proud of. Best of luck to you!!

cindy

Cindy -- You are officially amazing. Wow.

They delivered the lumber, rebar and wire to the site today..........we offically begin construction tomorrow! Went to the lot today because they are turning the foundation slightly so that it faces the road. We are subbing everything out but painting, floors, hanging fixures and trim work. Fingers crossed!!!

Wow- I have enjoyed the comments! You are amazing people!

I will keep you posted.

mdc - we did the stake out today as well - sheesh! stress city! It's so hard to tell how it's really going to look.

They started digging our basement today. Going back through your posts, I guess you aren't doing a basement. Crap - that means as of tomorrow you'll be winning!!

jnjmom- They dug footings, framed out the outer edge of the foundation today. Went and stood in my house...haha! I am so glad I added the 3rd car garage to it and I also added a long porch across the back of the house (from the keeping room to the end of the house). Monday the plumber comes to rough in and the pest control company treats foundation. Tuesday finish the foundation...rebar, wire...etc. and we pour concrete on Wednesday! HEHE!!! I will post pictures soon! Can not wait to hear about your week ahead.

Frank Betz sells this floor plan under many different names with slightly different elevations. I have it in my "future home" files as Piedmont Park (which I love the exterior of) and also as Eddings which has a slightly larger floor plan. At one time I considered using the Eddings floor plan and the Piedmont Park exterior for our next house. It's still an option but I'm sure I will change my mind a million times before we build.

Which version are you building? Candler Park?

homeagain- We are building Candler park with many changes.
1. The exterior windows are changed to rectangular transom. We took out the curved porch look too. Look at Frank Betz house.... Greythorne... to see what I am taking about. I like the straight line look.

2. We added 3rd garage, this also added more sq foot to bonus room.

3. We took out the fireplace in great room and put in two sets of double french doors in place of the windows.

4. We added an open porch area beginning from the keeping room- extending to the end of the house (behind master)

5. We changed the foyer window to 5 ft. width- same as door, which we went with a mahagony double 6 lite arched door.

6. We added a window to the side of the master bedroom.... just needed it to even up the windows in the room.

7. We are not vaulting the ceiling in the keeping room so that we can floor above for a walk in attic space. We will have an entrance to it from the loft area.

8. We changed windows in the back from arched to rectangular transom.

These may not be all, but are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. We looked at 10,000 house plans and were ready to have someone draw some up, and stumbled upon this houseplan. With the changes we made with adding the extra garage, we increased the sq. ft. to @ 3380. Let me know what plan you chose. The different subcontractors have all commented on the easy of building Frank Betz homes. I just love the flow and openness of the plan.

We have a slab and PASSED our 1st inspection!!!! We are scoring the slab next week....staining the floors on the bottom. I have already ordered doors and windows because the framer wants them here when he starts in 2 weeks. Moving along!

Congratulations on your progress! Keep us informed and post pictures as your progress. I would very much like to see how this plan comes together.

mdc......sounds like it's going very well...congrats! You might want to consider having your elec. hang the very high chandeliers and fans. I watched my elec. do it....and it was hair raising just watching him do it. You have to be a acrobat to try it!! Plus.....it can be VERY high up there.

Thanks all, No way will I hang from the rafters to hang the chandelier! We are thinking of staining the bottom floors. What is your thoughts about this? HONESTY appreciated!!!

We will start framing MONDAY! Aug. 11th!!
Post pictures soon!

jnmom- how is the build coming?

mdc -- glad to hear it's going well! I thought we were going to begin framing on Monday as well, but it looks like our framer is hung up a week. It's going to work out ok for us though as we are slated to get rain tomorrow and the first of next week and we still need to get our slab poured and waterproof the basement.

Fun! Fun!

I have a suggestion. Once your floors are stained, make sure you cover them with cardboard for protection. They make some type of temporary 4x8 cardboard sheets for this purpose. I can't remember what they are called. If you don't cover them, they will get amazingly beat up and covered with paint, wallboard mud, etc.

paco- thanks for the suggestion. my floor guy said he would cover them after staining, then when everything is in place he will put the polyurethene on them. What do you think of stained floors?

Here are the progress pictures!!!

[IMG]http://i36.tinypic.com/2dlmdl0.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i38.tinypic.com/3326ycm.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i34.tinypic.com/2cr3k9t.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i37.tinypic.com/2w2gfva.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i38.tinypic.com/2552c00.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i33.tinypic.com/j8lbpv.jpg[/IMG]

Let me try again.....

Our lot

Ready for concrete

Foundation

Pump truck... lots of concrete!

framing begins

View from great room.... 2 sets of double french doors

Looking good!! They are moving right along!

What a gorgeous view!!

Thanks!

We love just going out to the lot and looking at the lake! I can not wait until I wake up and can drink my coffee on the porch~....