I am having a dialog with my sister right now. She and her husband want to have a small house built on their Adirondack property, and are seeking to shave costs by doing some of all elements of “finish” work themselves.
If you have built for owners per this kind of a program, how much upfront cost reduction, as compared to a complete finish, does the owner realize when getting a house that is fully finished outside, heating plant inside completely built and operational, fully roughed in electrically and mechanically, all walls and ceilings rocked, taped, mudded, and primed, but bare beyond that.
Put a portable toilet on site, or install a cheapie toilet in one of the baths, and it can look like your jobsite, right after your rocker has finished his as-usual excellent job of rock, prime, and eat-off-the-floor cleanup.
That means that furnishing and installing all lighting fixtures, inside millwork including doors, hardware, plumbingware, cabinetry, all running trim and accents, staircase finish, floor finish materials, plus of course all painting, staining, etc., is not in your scope, but left to the owner to do at his own pace.
For an “ordinary” small house, 1700 sf, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, how much might that take out of your price to the owners?
And please, don’t give us all the caveats about how much the owners won’t really save because they are electing to do this themselves. A lot of people are wise enough to realize this, but seek a shell build so as to minimize their up front costs. They get the house they want, now, have a warm and dry place to camp in while they perform their at-their-own-pace finish, and can pay for that finish from future income stream, instead of from savings or financing.
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I think it's a great program for the homeowner but the savings will be small.
Lets say a builder is shooting 20% markup but usually ends up with 10-15%.
Your scenario leaves roughly 25% of the total outlay for the homeowners.
At $100 per sf, the total outlay would be 170k. 25% of that would be 42k and 15% of 42k is $6k
So, although the savings would be minimal in areas where house are 100k (here), the program still makes sense for the other variety of reasons you've stated.
I would guess that the shell finished to sheet rock is going to be 60% of the total costs.
Savings maybe 35-40% on the remaining 40% of the project.
Basing this on the fact floor coverings, cabinets, fixtures are a major portion of the cost of a job.
Also depends on whether owners are accounting their labor as having $ value. If not then careful shopping, combined with no markup and their own labor will yield a high return.
Costs of filing and paying for the divorce due to the stress not included in calculations. ;-)
Please include me in this dialog. My wife and I are considering doing this same thing. We want to relocate but are finding it difficult to purchase the "right" house. We want a small house with all living area for us on the ground floor. There needn't be an upstairs although enough for a guest bedroom and bath would be OK. I'm very adept at building in all the trades but I specialize in furniture and custom (very high end) furnishings and the rare cabinet job. I don't want to do foundation, framing, etc. All that takes too much energy and the years have passed when I had it.
So my question: How would I approach builders with this project? Are builders likely to embrace it or shun it? What talking points ought to be covered that are especially important to a project like this? And finally (for now), would the degree of completion matter a lot to the contractor? That is, if we simply had the house framed, roofed, windows and exterior doors installed with ALL interior work to be finished by us, would this be taking too much of the good stuff away from the contractor?
Thanks for any insights.
We are the type of company that likes that arrangement so we would be enthusiastic about working with you. Other contractors will be hesitant. Avoid them. Find someone that is enthusiastic about it.
Your project would appeal to many builders, especially those who frame and sub out everything else. Sure, there's less to be made on a "smaller" project, but many of a builders headaches come after the shell. I'm guessing that there's plenty of builders who would welcome tidy little 8-week project.
Approach builders with exactly what you stated here. You'll quickly learn who would embrace vs. shun.
When you say "relocate" are you moving across the country or just downsizing in your hometown?
One thing you don't want to overlook is who is going to clean up the site after the framing is done. Most whole house costs include final grading, landscaping, etc. You sound willing to do the interior finish but are you also willing to do the finish dirt work?
Relocate means moving from one state to another. We are now in the beginnings of looking for a lot or a house, whichever comes first I guess. There are many unknowns yet to be found and figured out. We would probably be renting during the construction period. The thought of being an absentee contractee (is that a real term?) sort of gives me the shivers!That's a good heads-up about the cleanup and site work. Something to put into the contract, to be sure. Thanks.
From where to where?
Joe H
My wife and I are finishing a project similar to what you propose right now. I approached it by going through a SIP's fabricator who not only helped with fabrication of the SIP's for the shell but had contractors they had worked with in the area for the part of the process that was beyond my abilities. I still wound up being the general, but I did have a system that helped to keep it organized and do-able.A year later... We did manage to get occupancy in just under 6 mo and of course are still finishing trim details and some spaces that were left unfinished in the rush to close.Savings... Yikes! We probably have a house that is valued at 125%+ of the dough I rolled into it. However we still managed to run well over the budget and wound up pulling a bigger mortgage than we really should have.Can you save?... Only if you are fanatical at keeping to the original budget and willing to say no to those frills and square footage that really are excess (and the gods of the economy smile on you).Do it again?... Really mixed feelings. Took a real hit on the economy based issues like starting the process just months before the market submarined and being past the point of no return. (but that's whole 'nother topic.) Still really loved living the dream of being the big shot on my own home building process. Do love the house.