Way over do for a update. We had all the plans picked out and went to the general contractor who has built a different version of this plan before. He quoted us a price that met our expectations so we started the bidding process. First off we had to get the plans reviewed and stamped by an engineer, we mentioned we weren't in an extreme hurry as i was headed back out for a few months. Come back 4 months later and call him up to see where they're at with the process. Still doesn't even have the engineer plans for the truss loads and foundation specs. Probably shouldn't have said we were not in a big hurry but didn't mean we weren't ready to get moving. He ends up going with someone else but that takes 2 months. So by the time they get those finished It's time for me to go back to work. So while I'm gone the wife starts picking out flooring, counters, trim, etc... Middle of the road, nothing high end. The general then comes out to the building site with his excavator to bid the foundation and they see I'm starting to clear the site myself and advise me to stop, say I should leave it up to them. Big red flag for me!! The site is uneven and I have to take out a couple trees, part of the reason for buying the dozer, excavator and dump truck. They say it needs to be pretty precise which I understand but I'm not digging the foundation, only cutting the building site out. I then them I had purchased a -Spectra Precision Laser LL300-2 Automatic Self-leveling Laser Level, 10-Foot Grade Rod and Tripod Kit, and I could get the cut roughed in pretty close. They still insisted i stop. At this point I say nothing more and figure I'll just let him bid the project and go from there. So finally over a year later they have the final bid and sticker shock prevailed, not even close. First thing I notice is the generals percentage was 20% (we were under the impression from the start it was 15)and they also took a percentage of things we purchase on our own. We went through the entire bid with them and he was upfront and showed us the bids so I don't feel he's being dis-honest for the most part.
So after we leave I get ahold of another highly respected general who builds houses like these -
NW Natural Street of Dreams . We send him the plans and engineering specs, he comes out and looks at the site. When I explain what I'm doing to get the site ready, he says good idea and even gives me some advise to get through the permitting process with the county on the septic. They also have an in-house designer that will work with us free of charge. To top it off they only charge 15% of the total cost. We've now started the bidding process with them to see how they compare, but are reasonably certain we'll end up going with them.
Over a year has gone by with no progress on the house, frustrating but we don't want to be in too much of a hurry and overpay. I wanted to put the shop in but can't because it's going to go where the old house sits, and I can't tear that one down until the new one is built. County regulations, UGH.
I have been working on some other projects, updates to come.
