Building a stick frame house in the woods in 90 days

[Obed]

Tight time deadlines can significantly affect quality in the build process. When we were getting ready to build our house, the county had evicted us from the lot on which we were living in our camper. I personnally believe the lot was properly zoned properly for living in a camper but that's another story. We had a hard deadline to move our camper off the rented lot so we were feeling pressure.

Early into our build, we saw signs that the guy we hired as a construction manager and framer was not going to be great. My wife and I discussed firing him early on. However, we did not fire him at that time. Firing him would cause delays which could prevent us from moving our camper onto the new property, ie. no electricity yet. If we didn't move the camper off the rented lot, the fines could be up to $500/day based on the letter sent to us from the county. Thus we kept the guy and paid dearly for it in stress and money for redoing stuff he messed up.

Looking back, we should have just rented a house to take the time pressure off of our building project. Having plenty of time to pick quality contractors/subcontractors can make a big difference. In our project, the quality of workers increased significantly after we fired the initial construction manager/framer. By then, we were living on our land in our camper and had less pressure to build at a fast pace. We got better at picking subs and also at firing them early if needed.

However, if you have tight deadlines like Pete has had, you may not have the option of picking the best high quality contractor but have to limit your search to contractors who are available. Often, the best people are busy so you have to get in line for their services. If you need to start NOW, the better workers may not be available.

Obed

 

[rtimgray]

I think everybody knows the following axiom: "Good, quick, and cheap: pick two." There are sometimes exception, but they aren't common.

 

[FairfaxStu]

I think everybody knows the following axiom: "Good, quick, and cheap: pick two." There are sometimes exception, but they aren't common.

I don't think I have ever heard that but it makes sense. I prefer excellence, am willing to pay for it, and I don't care how long it takes. Granted my view of things are very much skewed because I have never actually built my own house. However, I have contracted substantial renovations and added an addition to my house while I was living in it - $270K worth. Let us just sit back and wait for Peter to post again. I suspect that will not be very soon as Peter and the builder have a lot of work to do over the next few days.
-Stu

 

[FairfaxStu]

Tight time deadlines can significantly affect quality in the build process. If you need to start NOW, the better workers may not be available.
Obed

Very true my friend. My "door" project is just now complete. I started talking with my builder in November of last year so that is 6 months for a secure door. In my case, I cannot blame the builder at all. Everything seemed easy but was not - even the door and frame were custom made.

In Peter's case, the builder made the grandios claim that he could do it in 90 days. Peter is just doing what is his right as a consumer and holding them to that claim as best he can.
-Stu

 

[rtimgray]

I've greatly enjoyed watching this thread, and overall am very impressed. Usually, the devil is in the details, although there are a few things bigger than details regarding this project. I've built the current home that we are living in from scratch, doing everything from the excavation for the basement, footers, basement walls, framing, roofing, siding, HVAC, elec,plumbing (you get the idea). My favorite part of the project was that I (well, me and my wife) had total control and final say on every detail every step of the way, because we were the ones doing it. The most obvious penalty for this luxury was the time it took - it took right at three years to take the house from bare earth to move-in-able (not finished -still working on that). However, we are fortunate enough that we were able to build with saved money and are debt free, so there were no loan-based time constraints either.

Right now, we are working on a 1,500 sq. ft. addition (almost another house), and we are just past a year into it, and pretty much on the schedule we had planned. Again, we don't run into issues of being dissatisfied with which sink or which fixture or electric box cover was installed, because we picked it out. Once again, we pay a great price in expediency for this, but we feel it is a good trade. At the same time, when something does go wrong (like say, someone runs a drywall screw into a pipe that someone didn't put a metal plate over), I know exactly who each "someone" was, and who has to fix it.

From my experience working with a couple of church additions where I did not do the work but assisted with the design, the more you can spell out in the contract documents, the better off you are. When we provided specifications for the contractors to bid on, we including model numbers and cut sheets for sinks, fixtures, toilets, dishwashers, range, microwave, floor coverings, doors, etc. It took a lot of time up front, but I have learned that there are very few mind readers that are also in the business of general contracting.

In the end, I think that the house of the OP's Mom is/will be beautiful and many of the minor flaws are noticed under a microscope, but would likely be overlooked and never noticed if someone were to walk in the house after all was said and done (again, there may be exceptions); and of course, I think the OP and his Mother should end up satisfied. After all, it's their house/their money, so they are the ultimate customers.

Good luck and take care.

 

[rtimgray]

double post - sorry

 

[pclausen]

I think I finally got things heading in the right direction. Painters still have a couple of days left to get the trim as close to perfect as I want it to be. They may even have to come back once or twice after Monday (move in date) to do a final bit of touch up on a corner or two. Final inspection is scheduled for tomorrow morning, and I believe we're ready.

Living room has final colors on the walls. It is a green with grey undertones to match the rock work. Colors don't look right in this pic with this lighting. It looks a lot better in person.

End wall by dining area retained its blue color

Dishwasher and sink

Cooktop

Microwave/oven combo

Soffit modifications (still need more work, but starting to look right)

Master bedroom

I'm okay with how they "cheated" to hide the floor being out of square. I don't think this will jump out the the average person at this point

Master bath

Guest bedroom

Guest bath

Laundry area. I'd like to get the washer/dryer closer to the wall. Will need to investigate. Installing a different countertop with a proper sink is still on the final punch list

Detail of how the railing wrapping the stairs was done. Still need another coat or two.

Stairs themselves. Still need work, but getting closer.

View from basement

Water heater. Fair, but that non vertical drain from the compressor will need to be fixed.

Breaker panel. I had the electrician write the designations on a temporary piece of paper to pass final.

Moving outside, the propane was connected today and the generator is now online. I'll get the painter to paint the iron pipes to match the siding color.

Railing has been painted

Found an alternative to the deep covers for the exterior receptacles that are code compliant. They pull out like a harmonica when in use.

Rock work is finally moving forward again.

Basement walls have been painted to match siding

Basement door has had the proper stain applied. Still needs 2 applications of clear coat. Front door and garage door will be stripped down and have the same stain applied.

I was busy cutting trees

Deer fence arrived today. That's just under 3000 lbs sitting there! I hope to be able to start installing it by Saturday or Sunday.

 

[dhagood]

you're getting very close to the finish line, and things are looking up. thanks for taking all of us along with you during your mom's house build.

 

[radrock]

Well Peter time is getting close to being finished. I have not posted anything to this thread but have watched is from almost the beginning. I've seen your ups and downs but it seems to have turned out pretty nice. (Still waiting on your replacement cabinets). Thank you for all your pictures and entertainment you have provided for everyone. It has been very informative.

George

 

[deathtoblackberries]

Its looking pretty good now, the dishwasher opening and cabinet end panel mismatch are not acceptable. I can't imagine how this house would look if you were not there doing their job for them all this time. Congrats on it coming together!