Drywall contractor wants to bankrupt me!

[MoArk Willy]

I had a small addition put on my home about 15 years ago....approx. 20 X 20.
The GC hired a couple of drywallers to do the work one night. The room had a 16' cathedral ceiling.
These two guys had a pair of wooden step ladders and a plank, a couple of screw guns and a 12 pack.
3 hours later the job was finished and so was the 12 pack.
I did peek in on them a few times until I couldn't take it any more. A 200 pound guy running up a plank carrying a sheet of drywall and a screw gun is frightening at best.
No damage, no injury.....just a dozen beer cans....which they picked up when they left.
They usually do a 1200 square foot house in less than a day....just the two of them. And their portion of the bill was about $250.
I couldn't and wouldn't do it myself for 3 times that amount.

 

[dnw64]

I had a small addition put on my home about 15 years ago....approx. 20 X 20.
The GC hired a couple of drywallers to do the work one night. The room had a 16' cathedral ceiling.
These two guys had a pair of wooden step ladders and a plank, a couple of screw guns and a 12 pack.
3 hours later the job was finished and so was the 12 pack.
I did peek in on them a few times until I couldn't take it any more. A 200 pound guy running up a plank carrying a sheet of drywall and a screw gun is frightening at best.
No damage, no injury.....just a dozen beer cans....which they picked up when they left.
They usually do a 1200 square foot house in less than a day....just the two of them. And their portion of the bill was about $250.
I couldn't and wouldn't do it myself for 3 times that amount.

So, just drywall?

I can put up drywall no problem. I'm sure a pro will be much faster, but I'm fine doing it myself.

Finishing it is a horse of a different color. Or, more accurately, a different animal, more like a unicorn. I can do it. And have, but it's like watching an average 2 year-old writing their name.

 

[MoArk Willy]

I have done a lot of drywall...years ago. Finishing was never my strong suit though. I worked a lot of small side jobs that required a bit of everything. Now I'm retired but still doing a lot of side jobs that require a bit of everything...go figure. But a few things I won't do include painting, anything with roofing cement and I limit what I will do with plumbing. But PEX is my new friend if I have to do plumbing.
Back to the OP...I think the demands of the rockers are a bit out of the ordinary. It's foolish to drywall a house or any structure until it is able to be closed in. Modern lumber and material are fairly stable. I can see wanting the temperature up for mudding, finishing and painting but even that doesn't take months to cure. But in a million dollar build there are a lot of trades who think you can afford anything and price accordingly.

 

[s219]

I have done a lot of drywall over the years. While a builder was were building our new home, I was finishing the bonus room in our old home before it went on the market to sell. Did the ceiling and walls of the bonus room, and one closet (what a pain) by myself. It came out great but was a lot of work, I mean a lot, even with a full complement of drywall tools and drywall screwguns I had inherited from my dad.

One day I happened to be up at our new house and saw the two-man drywall crew slap up a sheet on the garage ceiling, and they made it look easy-peasy. To say I was impressed was an understatement. They worked well together, and had the magic touch with tools. They would get the sheet in place by hand, tack it up with a few nails in strategic places, and then finish it off with a screwgun. I can't nail upside down on a ceiling without a lot of concentration, and these guys were tapping in nails lickety-split.

I don't know what is state-of-the-art nowadays, but the old screwguns my dad gave me, from the 1980s, were "Black&Decker Professional" brand (back when that was an actual pro tool brand), with a slip clutch and adjustable depth tip. I'd press the trigger and lock it to keep the motor running. As fast as you could feed it, you could drive screws to the perfect depth and keep moving. That part was easy!

 

[dnw64]

Did the ceiling and walls of the bonus room, and one closet (what a pain) by myself.

Closets are the WORST! Far higher seam/SF ratio, and once you're done and they get filled with stuff no one sees them anyways!

I don't know what is state-of-the-art nowadays, but the old screwguns my dad gave me, from the 1980s, were "Black&Decker Professional" brand (back when that was an actual pro tool brand), with a slip clutch and adjustable depth tip. I'd press the trigger and lock it to keep the motor running. As fast as you could feed it, you could drive screws to the perfect depth and keep moving. That part was easy!

Now they have autoloading guns...

 

[plowhog]

Just got my first electric bill since the heaters started getting used. I'm not exactly sure, but I would guess the heaters were used for maybe half the bill cycle.

The typical electric bill during construction has been running about $90/mo. This bill was $510. Now I am wondering if the GC's guess of a $1,000/mo electric bill was close?

It's interesting how the "feel" of the house changes as it goes together. When it was framed up but you could see through the walls, it looked ENORMOUS. And with no windows in place the views in every direction were terrific. Not complaining in the slightest, as we are building a big beautiful house, but slap the windows in and some sheetrock on and it "feels" smaller. Oh well less to heat!!

ps It's 68F in the house with about 30% humidity.

 

[MoArk Willy]

Why are you responsible for the electric bill during construction? On a million dollar house the contractor should have figured that cost in on his end. Many many years ago when we built homes we didn't use generators.
We would ask the neighbors if we could use a couple of outlets of theirs with a long cord and offer to pay their electric bills. If we used a hose we paid their water bill. We never expected the homeowner to pay for any utilities until they took possession. A contractor capable of building a million dollar home should have generators capable of handling any load during construction.

 

[plowhog]

Why are you responsible for the electric bill during construction? On a million dollar house the contractor should have figured that cost in on his end.

We went a non-traditional route. We bought a fabulous piece of property with an older home of about 4,000 ft. We intended to remodel it; however, one thing led to another, then another and another, and as costs to remodel tripled and then more, we looked at building new. We eventually tore down almost the entire house, keeping the basement and garage only, and then built brand new 2x6 construction with high ceilings, all the modern new stuff, plus added a new master suite of about 1,000ft. Before any of that was done I upgraded the 200a service to 400a and built a large garage at the rear of the property, including an office and bath. It also has a 125a subpanel and RV hookups. So the electricity never went "off." And we use some of that electricity when at the property staying in the RV during construction.

Every builder we consulted advised us to tear the entire structure down and fill in and compact the basement. We resisted that and I am glad we did. The basement is +/- 1,000 sq ft and it has turned out really nice with the way we revised access, added a bathroom, and freshened it up as brand new. We look at that as almost "free" square footage although that's not completely right. Fortuantely we had a good foundation/floor plan to work with, and a creative architect. We are very pleased that the architect was able to design a really nice home within the constraints of the existing foundation we kept.

 

[MoArk Willy]

I completely understand. Remodeling and new construction are different animals. You are doing fine though. It's a learning process working with the trades and the GC. But one thing I can tell you is to never talk to the trades yourself with a complaint or any other issue. That is all for the GC to worry about. The minute you interfere with them personally you are opening a can of worms. Now the ones you may have hired personally (contractors) that's a different story. But all in all the GC is the only person they want to talk to about concerns, changes etc. But best of luck on your project. It will be done before you know it and all of these issues will be ancient history.

 

[plowhog]

But one thing I can tell you is to never talk to the trades yourself with a complaint or any other issue.

I have given many of the tradespeople high praise for doing very nice work. The GC has worked in the market for many years, so the subs have all been very solid. No weak links at least so far.

I agree that I would not criticize a sub directly-- if needed route it back to the GC. My father was in construction for decades (union) so I have a bit of a construction background even if I don't have the knowledge to their level.