I am going to have a house custom built in the next year. I was wondering if I could save alot of money by only having the builders do the frame and having contractors come in for electric and plumbing and basically doing all the interior work (drywall, painting, tileing, flooring, etc.) myself. If so about how much would I be saving?
2007-08-04 13:49:51 · 7 answers · asked by Jason K 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
Jason,
You asked a good question and it deserves a good answer. Unlike the other responders I will tell you no. No you will not save money doing this work yourself and this is why; the subcontractors that perform services like drywall, tiling, casework, trim, doors and flooring have accounts with suppliers that allow them to purchase materials and equipment at discount prices that will be unavailable to you. In other words, they can perform the work for nearly the same cost you can purchase the material for. In addition to purchasing material you will need to purchase or rent the tools to install the material. Trust me, you will not save money by doing this work yourself.
Over the years I have received about a dozen calls from people that got in over their head and need help getting their project completed. I have always turned them down, because there was no money to be made and I didn't want to get in the mddle of someones mess. There would have been no way to warranty the work when they did part of it and I did a part of it. The best advise I can give you is don't go there!
But there is an upside to doing it yourself and that is when your done (not saving money) you will have a garage full of tools that will be useful for future projects.
I would also caution agaist acting like the builder and hiring the contractors yourself in an effort to save money. Remember that these subcontractor will be more loyal to the builders that they have a working relationship with than they will be to an indivual try to be a builder. You will get real frustrated with them when they don't show up because their taking care of another builder.
I hope you take this advise. Good luck!
2007-08-04 17:16:49 · answer #1 · answered by kansas_jay_hawks 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can save more if you buy a house that is already built and in need of a complete renovation. So long as you can live in it during the renovation so you don't have to pay rent and a mortgage, the savings are increased.
Just somethng to think about.
2007-08-04 14:06:38 · answer #2 · answered by billy brite 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I did this in 1980. Hired a contractor to frame the house, put on roof and siding, had the plumbing and rough wiring installed by pros.
Me and my wife did insulation, installed outlets and fixtures, hung and finished drywall, hung doors, put up molding, built porches- you get the idea.
Yes, we saved a few thousand dollars. It interfered with my job, took a long, long time, took 10 years off our lives, I think.
If I had it to do over, I wouldn't.
2007-08-04 17:59:27 · answer #3 · answered by donmohan2 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You would save a major amount of money, enough to easily cover the extra effort you would need to put in. Be warned however that it is going to turn out to be a lot of effort to earn back that extra money.
If you have the skills it is a great idea. Even if you can't do all of it you could do easy stuff like tiling and painting.
2007-08-04 14:08:03 · answer #4 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You would save quite a bit. The more you do, the more you will save. Don't forget the finish carpentry. If you can do to, great. Plan on it taking a lot longer than having it done.
2007-08-04 16:43:49 · answer #5 · answered by John himself 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You will save a good amt of money, if you have the time to do as much as you can youself, will also take longer to get a finished product, so you deceide.
2007-08-04 13:57:26 · answer #6 · answered by jmada05 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You bet you can save money by doing it yourself.......
2007-08-04 13:55:58 · answer #7 · answered by dorton girl 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋