I just came across The Owner-Builder Book website and have already learned a lot. Lisa Riley

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More Updated Photos

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 9/16/2009

Here are more updated photos.

Photos

View front inside the bumpout, which is one of the kids rooms	View from the other kids room	Our SUN TUNNELS. In the two main bathrooms, the kids and the master.
The back of the house	Deck is taking shape.	View from the backyard
This picture really shows the cathedral ceiling on the deck.	The basement entryway	The garage side of the house is completely finished.

Finishing Up the Odds and Ends

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 4/8/2008

Been awhile since I've posted. We have been busy enjoying the new house, well at least the inside. The past two weeks, the mason has been coming by when the weather is nice, and he is finishing the brickwork on the pillars of our back deck/patio. Of course, in Pennsylvania it could be 55 today and 30 with snow tomorrow, so it really is hit or miss.

We did figure out that it was easier to build our house than it was to get cable and phone, believe it or not. My job requires that I have high-speed internet, so during our year of pre-planning that we went to Comcast and made sure we'd be okay, since we are in a rural area. Of course, they said we'd have no problem. Well, no problem if we wanted basic cable and nothing else. It seems that our lines on the road are old and they support very little. So finally after about three weeks, I got cable/internet, but we scrapped the cable TV. We decided to go with DirectTV. That was a whole different kind of headache altogether. My one word of advice is DO NOT GO THROUGH THE NATIONAL DIRECTTV SITE... Go through a local dealer, trust me. After about three weeks we finally got it and as a sports fan, I love it.

We wired the house for every known possible need that we could ever have, well almost. I did not realize that if you have a DVR with DirectTV it requires two co-ax lines. So they had to fish another through the wall. While doing so, they messed up my phone line somehow. The phone line was totally messed up. We have three lines: home, office and fax, and somehow they got messed up. I really felt like the tech from Verizon was an ass and he tried to be as minimally hands-on as humanly possible. I was very upset about the whole situation. Now I still get some static in my office line and of course they act like it kills them to help you out.

We are in the process of getting another appraisal so we can get the PMI (private mortgage insurance) knocked off our loan. We came up $5,000 short the first time on the required percentage we needed to avoid it, but that was based solely from our plans. The plans changed and we added a lot more value so I don't foresee any major problems. But that will knock off a lot of money from our loan.

We got all of our furniture, TV's, etc. I took pics, but just haven't had time to post them as of yet. Hopefully, the brickwork gets done this week. We have to pour the driveway and patio and our masons will finally be able to leave.

The bank is still very impressed that it took my wife and I only six months and six days to complete the house. We're a little proud of that. The excavator is coming out next week so he can finish the grading and we can get grass planted and begin landscaping.

Updated Photos

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 1/27/2008

Here are some more updated pictures

Photos

Front door trim	Thermostat	Attic door
Main bath trim	Wrought iron towel bar	Granite countertop in main bath
One of the glass closet doors in kids room	Attic wall insulation	My office
The Cabrio washer and dryer	My wife with the most important piece of paper we own, the occupancy permit	Our dinette painting against the chocolate accent wall
My wife had the idea to put myself and my two sons baby sketches up in the hallway	Shower curtain in master bath	Mirror in master bath
The half bath	We found this unwanted visitor in a Tupperware container trying to eat some coffee beans

Finally, We Made It

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 1/27/2008

A little over six months and we've finally made it. On Friday, we received our occupancy permit. We still have to have the inspector come back in the spring for the final grade and for our deck railing, but we have the go ahead to finally move in to our dream house. What a long strange trip its been.

On Thursday, our lender came by and informed us that out of all the people who have ever borrowed money from their bank to build a house we are the first couple who has adhered to their draw schedule. That made us feel pretty good. We started with $20,000 cash that was for the two-acre land purchase, clearing and purchasing materials prior to our loan. We borrowed $230,000 from the bank and when all is said and done we finished with $800 to spare. The lender fully expects the project to appraise between $300K-$350K That felt so good not only did we finish in a reasonable amount of time, but we also came in under budget. I can honestly say my wife and I worked our tails off. I can't thank my father-in-law enough for everything he helped us do through the whole process.

Ironically, our inspector who was with us through the whole process was not the inspector for our final. Talk about being nervous, we learned how he operated and now we had a new guy. My poor wife barely got any sleep the night before, but it was all good.

Last week, our plumber and HVAC sub came in and finished all the faucets, dryer, washer, disposal. The electrician got all his stuff done. He also installed the garage-door openers and we wired up my whole-house MTX stereo system. The speakers are MTX, the receivers are Kenwood and Pioneer with a Sony and Kenwood CD player and Mintek DVD player so far. I'll be adding more at week's end.

The security system folks (Dynamark) came in and finished our security system and then they tutored us on how to use it.

The Amish finished all the trim and then they put the soffit and fascia under the front porch and under the deck.

The countertop folks came by and finished the kitchen, they had to do the island and knee wall. We did the Wilsonart HD Butter Rum on the counters and the black with a solid-surface edge on the island and knee wall to break up the color. They also brought our main bath granite counter.

We did a bunch of little odds and ends type things to get ready.

The inspector arrived at 11:30 a.m. on Friday and after a few hours he passed us and was amazed at how well we did for being owner-builders.

Friday night and today it was cleaning time. We had a bunch of family over helping us clean. We wiped down all the wood with Murphy's oil soap. I love the smell. We cleaned all the cabinets, trim, doors, walls, and ceilings. You name it, we cleaned it.

We also cleaned up the basement and burned what we could and we finally filled up our dumpster for the first time. We got our mirrors, pictures and artwork all done. We evened out all the cabinet doors and finally got to break out all our new stuff for the kitchen. We started washing dishes in the new dishwasher and washed all the towels. We also started moving as much of the small stuff up here as we could.

Our furniture gets delivered on Tuesday. The phone company is supposed to be coming out at week's end. We're hoping the cable company comes out this week as well. Today, we're going to move what little of the big stuff that we're keeping such as two beds, fridge, freezer, end tables, coffee table, gun cabinet, etc.

Photos

My new office carpeting	Master-bedroom carpet and trim	The insulators finishing off the basement ceiling.
My office	The island	The knee wall
The doorbell	Under the front porch	The security monitor
The master bedroom	One of the kids' rooms with curtains	Other kid's room
The kitchen sink and faucet

Updated Photos

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 1/18/2008

Updated pictures

Photos

Office cabinets	Corner workspace in the office	Granite vanity top for master bath
Granite top for main bath	Dishwasher	Range
Better range pic	Fridge	My granite sink
Pedestal for half bath	Th Whirpool Cabrio Washer	Cabrio
The Backyard	Railing in the stairwell	Retaining wall
Outside fan	Flexible heat runs capped off for future use	Control Panel for the humidifier
The Humidifier	Rheem tankless water heater

One More Week

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 1/18/2008

The Amish worked the past two days on installing our poplar trim that's stained and dyed with cherry and mahogany. They have a half day of work left and then they'll be finished.

The plumber/HVAC put in the fixtures and all the toilets are working. They also installed the garbage disposal and hooked the hose bib for outside. The walk-in shower is looking great. They also hooked up the heat pump and A/C unit. They got the humidifier working and installed on the furnace and the retaining wall is finally complete.

The electrician came in and wired up the under cabinet lighting in the kitchen. He hooked up the outside fans under the deck. The MTX speakers are in the walls and ceiling in the living room and in my office. He also installed the range hood.

We made steps for the garage entry into the laundry room and hung robe hooks in the master, main and half baths. We also installed doorstops and changed over the new stove from natural to LP gas. We filled in the nails holes on the door trim and we used the crayon type stain sticks and the Minwax stain stick, both worked great.

Our appliances were delivered. We got a Frigidaire dishwasher, Frigidaire Professional slide-in range, Whirlpool Gold refrigerator. We got the Cabrio washer and dryer, but the dryer had a dent in it so they did not send it. It is to arrive on Monday.

Our carpet was dropped off, it will be installed on Monday. We also bought a nice area rug for the living room.

Starting to come together, the wife and some of her family are going to start cleaning this weekend and we told all the subs they have to be out Thursday. We are shooting for a final inspection on Friday of next week.

Photos

Baseboard trim in living room	My office door with the trim around it	Master Bedroom door
Noah installing trim	Our range hood getting wired up	The range hood
My office closet	Kitchen counter top	Newly installed countertop
My office desk

More Updated Pics

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 1/14/2008

Here are some more pics as we continue the final finish

Photos

Better look at the interior doors	Kitchen knobs	Kitchen drawer handles
The microwave	Father-in-law installing knobs	Look into the living room, stools for the kitchen
Newly painted stairwell	Steps after they were poured	Our sidewalk
Masons getting ready to pour the steps and sidewalk	Hard to believe this was our steps

Almost There

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 1/14/2008

We got all 13 wood doors hung. The stain was mahogany and we really like them. The knobs were egg shaped and rubbed oil bronze finish by Schlage, they are all installed as well.

The knobs are in all of the cabinets. We did the office, kitchen and both bathrooms. There were a bunch and it was pretty time consuming. We are now adjusting doors, then we'll be free of the cabinets.

The trim also arrived with the doors, they're poplar stained with mahogany. We wanted wood, but not a grainy wood so we chose poplar. The trim is bought, stained and installed for $2/ft. The Amish will be in this week to install it.

The masons are almost done with our retaining walls. They should start bricking the columns on the deck this week.

We installed all the floor vents and registers.

The HVAC sub installed the air conditioning unit.

We painted the stairwell to the basement and will install the railing today. The only painting left now is touch-up stuff around the ceilings and then the garage, which I'll do in the spring.

The drywallers that we fired went nuts with the RotoZip and made most of the switches and receptacles in the house too big, so I went around and patched them all, then sanded them, repainted the holes and put the covers back on.

The Amish will be in to finish the soffit and fascia under the front porch roof when they come in to do trim. We had to leave it off for the brickwork. Then the outside of the house will be complete except for grass, landscaping, patio floor and driveway, which will both be poured in a few months.

The electrician came today and hung the fans under the deck for the patio. He will be finishing up the rest of the stuff he has to do this week which is basically garage door openers, speakers, phone and cable stuff.

The security company Dynamark will be in to finish the security system.

The insulation sub will be in to do the floor.

Appliances will be delivered, hopefully today.

So by week's end we should be close to moving in. I have a trip to Mobile, Alabama coming over the weekend so in those three days I hope to miss the cleaning... lol.

Photos

My mailbox. We love it and it is sturdy as can be	Big bathroom handles	More bathroom knobs
Recessed lights in deck roof	radius in retaining wall where our spiral staircase will be	Office handles
Office wall cabinets	More retaining wall	Front steps
Mahogany stained pine doors	Rubbed oil bronze egg shaped knobs

Minor Update

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 1/10/2008

Front steps were poured today as well as the sidewalk. We did two steps in front of the door that are like half circles. The sidewalk starts as wide as the main arch and then tapers to 4' the rest of the way to the driveway. Today, they will start our two 26' retaining walls in the back of the house off the patio.

I painted the stairwell with one coat of primer, and one coat of leftover ceiling paint that we had. It needs one more coat. My wife is going around with her little art brush and fixing any of our flub ups.

The father-in-law was working on the cabinets adjusting doors and drilling holes for the handles.

Today, the interior doors and trim are supposed to be delivered. Our materials supplier really earned bonus points for this. They delivered our doors and trim to the framer, an hour and a half away. He then dyed and stained the wood and they are picking them up and delivering them to us for no extra charge. We will start putting up doors today hopefully. Then early next week the Amish framer is coming in to put all the trim up while we work on a few other things.

We also went to Home Depot and bought our closet doors. We'll get them done by weeks end. The carpet guy will be in early next week. Our furniture is all ready to be delivered but we're going to wait until the final inspection is done and our big cleaning is complete.

The electrician is scheduled to come in on Friday and he will wire up the garage door openers and finish the garage doors. He will also put up the outside fans and the lights in the garage. We have to install the speakers as well.

More Pics

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 1/7/2008

New January photos

Photos

Front view	Master bedroom fan	My throne
Sun Tube in the master bath	Garden tub in Master bath needs cleaned	Master bath
Pedestal sink in half bath	Half bath toilet	View from the front door
Masons building the mailbox	Living room fan with the medallion	View at night

Back Home

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 1/7/2008

Just got back from my week-long business trip to Texas. Today, we put the toekicks on all the kitchen cabinets and started putting the crown molding on them. We cleaned up all the scrap tile, thinset and other trash in the garage so we can install the garage-door openers later this week. Our masons removed the forms from our front arches and they are beautiful. I think it's awesome that they basically did them just off of a picture we had. They also finished up our mailbox. Later this week, they will pour the front steps and the sidewalk, then they will be done until the Spring. Okay, now for what I missed while I was gone.

The kids got sick and had a snow day on one of the days they were supposed to be at school, so the wife did not get much free time to work on the house, but they did do a little bit.

They finished all the tile work, including the walk-in shower and it turned out very nice. All the grouting is complete and they got it all sealed.

The HVAC sub put in the air conditioner.

The one fixture is on the sun tube in the master bath, one more to go.

Wife took back our excess materials and got about $300 back, which went into purchasing toilets. We got a nice heavy-duty Kohler for our bathroom and American Standards in the kids' bath and the half bath. They are all at the house waiting for the plumber. The pedestal sink is also in the half bath ready to be hooked up.

They put the filler on the side of the big utility closets in the master bath.

Our countertops should arrive this week.

The Amish are coming this week with our cherry trim and our wood doors. They will do the trim and my father-in-law and I will install the doors and knobs.

The electrician will be in at the end of the week to finish the garage, the outside fans, the speakers and wire, the networking wiring and whatever else he has left to do.

Our appliances will be delivered Friday or Monday. The carpet will be installed next week, so it should not be long now.

Photos

My on-air sign for my office	Ceiling fan in the office	Kitchen tile being laid
Granite in the bathroom	My Franke granite kitchen sink	Father-in-law grouting the walk-in shower
Mailbox taking shape	Taking the forms down	The arches
The front of the house is now finished	The walk-in shower	Shower floor
Little cubby in the walk-in shower	Main bath tile	Hallway lights

Days Are Flying By

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 12/28/2007

The days seem to be flying by now that we are in finish mode. It's amazing now how each thing that you do really stands out and you get such a feeling of relief and satisfaction when you can see what that area of your home is going to look like.

We wrapped up the kitchen and dinette tile yesterday, there is just one center row left to grout, which we left undone to give us an exit way since we were laying the granite tile in the foyer and we locked the front door so no one would walk on it, that basically left the garage as the only exit. After I grout the granite today and it dries, I'll be able to open the door and then finish off the grout work in the kitchen and laundry room. The tile looks sensational and I must say it is remarkable straight. We also decided to add a 3'x4' patch of granite in my office right in front of the door going out to the deck. Today, I'll grout that along with the foyer, closet and half bath. We will also be laying our final room, which is the main bathroom. That will be ceramic along with a tiled walk-in shower. It will likely take two days to finish this area then we are done with the tile.

The masons are finishing the brick on the back of our front arches, that should be completed today, then the exterior brick will be done minus the pillars on the deck/patio, which we'll wait until spring to do. They are starting our mailbox next.

The electrician was back out today putting in more ceiling fans, receptacles and switches. We had a fan that was a lemon that we had to take back, so now we have three more left to put up in the master, office and living room. We did get the medallion up in the living room though. Today, we'll work on getting the wall- and ceiling-mounted speakers in and the rest of the fans.

The walk-in shower has been more work then we anticipated. We finished adding all the HardiBoard, so then I mixed up the Ardex 8+9 waterproofer that was recommended to us by the sub that did the base. I mixed up one batch that was trowelable so I could fill in any gaps and then tape them with mesh tape as recommended on the directions. It worked well for about five minutes until it began hardening in the bucket and became useless. I then mixed up a second batch that was a paintable consistency as recommended. I got one coat on and it also dried up before I could get the second coat on. The product is definitely good as it dries to a rubbery film, but you should use gloves, which needless to say I did not do, so I spent an hour picking the stuff from my fingers before I could drive home. I still have not gotten it all off of me. I also lost a few patches of hair from my arms because once it is in your hair anywhere, you're done.

I have two more days of working on the house and then I am off for a week for a work trip, so I'm nervous and almost depressed that I am going to miss a week's worth of the house being done. Hopefully, when I come back the garage-door openers will be on and the trim, appliances and carpet will be in. But we'll see.

Here are some more pictures.

Photos

The porcelain tile in the dinette	The garage has taken on a life of its own.	The pillar between two of our arches
The Travertine in the master bath	The arches in the front of the house	Jamie, our tile man, and my father-in-law laying the granite tile in the half bath.
Granite in the foyer	Father-in-law on the wet saw	They turned me into a grout man and it stinks
Jamie finishing up the half bath	My oldest son admiring the electrician. Notice the nice Spiderman knee pads	The wife polishing my grout work and eating dust

Updated Interior Photos

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 12/25/2007

Here are some pics from the past few days.

Photos

The hardwood flooring begins.	Tiling in the dinette	A closer look at the wood
The porcelain tile in the dinette	The electrician doing his thing.	I just like this picture.
Better look at the floor	The open floor plan	Man down... hammer and finger do not mix.

Floor Finishing

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 12/24/2007

Saturday, we began the tile work in the house. There is a decent amount to do with the foyer, half bath, master bath, main bath, kitchen, dinette and laundry room all to be tiled. We started with the master bath. It is not huge because of the very big garden tub and his/her vanity. We used travertine in the master 18"x18" tiles with a small grout line of about 1/8". Sunday, I grouted and to put it plainly, grouting stinks. With the small grout line you really have to make the grout runny to get in the seams, so I essentially ended up doing it twice. After it dried I figured it would be very easy to get off, as I was told it basically turned to powdery dust-like stuff. Maybe I didn't wait long enough because there was nothing easy about it, but I got it done.

We also started to lay the dinette. We started there because it's where the dinette tile runs up to the hardwood floor in the living room. Our porcelain is thin, so we decided not to use any transition strips. Instead we built up the thinset to get it even to the wood and then gradually build it done. Then we'll put a grout line between the wood and tile. Our tile sub used to live in Indiana and ran his own business, but has since given up his business and relocated here. He is working for us and guiding us for $10/hr which is a far cry from the $3-4/ft quotes we had.

My mason is a jack of all trades, so we negotiated a deal with him to do our hardwood floor for $1,000 and at over 600 sq. ft. I consider that a bargain. He finished up in three days and it looks spectacular. He should have the brick on the house finished up the day after Christmas.

The electrician was in as well, and he continued to install switches, receptacles and ceiling fans. He is coming in Wednesday and we're going to start the home-audio system.

I have a buddy who works in the home electronic field and he gave me an awesome deal on MTX speakers and a Musica Zone Controller, so that's what I am using. I will have two wall-mount speakers in the living room and two ceiling-mounted speakers along with a subwoofer. I also have two wall-mounted speakers going in my office. One set will also end up in my bar, and a set each on the deck and the patio.

Our interior doors and cherry trim should be in this week as well.

Inside Painting is Done

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 12/19/2007

Today we got the second paint coat finished on the inside of the house. So now the garage and the stairway to the basement are the only spots left to paint. Other than that it is just the customary touch-up stuff here and there.

The countertop people came in last night and took all their measurements, so now we are looking at two weeks until we get those.

The electrician came by last night and worked for a few hours on getting more of the receptacles and switches in. We decided to spend the extra money and use the flat rocker type switches instead of the old toggle style.

The masons have made the forms for the arches on the front porch and set them into place. They estimate that they'll be done by Monday.

This weekend will be huge as our hardwood begins to be laid as well as our tile. I can't wait for each step now and you can really see the house taking shape.

Drywall Gone Wrong

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 12/16/2007

Here are some photos that will clearly show why we fired our original drywallers.

Photos

You can see the tape bubbling up.	Most of the corners had to be redone.	Terrible attempt at patching holes
Notice how they over-cut around the light and packed it full of mud with no tape	Seeing is believing. This is the floor of our master bathroom (it really looks like it was done on purpose).	Another botched up corner
There was drywall mud and adhesive all over every piece of glass in the house.	Not sure if this was for storage or what it was.	A beautiful seam (note the sarcasm)
My speaker wires were not safe from these yahoos.	A cut-off phone line	It looks like pterodactyl droppings but it's all drywall mud.
This was an everyday find in the dumpster	And another	And a few more

More December Photos

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 12/16/2007

More pics

Photos

The cabinets arrive	Like a kid on Christmas morning	First cabinet installed
Our electrician and his handy port-a-potty light	Our newly-installed foyer Tiffany by Kichler light	The boys have to get into the act. My father was an electrician, so who knows - maybe they will be as well
One of the pendant lights. They are still growing on me :)	All workers must stay hydrated.	The kitchen is taking shape
Better picture of the walk-in shower	The kids vanity	A better look at the foyer light
New microwave and the stand installed	Office is beginning to take shape.	A view into the kitchen
Ceiling fan in the kitchen

December Pics

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 12/16/2007

Here are some pics from the last few weeks.

Photos

Myself and one of the plumbers feeding copper wire through the conduit to the house	Front of the house takes on a new look	Gas company delivering our propane
The propane tank	There is a mason under there building an arch about our elliptical door transom	New drywaller putting in work
Open floor plan before paint	The front door	Front entryway before the final arches are built
Jeff builds our built-in shower	The shower	Everyone gets into the act
My father-in-law put in a lot of hours on the power roller.	One of our accent walls	Master bedroom
Getting the first coat on	Protecting the door	Kitchen wall before the cabinets
Better photo of the accent wall	View from the living room into the dinette and kitchen

Been Awhile

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 12/16/2007

It's been a while since I have posted anything, but we've been very busy as we are now in the finishing stages. Between the house, work and getting ready for Christmas its been an adventure. Okay, where should I start.

The new drywallers finished the repairs and the rest of our drywall in about one week, so it is finally finished. The other drywaller called three times asking for the balance of money. This was hilarious. We bought the materials, we paid $3,200 at the beginning and they hung the drywall and put tape up, so he felt we owed him $1,900. I laughed and gave him the number for our attorney. I frankly said the only way I will give you a dime is when a judge tells me I have to, and I will spend every penny I have to make sure you never do this to anyone else. I haven't heard back from him.

We started painting. We primed everything with one coat of Behr primer. We then painted the ceilings a Swiss coffee color I believe, which is basically off-white. The walls are all Gobi Desert which is a beige color. We have two accent walls where we will have artwork displayed on, they are a chocolate brown. We got two coats on the foyer, kitchen, office, master bath, kids bath, and half bath and a few of the closets so far. Hopefully we'll be wrapped up with the paint in the next one to two days. We bought a power sprayer and it sucked, we took it back and bought a power roller. Let me tell you, if you are getting ready to paint or will be in the future please do yourself a favor and buy one. It is well worth the $70.

We installed all the kitchen cabinetry, most of my office cabinetry and all the bathroom cabinetry. Myself and my father-in-law did them all. It was very tedious and time consuming but worth it. We still have to get the knobs, handles, strikers and extras on but the hard work is done. The molding and toe kicks I guess still need done as well, and the island.

We got all our Hardiboard down and we are ready to tile... my father-in-law and I will either try our hands at it, or we know a guy who will help and guide us for $10/hour. We did a walk-in shower and we had a sub come in and do the base. It was a three day process, but well worth it.

The masons have been hard at work on our brick. Now the entire front of the house is done except for the arches on the front porch. These guys have been awesome. They are there every day no matter what the weather is and always do a great job.

The propane people came and we got a 500 gallon tank. It is all installed and we now have heat.

The HVAC sub got the furnace in and all the ductwork done, except two flex ducts that he wanted to wait to install until we had the cabinet bases in so he could do the toe kicks. I am amazed that in the new house we keep it at about 64 degrees and it feels comfortable, but you never hear the furnace, and it blows air out so subtly. I am used to the old blaster in the old house that roars, and you have to keep at 74 degrees to stay warm.

The plumber installed our Rheem Tankless water heater. I love it, the instantaneous hot water is great, no more waiting. He also hooked up the main water line to the manifold and got one of my hose bibs done in the garage. He has the walk-in shower plumbed and ready, as well as the master, so he is basically waiting for us. I had him hook up a gas line to the deck for the gas grill. I have always thought that was a cool idea. Our friends love it.

The electrician started to install some lights, switches and receptacles in the areas we have finished. All the bathrooms are done. He installed our Foyer light which is a Tiffany by Kichler type deal. The ceiling fan and all the recessed lighting there is done as is the pendant lighting. We also put receptacles in the toe kicks, we decided to use rope lighting under them so you could see in there at night without turning all the lights on. He installed the little recessed lights we have angled on the accent walls to display our paintings. He also is handy with garage doors, so he put those up. They still need finished and the openers need installed, but he was waiting for the masons to finish up above the garage doors. He installed a good portion of our outdoor lighting as well.

We have been moving as much of our stuff to the new house as we can. This is where the big attic has come in handy. But 85% of the new stuff that we have purchased for the new house is now up there and not in the old house.

Speaking of old house, we also sold it before we even had to try the real estate market, that was sweeeeeeet.

The Amish came by to measure for all the trim. We are getting poplar trim with a cherry stain, we're not big fans of a lot of wood grain. They are getting the trim, staining it and installing it for $2/ft. We also decided to buy all of our doors from our main materials supplier. They cost more, but its a better quality wood door, and they will deliver them to the Amish, which is about 1.5 hours from us, and then when they are done they will pick them up and deliver them to us, can't beat that. The Amish are also installing the doors for $50/door and most are 36" wood doors, so it is worth it.

Our original appraiser stopped by to check our progress, and she loved it, which was nice. Now, hopefully it will appraise at a high enough number for us to avoid PMI.

I remember reading on here somewhere that finish work is 10% of the house, but takes 90% of the time, boy were they not lying, this is crazy.

On a sad note, we wanted in for Christmas, but today we set up the tree in the old house and we have finally become realists and we know that ain't happening. I really believe that had it not been for the drywall debacle we may have had a chance. I have a bunch of photos that I will be posting to update everyone.

Drywall Starts Again

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 11/26/2007

My new drywall sub started today, he was amazed at how bad the other guy did and had to fix a lot of it. The old sub had joint compound everywhere, honestly it looked my my kids ran through the house with a bucket and a trowel and flung it everywhere. I am very upset, but at the same time I feel like so much stress has been lifted off me. If this is the worst thing that happens in this whole process in our first build, I think we did alright.

Everything was slow because of Thanksgiving and the beginning of deer season. We are still waiting for our propane tanks to come so we can get heat.

Classless Sub

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 11/23/2007

Well after four weeks I have relieved myself of some stress. After giving the drywallers a second chance and the opportunity to catch up and get back in my good graces, I reached my breaking point. The owner asked to work today and Saturday on the house to catch up, so I agreed. I arrived at the house on Friday morning at 10:00 A.M. to only find one of his helpers attempting to do the drywall by himself. So after the big blow-up on Monday the owner never worked on the house again since that day, which showed me all I needed to see. So I called him and he of course was out working on another job, so I said you must not need my money since you're not here. He said I have 20 minutes left on that job and then he'd be over. I said that's fine and then we'll decide where we go from there. My feelings were that I would give him a chance to redeem himself and finish out the day and see where we were at. Then his worker started cleaning up all his tools and tearing down everything like the scaffolding and began taking it out to the garage. I said don't you think you should wait and discuss this with your boss first? He said, well I know this ain't gonna end well so I'm done.

I was mad, but at the same time I felt great because I was tired of the stress. This guy is classless, trashes his workers, drinks on the job, and I'm not talking a beer or two, I'm talking cases of beer. After I found Marijuana resin in my garage and my mason found it on the floor of the port-a-john I had had enough. Not sure what the rules are regarding posting of names of these people to protect others from using them, if anyone knows please inform me. I think I can say the guys name is Chris and his last name begins with an "E" and he is from the Somerset, Pa. area.

Regardless, lesson learned. But the good news is that the guy I wanted is now available and he is coming out in the morning, and he will now take over the job. The drywall is all hung, the taping is about 98% complete and the first coat of mud is all done except for the un-taped part. The drywaller took most of his tools except for a heater and some scaffolding that he could not fit in his car. His worker told me they'd be back on Saturday or Monday to get the rest, of course the owner could not talk to me or look at me because he is a coward. I said that is fine just call me so I can make sure I'll be around to let them in. Yes, I started locking the doors after this, just in case. To my surprise my brother, who will also be my neighbor, calls me and asks if there is anyone working at the house. I said "No" not unless the masons were there. He told me there was a beat up old Chevy pick-up truck there, so I get dressed and drive to the house and I see the truck coming up the road so I stop and he just kept driving. I get to the house and I see that the plastic that we had put on the garage door openings had been cut with a razor knife from the outside so he could get in to get his stuff. Apparently it would take too much testicular fortitude to call and ask to be let in the garage. Looks like my original gut instinct was correct, I did not like, trust, or want the guy to do the job but we were in a bind. So my lesson of the day is that it's best to wait until you find the subs that you are 100% comfortable with. Do not sacrifice anything for time. Yes, you may have to wait an extra week or two for something, but it will be more than worth it in the end.

Here is a picture of the garage door with the slit in it.

Photos

How a real classy subcontractor enters your property after hours (note the sarcasm)

The Value of a Contract

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 11/19/2007

Today was a very interesting day to say the least. I had stayed up all night working at my regular job. Our blocks for our retaining wall were being delivered, so my wife went up to the house to meet the driver and pay our balance. Luckily for us they were able to drive the truck around the back and use the boom to get them close. It had rained a lot so I was worried.

While she was there the drywaller asked my wife for more money. Taken by surprise my wife said "You will have to talk to Bob" cue the entrance music... LOL... I was in no mood for this... We had our doubts about the guy, but we were told he is an outstanding finisher and we were in a bind, because frankly, there just are not many people around anymore who do it. The job has entered week four of what was to be a three week job. I calmly called him over and I said my wife informed me that he wanted more money. I calmly said that was not happening. Our agreement was for us buying materials, we paid 50% at the beginning of the hanging and the balance when finished. It is also stated in our agreement as such. I told him that he is in week four of what was a three week job and I am not happy. I said you decide if you can get this done and that you are going to be here and finish it or we'll both move on our way... then all hell broke loose.

He came up to me with a bill on a hand written piece of paper for $1,200, $500 for finishing the garage, which was not finished, $400 for what taping he did do so far, $300 for extra board. We bought 6 extra boards and paid for them the day they brought them to the house. They had brought two extra sheets and he tried to charge me $300. I laughed and I asked him to show me what was extra, and I proceeded to tell him it was all measured out by you, TWICE. We are not paying for anything extra unless it is something we added. This guy has a bad habit of sighing and huffing, which just irritates the hell out of me and I snapped. I of course raised my voice significantly and told him if he has an issue please speak up like a man and do not sigh at me, I had been pretty understanding to this point but now that was over.

I calmly told him to get his stuff and get his ass out of my house. He continued to tell me a sob story about how three of his guys quit Friday and everything. I continued to say that is not my problem, my problem is my house is not being done. This is your business and you are never here and you don't know what your workers are doing. He told me to calm down and I said "Oh, I am calm, if I was pissed you'd be laying outside." After awhile he said, well I'd like to finish the house, so after awhile I said, well you have this week, I don't care if it takes you 12-15 hours a day I want it done by Monday, or he was out and there would be no more chances.

They went to lunch and came back and really busted their tails and got a lot accomplished. I hate being like that, but enough was enough.

I got a header framed for a linen closet in the kids bathroom. I also finished the framing on the walk-in shower. I added to piece of 2x6 treated wood on the floor for a lip, and one 2x4 in the wall in case we add a door.

The masons continued to work on the brick and have started the garage wall facing the house. They asked to leave for two days to do a small block job and we obliged, but if the weather is bad they aren't going to do it because ours is tarped, so they'll be there and work on the porch arches. They have been doing great work. My wife and I look forward to going up and shooting the breeze with them, they are hilarious.

Our conduit is trenched in for the gas line which should arrive on Friday. I decided to place the tank by the shed behind the sand mound.

The elctrician is due out this week to finish up our outside lighting and give us some temp lighting in the garage. He is also going to put the garage doors on since he used to do that for a small fee of course. The HVAC/plumber is supposed to be out Tuesday through Wednesday and Friday, so we should get some heat.

S.A.'s Forum Posts: 2 Interview Answers: 1 Send Private Message Randomly Selected Image 11/21/2007	Wow, this really shows the validity of Mark's emphasis on being able to fire people.  Good for you.  I'm reading a book on how to run a construction company and the author even says how tough it is to fire people, but that is how he survives.  Professional subs need to act professionally.  Maybe that needs to be in every contract.
Lisa's Forum Posts: 129 Journal Entries: 101 Interview Answers: 94 Average Forum Rating: 3.98 Send Private Message Lisa's Selected Image 11/23/2007	Dear Bob, Very well done.  I fired my first sub the other day they turned up rude, were arrogant and then proceeded to tell me I needed three more downspouts which would of course be extra money.  I had already got signed contracts had multiple bids and knew they were talking out of where the sun does not shine.  I have had it with unprofessional subs and after they drove over the irrigation I called there boss and kicked their arses off our property.  They apologised through their boss and blamed the fact english was not there first language (amazing it was more than adequate to try and push up the bill!!)  I told the boss to get me another crew and thanked him for the apology but firmly told him body language was universal and this crew were rude and frankly life was too short.  New people arrived the following week looked at the little work the old crew had started without my permission (while I was on the phone I think they figured they were history, start qucik and she will have to keep me) and told me they used spikes which were more sturdy and held up well during 2004 hurricanes and they did not like the hangers the previous guys used.  So I ended up with a better job done in a few hours by guys who were a joy to be around.  To be honest it was the first time I actually felt totally in charge rather than just faking it and after my irrigation guys who I should have fired I thought I would feel terrible.  Quite the opposite I have had it with unprofessional subs and it was very cathertic.  SO GOOD ON YOU.
2008 Merit Award Winner Grant's Forum Posts: 362 Journal Entries: 19 Interview Answers: 164 Average Forum Rating: 4.05 Send Private Message Grant's Selected Image 8/15/2008	I tend to avoid such confrontations, but I know I won't be able to when I build...  You were prepared.  You had the facts and they were on your side.  The subs couldn't bluff you into unnecessary add-ons or early payment, or undeserved invoices. Reading such experiences in these blogs is strengthening my resolution.  You stood up, spelled out the facts, and they backed down.  I believe I can do this too...  I won't enjoy it, but I CAN do it.  And I'll think of experiences such as yours that I've read in these blogs to help stiffen my back bone as I do it. Thanks for sharing. regards, Grant

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More Updated Pics

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 11/17/2007

Here are some more photos.

Photos

My messy mechanical room	Our Shaw tavern gunstock hardwood flooring	Ductwork
Brick work on one of the front transoms	A look at both transoms	Big man in tight space, and wife thought it was humorous.
Plumber party

Updated Pictures

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 11/17/2007

Here are some new updated photos.

Photos

First snowfall of the season	Snow flying as the masons work on the front, needless to say the tarp was up the next day.	Attic entryway after the B-I-B is installed
More insulation	Mudding begins in the garage	Garage ceiling
Garage bumpout	A very anal drywaller cleaning his tools	The wife's garden tub
The psychedelic effects of three different colors of MR board in the master bath	The trunk line begins in the basement	The Armstrong furnace

HVAC and More

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 11/16/2007

Our plumbing/HVAC sub came in this week and made a lot of progress, which made us happy. We need to get some heat in so the joint compound can dry, and we will likely be painting in a week or so. Then we'll need it for the thinset and grout on the tilework. They got most of the trunk line in and began putting in some of the flexible ductwork as well. The furnace was brought in as well, its an Armstrong Air Ease system that will have an air conditioner and heat pump. It will run on propane, which will be delivered next Friday. They got a water heater that is for natural gas and not LP gas and there is no conversion kit, so my options were to get the regular tank made for LP gas or just spend $300 more and get a tankless unit. I chose the tankless unit. It's on demand and will be more efficient and save us money in the long run.

The drywallers have most of the screws mudded at least once, the garage is basically done, it got the skim coat on Friday and should be sanded early next week and ready for painting. I requested that they do the garage first so I can get it painted, put the doors on and get the openers all wired up and put on my Rustoleum EpoxyShield floor. Once the garage is done, we can just focus on the house itself. I'm not real thrilled with their progress. No matter how much you think you have subcontractors figured out it seems they always have some way of amazing you. I swear 90% of these people have issues. The lead guy told me this week they really needed the ceiling to be insulated before they taped the drywall on the ceiling, well its been three days since it was done and the ceiling is still not taped yet. He told me he'd be in this weekend to get caught up so I am going to wait until I flip out.

The masons got another front wall done, the toughest wall with the two transoms. It looks great. Now, they have the side wall and the garage face and they are done with the house with only the deck pillars and the mailbox to go with brick.

The electrician will be in next week to add some more lighting and finish up most of the exterior lighting.

The excavator will be in today to dig the trench for the gas line.

We found a deal at Lowe's on interior Schlage door handles. We were going to buy them for $28/piece but Lowe's had them clearanced out at $15 for dummies and $18 for privacy knobs, so we bought as many as we needed, I believe around 15. We also purchased our paint supplies which came out to about $200 and included a Wagner power sprayer, so all totaled we have about a grand in painting the entire house. We originally budgeted $2K and it would 've cost us $5-$7K to have it all done.

Spend, Spend, Spend

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 11/9/2007

Drywall hanging is finished except for the bottom of the staircase into the basement, which will be finished up on Monday. The inspector was by on Thursday and we passed, so we are set to begin mudding. The drywallers will start putting up corner bead and taping on Monday. Its pretty neat that you can actually see the shape and depth of the rooms now. We did a big time sweeping of the house today just to try to keep ahead of the curve a little bit.

The insulation sub was due to come out but their truck broke down, so hopefully Saturday they'll be in to blow in the attic.

The mason continued to work on the porch area in the front. There is a ton of work there that should take a few weeks. They have the area tarped with a torpedo heater in there to fend of the chill. I kinda like it because no one can really see what is going on under there except us.

Today, I put R-19 batting up under the stairs and the two basement marriage walls that connect to the staircase.

We ventured to our cabinet dealer and put in the order for all our cabinetry for the kitchen, bathrooms and my office. We checked numerous places and searched for a while, but no one could touch their prices. We ordered Kraftmaid cabinets with a cherry finish. They should be in, in about 3-4 weeks. We're getting tight on the budget so my father-in-law and I are going to install them. He has installed them before, so we figured we can handle it, and there's not a ton of wall cabinets so that should make it a little easier.

We also went to the dealer for our retaining walls' stones. We ordered 8" Rockwood Stones, they are red in color and made locally. They are to be delivered on site Tuesday. They gave us a small break of $.50/block and $.40/cap, so every bit helps at this point.

We also visited our countertop dealer that we selected. They have a nice deal going on with bathroom kits that are granite and come with the sink, they were actually cheaper than laminate, so we are getting them.

I'll be using laminate in my office as well. In the kitchen I really wanted a solid surface, but I don't want to kill my budget either. We figured let's go with a really high-end looking laminate, and in five years or so we can switch it to granite or whatever else we want.

Updated Pictures

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 11/7/2007

More pictures

Photos

Downspouting all getting tied in	Willie uses Luan to shape the arch on the big window transom	Neil I think forgetting what he was doing
The MR board taking shape in the kids bathroom	Todays task will be tying in the other two transoms in one of the kids rooms	The master bedroom is done
View from the laundry room	My office is almost complete	The big transom with its brick arch
The brick arch from afar	The garage doors for now	My shed
View from the kitchen	Digging out our trenches for the retaining walls	The openness of an open floor plan

Progress Despite the Year's First Snow

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 11/7/2007

Well we had our first snowfall of the year today. It is November and is expected, but the first one always takes you by surprise. We had a decent amount of work going on today despite the inclement weather.

The drywallers continued to hang more sheets and should just about have everything hung by the end of the day today, or early Thursday and we should be able to get inspected and begin mudding.

Our excavators were out today as well and finished piping in the gutters and downspout drains. They also dug out our trenching for our two retaining walls along our deck. We also started pricing the big paver stones for that project. I'm not real excited about lifting over 200 of those 70-lb. bad boys. They are right around $6-$7 apiece and we really didn't budget for them, but we should be okay as long as my father in-law and I do the labor.

The masons are finishing up work on one of our bedroom bumpouts with the large window and transom with the brick arch. They are then moving on to the garage front and then the porch, which will be the most time consuming with the two transom windows, the door transom, and the brick archways on the porch.

The insulators should be back out today to blow in the attic since we got all the ceilings finished up.

Updated Photos

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 11/4/2007

More pictures

Photos

First sheet of drywall goes up in the laundry room	Me putting in work... Okay, maybe supervising	One of the drywallers putting in a screw
Drywallers fixing the RotoZip	Ceiling being done, you can see all the dust particles in the air.	More dust
The electrician finally gets his picture taken	The electrician's truck the day after it was impaled by a whitetail.	The foyer begins to take shape
The living room	Masons start the front of the house	More front work
The blue moisture-resistant board in the bathroom

Drywall is Underway

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 10/31/2007

Last week we had all of our drywall and materials delivered along with our garage doors. As soon as the garage is done and painted I'd like to get the doors on so I can do my epoxy floor covering.

Monday, our drywallers came and started to put the lid on (ceilings) so far they have finished the living room, kitchen, dinette, laundry room, and some of my office, and they got the foyer done yesterday.

The mason has finished the brick to grade in the back and one of the sides. They should have the other side completed today, and they will be moving up to the front of the house. My wife is very anxious to see the front bricked, as the house will take on a whole new look. We have a few arches and things being done there so it's really the focal point of the house. A big curb-appeal factor along with our front door.

My Amish-made 12'x18' shed arrived yesterday. I placed it between two big oak trees right by my sand mound to sort of draw eyes to it and not the mound. It was nice cleaning out what I am keeping from the old shed and placing it in the new one, plus we can store a lot of our fixtures and stuff that we have been purchasing in the shed instead of cramping us out of the old house.

My father-in-law and I went to the builders surplus store and got our hardwood flooring that we purchased last week. We bought a nice looking Shaw hardwood flooring call Tavern Gunstock for $2.75/ft, we got a great deal on it. We are putting it in the living room and the hallway. There were about 25 boxes so it kept us busy.

We also hauled our HardiBoard that we purchased for $9.50/3x5 sheet, three dollars cheaper then the second lowest price we found. We got 10 1/2" boards and 50 1/4" boards.

We also made a call to one of the best tile-shower guys we could find. He quoted us $600 to come in and just do the tray and the membrane for the shower. He won't do the tiling because he is busy just doing the trays. There is such a risk factor in these things so we wanted to make sure we got the best guy we could find to make sure it is done right.

Today, I am going to finish taking all the fans and fixtures up to the house. I also need to start hauling all the tile that we've purchased over the past six months (that we have stored at the in-laws' house) and that will be a two-day job. The granite tile is the very heavy 18"x18" travertine tiles. The porcelain is lighter but there is so much of it that it is still heavy after a while.

The HVAC sub brought the furnace, heat pump, AC unit, and everything for the system down and placed it in the basement, so we'll be ready to start that when the drywall is finished and we're painted up. I think I am also buying a sprayer to do all the primer in the house. I can also use it for the garage since I am using just a plain white paint and primer in there, so it should save us some time.

Preparing for Next Inspection

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 10/22/2007

Today the masons laid the final bricks on the back wall of the house. Next are the sides, which are brick to grade.

We had a tile sub come over. His wife works with my mother-in-law and they just moved here from Indiana about a year ago, he had given up his business that he owned for 21 years. He told us he could not be there all day everyday, but he could work about five hours a day and more on weekends. His rate should cost us about $500 compared to $3-$5/ft with most guys, so that will be a substantial savings and when you get this far the budget becomes a bigger issue. We should have a savings of about $2,500.

Our plumber/HVAC sub made his once a week appearance and finished up his end of things before drywall. He also brought over all the ductwork, the furnace, and the AC heat pump.

We bought a reddish color paint to paint the underside of our deck. I began painting as it got dark, so I had my wife pull the Trailblazer nearby and I painted as much as I could by headlight. I'm guessing I missed a bunch. it's very large, 14'x22', so I have a ways to go. It should be interesting to see it in the morning.

The insulation sub is coming in the morning and he will finish the blow-in out in the garage and we'll be ready for an inspection so we can begin drywalling. The drywall will start on Friday. The materials should be here today. My shed should arrive sometime this week as well.

The lady from the bank came by today. She loves the house and thinks we should start a business doing this. We have talked about flipping houses, so it may be something we explore. She thinks that when we are finished the house should appraise at over $300K, which would be great.

10/24/2007

Be careful on flipping houses.  The change in the real estate market has impacted the profits to be made.  You must make sure you can get the property at a great price (good no longer applies), and you have to still sell low to move the homes.  Or be ready to rent them.   I am a realtor in the Kansas City market (which may be different than your area) and flipped homes for a few years.  We did well but decided to sell all our properties this past year using the funds to build.  We will probably flip again but not for a while.  Take care! - Carolyn - Homestead blog.

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And More Pics

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 10/22/2007

And more pictures

Photos

More brick finished	Still getting used to the country, so I find these bugs are neat. Here is a stick bug or is it a bug that looks like a stick?	Cutting brick is a dirty job
Our sand mound is growing beautiful green grass	One of our many log piles	The Man Deck from afar
Better view of the brick	View of the basement entry	Adam the mason says safety first. He finally started wearing a respirator mask instead of breathing brick dust.

More Pics

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 10/22/2007

More pictures

Photos

B-I-B insulation in the master bedroom	The world's best masons hard at work	Garage floor after five days of curing
Media-center box with cable and Cat-5 phone line	Main electric panel	What will be the nucleus of our security system
City water meter installed	Manifold, unfinished still from pressure test	My rototiller that I just picked up at a great price and named it "Attila"
Basement doors with brick

Updated Pics

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 10/22/2007

More pictures

Photos

Tried to catch one of the masons taking a nap at lunch	Brick being laid in the back of the house	Dan Steffy of Everlast Insulation using his stilts to put up meshing
Steffy Sr. on the staple job	My wife's egg shaped door knobs in rubbed oil bronze	The front door handle
View from a sun tube	View up the attic steps

Insulation and Brick

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 10/16/2007

The water authority stopped by today and hooked up our water meter, and we put an adapter on the line so we could have a hose to use for water. I'd prefer that the plumber was on site to hook it all up and get our hose in the back ready to go, but for those of you who have followed my journal know what a hard time we have had with him.

The mason started laying brick today in the back of the house. Its tough to get a good feel for the brick until all the salt gets washed off. We picked Cortez because its the only one we could both agree on.

The insulation sub came out today and I was blown away. They originally said they'd be there on Wednesday, so I was happy that they'd be in a day early. They filled all the holes and filled around the doors and windows. They got all their webbing up on all the exterior walls and even got half of one side of the house blown in already. We are using Everlast Insulation, it's a virgin fiberglass that almost looks like cotton.

The electrician came out and added two receptacles on the kitchen wall that faces the garage. We are going to put a refrigerator and small freezer in the garage. the one wall from our bathroom bumpout was bowed out. I never noticed but the insulator did. The framers missed about three or four of the 2x4's so I nailed them down.

I put the heat caulking in the electrical and plumbing holes in the walls around the vents. The plumber did it already, but I wasn't happy with it and neither was my inspector.

Bank Draw Schedule

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 10/13/2007 11:36:48 PM

Here is the original draw schedule that we submitted when we first started, obviously the order of things and the actual numbers have changed but we had to set it up when we did our loan. Each week our lender sends someone out to check on the progress of the project to make sure the funds are being allocated in the correct manner.

Example... We allocated $1,350 for the dumpster but it actually ended up at less than $500. If we need it dumped and brought back, it costs $450 each time.

DRAW SCHEDULE

1.       $72,500 

·        dumpster $1,350

·        port-a-john $375

·        h2o tap $825.00

·        electric tap $500

·        excavator $26,000

·        foundation $28,000

·        order windows and doors $14,000

·        order tubs $1,500

2.       $73,000

·        shell $58,500

·        brick $14,500

3.       $36,000

·        electrician $12,000

·        plumbing $12,000

·        heating/AC  $12,000

4.       $23,500

·        insulation $6,000

·        drywall $10,000

·        paint $2,000

·        cement work $5,500

5.       $19,000

·        interior $4,000

·        cabinets $11,000

·        countertops $4,000

6.       $6,000

·        carpet $3,000

·        tile work $3,000

George's Forum Posts: 33 Journal Entries: 2 Interview Answers: 63 Average Forum Rating: 3.39 Send Private Message George's Selected Image 10/15/2007

Thanks for posting these schedules.  Are you only going with 6 draws?  I guess subs are not getting paid until totally complete?  I feel like one of your neighbors, I've got 1001 questions :)  Congrats on how things are turning out.  Getting a contract for your house was a big relief, You guys must be living right George in Texas BigOakBuilderTX

Bob's Forum Posts: 32 Journal Entries: 61 Interview Answers: 21 Average Forum Rating: 3.89 Send Private Message My Construction Website Image from Bob's blog 10/15/2007

George, Our banks requires six draws, no more or less. But they are great about it. You are set-up with a checking account and they deposit the funds for the draws as you need them. You could have money left from draw number one while you are in draw number four and that is fine with them as long as the money is all accounted for in the end. So they are very flexible. Our schedule with the subs is that we pay them for materials then pay them half for the rough-in and then the rest after their final phase. Right now we are just trying to get at our magic number to avoid PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) The appraised our house from the plans at $289,000 and we needed 299,000 to avoid PMI, but we added some things that will put it over what we need. Our bank will allow us to have another appraisal once we are complete so we should finish in the 350,000 range once I do the landscaping and everything.

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Our Original Cost Breakdown Sheet

Posted to Bobs-Blog by Bob in New Florence, PA on 10/13/2007 10:44:15 PM

This is the first time I looked at this since we started, and I just giggle because it changes so much, no matter how much planning you do prices are going to change. Luckily for us so far (knock on wood) all our changes have been to the good. I'll have to put together the original with the actual one here when I get some time to go over it.

			COST BREAKDOWN SHEET
ITEM	MATERIALS	SUBS	OWNER	DISCOUNT	CASH	TOTAL	LOAN
	ONLY		LABOR	SAVINGS			DISTRIB.
PERMITS
SEWAGE permit					$804	$804	$                 -
BUILDING permit					$725	$725
HOME DESIGNER				$1,915	$857	$2,772	$                 -
1. LOT				$42,587	$12,414	$55,000	$                 -
2.CLEARING			$3,600		$3,300	$6,900	$                 -
DIG FOUND.		$25,125				$25,125	$25,125
INSULATION on FOUNDATION	$2,000		$1,000			$3,000	$2,000
DRAINS	INCL’D.	INCL’D.				$-	$                        -
FOUND.WALL	INCL’D.	$26,000				$26,000	$26,000
SEPTIC		$15,000				$15,000	$15,000
H2O TAP					$825	$825	$                       -
ELECTRIC TAP					$200	$200	$                       -
3.SHELL	$37,878	$13,875		-15%		$51,753	$51,753
ROOF	INCL’D.	INCL’D.				INCL'D.	INCL’D.
SHINGLES	INCL’D.	$3,546				$3,546	$3,546
EX. DOORS		INCL’D.				INCL'D.	$13,759
WINDOWS		INCL’D.				INCL'D.	INCL’D.
INTER. STUD WALL	INCL’D.	INCL’D.				$-	$                       -
CEMENT BOARD	INCL’D.	$275				$275	$275
BILCO DOOR	INCL’D.	$125				$125	$125
GARAGE DOORS	INCL’D.	$360				$360	$360
DELIVERY	$-	$-					NO CHARGE
4.MASONRY
SIDING	INCL’D.	$1,120				$1,120	$1,120
GUTTERS	$1,140	INCL’D.				$1,140	$1,140
SOFFIT	INCL’D.	$1,368				$1,368	$1,368
FASCIA	INCL’D.	$552				$522	$522
BRICK	INCL’D.	$14,500				$14,500	$14,500
5.WIRING	$6,482	$3,240				$9,722	$9,722
PLUMBING	$8,872	INCL’D.				$8,872	$8,872
HEATING/AC	$11,874	INCL’D.				$11,874	$11,874
6.INTERIOR WALL
INSULATION	$5,200	INCL’D.				$5,200	$5,200
DRYWALL	INCL’D.	$7,696				$7,696	$7,696
PAINT	$1,500		$3,000			$4,500	$1,500
7. COMPLETION
TRIM	INCL’D.	$3,248				$3,248	$3,248
INT. DOORS	INCL’D.	$340	$940			$1,280	$340
COUNTER TOPS	$3,627		$1,000	$ 1,400		$6,027	$3,627
CABINETS	$10,200		$1,050	$10,200		$21,450	$10,200
cabinet pulls			$100	$350	$86	$536	$                 -
PLUMBING FIXTURES	$2,957	INCL’D.		$986		$3,943	$2,957
ELEC. FIXTURES	$2,000	INCL’D.				$2,000	$2,000
foyer light		INCL’D.		$315	$145	$460	$                 -
3 pendant lights		INCL’D.		$157	$83	$240	$                 -
CARPET	$1,620	$600				$2,220	$2,220
CERAMIC TILE		$1,401		$690	$345	$2,436	$1,401
GRANITE TILE		$300		$814	$407	$1,521	$300
TRAVERTINE TILES		$270		$341	$341	$952	$270
PORCHES	INCL’D.	iNCL’D.					INCL’D.
SIDEWALKS/DRIVEWAY	INCL’D.	$5,500				$5,500	$5,500
FINAL GRADE		INCL’D.				$-	$                 -
SEEDING			$3,000			$3,000	$                 -
TOP SOIL				$8,500	$1,500	$10,000	$                 -
ON SITE DUMPSTER	$1,350			$550		$1,350	$1,350
ON SITE LAVATORIES	$375			$50		$425	$375
PROJECT MANAGER G.C.				$35,000		$35,000	$                 -
CONSTRUCTION INSURANCE						$433	$433
SITE MANAGER				$20,000		$20,000	$                 -
TOTAL=