I like the new features. The site looks much more tidy and organized. Good work. [giving a thumbs up :)] Phil in Gainesville, FL

Eric's Forum Posts: 0
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Budget sheet

Posted to ericdc by Eric in Uniontown, PA on 3/8/2008 12:13:19 PM

I posted this before but I don't think it is working out... It seems if you email me from this site I get the email with a from address of [some random number]@ownerbuilderbook.com. When I reply the message doesn't end up getting back to you. So if you email me (or anyone else on this forum) please include your real email address in the message so you can get the replies.

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One of the hardest parts of all of this was accurate cost estimating. I used what little information I could gather on here from other people's experiences, and a great deal of time talking to subs and suppliers. For the most part I stayed on track with what I estimated but some things I just didn't consider (dumpster, port-a-john, etc.). Accurate estimating is extremely important so you can avoid causing a financial mess and all the stress that is related. I am confident my budget numbers are accurate.  I thought it may help someone else to take a look at my budget to help them create their own.  PM me if you are interested.

Late to the game

Posted to ericdc by Eric in Uniontown, PA on 2/6/2008

I have been following this site since December 2006 when we bought our land but haven't posted my progress.

Here is my story in brief:

We wanted to build a solid house that we could live in "forever." After talking to general contractors we were kind of scared off by both their price and the general feeling we were not going to get what we wanted. I explored the idea of being my own general and with the help of this site decided it was something we could do.

We decided to build a SIP (Structural Insulated Panel) house to gain the efficiency since energy costs are not going down any time soon. That definitely added some complexity as we had to find a framer that was familiar with SIPs and was willing to take on our project.

We designed the general layout and look of the house and then had a designer put it to paper to work with SIPs.

One of the hardest parts of all of this was accurate cost estimating. I used what little information I could gather on here from other people's experiences, and a great deal of time talking to subs and suppliers. For the most part I stayed on track with what I estimated but some things I just didn't consider (dumpster, port-a-john, etc.). Accurate estimating is extremely important so you can avoid causing a financial mess and all the stress that is related. I am now two weeks away from moving in (stair railing and carpet are all that remain) so I am confident my budget numbers are accurate.  I thought it may help someone else to take a look at my budget to help them create their own.

The house is around 2,800 sqft finished with a 28x38 garage, 13x38 storage area above the garage, and a 2,000sqft basement. I used an electric heat pump with a heat recovery ventilator (since the SIPs are so air tight). The plumbing is PEX. The exterior is (over sized) brick on the front three sides and sided in the back and on the dormers.

We started digging 8/17/2007 and plan to move in 2/16/2008, one day less than  6 months. Nearly all of the planning and cost estimating was done before we broke ground.  I tried to stop at the house every day, and spent the entire day there at any major point (like a new sub starting). We did site cleanup and painted all the trim which accounted for several hundred hours. I am so glad I didn't plan on doing anything else! That was more than enough to go along with the accounting and planning of it all.

Eric

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Budget sheet

Posted to ericdc by Eric in Uniontown, PA on 2/6/2008

I tried very hard to upload the budget sheet Excel file but this site will not take it no matter what I do. Email me if you are interested.

Posted by Val in Uniontown, PA on 7/14/2008 Val's Forum Posts: 0 Journal Entries: 1 Randomly Selected Image 7/14/2008

Eric, Did you need to get a sand mound?  I am really concerned about this sand mound business.  How much are they? We have the property.  I need to get it surveyed, and appearantly perk tested? I don't know if I even spelled "perk" right!  Please let me know anything you may think will be helpful.  We picked a houseplan and have all of that stuff figured out-it is just the beginning stages of getting it going now!