Introduction - (continued from book Working for Subs)

(below is an excerpt from the book's Introduction:)

In order to erect a home as a solo builder and realize the most cost savings you will want to acquire some working knowledge of local, state, national building codes, and energy codes, the permitting process, your local real estate, storm water requirements, population movements, environmental (“green”) concerns, some structural design, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, carpentry & framing, roofing, drywall, room finishes, kitchen design, fenestration (window & door) sizing and placement, painting, energy conservation, color selection, weatherproofing, fireplaces, concrete formation, landscaping, grading, solar & wind and other siting effects, lighting placement sizing, etc. These are just a few of the disciplines with which you should become familiar.

It is not necessary to be able to perform each task at a professional level; that is what subcontractors do. However, in order to hire and direct subcontractors, design or visualize components, and inspect to assure the final completeness of a home, a homebuilder must understand the basics of each discipline. The more expertise the homebuilder acquires the more expense he /she will avoid in the construction process.

Many states allow an individual to build one home per year for his/her own use without having to obtain a building license. The self-home builder will need to contact the local building department to determine this requirement.

The building code books used in your city and /or county may be also be obtained by simply visiting the building department (“Code Enforcement” or whatever your municipality chooses to call this division.) Call and ask an inspector what codes are required to build a home? Several county agencies sell the publications themselves. This book is based on the author's experience and on codes in Tennessee, Colorado, and Florida. The codes are continually changing and must be updated prior to every job.

The author has built homes from lot acquisition to final permit in as little as three months, but a comfortable pace for the first-time builder may require six months or more. There are many claims for title of the fastest house built, one in less than four hours including pouring a slab.ⁱ Your home construction schedule will be affected by many variables: weather, subcontractor availability and their experience, materials' scarcity, your own expertise, governmental regulations, and other unforeseen circumstances. This book attempts to help you to anticipate and prepare for, or to avoid many of these obstacles.

Most municipalities issue building permits for an ample one-year period, which can usually be renewed. One year is too long a time to drag out the process, for you will find that costs and effort will increase if you do not remain consistently diligent on the construction. These costs can manifest themselves as additional permit expense, weathering and wear on materials, theft and vandalism, price escalations, scarcity of materials and labor, changes in code requirements, etc.

i Claim of fastest house built by Habitat for Humanity in three hours, twenty six minutes. http://www.habitat.org/newsroom/2002archive/insitedoc002185.aspx http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-H1toqMB lM.

Iron Work -excerpt from book, Working for Subs

Wrought Ironwork:

If you are building an upscale home there may be a need for wrought iron looking appurtenances. Most so-called wrought iron accessories are in reality made from mild steel, since wrought iron is rarely used any longer. Some items you may want to order that are constructed of iron will be: exterior upper balconies (Photo 29, Ch. 19) and interior stair and balcony rails (Photo 14, Ch. 13) or maybe some outside fencing (Photo 27, Ch. 18).

 Iron gate in brick fence.

You will probably learn that subcontractors in your area, who will provide ironwork, specialize solely in the fabrication and installation work of this craft. The installing subcontractor is usually also the manufacturer of the assembled iron pieces placed on the job. He will have a shop with welding, cutting, polishing, and painting capabilities. There is considerable markup in the work as well as skill and plant requirements needed, so that companies can be profitable by doing ironwork alone. This sub is no less critical as an independent hire than other companies or people with whom you contract, so verify his insurance, and get a subcontract agreement as described in Chapter 5. Any one person or company who is not directly employed by you on a regular basis should sign a separate subcontract agreement and maintain their own insurance coverage if possible.

You will need to meet the iron salesman very early in mid-framing before drywall has been installed. This is because blocking and supports may need to be furnished in the wall structure for hanging balconies or to attach the heavy wall rails. There is also considerable lead time involved with iron work that requires a month or more advance notice. Some means of locating these support blocks will be required at the time of installation, so prepare a diagram or drawing with dimensions of the positions and sizes of the blocks for later use. Take a photo as well. After the drywall and stair treads have been completed the iron salesman will have to return to finalize his dimensioning to accurately fit the finish work.

There are many variations of balusters, railing styles, and paint finishes that are available for ironwork. This will require a trip to the showroom or a list of previous jobs you can visit that the iron sub has completed, so that you can make up your mind about colors and architectural forms well in advance of ordering. It would be wise to get a sketch along with your quotation from the wrought iron company to avoid any confusion later. If the company is too busy to produce these at the time, you should draw your own rough sketches, dimensioned to give a fair representation of the look you want with notes describing styles and colors. Email or hand deliver these to the sub soon after the quote is given. This will document the design upon which the price was based and prevent debate later. The cost of ironwork is considerable enough to merit the extra effort on your part.

After one installation an iron subcontractor asked me for payment well in excess of his original estimated price. I questioned this, and he replied that his cost were higher than he figured. I told him that I had turned down other bids to accept his and could have gotten the work done for much less than he was now asking. I continued that if I didn't want to know the price in advance, I would have forgone the quotation process, and just told him to build it, and charge whatever he wanted later. He wanted me to absorb the cost of his mistake.


This iron work sub then attempted to manipulate the situation with guilt, by saying, “You are getting a really great price on that, my friend.” You will be confronted with this tactic repeatedly, so keep these arguments in mind for your rebuttals. Subcontractors are supposedly experts in pricing their own work; errors are their cost of doing business. Perhaps a contractor would be more suited for another profession if he does not know what his costs are before hand. This is the way the free market weeds out incompetence and overpricing.