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.

Trim Materials - excerpt from book, Working for Subs

Trim Materials:

Plan for your millwork package (see Appendix E – Trim Order List) to be delivered at least two days before the trim subcontractor is to begin, just in case there might be a delay in shipping. Your trim man’s time is too valuable and rigidly scheduled to risk not having materials on the job when he arrives. You will lose his respect, and your job may suffer if he leaves to begin someone else’s work instead. He will resent you, as his other customer probably was told to hold on his millwork order, and he will have to wait to begin that work.

Photo 21: Built up fireplace surround by trim subcontractor, shown unpainted under construction and finished product.

We rarely lost any trim materials to theft, perhaps since the expensive items, like doors, are too difficult to haul and specially sized. Theft is therefore usually not a reason to worry and delay your order. The only materials your trim sub will furnish are nails and staples.

Before ordering meet with the millwork company’s estimator after meeting with the trim sub, since you will have a better idea of what is needed at that time. Your trim sub can advise you on what to order for unusual items, like the scroll on a mantel leg or built-in shelving. Be sure to get precise prices on every piece of trim to be ordered before placing a purchase order. Let the estimator prepare a written quote, and then edit your purchase order to suit your own takeoff, since the supplier will over estimate materials to be cautious, to prevent extra deliveries, or to sell more product. Ask the cost of deliveries. We always got as many free shipments as we needed, even for just one or two missing pieces, since the millwork supplier had trucks making rounds daily just shipping odd pieces.

An unscrupulous salesman we dealt with once delayed faxing his quote, but gave an oral quote. We needed the order right away and had to trust his word. When we received the bill, it was a thousand dollars high. His boss assumed we were bilking him, since we did not have written proof, and our working relationship suffered as a result. Eventually the crooked salesman was fired (probably for multiple complaints,) and we received a credit, but we never recovered our reputation with the owner. Always get your quote in writing.

Some items that may surprise you in price include: flexible rubber molding for curved walls (some pieces can exceed $18 per lineal foot), extra height doors, fiberglass doors, or over sized wood veneer shelving (Photo 22.) Get accurate written prices on everything before ordering. Another expensive piece is a curved casing over an arched-top window. There are online videos showing building some of the more intricate moldings from old historic homes, duplicated with plaster molds and templates. If you are handy and somewhat artistic, you might attempt to fabricate these yourself, using a mold or a sculptured trowel. We had some trim men who could fabricate specialty items at home from wood rather inexpensively.

Ordering doors requires more detailed specifications than most finish items (See Appendix E - ...Door Schedule, & Door Hardware List.) We bought our doors from the lumber company rather than the millwork supplier, because the latter's were more expensive. A mystery to me at first was how to tell the difference between a “left-hand” and “right-hand” door swing. Our salesman had a silly but effective phrase to remember which; he said, “It’s comin’ at cha.” This meant when you are opening the door toward yourself, the side that the knob is on determines the swing of the door. Opening your front door from the inside with the knob in your left hand indicates a left-hand door.

Most of our doors were called “six-panel” even if stamped from one piece of Masonite hardboard. This is due to the original way doors were built with six different beveled edge panels of wood joined together in a frame. There are four-panel, solid slab, two-panel doors, and other variations, but the six-panel doors we ordered were traditional and seemed to never go out of style. Interior doors can be built of a hollow-core frame, sandwiched between two hardboard faces, or they could be built of more costly high-density fiber (HDF), or even more expensive and non-environmentally correct wood. The wood doors are more sound proof, but only truly so if weatherstripped, which is impractical for interiors; thus specifying wood doors alone to prevent sound transmission is ineffective. Exterior doors come in many different configurations and materials. Fiberglass veneers over a foam core are very weather resistant and durable, but they are more costly than many other types and less secure. Metal clad foam core, insulated doors are not attractive, but can serve for garage or rear yard access and are inexpensive. Wood six-panel exterior doors are attractive, but not weather resistant, and require more protection and maintenance to prevent warping, splitting, and discoloration.

Cabinets - excerpt from the book Working for Subs

Cabinets:

This book  (Working for Subs see link in other posts) is not intended to give extensive design or decorating pointers for your home. There are many other reference sources available for these endeavors. The aim of this writing is to give a step-by-step method for scheduling subcontractors and materials for the job. Some decorating decisions, however, must be made by the builder in selecting colors and shapes, since cabinets will be the backdrop for other accessories placed in the space. When it is time to select your kitchen finishes, you should prepare to visit several showrooms and read extensively to understand all the variations of cabinets, faucets, appliances, counter tops, sinks, and other components involved. Some specific items, like sink selection, may be discussed in this Chapter's pages, since they affect the schedule. The layout of cabinets and general sizes and shapes should have been at least sketched in the early drawing development stage of design for the entire home (Chap. 3.)

Some kitchen cabinets have a life expectancy of up to fifty years.⁶⁵ I have found that kitchen styles and tastes change about every decade. Cabinet designs change from traditional natural wood grain surfaces with ornate polished brass knobs to smooth-lined European types with hidden hinges and no handles at all, and cycle back again. Regardless of what type of cabinet you choose, it will probably be rehabbed after ten years during a kitchen redo. At that time resurfacing the doors and frames may suffice, and interior construction can often remain.
For my second home in the Colorado mountains I drove to Denver and hand-selected rough-sawn, random length and width mahogany planks from the lumberyard. These were then planed at the yard, and I delivered the odd assortment in a pickup truck to the job. A young neighbor architectural student who was also a talented carpenter built cabinets (Photo 16) on site from these planks.

  Photo 16: Author's son with stick-built mahogany cabinets in Colorado mountain house.

The same guy built my decks and a butcher block top on a mahogany island out of 2” hard rock maple (photo 17) from the mill. Once he had glued, clamped, and belt-sanded the maple top a couple of bottles of mineral oil were poured and smoothed over its surface for a sealer. Any other oil may contain degradable products or vegetable oils that would become rancid. This maple top could be sanded many times and used for decades.

Photo 17: Hard Rock Maple butcher block island top & Mahogany Cabinets.

Recently a more open cabinet has been the style for uppers, but when we began building in Tennessee the framer was expected to build a drop soffit from the ceiling to abut the cabinet tops. Be sure to have the framer include this if you want a connected look, and the drywaller will encase them.

Countertops:

Tops can come in many different materials including granite, marble, tile, concrete, laminate, or even wood, like butcher blocks. Stone tops can last a lifetime, but cultured marble vanity tops may only have a life expectancy of twenty years.⁶⁵ You can call the countertop estimator to come measure on the day before the cabinets are scheduled to arrive, and tell him when they will be installed. This will insure that he can possible set up an appointment to arrive the following day, and you won't lose a day of construction waiting on their delivery. Be sure to call him back if the cabinets are not installed as planned. The lead time on tops is usually about two weeks, so plan accordingly.

You will need to know the dimensions of sinks, whether your faucets are 4” or 8” on center, whether you want a soap dispenser built in, dimensions of drop-in range tops, lavatories, and appliances. Composite sinks make excellent kitchen basins, and they look good as well as save money over enameled cast iron sinks. If the accessory items and appliances are not on the job when the estimator arrives, it may be advantageous to have cut sheets available. Cut sheets are manufacturer's catalog pages, showing dimensions and other considerations for the items.


Natural marble does not make a good kitchen counter top, since it is permeable and porous, not like granite. Cultured marble for a built-in lavatory works well in a bathroom vanity. Your marble whirlpool tub supplier can supply these tops in integral lavs. Formica makes a good inexpensive top. Corian will burn and discolor with hot skillets placed upon it, and works best for bathroom vanities. Tile tops require a 3/4” treated plywood substrate and some sort of nosing for the edge. We have successfully used 1x2 stained and varnished oak nosing for this, fastened to the plywood base by casing nails prior to installing the tile. Twelve inch mat squares of small tiles can make a perfect backsplash on the wall above the top. 

Excerpt from book Chap. 1 - Preliminary Construction Considerations

Preliminaries:

Preliminary preparation tasks to be accomplished prior to buying a lot are
numerous and largely laid out in Chapters 2 and 5. Design and drawing or drafting of plans
are discussed in Chapter 3.

Early Quotation s:

Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning, and electrical quotations from those
subcontractors should be solicited as early as possible after plans are developed. These three
disciplines require the most time to prepare estimates and their own in-house drawings than
any other subs. These three subs will require much advance notice to schedule your project
with their other jobs and ordering materials, resulting in a long lead time, between reaching
agreement with you to beginning work. It is prudent to contract with them at an early time.

The homebuilder should request informal bids (quotes) from at least two
subcontractors in each field of work, and three would be better. You will also need prices
very early from a framer, concrete supplier, lumberyard, excavator, and foundations
engineer. There is no reason to hesitate in gathering all of these quotes very soon after the
plans are drawn and before receiving the building permit.

Once you have decided upon a subcontractor in each category and after
signing an agreement, you should contact all the other subs and vendors (materials
suppliers) you will not be using to thank them for their bid. This should be standard practice
throughout the construction process. It is not necessary to give an elaborate dissertation
about why you decided the loosing bidder’s price or scope of work was not adequate for
your project. You may merely call, speak to your salesman directly, or if he is not in you may
leave a message with his receptionist, stating that you appreciate all the work he did in
preparing a price for you, that you will not be able to use them on this job, but you would
like to be able to get another quote for future work when it arises.

Be sure to keep a journal or spreadsheet, titled “Thanked, but not awarded,”
which shows to whom you spoke, and the date. Many times the receptionist will not notify
the salesperson or that person may even forget you spoke to them about this. We have had
unprofessional bidders who were so insulted that they called to ask why they had not been
notified that they lost. Since we kept a record, we were able to tell them that we had left a
message with their assistant, and thank them again. Be sure to let them know that you do
not shop their bid (see Glossary,) and you would like to get a quote from them on future
projects.

To call and thank the people you do not use is a courteous gesture and the least
you can do for the free work of their quotation. They also must take your job off their list of
prospects for planning purposes, and will call you anyway if you do not preempt them. This
will maintain good relationships with your subcontractors and suppliers if you build again,
or even use them later during the same project.

Temporary Power Pedestal:

You must order a temporary electrical pole or pedestal from your local power
company in advance for installation after the lot has been cleared and graded. Discuss the
delivery of this with your grader and electrical sub, so that there is little down time for your
foundation contractor, waiting for power after the lot is ready for him. You may be required
to furnish and install a post for erection of temp power by the electrician according to detail
drawings available from your power supplier. This might consist of a treated wooden 4 x 4
and a plywood backboard within a specified distance from a utility line transformer. Verify
requirements with your local electric company. The temporary power pedestal will provide
electrical receptacles for your foundation subcontractor’s saws, air compressors, and other
power tools for most of the project. Until the house power is turned on, usually within about
the last week or two, the outside temporary supply will be the sole power source. See Chap.
4, Detailed Schedule part C and Appx. B for more information.

Other Preliminary Tasks:

Chapter 2 contains information on warranty and insurance companies, which
you may want to contact prior to construction. Many other items mentioned in the Brief
Home Schedule of Figure 1 are discussed in detail in later chapters of this book.
This brief schedule has subcontractor types highlighted in bold text upon first
appearance of their trade to indicate that before allowing them to walk on your lot you must
have a subcontract agreement signed (see Chapter 5 and Appendix D), their I-9 form (proof
of citizenship,) certificates of insurance, and other information.
Inspections:

The last column in the Brief Home Schedule (Fig. 1) is a list of common
inspections that your local building department may perform before progressing to
subsequent tasks on the list. Be sure you know which ones you are to call and which your
subs are to call. Consult with the subcontractor who’s work is being inspected about a day or
two in advance of when you guess he will be completed. Ask whether he will be ready for
inspection if you call it in for the next day. Make the call a day before needed, or whatever
your building department uses as advanced notice.

The list of required inspections may be obtained from your local building
department at the time of permitting. We have built in rural counties where there was no
formal code enforcement department, and a lone city engineer with no building experience
was providing that service. He informed us that only one inspection would be made at the
end of construction, because he was too over-booked to do more.
In contrast, however, you may begin to believe that many building
departments have become extensive labyrinths of tax-collecting bureaucracies that
seemingly only serve to delay your project and fatten the public coffers. You must be patient
while waiting for your building permit to be approved, which might seem like waiting for
an inefficient commissar to stamp your work release in the old Soviet Union. Anger at the
clerk will not expedite your permit and may even prolong it.

Building Purpose:

Whatever your reason for building your personal abode, self-expression,
pioneering spirit, a design outlet, control of your quality of life, thirst for knowledge, love of
shopping, competitive drive, quality control, or financial savings, be sure it is something you
have the time and determination to complete. Once you begin the process it will be quite
expensive, and if you decide this was not really an endeavor you wanted to undertake you
could lose much of your investment to that point. In that case you may have to hire a general
contractor to complete the house and take responsibility for the outcome, who will add a
factor for not knowing whether the work to date was performed properly. He will want to be
paid well for this risk, and your construction will be delayed also at a price. It's more
expensive to stop your supervision mid-construction that to hire someone else who is
experienced to finish the project from the middle.

C. Geoffrey Kremser, ...........................................................PE Page 8 of 289

(continued in book, Working for Subs)

home building schedule - excerpt from book, ,,,,,, Working for Subs

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The below table is an excerpt from a book, Working for Subs.  The table is expanded with a "Detailed Schedule" that discusses many more items in detail in the 19 chapters of the book.

A brief building schedule for construction of your home.

The following list of tasks is discussed in detail in the book "Working for Subs" by this writer / blogger.   See below for book preview.

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DESIGN - excerpt from book, ,,,,,, Working for Subs

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 CHAPTER 3 Designing The Structure:

The design and the detailed estimate of construction are both discussed in this chapter, because they are integral to each other and should be evaluated together. They are both endeavors which are best undertaken prior to construction and then finalized after purchasing the lot. The estimate should continually be adjusted to reflect actual expenditures as the construction progresses.

A rough preliminary design and estimate based on square footage should be drafted prior to the lot search, as mentioned in Chapter 2. In order to select the lot suitable for your dream home you will need a vague idea of your final structure’s size and cost.

The two tasks of detailed designing and estimating discussed in this chapter should be put on hold until after closing on the lot purchase, and not during or prior to the closing process, because as any real estate professional will tell you many deals fall apart before the sale closing. If your specific lot acquisition fails, much of your detailed design and estimating work will be discarded, so keep these two efforts to a minimum. The home must be designed based upon the size and constraints of the land where it will sit and financial limits. Estimating should be simultaneously conducted during the final design period.

Try to keep in mind throughout the design and building process the reality that you should be building to suit the general market, not to suit yourself entirely. Many people stubbornly design unique personal features into their homes only to realize at the time of sale time that their notions of what is desirable are actually offensive to many potential buyers. Even if you are retired and plan to live in the home for the remainder of your years, you will do a disservice to your heirs by limiting the resale value if the design is too customized.
The major activity of this chapter concerns the design phase of home construction. Other tasks include a construction estimate.

Detailed Schedule – Part B*

• Detailed estimate of construction costs (Appendix F.)
  
• Drawing pages required by code enforcement for permit application: (e.g., per Shelby County, TN, 3 site, 5 floor, 2 roof, 2 joist, 1 elec, 1 plumbing, 1 slab section, stair detail, cornice detail, sections & other details.) (For Florida see List in the FL Bldg. Code.) Include 2 Duplicate plan sets for use in builder's office.
  
• Additional Plan Sets needed for early QUOTES from subs & suppliers:
  

1. Electrical,
   
2. HVAC,
   
3. Plumber,
   
4. Framer, trusses,
   
5. lumber. Request return of plans with proposals.
   
6. Small scale (1/8” = 1’) for convenience and copying.
   
7. Have FL Engineer stamp and produce structural drawings and details.
   
8. Truss company quote (truss drawing details come with truss order) - Chap.8.
   
9. Architectural Control Committee review in your subdivision / HOA.
   

• Accurate quotes desired early (after lot purchase, design, & prior to grading) are:
  

1. Grading & lot clearing quote
   
2. Roof Trusses and Truss joists
   
3. Appliances (to lock in price): Microwave, oven, Double or separate 2^nd oven & Range /downdraft, trash compactor, dishwasher, disposer, sink
   
4. Framing quote
   
5. Stone countertops (cultured? quartz composite?)
   
6. Wrought Iron: Gate, crawl space grilles, mailbox, balcony, stair rails
   
7. HVAC
   
8. Plumbing (see Chapter 7 for discussion)
   
9. Electrical (see Chapter 10 for discussion)
   
10. Slab labor quote
    
11. Window & exterior Door quote.
    

*Detailed Schedule – Part B above, continues the sequence of construction tasks following Part A in Chapter 2. See Appendix B for the complete Detailed Schedule. Dimensions and amounts are based on codes in Tennessee, Colorado, and Florida, local requirements, and the Uniform Building Code that change frequently. Verify all in this book before acting on them.

General Design:

The more people who desire the attributes that your home exhibits, the larger your market will be when you sell the home. This book is most useful for a median-sized residence,ⁱ but the same principals can apply to any size structure. You may only need or want two bedrooms if you expect few visitors or want no children, but most U.S. markets expect an average sized home to have three or more bedrooms. Due to this expectation you should design the third bedroom and plan on using it for storage or an office if unwanted.

If you desire to build a bigger home (say over 3000 square feet) on your own, you will find the larger your structure becomes, the more involved the details, and more of your time and effort will be required. You may wrongly think that when you add rooms or space, it should be possible to produce a structure with the same elements but merely larger for the same effort. This is not the case. As the size of your home increases, so do the number and variety of elements and level of intricacy required.

The neighborhood in which you build a larger home will most likely be more upscale, dictating the use of granite countertops, you will need more colors of paint, your tile and floor finish selections must increase in number, appliances become more elegant in style with more features, more space conditioning systems will be needed, and so on. Each element of a larger home requires increasing attention to detail and customization, so an architect may be required, rather than a selection from stock building plan books.

The costs increase more in a larger home compared to a median-sized home, disproportionately to the increase in size, as materials are of higher quality, and subcontractors want a bigger piece of the seemingly wealthier pie. Subcontractors will charge more per square foot, because they perceive more profit, rightly or wrongly. Architectural services will consume a larger percentage of the final construction costs if used. Larger, more customized abodes invite more expensive finishes and materials. Developed lot costs per acre become higher. Structural members become more elaborate and costly due to longer spans and more intricate design requirements. All of these influences contribute to the greater cost per square foot of a larger home.

The home construction discussed in this book relates to the medium sized structure. The homebuilder will benefit from the information contained herein regardless of the volume of space he or she decides to construct. If a larger home is to be built the services of a design-build contractor and an architect, or independent construction manager who oversees construction may be useful as well. It will be exceedingly difficult for a newcomer to tackle construction of a home larger than 3000 square feet of conditioned area without assistance, due to the increasingly more complex requirements. Handling a home of less than 2500 square feet should be within the realm of possibilities of any diligent, organized, industrious person.

General Cost of Construction:

You could realistically expect to save about 12% or more of the cost of your self-built home after paying a Realtor and paying closing costs upon the eventual future sale of the residence (excluding any appreciation and financing costs). If you can make this amount on your investment in the first year in building, you have done better than most average years in the stock market²³ after taxes with less risk. Any capital gains, including sweat equity, appreciation, and avoided builder markup, are tax-free on your personal home (lived in for two of the previous five years under current tax rules.) Investing in your own home is also less risky than the stock market, or in other investments, due to the fact that you can always live there in a down market, giving it intrinsic value (like shelter, clothing, & food) not found in most other investments.

The ultimate closing cost (Realtor’s commission upon sale and other items) should be taken into account when figuring your costs, regardless of the possibility that you could be living in the home until you pass from this earth, because your heirs will likely have to pay that eventually whether or not you do. Also, including closing costs of a future sale gives a true way to compare to other homes in the open market. The final market value of other homes will include the closing costs largely paid by their sellers, and so should your estimate of true value.
A 12% savings translates to a before-tax equivalent of about 16% profit in alternative investments for someone in the marginal 25% tax bracketⁱⁱ. That is a phenomenal return for a low risk asset, which provides one of the basic necessities for living, a shelter. The return on investment has grown even larger with appreciation in most years with the exception of the 2008 crash and the great depression of the 1930’s. Even though capital gains taxes are not normally paid on profits of a home of normal size, the phantom after tax comparison should be made when selected from among other investment vehicles (to avoid apples vs oranges scenario.)


A detailed cost estimate appears in Appendix F, but for conceptual purposes the following will suffice:

Cost Estimate -Brief:

The overall break down of values for self-construction becomes:

Lot cost -developed  ........................................................................................................... 20%
Materials .............................................................................................................................. 29
Labor /subcontracts /services .(some materials included – see Chap. 5) ......................28
Markup & OH avoided     (savings: profit, and sweat equity) ........................................ 10
Financing & OH costs     mon. 1 (or opportunity costs if self-financed) .......................... 6
Closing & contingencies 7 (upon eventual sale by you or heirs) ...................................... 7
Market value = .........................................................................................................          100 % **
*OH: overhead of avoided contractor.
**All percentages are approximations and will vary.


The closing costs used here assume a real estate commission of 6% and additional seller expenses. These closing costs are unknown until just prior to the settlement date and may include paying points on the buyer’s loan, etc. Moving costs to the new residence are ignored, presuming a move would be imminent regardless of where.

You may consider building a primary home, living in it for two years (two out of the last five years,) and selling to capture the capital gains tax avoidance allowed, however this is usually a loosing strategy. Real estate commissions, moving costs, and sales costs will consume any tax savings. Investing your money in stocksⁱⁱⁱ long term may have been a better financial strategy than owning a home for years, which you did not build, as in most markets housing has shown only about three percent appreciation annually. This rule of thumb may be incorrect in long-term appreciating housing markets especially near the coasts. In the 2007/08 credit crisis housing actually declined in value, and many owners experienced a capital loss when selling.

The Design Documents and Quotations:

The design documents consist of drawn plans, specifications, and any physical or digital depiction of the purposed structure. These can take the form of blue-line drawings (on light background) that replaced the old blueprints, which had blue background with white lines. Other mediums used for drawing originals are hand-drawn mylar or sepia. Hand drawn plans are rare these days, and have been replaced by electronically produced CADD drawings, stored as computer digital files. The architect or designer normally owns rights to the design and original design documents though some will sell this right.

You might purchase blue-line (or black plotted) paper drawings and written specifications from the architect or designer. In residential construction the specifications are usually inserted into the drawings as notes, and are rarely separate as a booklet like commercial jobs. Many plan books are available from libraries, bookstores, or online sales with design documents. Most of these sources will sell five or six sets of plans for a few hundred dollars. If you want more sets or the originals for reproduction purposes, often these are available also. Subcontractors will need quarter inch scale (1/4” = 1') plans for use in the field, since an electronic drawing on a computer screen on the job is impractical.

Determine from your local code enforcement office the number of plan sets they desire for permitting purposes. Add two sets to these for yourself, and at least four more for your subcontractors. The framer may need one set originally and another later, due to destruction on the job. If you want to get simultaneous quotations prior to beginning construction you will need as many sets of plans as the number of bids you desire. Be sure to ask for the return of the plans with the bid. If you are building in a subdivision with an architectural control committee, they will usually request two sets and will keep one. Figure all theses extra sets into your cost of design when deciding whether to use a local designer, a plan room, your own CADD system, or an architect to do the working drawings.

i The average size of a home for the purposes of this book is described as one with 2500 sqft of floor space. The NAHB has calculated the size based upon the year and location, 2503 sqft for the South in 2006. See the spreadsheet, available from the web page: http://www.nahb.org/fileUpload_details.aspx?contentID=80051 .

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 Estimating Costs:

The estimate in Appendix F is based upon a Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet composed by the author and was used for building in Tennessee in the mid 2000's. Other locations may vary drastically in labor and supply costs. Referring to this estimate will aid you in compiling a list of most materials and labor items used to build an average sized home as well as a representative percentage of that item’s cost to the total project cost. Actual dollar figures will not be accurate for your location or time, and are shown to merely give a relative notion of itemized costs. It is based upon a slab on grade foundation and a single story house.

This author has found it is best not to rely upon any single spreadsheet, book, or computer program to estimate the cost of construction. Instead, call each and every subcontractor and supplier you can for each project to get the latest cost. Go through every number produced and verify its derivation for every new project. This will take some time and for some items several hours of work. Each entry in the estimate sheet represents money, and is worth spending at least more time on than you might spend reviewing the bill for dinner at a restaurant - the way many builders treat their quotations.

Every job should be estimated by re-calculating from scratch every item that goes into building it. Materials' prices change, different subcontractors have different rates, and their quotations change. Building codes change, each structure has unique attributes, different locations affect costs in different ways, etc. Use a previous estimate like the one shown in Appendix F only as a guide to prevent overlooking items that should be included or only to give ballpark figures for comparison and checking your figures.

A spreadsheet similar to the one in Appendix F is a good way to approach estimating. Each item has three columns dedicated to materials and three columns to labor. All factors that enter into a calculation cannot be shown in a single cell of a spreadsheet, so we use separate spreadsheets (not shown) to calculate the various numbers shown in the cells. These separate calculations then automatically refer their result to the appropriate cell of the main spreadsheet.

For example, the fireplace cost may consist of a summary of components, including the firebox supplier’s quote, framing, hearth construction, a surround of tile or marble, a mantle constructed by the trim sub, separate chimney enclosure, etc. This detailed estimate item from another spreadsheet (not shown) is all reflected in one or two entries on the main spreadsheet of Appendix F. The units column may list the number of bricks or the square footage of floor for tile. No units are consistently the same type, as one might be a unit of volume (cu ft,) a quantity (count,) or an area (sq ft.) The unit cost column may just be a factor composed of a complex computation from another spreadsheet to yield the total cost shown. Each entry of Appendix F must be reviewed as though it were being produced for the first time in order to be accurate.

The last two columns of Appx. F (% cost per item and cost per heated square foot) are handy for checking your calculations. They should be in the same realm or magnitude as your figures. If your trim and door number, for example, is 10% of your total cost instead of the 2.3% shown, you either have very expensive finishes or your calculations need to be revisited.

Early in the design phase of construction you should get as many quotations from suppliers and subcontractors as you can in order to avoid surprises later. Often time is not available for this in great detail. However, several quotations shown are needed at this early stage, due to their long lead times (from order to delivery,) and to lock in some significant prices prior to commencement. Some subs are booked for weeks in advance, and you will need their quotes at an early stage to guarantee their contract commitment. A list of these critically early items is shown earlier in this chapter in the Detailed Building Schedule Part B. 

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ii 22.7% = 17% / (1 – 25%).

iii Per the Univ. of Michigan 11.83% average annual return for a 30-year period in stocks from 1963 to 1993.