saftgeek

I love the name so I must reply. These were things we did that saved us big bucks (a lot of this we learned from the GW posts - so that is tip Number 1 - use the GW forums):

- Shopped locally for appliances. Seemed counter intuitive until we actually went shopping and bought from a local dealer - not the applinace person recommended by the builder.

- Installed my own home automation (light controls), home security system, whole house audio. Also installed the recessed lighting. Home automation is cool - but very expensive if you sub it out. If you know how to wire up a toy train set you can do most of this stuff. The recessed is also expensive - but really nice to have (was a must have for me). Installing the recessed requires some basic knowledge of electrical and I worked with my electrician to make sure it was done right and to code.

- Re-designed the original house plan (purchased on line) to remove what my architect called "ginger bread". Lot's of fancy railings, ornate pieces - these cost big bucks. Also re-designed the roof pitch and floor plan so that standard trusses could be used - removed the fancy roof taper that was in the original design. By doing these thinsg we actually gained more square footage but reduce the overall cost to built the structure.

- Went with the first grade of architectural shingle but not the better grads that I wanted initially. It was a lot of money that was better spent in other areas.

- Purchased some of the plumbing supplies on line (like stainless sinks) - but only the items where we found the savings to be worth it.

- Did our own landscaping which was basically bed prep and mulching. We will do our own planting next year.

- Installed my own water softener and whole house water filter. We have a well - hard water and iron. Contractor wanted 8000 dollars to treat it. Read a bunch of posts on the Plumbing Forum and did my own system for 1100 dollars - and it works!

- Spent ZERO dollars on interior designers. DW used the GW to learn about colors and posted questions on various design issues. They saved us a bundle - and the advise was really good!

- In general, made sure that every price we got from the vendors used by the builder were reasonable. In many cases - we paid a little more for goods but we received design services rhat we felt were worth it. If we found an item that we felt was too high - we bought it ourselves. In a few cases (like our granite) we were very unhappy with the pricing from the prefered vendor so we shopped and found our own - now our builder uses them instead.

- Made as few changes as possible after construction started. All of the chnages we made after construction started were very minor - in the cosmetic category.

- Got a construction loan that converted to the mortgage - same rate for both phases. Typically they charge more for the construction phase.

- Did the double move (sold house - moved to rental - then moved to new house). If we had attempted a single move, we would have been in deep dodo (probably would be paying 2 motgages right now). For the first move, we packed ourselves but had the movers take everything. In the second move, we packed everything, but we moved a lot of the bulky but light stuff ourselves using a rental truck. Second move was about 30% cheaper than the first.

- When clearing our very dense tree'd lot, we decided to hide the root matt and brush on the lot to let it rot over time. The cut trees were stacked neatly in 2 places. This was cost avoidance - the cost to take all that bulky mess will be a lot less after it rots for a few years.

- I maintained the silt fence myself after I realized I was getting charged a lot of money each time it had to be repaired.

- Installed my own humdidifiers and a hot water recirculting system. The combo of these 2 things saved us about 2 grand.

That's about all I can think of. Best of luck with your project.

Oooo! I can't give any tips, but was going to post this EXACT topic as we got closer to our build. I anxiously await your responses! Thanks Saftgeek!

Buy as many things ahead of time as you can, yourself. I bought all our appliances over the past year and saved a BUNDLE. Floor models, Ebay, etc. Same with lighting. I've purchased most everything online at a huge discount.

Write into the contract with your builder that you have the right to get bids on any part of the project you wish if you're unhappy with the bid they get from their preferred sub. Also be sure to write in that you want to SEE the bids from their subs. Honestly, we didn't do this and God knows what we could have saved by trying different subs for the painters, plumbers, electricians, etc. A lot of builders won't be happy with this because they have "preferred" subs, and sometimes for good reasons, but you should at least be allowed to see the bids from the subs and negotiate a little or look elsewhere if you think they're unreasonable.

Do as much of the job yourself as possible. Have the builder make as many items in the contract allowances as possible, and if you're capable of doing them yourself or hiring someone for less than the allowance you'll save big money. We're doing all the flooring ourselves, for example, saving over 10k. I wish we would have painted ourselves too because that would have saved us about 7k. These aren't small numbers. We did part of the roof ourselves and saved 5k. Obviously this all depends on how handy you are, and finding a builder who allows you to do work yourself, which isn't easy.

Shop, shop, shop. Don't just assume that the place the builder refers you to has the best prices. Shop around and find out for yourself.

Basically, anything you can do yourself will save you a bundle, so time to dig in and get dirty!

We've done several kitchen and bathroom remodel projects. We saved money by shopping locally. We bought cheap panelling for our family room. Don't remember the specifics except it came from Home Depot, was on clearance and looks great! We went to a plumbing supply store and got a slightly broken medicine chest. It has thre large mirror doors. One of the doors wouldn't open but our GC fixed it easily. Similar medicine chests in bath shops cost $300 and more. It pays to shop around.

I second what everybody else here has suggested!

I would also say RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!

My husband is a commercial design/builder and we were using his subs to build our new home, but even still, it took 4 years of research before we were actually ready to begin our build.

Why?

Because we knew going in to it that there would be "snags" - there always is. And if one way/thing doesn't work, what else will? If you need to compromise, what are you willing to compromise on? If you need to change something to something else cause it won't work, do you have a backup rather than relying on the trade?

I want to shout PICK ALL YOUR MATERIALS IN ADVANCE! There is a TON of work to be had deciding cabinets, appliances, flooring, trim, toilets, showers, tubs, lighting...the list is endless. You need this all done in advance so that you can focus on the construction & supervision, answer questions when needed, attend to problems if/when they arise. Try to limit your stress as much as possible!

The reason this research is necessary is because "dimensions" on many items are critical. Having complimentary finishes are desireable. You do NOT want to be making these decisions during your build, when far more critical decisions may need your involvement.

Model Numbers may change, but manufacturers often come out with comparable products, just different model numbers. Keep in contact with the suppliers you have decided on. In fact, check with the manufacturers directly to see if/when your selections are going to be phased out.

Last but not least, price shop like crazy! I am amazed (or is it appalled?) at the savings we achieved during our research! $2690 per master vanity via local dealer; $1310 purchased direct (including shipping!). At least $7000 saved in flooring (eBay). Our plumbing trade gave us their cost and I about died....$21,000 was OUR "cash" quote, $11,416 was their quote. To me, that's just robbery! Love that we got the trade price, but sheesh - homeowners are getting hosed!

Last but not least, set your budget appropriately. EXPECT overages because they WILL happen. Some people say up to 20%. We didn't experience that, but again, we were using my DH's trades and they knew they couldn't hose us. However, we still went 12% overbudget through upgrades I decided on last minute or because problems were encountered during the build that did cost us.

Good luck on your build and hope to see pics as you move along!

Plan, plan, plan and then plan some more.

Think about your electrical, low voltage, plumbing needs in advance. Planning for your needs will save you lots of dollars if they are done during the construction phase rather than after.

Examples include:

Home theater needs- will you need an inlet, outlet box for a flat screen TV and other components cables? Most people want a flat screen on their wall but they forget that they need to hide the cables behind the drywall. It cost me $50 for my electrician to lay down a few electrical boxes before drywalling and then I installed a panamax in-wall system to route cables.

Also will you need dedicated circuits for your home theatre or media room. Easily done during the electrical buildout rather than after. Same goes for electric generator transfer switches and dedicated circuits. Very costly to do after the fact.

Concentrate on your systems first I think that's where things can get unnecessarily expensive if done after the fact.