what part of your build has taken the longest?

14 years ago

We are about a month into our build from the point that the first shovel hit the ground. The framing is about 4 days from being complete (including the roof). I'm shocked by how quickly things have gone. My husband and I have had several conversations about how fast the process has been and both of us are often left wondering...if the structure can go up in three weeks what are the other 5 to 6 months for?

So, to satisfy our curiosity, what part of your build has taken the longest and were you surprised by the delay/amount of time it took to complete or was it expected?

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Comments (5)

melaska
14 years ago
Well, to be honest...saving the money to build :) We are going to be 'out of pocket' so it will get done most likely over an 18-24 month period. I'm doubling what hubby says so I got that covered ;)

We put in the foundation last Fall...just now starting the floor framing.

Shelling in seems to go fast - from what I understand...it's the finish work inside that takes so much time. We are building very simply & according to our severe weather conditions in snow city, Alaska.

We spent a little extra to beef up the foundation since we live in a very active earthquake zone (Old Valdez was destroyed in the '64 Good Friday Earthquake).

Good luck in your build! :)
galore2112
14 years ago
The reason why framing is up so quickly is that it's done by one trade, right after the foundation is ready.

The rest of the house requires many different trades with different schedules. If those trades were scheduled perfectly, you could build a typical house in a weekend (see Extreme Home Makeover).
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auroraborelis
14 years ago
jrldh - if only I could get Extreme Home Makeover over to my house... Only I'm not that interesting...

What is the typical start to finish timeframe for most people?
alexcato
14 years ago
In our case, foundation and framing was from Halloween to the week before Christmas, when the roof was finished.
What took a long time was the phase immediately after (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, network). We also took a long time (almost a month) to get a pretty complex brick facade. After the drywall went up, things accelerated again, but slowed down again for millwork and interior carpentry. We are now looking at a finish around late August/early September for 4000 sqf.
Annie Deighnaugh
14 years ago
Interior work always takes longer...there's a lot to it...different trades, different materials, critical dependencies in the timeline including inspections...and it will take longer if you make changes.