I dont think that any builder should make any kind of promises of a move in date because there are way too many things that crop up either personally,weather, subs that have schedule conflicts,supplier delays, and as you know, utilities. Stating a projected move in time by stating "we hope to be in by...." is more realistic, but doesn't help when the project still rolls over.There are just too many elements involved to be able to pin anything down.

Your a busy gal,kelntex. Maybe concentrate on your other tasks and kinda put the house on the backburner for awhile because it will get done.Stay involved deeply with your build as it progresses, but relax a little about the setbacks because it's not going to speed up the process when you are depending on others.Keep the pressure on your builder somewhat respectfully, but losing sleep,yelling at the dog, doing donuts with the truck out on the property isn't going to get things done any faster!

I have been extremely impressed by our GC. There has been essentially constant activity since we started. Maybe a couple of slow days, but there's always someone there working. Certainly no significant downtime. From talking to our GC, he's constantly planning and arranging when people will come in to do different things (framing, roofing, plumbing, elec).

Obviously it depends on your contractor and what you're doing, but I would expect much more activity. They should have been framing as soon as the foundation was in. And now that framing is up, they should be wiring and plumbing.

I hate to see you suffering with this. Your build has been going so fast compared to most of those here on the forum. It really has. Rain/nature you have to take out of the equation, and I think you have.

From the very beginning you've had to stay on your builder to get anything done. He has other projects going on and it seems like he, like many people, respond to the "squeaky wheel". I agree that you should respectfully keep up the pressure, but I wouldn't even think of it that way. I'd just think of it as "checking in as to the progress." Sounds like he makes a lot of statements (and MANY people do this) just to reassure you/get you off his back.

I never believed you would be in as fast as you thought. Just like I don't for one minute believe my own, much trusted builder, when he says the time from building permit to CO is 5 to 7 months. NO WAY. HOWEVER, every statement like that becomes one I can repeat back to him--respectfully--just quoting him and use that as a tool to keep things moving forward. If I need to. And you apparently do.

I do remember, however, that he is difficult to get in touch with. He's avoiding you? Since you're the one in charge now with DH away, why don't you talk to him, sweetly and calmly, and set up a weekly check-in. So you will not obsess and feel blown around in the wind. So he will know there is a regular report he needs to make. A good routine is a real help. Then leave the worrying off. Your build is a business arrangement; maybe treating it that way would make the builder act more businesslike. Assuming he's capable of it.

My gosh! When in your schedule do you plan to go to a paid job? Or, maybe that will get your mind off your build and onto something else. You have more energy than anyone I know. Well, over age 22 anyway.

BTW, I know you don't want to hear this, but it is really hard to move during the holidays. And if you could clear your mind of that expectation I think things would go so much easier for you. In fact, why not plan to wait till after the first of the year, whether the house is ready or not? That way, you can plan your holidays wherever you're living with whoever you're living with. Or, go on a mini-vacation and have your holiday out of town for a change--something to look forward to and take your thoughts off of: "Why, oh why, isn't the house ready for the holidays like the builder said it would be?" Put yourself in charge; not the builder. A mental shift like this is useful because it gives you such a feeling of control. You can control only what YOU can control.

Is any of this giving you food for thought?

you will have to admit sierraeast, that spinning donuts in the mud is a whole lot of fun!!!

hang in the klentx, I agree to just keep pressure on the builder.

Oh gosh thanks everyone! Your words have really helped me this morning SO MUCH:-) I know all of you are right, and I shouldn't have held that move in date to the tee. I will respectfully keep the pressure on.

Pinktoes, yes that heps so much. You are right. Moving during the holidays would be stressful. Maybe we can look at this as a reason to go skiing!! HEE HEE!! Yes, I know I am crazy for trying to get a job BUT, it is part time and would help out so much and maybe help take some of the stress off of DH.

If I told DH I wanted to go spin some donuts he would do it in a heart beat! LOL! Does sound like a lot of fun. My friend suggested that I go where DH will be and stay for a weekend, just him and I and no house to think about. I think I will do that!

Thanks again everyone! Off to the job interview! Wish me luck!

Kelly,
In Nov of 2005, our foundation was poured. The building supt said we'd be in for sure by the following May. The following May he promised June, "No problem". We actually moved in Aug. Nine months after the foundation was poured (even though our contract gave them six months to complete). This was a year and a half after we signed a contract and applied for a permit.

pinktoes gave great advice. "Check in " with your GC on a regular basis, but try to focus your energy elsewhere.

Hope the interview went well.

I have a slightly different take. A few months into our build I realized I would have to be on top of our GC all the time, that if I didn't, we would be many many months behind, and many things would be done poorly. In the end we were "only" two months late to substantial completion(about 13 months in total) and most of the project has ended up well constructed. Many things had to be rebuilt two or even three times to get them right, despite repeated requests to try to get them right the first time.

My GC disagrees strongly with our approach, and thinks things would have worked out just fine if we hadn't driven him so hard. He seems to think we enjoyed hounding him. Nothing could be further from the truth. We just weren't willing to accept the quality and delays we were getting otherwise, especially given the high cost of construction in our area.

I think that your approach to your builder needs to be tailored to bring out the best in him as a contractor, whatever that means. That may or may not make him happy on a personal level. It meant continued friction for us, because roundabout "checking up" had no effect at all. Unfortunately, I had to choose between my builder liking me at the end of my project, versus my bitterly resenting all of the things that were built wrong. I decided I'd rather have the house that I wanted.

You MUST prepare for hunting season when many of our subs were not to be seen for weeks... (unless you looked out at the duck blind or deer stand).

this seems to be a common problem. we had a contract that said 9 months after the later of contract signing or building permit received. we got the building permit on 5 sept 06. i am still in my rental. i will be very happy if we can get in before thanksgiving.

it took 2 meetings with the builder - second one unpleasant - go get the project moving. i figured out what happened - we did not sqeak loud enough. when builder runs into problems he services the seakiest wheels first. so once we started having meetings where I took action items and then started following up on the dates when things were supposed to start or be done - i think he started focusing more on our house.

i would get on top of things right now. get a schedule from him on the details and have periodic status meetings - maybe weekly - and track the dates he gives you. if you don't get on him now the project will keep slipping to the right.

sniffdog's got it right. Status meetings or phone calls at planned intervals, at least, should be routine. Uh--our builders work for us.

I called the builder this morning. He was at the property talking to the septic people. I simply stated our concern (I did make sure I told him we moved out of our rent house and in with my sister)and that we would like to be updated more often. He told me the rock, sheet rock and something else (gesh, my memory......) was on order and due to come in next week. Insulation will be done Wednesday I think he said. He told me we will see a lot of action this week.

I talked to my friend who is also building. The one whose home is almost done. She opened up about to so many mistakes, cabinets measured wrong, the wrong GRANITE counter tops, the wrong stain on the cabinets. She said they rushed and pused to fast and there was a lot of mistakes. So, with that being said, I think I would rather move slow and have it done right then not. The GC said he will not use any subs on our house that he has not worked with before. He knows his subs, trusts them and they are worth the wait. So far I have to agree. We had a guy walk through our house a few weeks ago and told us he has not seen such a good framing job in a long time. The builder told us he used new subs on his house and he spent a few weeks fixing their mess ups. So, I am going to relax (but not to much) realize I am not the only person in the world who is building and try to focus not just on this house. I need to save my energy for a major problem if one should arise!

Thanks everyone for your advice!!

We started right around the time you did and it looks like we are two months away from getting in. We are at taping our sheetrock (drywall). I have been the GC for our build, with my builder helping out at times. If I didn't have a sub to use, I consulted with my builder and he had someone. If he got the sub, he scheduled them and if I got the sub, I did the scheduling. It has gone well so far. We have had very little down time and each day we had no one working on our house it killed me. I think on the whole, over the last 4 and a half months, I could count on one hand the number of times we have not had someone working there.

I work part time from my home, so I was able to GC our house just fine. I have a great builder, who is not a power monger and is easy to work with. I am not sure I could have done it this way if he was into the power of it all or if he wasn't such a great communicator. Don't get me wrong, it took a lot of effort on my part to make this work. I didn't hound him, but I didn't let him get by either. I tried to discuss what was happening for the week on Mondays, but in an informal way. This helped me know that things are moving forward and made sure that my builder knew I was paying attention.

I don't feel like we rushed through anything, but we did go on a good clip. So far, I don't see any mistakes or anything that I would have done differently. I think you can stay on task, move quickly, without mistakes. It all depends upon your builder/GC.

Here is a link that might be useful: My House Building Blog