Make a list, check it twice. Oh wait, that's to do with something else. Well, hang on though, it might be good advice for you. Let me start again.

Make a list, check it twice and run it by your building inspector. You never know what kind of stupidity you're going to be faced with. In my jurisdiction kitchen and bathroom sinks have to be tested and certified by a certification agency, which means that my goal of having a custom carved sink made out of soapstone wouldn't be approved by the building inspector unless it could get certified. Same thing with a custom carved front door - it must be rated (not fire rated like a garage door, just rated by a certification agency and custom wood carvers aren't set up to send doors to such agencies for destructive testing.)

Sinks were just the latest inanity that I ran across - it makes me cross eyed thinking about the bureaucratic stupidity that dominates the building inspection racket where one of the prime criteria is "covering the bureaucrat's butt" by taking responsibility away from the homeowner and shifting it to rating agencies so that building inspectors/local governments don't get sued for allowing homeowner/builders to put something in their own which some future owner might find faulty and sue the local government for permitting.

My advice is check out how your local inspectors will look upon your plan or alternatively, screw 'em, put in the minimum you need to to get a certificate of occupancy and then do what you want in your own home after you've moved in.

I think it's a great idea! We've bought and sold lots of stuff on ebay and CL over the years. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. We bought a set of stainless appliances off craigslist last year (hadn't planned on replacing old appliances, but just "happened" to see these). They looked great and were a great buy. But, the OTR microwave is starting to act up now, and the dishwasher is probably not my first choice, now that I have it. So I guess if you have the time to peruse CL, just make sure it's what you would have bought (if buying new), and it's a reputable person. Also if you're not going to use it right away, make sure you plug it in and test it.

I've done it plenty and you can score if you are very patient, very diligent, and very lucky. Good luck!

My teeny-tiny kitchen remodel doesn't compare to a whole house/new build, but I used several craigslist/ebay/clearance finds. I had a general idea about what I wanted and how far I'd travel to get it, and whether I could re-sell it or re-use it in another area if I found something better. And believe me, next week you'll see something better, or have a better idea!

We bought a used marble table, which we converted to an island, vintage cabinets from a high school, old lab tables from another high school, and a non-functioning, vintage stove that I use for storage--all from craigslist. New SS apron sink came from ebay, as did a showroom faucet, and a filtered water tap--at greatly reduced prices.

Be prepared to walk away if an item isn't something you can use or re-work without a hassle, no matter how disappointed you are. Ask questions and educate yourself first--it's amazing how many people don't know the difference between natural marble and cultured marble (at least that was the story).

My best advice: After the kitchen and bathroom are complete, never ever look at craigslist materials list again!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen album with captions, or click on my user name for threads.

Oh, heavens yes! You're writing to me, aren't you? :)

Make a big list. Everything you'd like to have. Then start prowling reuse centers, CL, Freecycle, eBay, you name it. You might see me gloating here over the kitchen cabinets I've picked up for everywhere I want a cabinet. (Ranging from $5.00 "orphans" to 9, beaded inset Quaker Maid cabinets for $327.) You can get entire sets for practically nothing.

Sometimes you've gotta clean them. The grease can be absolutely disgusting, but TSP is a Godsend! You can get solid plywood and other types of well made cabinetry, tho, in all kinds of sizes. I like painted cabinetry so this works well. I am buying the doors (since I suck at making them) but all the boxes are reused. I even found my lazy susan on the side of the road. I'm proud of that. If you look at the boxes and don't get distracted by the doors, you can configure your kitchen beautifully. I just picked up one of those base, 9" spice pull out drawer thingies for $3.00.
I picked up all the materials for my future deck, including the concrete footers. (Roughly $200?)
I've bought windows there. Definitely windows. With or without frames. ($20 -$50)
I'm collecting antique doors ($10 - $45 or so) for my pocket doors. You can get doors with frames, too.
I got the wood to make almost 20' of butcher block counter tops. (Roughly $200 again.)
I've found pull-out drawers I'm going to use for toe kick drawers ($2.00 each, including drawer glides)

If I'd known what I know now, the few cabinets I did buy, I never would have wasted the money.

You can find lighting, hardware (for pennies!), gorgeous radiators, stair spindles, glass, tiles, all kinds of bathroom stuff, appliances (even energy star by now, believe it or not!), flooring. I've donated duct work, furniture, lighting, granite pieces, and stuff I decided not to use back to the reuse center. I can go on for days about this, so I'll stop.

It becomes almost a really fun game. How much can you get for what, to save yourself, what?

Good luck! :)

Don't forget your local Habitat for Humanity Restore or www.greendemolitions.com. We got lucky at the Restore, on CL and ebay for several items and saved big!

Thanks so much, guys, for your advice! I really appreciate it and am getting excited. We are still a year out from ground-breaking, so I have time to wait for those perfect deals to pop up.

We've already made a few purchases.. I found a person who was tearing out all of the doors and jams from a couple year old upscale home to make the doorways handicap accessible. There was nothing wrong with the doors; they were solid oak 6-panel with brass handles and jams. A whole house-full of doors for less than $200! I wouldn't have ordinarily purchased the solid oak doors if I would have purchased new, but not only was I able to get cheaper than I would have originally purchased, but better.

I'm hoping to run into more similar deals where I can!

I appreciate all the advice, success stories and warnings.

Thanks!

Absolutely start with a list of everything that you might need, providing that you have a place to store stuff. Check CL and even ebay daily for what you need, buy it when you find something that suits you, and keep it to use when you need it.

I was renovating rather than building from scratch. My best CL buy was a door that replicated the look original to my Sears kit house. Someone had mis-measured and cut a half inch too much off the bottom, so I got a new $1200 Simpson door for $300. (As you can see, we had to put in an additional layer of threshold to make it work.)

Other stuff I bought from CL include cabinets and appliances in the kitchen linked below, a new marble topped vanity, medicine cabinets, and a brand new Mitsubishi Mr. Slim ductless HVAC system. (You would be surprised at the things people buy, end up not using, and can't return. This includes windows, vanities, tile, etc. ) From ebay came light fixtures, faucets, cabinet hardware, etc.

Ebay has feedback for sellers, so that is pretty foolproof. With CL, you just have to use your judgement on an ongoing basis. E.g., the Mitsubishi system was still in its cartons and the explanation for it was plausible: the seller had bought it for a family room addition to his house, but then discovered that the HVAC in the main part of his house sufficed for the new space.)

If you guys are open-minded and adventurous in you new build, you might find that the availability of something unanticipated and rare provides additional inspiration.

Best of luck. hbk

Here is a link that might be useful: craigslist kitchen

We bought a lot of things on Craigslist during our build. Some of my favorite finds were our Kohler Dickenson sink, our Marmoleum flooring, and our Kohler tub. We made a master list of everything we needed (and I mean everything), and put it in a spreadsheet. We then priced out the items that were in the mid-upper range of being more pricy, and put them in the spreadsheet. That way we knew if we were really getting a good deal, and we could act on it fast because we had alreay done the research. We also didn't have a lot of storage while we were building, so we needed to prioritize our buys.

I would also check auction houses if you have them in your area. We used one and bought 3/4 of our wood flooring for our house for more than 1/2 off.

Awesome! Great deals, guys. I hope that I can say the same thing about our home when it is completed. I have no problem with purchasing used (I'm a yard sale junkie--thanks to my mom =) and just love the thought of not only saving money, but having the opportunity to get more unique and higher quality things than I may have been able to purchase new.

As for the spreadsheet idea, my husband already has me doing that! I'm a non-linear kind of gal and wouldn't have done such a thing. Thankfully he has the foresight to see that we needed lists. I'm going to keep it handy and also send one with my folks as they garage sale most Friday and Saturdays throughout the summer. With a year's time to shop and plenty of storage available, I'm hoping to come out with some good deals like you guys!

Appliances definitely. People order wrong parts or things happen and are not able to use it. I picked brand new not even opened warming drawer for 200 bucks (retail over 1000), 48" hood thermador for 400, sinks for $25, medicine cabinet for $75.

LAlitha

I recently posted some comments about cut-rate windows at outlets, should this interest anyone.

Here is a link that might be useful: windows comments

AlexHouse, where do you live? California?

The biggest drawback to doing this is the amount of storage that you will need in order to house the items in a way that you can find them and lay hands on them when the time comes for them in the build. The other drawback is that for many items, you cannot see if they work or not unless you see them in the home already hooked up before they are taken out. Those type of items, like built in fridges, jetted tubs, etc. are ones that I would most likely skip buying second hand unless you are able to get a screaming good deal. (I'd skip buying a jetted tub second hand anyway unless it had never been installed--leading to the chicken/egg conundrum. They're pretty gross after they've been used.)

One other thing to consider in your spreadsheet is your backup plan. There are going to be items that you think are right, but when it comes to install, will be the wrong color in the right light, or will have been damaged in storage, or you may have just not found seondhand. Be sure you know where you can get replacement items from, and rapidly. The longer your build goes one, the more costly it is to you, both in wear and tear on your nerves and your pocketbook.

I bought a ton of fixtures for my home in 2006, when I actually had the funds.

To date, I've only found I didn't care for 3 of those pieces. We're talking sinks, faucets, lighting, you name it. So 3 is not bad.

However, I am very glad I kept all the model numbers and instruction books, etc., because almost everything I bought has been discontinued! I bought touch-up kits, too.

I would suggest you try to figure out what items would be your rooms' focal points. For example, find your stove. Pick it's color and style. From there, you'll also know what finds will actually work with it, complement it and cause it to remain a feature. You won't end up with a ton of stuff you'll turn around and sell.

I've redonated a bunch of doors, cabinets, drawer and door faces, and more. At $5.00 a cabinet, I'm on the low end of the loss spectrum. But then, I get a tax receipt for donations, so I figure it's a win-win.

Storage. Good luck! Oh! Don't forget to mark you list when you actually buy something, so you or yours don't keep shopping for it!

C.

I forgot to tell you my latest flash of brilliance!

I have porches that don't have any ceiling. I've decided to look for tongue and groove flooring and make a truly beaded board ceiling!

My front porch is 69' long. I doubt I'd find enough for the entire porch, so I'm thinking strips. If I have enough for a single row the width of the porch, the next row could be another flooring, as long as it ran the entire way. The widths might be different, but it would be a planned random!

On my back porch, I'm actually taking fence panels that are very weathered and turning them on their side so the boards are horizontal. Then, I'm going to cut them vertically (perpendicularly to the boards) into panels to put between the roof joists on the back porch. That ceiling is lower than I'd like (no choice) and this will make it seem a little higher. So this porch will have weathered, distressed ceilings.

My point is that the most unexpected thing could become something for which it is very unintended.

And very fun!

depending on where you are building, you have to be careful about using old faucet fixtures because although it is ""green"" in the sense of re-use it is not necessarily considered ""green"" in the sense of water-savings. i found out the hard way that a lot of faucets that i bought on sale were not considered low-flow, water-saving fixtures and i had to buy new ones that are labeled water-sense fixtures (all more expensive than normal fixtures of course.).

michoumonster,
BG&E came to my house and replaced something in the spout of the faucet to make mine low-flow. I didn't replace a thing.
Perhaps that should be considered?

CEFreeman, probably what they replaced was the flow restrictor. that would work for faucets, they also sell flow restrictors for a couple of dollars at the hardware stores, but not for my expensive rainshower head, sigh... toilets where I am also have to be low-flow too, (luckily i had not bought any of those yet) not sure if there is a remedy for toilets if you happen to buy non low-flow there...

There is also the issue of lead content in faucets. CA has begun to have tighter restrictions on that than the nation as well. If you find "recycled" faucets there, they most likely are the old ones that will not work under the new lead regulations.

Be sure you have enough knowledge to be able to adequately inspect these products and ensure that all of the parts needed for installation are there. IF you are the one who supplies a product, and it's not all there, your plumber or electrician will have to make double trips to do the install, and that will cost you.

For something like reclaimed wood for floors, purchase a moisture meter and a 4' level. Look at the milling quality. Is it consistent in width and straight? If it's someone's reject, then they rejected it for a reason. Be sure you can deal with that reason. A lot of "reclaimed" flooring floating around isn't reclaimed, it's just badly milled new flooring.