"Soon" and "under budget"? That alone is too high an expectation for a house that isn't spec or "cookie cutter". You also didn't specify the method by which your builder is pricing. Cost plus a percentage? If you signed a contract based on a finished number without every single selection and finish detail in place, you are asking a mythical number in any scenario.

No clue where your house is located, but around here, the house most want, the one of their "dreams" with great kitchen, high end appliances, beautiful baths, flooring , finishes.....is NOT less than 350.00 - 500.00 per square foot. Everything under that is pretty much basic builder suburbia. That's before the fabulous outdoor kitchen or a turret:)

This is a question about contractor processes, not cost. My question is: "Is it reasonable to ask for a spreadsheet on housing costs so as we make the needed changes to the plan, we can have visibility on new costs and adjust other items to stay in budget?"

If I understand your scenario, due to lot issues a basement was removed from the scope of the project and instead you will have a crawl space. Your contractor owes you a new contract price and an adjustment to any allowances that are affected by the scope change.

It is our policy not to share line item costs with customers - unless we are working under a cost+ contract arrangement (which we seldom use). We share the allowances that are included in the contract down to each item within each allowance category - lights, doors, windows, tile, plumbing fixtures, appliances, flooring, roofing, siding, etc. We consider allowances to be only those items that the client can select. The allowance schedule is part of the final contract.

It is our business to decide how the construction will be done, what subcontractors will be used and what materials are needed to properly do our job. Our contract is roughly 15 pages long once we put in the extremely detailed description of what work is included in each phase of the project. This description also includes any area where you might be subject to increased costs as a result of uncovering issues - such as boulders in the area where the foundation is planned.

IMO, it is not a reasonable expectation to ask for the cost data. I am always amazed that consumers feel they can ask a GC for this, but don't ask any other professional with whom they deal for this information. I would love one day to understand why. I can't imagine going to my doctor and asking them how much of what I pay is going for their salary and how much is going to various materials used in my treatment, how much is going to cover overhead costs and what $ each of those items is. I would also be curious to know if you disclose that to your customers. Maybe you are in a business where it is customary.

I'm not a contractor, so I don't presume to speak for them...but...what he's kind of reluctantly half-saying is that there is so much variability in the process that there's nothing solid to give you.

If he does give you something he'll immediately be painted into a corner based on an expectation of the process that doesn't reflect the real-world outworking of the process.

That's simply to say (at least in my experience) is that the process is presented as fairly black and white for the sake of the homeowner. In reality, it plays out as more of a moving target that the contractor has to wrestle with daily to keep the pricing and schedule on target.

As long as you feel you can trust your contractor, my soft advice would be to give them the freedom to run their process as they're accustomed. Too much holding-feet-to-fire tends to sour the process. I don't think this is your intent, but I could foresee that being a potential outcome.

Oh by the way, what a place!

Are you financing this with a construction loan ? The person processing the draw should have a running total of actual costs.

You only get a line item total if you are doing a cost plus build. If you are doing s fixed price, the builder is under no obligation to share with you anything but the bottom line. The exception to that would be for allowance items that go over your allowance.

If you have "excavation" at 10K as an allowance, and it comes in at 20K, then you owe the builder 12K. That is the 10K difference and his 20% markup. But, he would need to furnish you with an invoice after the fact. The price of some changes cannot be known in advance. That is why you need a 20% contingency budget in reserve.

Yes it does feel like the Wild West sometimes (I'm going to have to steal that line)! In my experience, as a design consultant and interior designer in the NYC area, it is rare that the client wants a spreadsheet for the project. It is understood that you want to be abreast of costs and budget in order to make educated changes. Before hiring a GC, we would have a completed set of plans, and spec all finishes down to the paint company and color, all approved by the client. Then hand it over to the GC for structural engineering, etc. and a bid. Anything other than what is on the specifications is a change order.

When you hired the GC, I am sure you were familiar with his work, spoke to his references, and agreed on a budget. Usually clients are their own worst enemy as some compromises on job sites work themselves out with all the professionals involved.

A general breakdown on the project is given at the original bid stage. You may feel more comfortable with the father on this one.

Wait Wait Wait. You are doing a new home build and this GC did not give you a estimate that had all your allowances broken down like Tile, cabinets, flooring, windows. This is a great scam. Every time you go to pick a tile, or the wood flooring you want or the decking you want the GC can say I'm sorry but that tile is more expensive then what I left for an allowance you owe me more money. I'm in Boston and around here that is usually standard when building a new home, at least show the client the subs cost and the allowances that you left. Knowing what you have for allowances for cabinets and tile and counters will enable you to shop ahead and pick the stuff out now so your not causing delays when you cant decide on what granite you want. When estimating a job a contractor figures out the price on everything. He does not say ok I think the foundation, framing, roofing and siding will be 60k. No no no every single portion of that job was priced individually. How would a builder come up with an accurate cost unless he figured out how much things were going to cost individually. For example lets say I'm building you a home for 100k. In my notes I know foundation 5k, framing 5k, roofing 10k and siding 10k but in the estimate I give to you it might not be broken down in such detail it might just say exterior portion-30k. Think about it. Your building a 1 mil custom home. Any one estimating that job has to price every single phase of the job. Asking for the old foundation cost at this point is useless. When the new bid comes in if your looking to save money ask him about different designs to save money or ask about your allowances for the interior finishes. Ask him point blank where you can save money. You could look at a spread sheet that has the hole job broken down to the very screw but I don't see how looking at the prices of everything will give you insight on how to build things for cheaper. What if you look at the price break down and say wow those lvl beams are very expensive I think we should use something cheaper well those lvl beams can not be substituted. Your not a builder you don't know what design changes will save you money. Let him tell you that. He was to pay a guy to come in and dig the hole. He has to pay a roofer to come in a put the shingles on the roof. You mean to tell me he didnt know how much that stuff cost and he just put a random number on it and said I will figure out the actual cost of the roof later. Contractors don't want to show a home owner to much info but a honest guy would have no problem showing you what your subs cost plumbing electrical HVAC ect, and then it's up to him how he shows the rest of the numbers some guys will show you the sub costs and then say ok the rest is material and labor for me. Ii think you should be shown the sub cost, allowances for finishes and then you can say ok the rest of the money is obviously for mandatory material like framing, roofing and stuff that doesn't get picked out. Maybe I have the situation confused I just never heard of a gc saying ok the project will be 1 mil sign the contract and then after you sign then give you a break down of costs. like what if you get the break down and he left 500.00 for tile and 100.00 for cabinets. I hope this helps private message me if you want.

Bids are for an auction. Estimates are what lead to contracts, and contracts are where your budget is listed. Change order procedures are listed in your contract. By the time you sign a contract, you know what your budget will be. Plus a contingency for the inevitable changes.

You've already signed a contract. You don't get to start over. You are past the stage of estimates and changes without repercussions. Your foundation issue falls under a change order. It will cost what it will cost, and you pay what it will cost plus the builder's percentage. There is no ''negotiating'' a change like that after the fact of agreeing to it. You write the check and move on. No reneging or renegotiating on a signed contract. Not unless you want to be in breach and subject to a lawsuit.

Great clarifications, Sophie. If I were to rewrite my opener, I'd say, "I'd like my GC to provide the estimates (all our allowances) for our build in spreadsheet form, We have the estimates in our Building Construction Specification (along with the detailed supporting documentation from each of the subs), but have since had a major change (no basement possible, so we have to redesign the whole house to accomodate moving rooms). I'd like a working spreadsheet so as new estimates come in, I can see their impact and downgrade some of our other choices (allowances) to stay within budget." My surprise is finding that homeowners aren't provided with spreadsheets to help them control their own need vs. want price issues. I see from the comments above that GCs don't supply this. If clients want this format, I guess they just have to do it themselves.

I think most builders DO provide information on the allowances, but not on the remainder of the project components. What is considered an allowance may vary builder by builder and could vary project by project for the same builder (ours do). Our estimating software does not provide any information that could automatically be pulled over to a spreadsheet (like in Excel). We create a spreadsheet type format for allowances and it is attached to and is is part of the contract. It is very detailed - it doesn't say $10,000 for plumbing - it says $x for a sink, $x for a tub, $x for shower faucet, $X for the plumber, etc. on down the line. What most people don't provide are the building components and management pieces.

Could we jump back to 2008? From whom did you buy the lot and did an engineering firm (either yours or the sellers) conclude that the property was buildable and had no issues? Like: "are there problem soils, including expansive clay, un-compacted fill, or ledge that may require blasting."

I am surprised that you got this far into your plans to then discover ledge was going to muddy the waters.

Before we began construction, just to get a building permit, we had hired a surveyor; had to do a perk test for the septic; conservation was involved because we were close to the water and they had to approve of anything environmental....on and on. Buying and building on raw land isn't a walk in the park, so you have my sympathy.

You say you have the construction loan and to have gained that approval, the lender had to have seen a construction
timetable (loans are usually 12 months), detailed plans and a realistic budget. No engineering report was requested?

I know that I am not answering your question (because I can't professionally), but we have built on raw land a few times and something just seems wrong here, starting in 2008. I can't understand how those involved as professionals did not see a red flag with the ledge and inform you of that issue. Otherwise, you would not now be "redesigning" the home.

Watch out for that 12 month loan restriction.

I am not one for replacing a GC ever, as the outcome usually costs more money with wasted time and energy. That being said, sometimes if you are confused, not happy and do not trust the information you are given, you may want to consider walking away from this GC. (I can just hear everyone scrambling to comment! Run, Forrest, Run!) You will start out with someone new knowing exactly what you expect from them and what they expect from you, therefore, clearing the air before you even start. It's not too late and may save you sleepless nights in the process.