Keep Calm And Build On....

In everyday life there is always someone you may rely on as an expert because of their experience, knowledge or problem solving skills. He/She is known as your go-to-person. They may be a family member, friend or co-worker. They are your one phone call from jail, phone a friend, talk off the ledge, hospital lifeline. Regardless of their role in your life they are important and necessary. Even more so when you are building your home!

One of the largest partnerships (outside of the bank) you will have during a building project will be with your lumberyard. The lumberyard works closely with the GC to determine initial building costs and as a supplier of the majority of  building materials. When you contract with a lumberyard you are assigned a lumberyard sales rep. The sales rep is given a copy of your blueprint and is responsible for going to your job site to assist you in measuring and determining the correct material quantities. You have no control over who you are assigned, it's really luck of the draw. You just cross your fingers and say a prayer that you can rely on this person. When you can't you learn to quickly identify and find their "go-to-person".

Before you order any materials through a lumberyard you are presented with an invoice outlining the vendor, quantity and cost. You have to either verbally or electronically review and sign off on this "order request" before anything is ordered. This process is done to minimize mistakes and delays.
Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

This past week we finally ordered the remainder of our exterior siding, Maibec Cedar Shingles. We had discussed the vendor, color, quantity and cost with our lumberyard rep in nauseaum over the past month. Especially since we learned that our rep had miscalculated the total amount we needed for our project. An expensive mistake.

So when it was finally time to place the shingle order we thought we were both on the same page. Until this showed up at our job site at the end of the week. 16+ squares of the wrong cedar. If you are reading this and know the going rate for one square of painted cedar shingles (1 sq= 100 sq feet at $315 a pop) then you won't be surprised to hear that my head almost popped off of my head from frustration! It's a stereotype that construction workers can be vulgar. I'm sure not all of them are. But now I completely understand why! If you know me I don't swear often. I'm typically pretty politically correct, under normal circumstances. But on this day all of that went out the window! I was no longer a nice suburban mom of two who works in an office and goes to church on Sundays. I had an out of body experience.

Our lumberyard rep had ordered SBC Cape Cod Gray and we asked for Maibec Cape Cod Gray. You would think no big deal, they are both big vendors out of Canada, it's white painted cedar, the colors should be very similar. But you would be wrong just like our sales rep. Every vendor has their own samples and paint colors for a reason. No paint is the same.

After a call to our lumberyard, our sales rep and his manager and his managers manager. We asked that everything be returned and the correct cedar ordered. This mistake will cost us a week delay on siding.

As I sit here typing this I have to keep taking deep breaths and reminding myself that the road to success is always under construction!

Go Fund Yourself!

If you recall in an earlier post I mentioned (very bitterly) that a construction loan is a reimbursement account. Which means that in the absence of a completed (sell-able and livable) structure the bank requires the GC and the buyer to take on the majority of the financial risk for a building project. If you happen to be both then you better hold onto your pants because (you may lose them and your shirt) as you are now liable to front ALL of the costs to fund your project before you see a dime of loan money from your bank. The bank will only disburse funds if you can prove that each line item of work is 100% completed. There have been times during this process where we have wondered why the hell we even bothered getting a construction loan because we have felt like we were building the house out of pocket.

Unfortunately if you are not part of the building community and or have a working relationship with lumber yards and sub-contractors it's tough to prove to vendors that you are "good for the money" even if you tell them you have a bank loan to back you. So we have found that many vendors and contractors have required substantial deposits from us upfront, when they are half way done and when they finish. These have been the most expensive relationships to foster and manage. I swear the deposits for our rough work alone could run a small NH town. As a GC it's your job to juggle your working capital to ensure you can cover these costs. And let me tell you juggle is an understatement.

My husband, father and I had to estimate the total cost to build our home way before a single person stepped foot on our job site. What we thought we wanted day one changed multiple times before actual purchase and install. Many of these changes were triggered through education (exploring new options and deciding to use better materials). Did you know that there is a difference in quality of nails? I didn't and I never in a million years thought I would ever be having conversations about this! If you install exterior cedar shingles it is recommended that you upgrade to stainless steel nails to ensure they never rust and stain your cedar. The going rate for one box of stainless nails is $130. The alternative and less expensive option is to use galvanized nails and they run about $40 a box.  Nail at your own risk people!

Just when we thought we had experienced all the crazy that is the construction loan process we were schooled again. You would think that spending wisely to upgrade your home's (infrastructure, materials or finishes) would have a positive outcome. Ironically from the bank perspective you have now altered your original agreement. Banks have to track your loan disbursement to zero. How can they verify that you are 100% complete with a line item if the real cost to complete that work is higher? They will still only give you the money you agreed on even if it's less but now they force you to pay the difference before they let you access the funds. The bank may even require you to deposit money into your disbursement account to make this happen!

Now you can appreciate why builders jack the cost of upgrades up two fold. They are just trying to recoup their profit and cover the cost differences for the bank.

The whole construction loan process is geared to protecting the bank. We are left scratching our heads wondering how anyone is able to build at all?

Orchestrating a building symphony

Being your own GC is like being a conductor. You have to direct the performance of a group of individuals to produce a desired end result. If you are like us and you have zero building experience it's a steep learning curve to understand the sequence of work, material lead times and people required to build a home.

Fast forward past the coordination of material delivery and labor to excavate, pour a foundation, foundation slabs, frame the house (including all interior walls and strapping on the ceiling), roof, install all of exterior windows and doors, siding, and porches (in that order). The real composition occurs when you have all of your subcontractors inside your home. It's almost like doing the hokey pokey. You get the plumber in, the plumber goes out, you get the electrician in, the electrician is out.

Keeping everyone inside and working requires planning and organization by the GC. If it's a busy building season then a good subcontractor has work lined up. If rough plumbing parts like (valves, bath fans) have a shipping delay and the plumber needs those parts to finish their work, they will leave, start another job and come back to finish yours when your materials are delivered. If that happens it can be tough to get a subcontractor to come back in. This happened with our plumber it took almost a month for him to get an inspection on rough plumbing.

Or your electrician can't complete wiring for the lighting and outlets in your kitchen until the kitchen designer chalk outlines where all of your cabinets, appliances and kitchen island will go. But the kitchen designer can't mark out your cabinets until you finalize the appliances you are purchasing. All of your HVAC duct work has to be in before you can start insulation.

Once all of your rough electrical, gas lines, plumbing and HVAC roughs have passed inspection, then you get the green light to insulate your home. After insulation has passed inspection you can have drywall installed. After drywall you can start installing interior trim, doors and hardwood flooring. Hardwood flooring has to be installed before your kitchen cabinets can be delivered and installed.

Below is a timeline I developed and have been tracking against for the completion of our build. As of today if everyone shows up, does their jobs, there are no material delays or errors we are looking at an 8/31 complete date.

As you know anything can happen from day to day with a building project. On top of orchestrating the materials and people to keep them in tune, the GC also has to weave the bank disbursements in between to ensure you have the capital to keep playing the music! Wish us luck T-90 days!!!

Won't you be my neighbor....

When you are the only new house being built in an already established neighborhood there is an unspoken rule that you keep building disturbances to a minimum. You want to make a good impression and be respectful That means you don't start sawing, drilling or hammering at the crack of dawn. So it's never a good sign when your neighbor is calling you in the middle of the work day to complain about something building related.

My dad and the crew had accumulated quite a stash of left over brush, trees and 2 x 4 wood in a pile behind our home. It needed to be cleared to dig and install our septic and well.  The fastest way to get rid of it all would be to burn it. Our home is situated on a 1.65 acre lot and our closest neighbor is 400 feet away. 

The crew waited for a rainy day to call the town inspector to get an approved bonfire permit. With pouring rain above and permit in hand my father in law started burning the pile. A couple hours into the bonfire our neighbor came out and asked my father in law to stop. He said that the wind was blowing soot from the bonfire onto his house and it was staining his white trim. 

Our neighbor then called my husband at work and relayed the issue. He said he was concerned that there was damage to his home. My husband was completely shocked and apologetic. We couldn't have predicted something like this happening. We immediately stopped the bonfire. Then a handful of back and forth phone calls ensued between myself, my husband, my dad and father in law as we scrambled to come up with a plan B to remove the pile. We finally settled on a giant wood chipper for the brush and trees and a waste management bagster from Home Depot for any residual construction materials like 2 x 4s.

While the brainstorming phone calls were taking place. My mother in law who was home watching our daughters received a call from our local police department. They called and asked for me by name so she assumed it had to do with the bonfire debacle. She then started calling my husband and father in law to tell them the police had called our home. Turns out she misunderstood the call. The police department was calling for a donation. Thank god!

While all this was happening my husband was waiting for a follow up call with our neighbor to confirm the damage to his home. We were preparing for the worst, that we would have to come up with thousands of dollars we didn't have to pay to repaint his house or that we would have to submit a claim to our home owners insurance and our deductible would go sky high. Luckily the pouring rain washed away any soot that had blown over to our neighbors house.

After a roller coaster ride all afternoon my husband and I were left feeling relieved, exhausted and worried about our relationship with our neighbor. 

Awww...the joys of home ownership!