Got back late last night 97BH and did not have time to send response to your emails I will try this evenning from home.

70 to 75 is way low, unless it's all sided, laminates and hardly any lighting. It is a shame you can not subcontract it yourselves, Mr P and I did that, we tore down an old house and then put up a 3,100 sq ft house. We saved a ton, we used granite, marble, lots of wood flooring, a zillion windows, and 90% brick (we are on a lake). We had never done it before, had very little trouble, we stayed on top of everything and were at the site just about everyday. I mostly obtained all the quotes and scheduled the contractors, my husband was more hands on at the site. I for one would have trouble dealing with just one person for the whole project, every time you need sometime you have to wait for the builder to contact the subcontractor, and then wait for them to get back with you, some even get pretty testy if you talk to their subs on your own. I am to impatient, and on the controlling side, so I needed to be able to talk direct, not through a middleman. We also bought allot of our stuff at Home Depot, even the cabinets (Kraft Maid, and very nice.) I did not want to have the electrician and the plumber make money on the toilets and light switches etc so I opted to buy that myself. Much of it was bought on their 6 month same as cash programs. That saved us a ton of interest on the construction loan, we did not have to take as many draws. Plus we used our Northwest Visa and got about 100,000 in points! Home Depot was great, they stand behind everything. We thought a few of our cabinets looked a little small on the wall and they told us to bring them back, and that was after we had electrical boxes cut out of the backs!! I switched custom sinks, etc and never paid restocking. Another suggestion, go granite not corian, don't believe what they say, corian is not as good as their ads claim, my friends that have it are not that happy. We found a great granite guy that let us use remnants for our baths, I even have it in the laundry room, and I love it. Mr P and I were apprehensive about doing it our selves since we were sort of clueless, but if we ever build again we will once again be our own general contractor, we saved a ton and got stuff we never could have afforded through a builder. I am sure there a lot of builders on the board that will say it's crazy to do it yourself, well that's their opinion, I only have my experience to go on. One day I will post some pictures

I agree...I'd love to do it myself, but I really don't know who to contact, etc. There's a lot of work out there for people and I'm afraid I'll get ripped off by going with just anybody because I don't know any better. I've heard most people say don't build your first house by yourself. Basically we're planning to stay in this house for a long long time and I'd like it to be done right. I really don't have the "know how" to take it on by myself, I need somebody out there everyday overseeing it and I just don't have the time. True I'd probably save a ton of $$ doing it myself, but thats just not going to happen. I do like that granite.....thats very nice, I think we might go with it since it's a bit cheaper then corian.

We did not know anyone either, I just drove around new subs with larger custom homes and talked to the contractors. Also in our area a lot of people tear down, and rebuild, so we had some referrals. I know about time, it does take a lot of it, I worked about 45 to 50 hrs each week and Ian worked about 55. We were at the house every other moment, thank goodness it was on a lake, however only our ski boat fits there, so we were not able to do much os boating during the process. I laugh because friends will still ask "how's the house", because that was our life for so long (no kids). Now that most of the big projects are done Ian is currently rebuilding the engines in the BT, now everyone's question is "how's the boat", I feel so shallow; boat and house that's how we are known, maybe I should do some volunteer work or something:rolleyes:

Good luck, I am sure it will be a beautiful home,

If you go the cost/plus avenue (which is what I would do), make sure you ask the builder to get multiple quotes. Some times these builders use their "buddies" only for pricing knowing that you will not bark since it is an open book affair (cost plus).

Get numerous quotes, stop by other houses being built and see what other builders use as contractors and request pricing from those.

I would be a little concerned at $78/sf. I do not know how much different housing costs are in your area than ours but I am in the process of building a new 3700 sf home as we speak and the best prices I got were in the $120/sf range. This does not include land.

Mike

Changes do add up fast, and most builders mark them up because its a big slow down and it costs trades extra trips, so plan ahead, like carpenters say, measure twice, cut once.

I built homes for about 12 years, up to $750k, 5,000+ sq. feet. Pm me & I'll give you a phone #, I might be able to help.

Boss, I am currently in the final stages of my all brick 4000SF home that I framed and wired and subcontracted the mechanicals. My cost estimated when I finish will be approx. $65.00 per SF. Hardwood, ceramic floors and cherry cabinets. The cost quoted you is way low. Get model numbers for your fixtures before agreeing to their price or get allowances and furnish you own. I was a design build general contractor for 10 years and 90% of my work was cost plus. You'll get better quality and your contractor will get a guaranteed profit. Everybody wins.

78 a square foot? Wow,thats cheap.I'm doing a new
lake home on my own land. Up here in upstate N.Y.
the best you can do is 125 a square.