ohsix' House

jt09 · Ladies Man Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 22083 City: Austin

K-dub, he's in midland. doesn't really need to worry about hurricanes out that way.

K-dub · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 14760

I would say so

eeven73 · Posted: Sep 10, 2013 11:25 am Post subject:

tornado?

jt09 · Ladies Man Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 22083 City: Austin

don't think they get all that many tornadoes out that way. that high risk area is more north and west of midland, through north texas and oklahoma.

vette74 · Posted: Sep 10, 2013 2:24 pm Post subject:

In Corpus where Kdub lives the wind speed is 120 mph in ohsix land it is 90 mph along with the rest of the country.

RampageWake · Posted: Sep 11, 2013 10:41 am Post subject:

ohsix, I have a Thermador glass cooktop and venthood I have been been very happy with. The rest of my stuff is KitchenAid, which I have also been happy with for 7-8 yrs now.

ohsix · Posted: Oct 03, 2013 10:22 am Post subject:

We decided to go Wolf/Subzero on appliances. The KitchenAid stuff was about 22% cheaper, but the Subzero fridge/Freezer was a dual compressor vs. single for the Kitchenaid and every burner of the Wolf range had simmer and fast boil settings whereas the Kitchenaid had one simmer burner and one fast boil burner with the other 4 being in the middle. Also, we're not planning on selling this house, but supposedly buyers expect Subzero/Wolf in a house at this price point.

Pictures of the progress:

Front

side

front porch covering

Underneath front porch detail - this is what the ceilings will look like under the eaves and back patios.

nmballa · Posted: Oct 03, 2013 2:54 pm Post subject:

Very nice on the timber construction. If I built a house my entire house would be timber framed.

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

Looking good...the timber construction details is something I really like too. Oh, and your custom address number is awesome.

ohsix · Posted: Dec 16, 2013 10:30 am Post subject:

New pictures:

Rock is going on exterior

Hard to see, but the front door was installed a few weeks ago. Not sure when they'll put the glass in.

Wiring has been going inside.

eeven73 · Posted: Dec 16, 2013 11:33 am Post subject:

You were not kidding when you said your guy works methodically.

I am sure you are getting a great product, did you compare his price to others? Not pushing that as a better option, just curious how he makes it work being on a job for months and months(not the norm)

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

Looking good!

ohsix · Posted: Dec 17, 2013 6:40 am Post subject:

eeven73 · Posted: Dec 17, 2013 11:21 am Post subject:

Not to get too far into your personal business.

What was the % difference.

I certainly would rather spend 10% more and get a great product.

If you dont want to answer I get it.

ohsix · Posted: Dec 17, 2013 12:25 pm Post subject:

All three were cost-plus. One at 12%, one at 13%, one (the one I chose) at 14%. The 12% guy just finished doing a remodel for a friend. The friend said the guy could manage 5 things at a time. When you gave him #6, he forgot #1. The 13% guy estimated the house would be $750,000 to $850,000, but didn't give me a detailed estimate. The architect I was working with said he had worked with him before and ended up being replaced after going over budget and beyond schedule. The 14% guy gave me a detailed estimate of $1,328,000, told me he wasn't the fastest or cheapest, but said I was welcome to talk to anyone he had built for, and if I didn't know anyone, he would be happy to introduce me. I know 5 people he has built for and they were all very happy with him. They all said plan on being about 10% over budget at the end.

Without building the same house with each contractor, it's hard to say what the percentage difference would be on the finished product. I don't plan on selling this house, so I'm okay with spending more money to make sure I'm happy with it.

eeven73 · Posted: Dec 19, 2013 11:38 am Post subject:

So you had two bids one double the other Shocked

.

Did you consider a Not to Exceed price?

ohsix · Posted: Dec 19, 2013 2:32 pm Post subject:

eeven73, I wouldn't call them bids, just estimates. Short of picking out every last detail of the house, and having a thorough and complete set of drawings, I don't think any good, custom home builder would do a hard-bid job or a not to exceed price. We didn't, and still don't, have a set of drawings with every last material spec'd out.

Unfortunately, there are very few custom home builders in this area with a decent reputation. The few that do exist aren't having any trouble finding work on their terms. I went what with the builder I thought would be the best fit for my personality and this project.

As a business owner, I spend, on average, about $5 million a month on goods and services, so I like to consider myself a little more competent than your average joe when it comes to dealing with contractors and managing costs. I don't think I'm getting screwed (at least not any worse than I would be by any other builder) and I'm satisfied with the way things are progressing compared to other custom builds I'm familiar with.

eeven73 · Posted: Dec 19, 2013 2:45 pm Post subject:

I wasn't trying to imply that you were not getting a fair deal or not managing the cost, I hope you didn't take the question/comment that way.

I certainly would be very suspicious of the "proposal" that was that much cheaper. My questions are purely from a curiosity standpoint, I have a little experience with project management.

Like I said above, it looks like you are getting an awesome product. It is interesting that your contractor can make it all work with an 18 month process. He obviously has his niche and honestly more power to him. Realistically, it is probably a better way than the volume model.

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

ohsix, first - I have no doubt you are on top of it.

I'd much rather have a contractor bid based on all of the known and expected costs up front rather than just wait until the inevitable change orders come down and stick you with all the nickel and dime bullcrap that turns up in a major project like this. No matter what, you are going to have a lot of stuff change as the project shapes up - that's normal. But if a GC gives you a rosy estimate that leaves out stuff that everyone knows is going to become part of the project anyway - well that's a big red flag to me.

We had 4 companies bid our backyard/pool. Only 1 of them did what your GC did, and that same one, not coincidentally, was the one we could find the best (and most) referrals for. Good news for us is they were also the best bid, which just told me the other guys were trying to hit home runs on every project rather than just hit a solid line drive into the gap. So far we are extremely happy with the results.

pyrocasto · Posted: Dec 20, 2013 11:53 am Post subject:

I would be worried if I had to build a house right now. Builders range so much from great to sh*tty it's scary not knowing which you have on a project this size. I would probably do as you did and go with the best referrals and most detailed estimates as long as I could swing the budget. I've seen builders and every vendor under them screw people over left and right. That's why being a good builder isnt only knowing you're stuff, but knowing subs who are top notch and you can trust as well. Our favorite builders generally use the same subs for every house once they find good ones.

ohsix · Posted: Mar 03, 2014 6:54 am Post subject:

Still coming along

Insulation:

Drywall

Stucco:

Roof:

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

It's coming along nicely!

E.J. · Ladies Man Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 7597 City: Mogadishu

Looking good, always enjoy these updates...

You were not kidding that this guy takes his time.... I assume you are on the year you expected....or do you think you'll hit the 18M?

eeven73 · Posted: Mar 03, 2014 9:06 am Post subject:

I am getting a kick out of the torn up lot with dirt flowing into the street.

Not from the perspective of your builder is doing anything wrong, but from the complete and utter stuff fest that would erupt in this neck of the woods. The clean water nazis would be all over that, would result in some large fines.

ohsix · Posted: Mar 03, 2014 9:20 am Post subject:

Next month will be one year since construction started on the new house. I'm hoping it's move-in ready in August which will be 16 months since construction started.

ohsix · Posted: Mar 03, 2014 9:28 am Post subject:

eeven73, every Friday they (builder's employees) clean the job site including the dirt on the street. When it rains and they're driving the reach lift in and out of the yard, they carry a lot of dirt into the street. I don't know of any complaints about the dirt in the street so far.

In my current neighborhood, I enter my garage from a paved alley behind my house. When they were building houses behind mine, the alley would accumulate several inches of dirt/mud. I had to complain to the city several times to get it cleaned up, so I know how annoying dirt runoff can be. I'm not an enviro-nazi, but I don't like to track mud in my garage.

eeven73 · Posted: Mar 03, 2014 9:31 am Post subject:

Out here it isn't the mess, It is the runoff that the Eco-Greens are mental about. I stuff you not your entire lot would have to be Storm Water Fenced and all drains would have to be filtered. Also, all the bare dirt would have to be covered with hay/straw.

jt09 · Ladies Man Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 22083 City: Austin

i know you are good w/ the timeframe, but it still blows me away at the pace. i'm watching my friend's 4100sq' house go up in lakeway and it's at warp speed compared to this. contract was mid july, site prep/slab was in oct and they already have drywall up.

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

eeven73 · Posted: Mar 03, 2014 10:57 am Post subject:

oh i'm sure the rules migrated up here from CA like everything else.

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

eeven73, I dunno, you guys have your fair share of native hippies there too. Laughing

vette74 · Posted: Mar 03, 2014 12:22 pm Post subject:

You have to do silt fences here also. It is the silt that clogs the storm sewer that is the problem. I really like the look of the tile roof.

eeven73 · Posted: Mar 03, 2014 12:24 pm Post subject:

Doesn't look like you need to in Midland Laughing

jt09 · Ladies Man Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 22083 City: Austin

state vs city

Nor*Cal · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 9479 City: Sac