Why does it take so long??

14 years ago

Why does it take so long to build a house? My friend is a carpenter and built a 2500 square foot house (split on two levels) with two car garage in two months. He subbed out the excavation and foundation, but did everything else with his father (a retired electrician). They only worked evenings after he got back from work and on weekends. The structure is simple, it's basically a perfect rectangle with a gabled roof and siding but the finishes inside are very nice. They didn't finish the basement. If two people can build a house by themselves working only 30-35 hours a week, why does it take so many people several months or even years to do it with a GC and trades?

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Comments (10)

sierraeast
14 years ago
Sounds like your friend and dad got it right by staying ahead of the process and knowing the steps involved with a build. Staying on top of materials deliveries/pick up from suppliers, lining up inspections, and appearently getting lucky with the weather.

The biggest delays are from scheduling conflicts, supplier delays, how busy the building dept is, mistakes, lack of communication, and of course ma nature, aka the weather.
qwibbled
Original Author
14 years ago
Ok I'll give you that, they're also one 30 year old and one 60 year old working 35 hours a week vs a GC with teams of trades working hundreds of combined hours a week. Logically it should take the latter less time not more time. Does scheduling errors and poor weather really justify an 8 month build vs 2?
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gopintos
14 years ago
That's a good question... :-)

Ours will probably be about 8 months from when we started with the foundation. Maybe 9 or 10.

But the main difference I see is that we are 2100 main floor, 2100 lowel level completely finished, 1350 upstairs completely finished and about 1200 wrap around porch that has electrical and plumbing and enough lights & speakers on it just like it was a house.... but I know I will love it when we are using it but I looked at it last night and thought it is almost a house on the porch.

Rain has been one of our biggest issues. Rain, rain, and more rain.

I would also think that by building your own, you could make decisions pronto, whereas some things get delayed until I can give an answer. They just move on to something else until they get an answer, but when I get there, they have to explain it all to me, explain all my options to me, check on this way or that way for me, etc.

Electrical has been our biggest thing. 5 miles of wire seems to take a bit of time.... :-) I have to go over with him where I want this or that. Can you move this or that, whereas building your own, you just know.

I dont know why it takes so long, because everyone is working their best it seems. I am very happy with everyone. But I will be very VERY happy when it is all done.
qwibbled
Original Author
14 years ago
Well you're house is 2.7 times bigger and likely much more complex structure, roof, etc.. 8 months seems long but it's a big house :)
creek_side
14 years ago
Eight months is not a long time. Two months is a short time.

It's not a record, either. A friend of mine had a house built in five weeks by a CG, breaking ground to moving in.
sierraeast
14 years ago
A builder/developer in our town averages 60 days for 1200-1400 straight forward tract homes, 3bdr,2 baths, nothing real elaborate or complicated. He uses the same subs,knows how to schedule all aspects, and has been doing it a long time and he will tell you there are always dealys in one shape or form on any build.
sue36
14 years ago
Complexity of design, materials, etc.
Weather
Town delays (waiting for inspections before proceeding)
Unexpected issues (engineering, for example)
Issues with materials (delays in delivery, issues with what was delivered, etc.)
Sub availability, scheduling issues

DH used to work for a builder that built basic tract homes (like Sierraeast describes), 60 days was their goal. Same subs, same plan, over and over and over.

Our house is relatively complex (several framers didn't want to try to tackle the roof), we had all kinds of weather issues (caused over 5 months of delay), and we built during the boom when trying to get subs on site was like herding cats.
culater94
14 years ago
It is an apples and oranges thing. Can't generalize home building, too many variables. I know people who were in a rush to get in, so they picked out whatever for finishes, made split second decisions, then wind up unhappy with those a year later.
nycefarm_gw
14 years ago
I know my builder does not build one house at a time. In the 8 months that it took him to build my house, he also built another friend's house. Not to mention the days off for hunting...
srercrcr
14 years ago
Our house sat for one whole week with no subs visiting. The builder missed the 6 month deadline so he paid the interest on the construction loan after that point.

Why does it take so long??

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sierraeast

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Why does it take so long??

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