Purchasing materials... Builder vs. homeowner
aupatrick
14 years ago
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14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoaupatrick
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Window pricing - homeowner vs. contractor??
Comments (3)As to the question "Do contractors receive significantly better pricing than the general public" the answer is yes and no. It depends on the dealer. Some have a 10-30% difference in price and some don't differentiate between contractors and homeowners. Some contractors (more often the higher end ones) like to deal with suppliers that will give wholesale prices to contractors only. In contrast the big box stores like Lowes and Menards will have close to the same pricing for everyone (where the higher end contractors may not frequent). If you're building a home however and GC'ing it yourself many will give you wholesale pricing. After all, you're not buying one or two windows, but a whole housefull. And since you're building instead of doing window replacements, it's a nice clean transaction with no measuring (and liability) needed, since you're working off of a set of plans or a window schedule....See More"Consistency" vs. "Builder repetitive"
Comments (114)amberm145: You mentioned that you'd like larger format tiles on your bathroom floor and a matching mosaic for the shower. We have 13" square travertine-style tile on our master bath floor, and the installer cut those same tiles down to 3.5" squares for the shower stall. So that may be something for you to consider. I've really enjoyed reading through this thread and all the differing points of view. I wish I'd known more about design and architecture than I did when we had our house built (in a "American Foursquare" 1920's style with Craftsman elements) 10 years ago, but we researched as much as we could at the time and are still learning. I used to beat myself up more for all the mistakes I felt we'd made, but now I try (and mostly succeed) to focus more on what I think we did right. I'm too practical to completely redo things that still function just fine, but I think about how I might re-do some of the things that still bug me over time. Some of you purists would shudder at the variety in finishes throughout our house (we did all pedestal sinks in the 3 baths, but different hardware finishes in each, for example). I have plenty of regrets I could fixate on in our house, but mixing hardware finishes isn't one of them. For us, having many things in an unfinished state (for example, our living room table/chairs were recently re-glued/refinished but the chair seats need to be reupholstered before we can actually USE them) is mainly due to my indecisiveness rather than a lack of finances to get projects done... I tend to over think things to the point of the ridiculous and drive even myself crazy sometimes, and I also feel like if it's something I can do myself (painting, window treatments, etc.), then I should. So everything takes time, and with young kids that's often a scarce resource. I've thought about asking for design advice from a professional, and will if we ever re-do our kitchen cabinets (my main regret after our build), but for now I'm trying to learn on my own here and from old house mags and such. I also come from a working class background and have lived in areas of poverty (including a mud hut in a 3rd world country), so the whole concept of design feels sort of indulgent and I guess it makes me feel guilty sometimes to even care about such things... But I do....See MoreAdvice needed on GC vs. Builder for new home contruction
Comments (13)Thanks to everyone for your comments. Today my husband and I spoke with 2 types of builders: one big box + custom and one independent and very flexible with allowances with the offer to get us better pricing on things we found on our own. We then spoke with a local architect that finalizes our plans and bids the work out to contractors. He earns his commission on the sale price of the house. We found all of them through Houzz Professionals and received responses from each one right away. With our lot we are fortunate not to be in a flood zone and builders are accustomed to extra "strapping", but no big concern or discussion on that topic. Interesting comment on the Cost Plus contracts. My RA told me directly in a meeting that Builders make their margins on appliances and finishes..at the time I interpreted that as "you wouldn't want them not to make money on the build". The other builders and architect said that there indeed are independent builders that will build on the Island (Amelia is really a northern extension of Jacksonville and on the Southern border of Georgia-not at all remote or isolated). Conclusion: When faced with a series of inconsistent feedback I know the truth is somewhere in the middle. I rather enjoy reading between the lines and sorting through the motivations behind different opinions from different people. Not saying anyone is lying, but we are being very thoughtful, observant, asking questions and researching the hell out of this project to make sure it is mutually beneficial to all parties. Other comments are welcome!!...See MoreDoes anyone really understand homeowners’ insurance?
Comments (49)And just in case someone want to know how this is done for example... here: Damage in the family room .. wet half wall, connecting soffit , ceiling, exterior wall, and the water leaked into a fireplace and on other room side another part of ceiling, tornado damaged door, baseboards: The adjuster pays: R13 in the attic instead of R38, pays for a bogus 2" paint grade baseboards $1.40lf, exterior wall drywall, install carpet - lowest grade, OSB 4'x4'; re-nail interior door (as exterior door fix) What the adjuster did not pay: R38 insulation, 20'x14' ceilings, 3"-1/4 baseboards clear maple stain grade - $3.50/lf, stain the baseboards, new trim around the window and staining, the insulation behind the wet exterior drywall, paint the drywall [what bag pays for unpainted walls], remove/install/replace drapes next to the windows, half wall + soffit drywall and paint, repairs to the flooded fireplace, the carper removal [not just install], 20'x14' subfloors, and remove and replace exterior door + paint the exterior door + trim. Is that 20 cents on the dollar or 10 cents on the dollar? Best insurance - LibertyMutual....See Moredekeoboe
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