I would definitely get more involved with the process. Ask specific questions like what are th eexact holdups, and what ooptions are there?

kelntx,
please do not feel you are the only one in this situation. We broke ground last december, we are just getting the drywall "ORDERED" for next week to deliver it. Aghhhhhh.
I am so at my wits end. My DH is very involved in the build, we are paying an arm and leg for our GC and feel we are getting ripped off. He comes by every now and then to figure out what is going on.....he doesn't know what is going on all of the time, WE do, that is the problem.
I think you need to start putting your daily "sightings" on paper, speak to your GC and let him/her know how you feel. Let him know you are documenting the progress.
First, however, evaluate the build. Have you made any significant changes from the original plans, have you made any modifications after work was completed. Look at your end as well. Rain, yes, this is a setback, however, document this period of time in a journal and deduct this from the estimated completion date to get a realistic picture.
I think we all want our homes to "spring" to life overnight, we become very focused on our own little home, it's our life afterall! But step back, if you can, and take another look at what is and has been going on. Take a deep breath and know, that this too will pass! It will get done. Patience, documentation and candid discussions with your GC, then a little more patience!
Good luck with your build, any pictures?

Kelly: As to the building sequence, go read this thread. It has several helpful things that will tell you what comes when. Knowing that will give you some relief from feeling in the dark. He might vary a little on the smaller things, but the construction sequence can't vary too much.

Your builder's timeframe, however, is something else. That is, how long does he take to do each item. If most of the work is getting done on the weekends, which is pretty unusual, what does that tell you? Somebody has a weekday job. Maybe it's him, since building only one house at a time doesn't produce much income for a builder. Maybe it's his subs. Maybe he's picking up day labor on the weekends when he's free to supervise them hands-on. I don't know, but it is unusual for a fulltime builder to do most of his building on the weekends.

I thought you had a camera out there. Is it one that lets you monitor from your computer? If so, why not position it every week where you can see the work you expect to come next? Then you can monitor without the disappointing drive.

Does your builder not communicate with you by email? Most around here do now because it saves them time. They hate getting caught up in a phone conversation with Owners. Sounds like he's communicating very well with you--when he needs something, or has progress to report. He's just not satisfying YOUR need for touching-base. Don't you know someone else who used him? Ask them how they handled this.

I'm amazed at how fast your house is progressing compared to most folks'. And I know that makes no difference--you still want it finished asap. We all share that feeling.

Here is a link that might be useful: Building sequence/calendar

Kelly, our buider gave us a schedule of how everything was "supposed" to go, with the obvious understanding that delays happen and the order of some things would be swapped depending on the circumstances. That has been very helpful. See if he'll do that, then you'll have an idea of how he sequences his subs. If you have an understanding of that, then you can ask him specific questions when you speak to him. Such as "so exactly where have my painters gone off to". Oh, sorry, that was my question last week.

I really think if you have an estimate of the order of subs and the sequencing he normally uses it will ease your mind. This is a question he should be accustomed to answering.

Amy

Thanks everyone for your insight. I think I was so tired last night and it all came to a boiling point. I must frustrated with DH. I should have given a brief history. LOL! The builder came highly recommended by two people. One was my sister and the other from a co-worker I worked with before I had DD. My co-worker had no idea we had already set up a appointment with the builder. He really has been great to work with and his subs are doing a wonderful job. I am all around happy with the results we have gotten so far. We gave him a price range we wanted to stick with of around $200,000-230,000 and he came back at $220,000. The first builder we talked to came in at $325,000 but had us tripped out with the best of everything! LOL! I feel very blessed in that area. Anyway, he does lots of remolding and I know he does have a few of those going on right now. The foundation crew told me they were working on the weekends to get caught up from the rain. I understood that. The framers knocked it out fast. The roofers worked on the weekend as well. DH really thinks it is because of the rain that has delayed everyone.

I guess I was just feeling so, oh what am I looking for, lost in it all I guess. Not knowing what is suppose to be happening next. We have not made any major changes to the plans. Pinktoes is right, I think I am just not happy with not knowing what is going on. LOL! I did email him last night and asked for a breakdown of what is to be expected on the house and that I was feeling a bit in the dark. In the beginning the builder said it would take 5 months. I was delighted, since DD is starting back up at school. That deadline would have been September. Oh, well. I am going to take a big big BIG breath, try to gather myself and be grateful that we are even able to build this house. I also need to remember I am not the only one building a house in this area and the subs could really be busy and/or behind.

Sometimes you need to let it all out! LOL! Thank you for being here to allow me to do that. Everyone is so bright and insightful it is a breath of fresh air :-) I feel a lot better this morning after reading the posts and stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. The email helped last night as well!

Pinktoes we do have a camera out there. It is not hooked up to the computer but I sure wish it was. That would be so great!

We had planned on going out of town next week to the coast and not even think about the house but there is a storm a coming! We will wait and see where it ends up going.

Thank you again everyone!

Kelly,
Does your builder request a draw at the end of the month? If not, how is he being paid?

Our builder submitted a draw request to the bank at the end of each month for each category completed. We had to sign approval or he would not get paid. If an item wasn't completed, we had them re-submit the draw request removing that item.

If your builder only gets paid for what gets completed, then I would think that would get his attention.

I do understand how frustrating it can be.

He has only made one draw so far for the foundation. We also have to sign to approve. I talked to my friend this morning who is building and she fessed up that her DH was pulling crews off of his other jobs (he is a builder) to get their house done faster. She stated that they used subs they had never used before also because his regular subs where so far behind with not only the rain but with all the new building growth. So, I think pinktoes is right that with the exception of the foundation we are probably right on track. DH went out to the house last night and it was so muddy and flooded from this last tropical storm. He said he could not even pull in for he feared he would get stuck! LOL! Now a hurricane is heading this way. *sigh*

It's been 15 months since we closed on our construction loan and (hopefully) we'll be moving in on the 30th of this month. Your frustration is so palpable to me.

Just remember that it's your money and your property. You have every right to know what's going on every minute of every day. You can do this by not being a nuisance. Ask him to give you a daily (or every other day) update on the progress. How hard can that be? It'll take him a couple minutes everyday whether he calls or send an email.

I gave my GC too much room and look how long it has taken us. Now we are a couple weeks from being homeless and our construction loan is due. I don't know if we will make it and I'm beating myself up for not having more control over the process.

Good luck!

I really don't understand how or why people choose the GC's that they do. We are in the business and would never leave a client hanging like this. To say that you really like him is somewhat odd considering the lack of progress on your house. It doesn't matter if you like him or not since he never calls you back to talk about anything and isn't getting the work done. I can give you a thousand industry excuses as to why your project is months behind (in your price range this is a 4 month build at best) but the reality is....you are not a priority for him. He is getting projects done but not yours. Be realistic about what is going on here and understand that this will not change. You will be posting on the Gardenweb in six months talking about all of the mistakes and headaches you have endured with your GC....give him the boot and get someone responsible in there who actually values your business.

Good luck!

kelntex, I too understand your frustration, although our house is now completed, and our builder once he got past the weather did fine (although we do have some serious finishing-up and quality issues that must be addressed).

I thought I'd post on a different issue -- your DH's apparent passivity in dealing with the builder. My DH and I have what sounds like a similar problem. It's his nature to be passive, and in 24 years I haven't been able to "change" that to any degree. (I hadn't really expected to, I was a California M.F.C.C. and know better.)

I'd say some of your frustration will decrease if you can reorient yourself to realize that you are the one mostly "in charge" of at least the day-to-day build and let your DH deal with it the way he needs to. You may need to have a heart-to-heart with DH first about how you together are dealing with your build and try to help him see that you can't be as passive as he is about it; this will give you a point of reference later if he complains about decisions he would have disagreed with.

Pardon me if I'm intruding in an area you didn't want advice on; you and DH probably have this same coping style with other issues, and may have a much better compromise figured out than anything I could suggest.

Good luck to you and DH. I look forward to congratulating you when your home is ready to move in!

P.S. Don't use the word "passive"!

I tried to use email (documentation) of all my concerns to our GC. I told him upfront that was my preferred method of communicating since phone calls are often taken when GC's are out in the field with lots of distractions. An email gave me a chance to think before I wrote. It gave the GC a chance to check on things and write back a response.

When we had walk-throughs, he took notes, I took notes. Then, we both wrote it down in email to make sure we were all on the same page.

Not everything went well. We had our share of huge frustrations (incompetent plumbers, an electrician who didn't want my input on locating fixtures/switches, etc.) I was so glad we had the saved emails whenever there was a question about an issue.

My DH and I decided up front that I would handle the communication so that our GC was talking to only one person. Also, my DH didn't know our decorating choices. I copied DH on all the emails so if he was onsite without me, he'd know what was going on.

On the other hand, my DH was the one to talk to the builder's financial office about issues (but, I was usually at the monthly meetings). He also communicated via email and copied me. When the builder asked for a draw, they sent an email. DH sent the email to our banker with authorization to pay.

Try to get you, your DH and the GC together and decide what's the best way to communicate and keep the project rolling. If the GC won't do that...then, you've got more problems.

I sure hope it goes better for you. Venting is good!

Cameron