Purchasing Items during build?
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
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- 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
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Personal Item you put into your build?
Comments (24)I've always loved the newspaper behind the sheet rock idea. In the house I grew up in the sidewalk said 1910 in it which I always liked. When my parents build an addition on the house mentioned above they traced the outline of the three of us on the floor (it didn't look like a crime scene), put our names, dates, and ages. 20 years later we heard though a friend about the current owners pulling up the carpet and liking to get the little message about the addition from the past....See MoreDo any of you search for deals on building items?
Comments (27)I posted this on another thread, but thought I'd share here as well. I am a huge fan of Home Depot's daily deals. You can sign up on their website to get them emailed to you each day. Being a savvy shopper, I have literally saved thousands of dollars already and we haven't even started building yet! I keep up with everything that I buy in a spreadsheet that I use to not only keep up with what I've bought and what I still need, but I also keep track of the regular price versus the price I actually paid for things. I had mentioned on another thread about my desire to save around 50% on all my lighting, fixtures, etc, etc, and I kinda got laughed at like that wasn't possible. I just updated my spreadsheet tonight with some orders I placed today, and I am now at exactly 50% saved! Included in those figures are all the light fixtures, faucets, ceiling fans, one tub, two toilets, over half the doors, several windows, furniture, sinks, vanities, cabinets, hardware, etc, etc. We are building a 4 BRM, 2 BA, 2200+ square foot house for less than $100,000. I am serving as the general contractor, which is going to save us quite a bit. I have overseen construction projects before and have helped build two houses and have remodeled several, so I'm fairly confident this is the way to go for us. Our goal is to not have a mortgage when we're finished. We're able to do this because we recently sold two homes and will be selling the home we live in now along with about 9 acres of land that we own outright. We'll be building on the remaining 6 acres that we have. Another tip: If you're shopping online, always shop through Ebates.com (or shopathome.com - there are several websites like this) where you earn cash back on your purchases. I also buy gift cards through places like Raise.com. So, for example, when I want to order something from HomeDepot.com, I log into ebates, and then put in raise.com. Then at raise.com, I purchase discounted gift cards (that can be used online within a few hours of purchasing.) Then I go back to Ebates and enter Home Depot, then click thru the link to place my order at Home Depot. I know it sounds like a lot of steps, but it's just second nature for me now. My best find this week is was a hammered copper sink for my kitchen. I had looked at a lot of places where they were well over $1,000, but that just wasn't in my budget. Home Depot had one exactly like I wanted on one of their daily deals one day this week for $399. I had gift cards that I had bought through raise.com already and went to order it online, but their website wasn't cooperating, so I called and they agreed to give me an extra 5% off because I wasn't able to go through ebates to get the cash back on my order. So, when all was said and done, after you take into consideration what I saved by purchasing the gift cards through Raise.com and all the discounts, I paid around $330 for the sink. And it was exactly what I wanted! I've taught workshops on how to save money, and the first rule I tell those in attendance is to buy when it's at it's lowest price, and then figure out a way to get it cheaper through using tools like Ebates and Raise.com. Of course, when it comes to doing this for a house, you have to be extremely detailed and organized, and I've found that my spreadsheets and pinterest help keep me sane...when I purchase something, I add it to my spreadsheets and also to my pinterest boards (I keep several private boards just for this.) That way, when I'm out and about, all I have to do is pull up pinterest on my phone and I can be quickly reminded of what I've already bought, even if I don't have my spreadsheets with me. I've also purchased things like tile from Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. Before purchasing it, I looked up the tile on my phone and it was still in-stock at Home Depot, but by buying it at the Re-Store (still in the boxes even), I saved about 1/4 off the retail cost at Home Depot. I've also bought some things off our local facebook swap sites - some cabinets, trim, etc....See MoreHow do you stay motivated and patient during this build?
Comments (13)gobruno! i decided i would change my mind on the (not very inexpensive) sofas i was about to order ...when i was on the phone with the salesperson! there i was, notes in hand looking at my fabric and layout and WHAM! all of a sudden i heard myself say, "let me call you back!" and i was back online looking at more sofas. and then i did it again ...changed my mind on the banquettes for the breakfast room AND THEN i moved on to my BED! it's a really good thing those are the only pieces i'm getting right now otherwise i'd be nowhere. i'm sure i am settled on the furniture for now and will order NEXT WEEK. ...i think. and i was just thinking this past week i should learn to sew! i'm not convinced i'll be good enough to want to sew my own curtains (always had them made and professionally hung) but then i tell myself "i'm not stupid. surely i can operate a little machine with a foot petal" ...but i have no patience which could impede my ability to take my time and do a good job. at least this was my experience when i had "home ec" in the seventh grade. we made gingham book bags and embroidered our initials on them. THAT is the extent of my experience with a sewing machine. old dog, new tricks? i dunno... how's the sewing going for you???...See MorePeople walking through our house during build
Comments (11)Well I can't speak for other neighborhoods but in our small neighborhood on a cul de sac of 15 houses our builder carries the liability for anyone getting hurt. They normally discourage people from being on the property but they aren't there 24hrs a day. Now as far as kids playing that I don't agree with but I have seen many people through our house during construction while we are pulling up or leaving and the buider's agent even brings people through to see if they like our particular floor plan. We were told by the builder to stay out of the house during the day when construction was going on but also told if we did come by to make sure it was after hours. I'm sure just about everyone in our neighborhood has seen our house just out of curiosity once or twice just I have have seen every house that has been built here as well. Before we started building I was able to walk through someone else's floor plan being built in a different neighborhood to see if we liked the layout physically and not just on paper. Now the builder does usually start to lock them up after drywall but its not everyday as they project manager is on different sites daily and the house does have to be accessbile for subs early in the morning when the work day starts. Also, the project manager doesn't work on the weekends and the house is usually accessible on those days as well since they have subs working on the weekend. As long as the liability didn't fall on us we weren't worried about visitors but once items such as granite, appliances, etc were installed, which of course our builder would have to replace if something was to happen, our house was locked consistently (although not every day bec that is how we still get it to check the updates) daily! Here is a link that might be useful: Our home sell/build blog...See More- 9 years ago
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