Builder Allowance to normally include subcontractor installation cost?
njbuilding143
8 years ago
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millworkman
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Our builder said that 'We don't normally install footing drains'
Comments (13)Our foundation isn't below the water table; we're just trying to make sure that the water stays away from the foundation & crawl space. Three directions from our house go very precipitiously downhill, but the the drive, which is bedrock  basalt  comes in from above and funnels down onto the south side the house. Some redirection has been done, but the bedrock is disinclined to be shaped or contoured. It would take quite an event for rainfall to be a real problem, but events do happen. (Basically, we're just trying to follow our stinkin' engineered drainage plan.) But the thing is, it IS right there in our engineered drainage plan. Our builder either blew it off or never looked, and that bothers me more than anything else. As you can tell, we don't know enough to take care of ourselves in this situation, and should barely be allowed out alone. It's a shakey feeling to be dependent upon the kindness of strangers (by which I mean the builder, not y'all.)...See MoreExceeding builder allowances
Comments (16)Our building quotes also included "allowances". Before we decided on a builder we went to the contractors/businesses they used, with our floor plan, sat down and got an independent quote on specific items. We did this for granite, windows, door and kitchen/bathroom cabinets. We went with builder grade and made choices we thought were very reasonable ie) kitchen drawers can come with stainless steel siding or a cheaper wood. We went with cheaper wood to keep costs down. Drawers and pull outs in a cupboard cost more, so we chose where we wanted them them the most ie) for larger things such as flour and sugar. Granite- we chose a colour a little greyer than we wanted because it was cheaper . Windows...I was set on having black...must above all else have black inside and out.....we've ordered WHITE. Do I regret this..maybe a bit. But it was amazing how black windows snowballs into black garage doors, trim work, down spouts which all require additional painting and push back time which equals money out of our pocket. Not to mention the windows them selves were much cheaper going with white. IE) our "allowance" for windows and doors was 20 grand...if I got what was in the plans as specified it would have in reality cost 29 grand plus hardware after meeting with several different window/ door people. I was willing to pt the money out on the windows but not the extra on the garage doors and the custom down spouts and the extra 3 week lead time to have it all painted. After meeting with all these people independently we realized the "allowances" are bare minimum. We would have ALWAYS gone over. Meeting with the trades and kitchen/cabinet places before hand allowed us time to re-evaluate and come up with better ideas that meet the budget...mostly. Our house looks nothing like what I had in mind at the start aside from the floor plan. The house is ever evolving, I equate it to being very drunk. You have a destination in mind but you cant get there in a straight line....See MoreBuilder Markup in Allowances
Comments (17)Also, unfortunately it doesn’t matter if it “feels wrong” to you. Unless he’s violating the contract with regard to upgrades and change orders (and odds are he’s not) then he can do whatever he likes, including a $300 profit per light, if he chooses. It sounds like that’s not what he’s doing, but it’s inportant to k ow he can. That’s why many on here advise knowing what you can easily upgrade later v. what you can’t, doing a realistic price comparison, and only upgrading what you can’t easily do later or is genuinely a good deal....See MoreQuestion about builder allowance for Excavation/Septic/Well
Comments (13)@Seabornman We closed on our construction loan this past week and excavation starts this coming week. The only invoice we have been given so far is for the septic design but no other estimates have been presented to us. The perc test was complete before we purchased the lot. Our lot is 3 acres and flat, the development we are building in has not had any major issues with rocks on the other lots. I was expecting to have estimates from our builder prior to closing for the septic and well so am now just mentally preparing for overage bills to come rolling in. Hopefully they don't, and then I will be pleasantly surprised :)...See MoreUser
8 years agonjbuilding143
8 years agorwiegand
8 years agohouses14
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoUser
8 years ago
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