So ive been in the trade since I was 14 hanging on weekends and after school ( family ) im now 33 and have been full time since highs school, I have over 15 years of solid exp as a piece worker, hanging and finish, seeing someone say if they can hang 70 sheets in a week they are happy makes me wonder if they really know how much money they could make if they learned how to "piece work"??!!.... my brother and I charge $25 per sheet for a basic house with 8 ft cielings, if its a house with more detail we could charge up to $35 per sheet, that's just labor, if we supply material its anywhere from $50 up to $70....the location plays a factor also....houses on the coast tend to be a higher price....anyways say we have a house that's 150 sheets ( 12 foot sheets ALWAYS ) we hang it in 2 days and tape, finish, sand in 5 days.... hanging is always faster money cause your only doing it once! so say we are charging 25 we split it in half 12.50 to hang 12.50 to tape...so that's $1,875 we split 50 50 that we made in 2 days.... we always get a check after hanging then again after finish....and most of our contractors are right there to pay when the last screw is in then when the dust hits the floor......if we are charging 35 we would take 15 to hang 20 to tape....we also do commercial work when we want a break from houses....and that's through another bigger drywall company.... but you can make a lot more piece working commercial stand ups....we mostly tape when it comes to that but we can do anywhere from 350 - 500 sheets a week 10' stand ups, but since its through a different company and not for our own we may get 12-14 a sheet.... but still 350 sheets a week at 12 is a 2,000$$ week!! ( its not always like that but it can be!!) and if your thinking well why doesn't every0ne do that then.... cause not just anyone can!! even guys that are good drywallers and do a great clean job and really know the skill doesn't mean they know to "flow" and hang 80 sheets a day or tape 400 a week.....and just an fyi, our work is by far top quality so no just because we run and go fast doesn't mean we "butch" anything!!.... its called pride and wanting to be the best at what you do!

I realized I might be coming across as a bit arrogant in my assertion that bathrooms can be done quickly. Please believe me when I say my intent is not at all "look how fast we are, what's wrong with the rest of you." I just am baffled by contractors who say it'll take a month, and am trying to paint a more realistic picture of what I think is reasonable. We've had plenty of oops and rework along the way (there's nothing like tipping a wall frame up and realizing you cut all the studs an inch and a half too long), and as I'm typing it's 11:30 and Mr. Weedy is still finishing up the shower valve so the inspector can do the framing/rough-in inspection in the morning. Anyway, Mr. Weedy was the plumber again all day. He started with the tub and after putting together the drain assembly, realized it wouldn't work with the rough-in. The tub drain was positioned over the rough-in drain, but it has to connect with the drain from the overflow, making it 8 inches off. Plus that connection is typically under the subfloor, so we ended up having to build a 4" high platform for the tub and toilet to sit on, giving us enough below-subfloor room to do the drain. Here's the tub on its new platform. Other than some supporting carpentry, I was left to work elsewhere in the basement, so I worked on framing the bedroom (including closet and soffit) along with BIL, who's now ready to finish the rest of the basement on his own. :-) Kid brother, meanwhile, finished up the subfloor (another 400 square feet or so). That entailed moving a ton of stuff outside and then back in again. Fortunately 7 kids and 14 hands make light work. I suggested they do a "clean sweep" with it while it was outside, but we didn't quite get to it. Here's the clutter pile. And here's the finished subfloor. After dinner, sis put the FG batts in the walls. We showed them how to finish installing the tub wall panels after the inspection and before drywall. We're heading out at the crack of dawn to another sister's, who lives 2 hours away. We'll help her out with stuff for a few days (last year's Christmas gift) while the drywall guy does his thing. We'll be back on Monday to button things up. Fingers crossed for the inspector to pass everything!

Try not to settle for less than "done". Although I can't imagine living in a trailer with 7 little ones! You are already demonstrating an amazing amount of patience to do that. Personally, I'd put the house on hold long enough to build a large garage or barn (with bathroom), just to have a roomy place for the kids to play when it's raining. I've learned to add to my store of patience by breaking every task into the smallest steps, and cheering on as each *step* is completed. This outlook becomes habitual, although subs have tendency to look askance as I praise them for each part of the job... but they also look pleased, so I guess that works, too. Builder to lock-up stage will depend on the number and efficiency of his crews, but even if all are top-notch, I'd expect at least 6 months -- winter weather is going to cause problems that no one can truly avoid. You didn't say how many sf, if it's over 2500, add a month for each 1k sf additional. The interior work remaining will depend on your contract, but if it's bare bones (studwork up, but electrical, plumbing, HVAC, cabintry, dry wall, tiling, and all finishing to do), and DH is working full-time elsewhere, it's going to going to take a LONG time to complete. A very plain, very simple, 2K sf house often takes at least 10,000 hours to complete if all work is done by pros (the barebones interior-only is between half and 2/3 of that hourage)... double that time for each skill you don't have a master's in doing. If your DH spend 4 hours each weekday plus 10 hours each weekend day, that's 40 hours... or about 3 years and one exhausted DH to complete the house. DIY [owner-built] is always about a balance between money-out and skill/ability and exhaustion. In house building there are quite a few things where it makes more sense to pay money out than to DIY. Other than the skill needed, one way to judge is to consider DH's salaried pay per hour... if hiring an experienced sub is near the same cost but faster to complete, you are likely to benefit from hiring rather than DIY. Remember that each 40 hours someone else is working, is one or two weeks less for DH to DIY. I know someone is going to say, "but both can DIY and that means less time to completion", and if those were all school-age kids, that might be true. But IMO, no way should anyone expect anyone to care for young child while DIYing.

Hahahahahah! Heeheeheehee! > OK...IF all components are delivered and ready to go (and inspected for damage, etc.) AND there are no problems (like finding unknown pipes/electrical in the way OR walls that aren't true & need to be fixed) AND all measurements are correct (a BIG one!) AND a great crew AND they have no other jobs to split their time between....MAYBE you'll finish on time...maybe 3 or 4 weeks (no layout or major plumbing or electrical changes). You will also be at the mercy of your county inspectors...when are they available for preliminary and then final inspections? [Ours were actually very good...they were out the next day...of course, we haven't had our final inspection yet...] I'm not being cynical (or at least I'm trying not to be), but you need to be realistic and expect delays (expect the worst, hope for the best!). We were w/o water on the first floor from 1/21/08 until Good Friday (3/21/08). We do have a sink, DW, and ovens now...but still no cooktop and only partially installed granite.