Think small (does NOT apply to garages and shops!). Teaching them a new technology can be expensive and result in poor results if they screw it up. Try to stick with a design and materials that local builders are familiar with. If you have a sloping property, a walk-out basement might be cheaper and easier (and look better) than a zillion yards of fill. Try to stick with standard designs that work without crazy engineering. I bought ten matching antique doors for $10 each. CL is great if you have the time to go get it. I saved a ton on electrical components, for example. Big box stores aren't always the cheapest, and in some cases, they're stupid expensive. I saved the most money by DIY, but that isn't an option for everyone. (I'm a contractor with 44 years of experience.) What do you have to say? Theory is fine as are rules. Weather can play a part in the completion on-time process but shouldn’t affect the cost. They all have a bucket for scooping and simple grading. Backhoes can lift trusses to a certain height. If there's a LOT of excavation needed during construction, you can consider renting a machine to stay on the job. But what if 2 trades need a backhoe? No need for one to be leaving the job while another is in route. I recently advised someone getting ready to build to understand where one trade leaves off and the next begins. One additional subject I will touch upon is duplication of services (if others don't get to that with an explanation). Had to settle for another, not as good and higher in price. Many businesses that are successful are so because of their buying habits.Īnother client didn’t order tile soon enough (it’s never too soon) and by the time the tile was delivered, the preferred installer was too booked up to do the job in a timely manner. Keep shopping for the best price for what you want, not what you’ll accept. Eliminate out of stock or delayed delivery circumstances. Shopping well before a job will save money and time. When the client makes changes, the original completion date goes out the proverbial window. That resulted in additional labor and time running the job past the completion date. Another client changed paint colors in the middle of the work. Most changes are done time and materials (which I like*), but there is no ambition to do the extra work as efficiently as the original. Don’t think for a minute that contractors do not lie in wait for changes as such. The cost of the additions, which were minor in nature compared to the big picture, cost him almost as much as the initial bid. I recently had a client that added to the rough electrical not once, but 3 times. Things always seem to cost more than estimated and the way to limit time and cost overrun is to understand cost control as well as hitting the figure. The goal for any job is to do it on time and within the budget. But wait, there’s more - and we'll get to cheap later. Hint: not by hiring the cheapest subs or buying the cheapest materials. The idea is for all to add their ideas and tell anecdotes. (Remember it needs to be on the outside of the insulation.This is a start of a thread purely on cost control and timing whether it be new construction, alterations, major repairs of just plain upgrading. Plastic is cheap, but it needs to be installed before the sheathing. One thing I could have done better would be to have a plastic vapor barrier with sealed joints to make humidity countrol easier. If I had to go cheap, I would do the pole-barn with some non-load bearing studs to hang the insulation and interior/exterior sheathing. The walls & roof are sheathed with galvaized steel. I have 7.5 inches of fiberglass and another inch of rigid foam in both walls & ceiling. If you have a steel building, you almost have to build a wooden building inside it to do serious insulation. I know Maryland has wimpy winters and summers compared to some of your locations, but I can bring the temperature up about 5 degrees per hour with my propane heater in winter and cool it in the summer, running a dehumidifier 24/7 and an A/C only about 8 hours per day. I am a metal worker by preference, but I built a wooden (stick-built, 2x8 walls, wood truss roof) building because of my desire to have strong insulation.
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