Designing and general contracting a dream home

We spent 2 years exploring our options, remodel and upgrade our current home or build a new home. When all the numbers came in, it only made sense to start from scratch and get what we really wanted.

After months of pouring over different plan books, browsing house plan web sites, and a designer ready to crawl under his desk and hide when he saw me coming, we finally settled on a plan that combined several homes that we liked. We were ready to move on to the next step, selecting a framing contractor, and negotiating prices for the building materials.

All things are negotiable, you just have to ask, and do a little extra leg work. We had several options, panelized, or stick built, both options were going to be about the same price, so it just came down to how involved did we want to be in this project.

Since it is our dream home, I wanted to direct the project, not hand the reins over to someone else, thus, I became the general contractor. That meant researching the latest and greatest products in the building industry.

I learned that there are different grades of lumber, windows, doors, and that latest and greatest is not always the best value or the most cost effective.

I also learned that by taking advantage of tax credits and utility rebates, we could have a really nice geothermal system that will save us money for years to come for not much more than a conventional forced air system.

More to follow!

Author has added updated comments on project progress!!!