Tips For Saving Money On Construction Of Stick Built Homes

If youre in the market to have a home built, youve no doubt discovered that this venture can be costly. Even if you have your own land already lined up, the expenses involved with having a stick built home constructed on site, from the ground up, can be staggering. Fortunately, there are ways you can cut corners with the costs without sacrificing at all in the quality department.

There are opportunities to save in costs at every turn when you have a home built on your own land. From the actual design work right down to the finishing touches of decorative enhancements and appliances, there are avenues you can take to save money. When the right steps are taken, it is possible to have the home of your dreams built without paying the price of your nightmares in the process.

Getting Designs The Affordable Way

In order to have a home created on your site, you will need blueprints for contractors to work from. Hiring an architect to produce custom designs can be cost prohibitive, but it can sometimes be worth the price. There are, however, other ways to get your hands on blueprints and designs without paying a small fortune in the process. If you dont have your heart set on a floor plan and elevation thats all your own, you can look into buying ready-made plans from builders or architectural firms.

To obtain ready-made blueprints, the Internet can be a powerful tool. Some architectural firms and builders offer blueprints for a variety of home models for sale online. Do take the time to vet the firm in question before paying the price for the blueprints. Reputation and skill both matter here.

Now, if you have your heart set on a custom design, an architect is worth the hire. To enjoy the best possible pricing, make sure to obtain multiple quotes and do perform background checks before settling on a final selection. When it comes to the blueprints that will be used for every phase of construction, cutting corners for pricing alone isnt always the wisest thing to do.

Before selecting final designs, do take the time to consider the pricing of materials involved in your dream plans. In some areas, the prices on building materials can be greatly different than in other geographical regions. This can have an impact on your design selection.

Do It Your Self (Where You Can)

No, you probably dont want to create a stick built home all by yourself! You can, however, save on some major expenses by doing some of the work personally. Even if you are only able to remove contractors from one portion of the building project, you can save yourself some serious cash along the way.

Some of the areas you might want to consider tackling personally include:

Pulling the building permits yourself and foregoing a general contractor If you play the head man (or woman) on the job, you can save yourself some major cash. You will, however, face a lot of work. To make sure your home is properly built, you will have to select the skilled trades companies, schedule work and make sure inspections take place when they are supposed to. By doing this, you assume a lot of responsibility for the outcome of your home, but you can sometimes obtain much better quotes than a general contractor might offer on subcontracted work. Remember, your general contractor will put a price over and above the subcontractors for his or her supervising the work.

Ordering materials Homeowners can sometimes obtain better pricing on building materials if they take the time to shop around. Keep in mind that this isnt always the case. To get the best possible deals, check with your contractors to find out their pricing and then look on your own, as well. Sometimes it pays to look into recycled materials where feasible.

Block and/or framing Do-it-yourselfers are sometimes able to handle these areas of construction with a little help. It is imperative, however, that this work be performed with precision, so do be sure of talents before diving in.

Finishing work Do-it-yourselfers can often tackle the end stages of home construction with a relative amount of ease. Things like tiling floors, finishing bathrooms and even installing kitchen counters can be cut out of the contractor equation for a decent amount of financial savings.

Appliance purchases and installation Purchasing and installing the appliances to finish off a house is one area that it really does pay for homeowners to tackle personally. While builders will have access to these finishing touch items, they wont have the time or desire to shop around closely for sales, better deals and even scratch-and-dent items.

When there is a need or desire to save money on home construction, tackling even the smallest of jobs personally can make a big difference in the bottom line pricing. Do make certain not to bite off more than you can chew in regard to skill and/or time.

Other Areas You Can Save Money On

Beyond overseeing some or all of the construction process personally, there are other ways you can save money on your dream home. These things can all add up to some big savings without sacrificing the outcome or its quality:

Scheduling construction appropriately While its true you have no control over the weather, you do have control over when your construction project actually starts. Weather delays and damage caused by weather can cost you a lot of money out of pocket. To avoid problems as much as possible, try to schedule your building project during your geographical regions standard dry time. Building, for example, on the cusp of winters first snows can lead to costly delays.

Scale back slightly If you find your dream home is going to cost too much to build no matter how many corners you cut, try scaling back a little bit. By reducing the square footage even slightly, you can save yourself thousands. Instead of a three-car garage that you dont need, for example, go with a two. Small, structural alterations might require an architect to assist with, but they can shave a lot of money off the end product.

Make finishing alterations One of the best ways to save on expenses without structurally changing your homes design or sacrificing on the quality of the shell is to change plans for the finishing touches. Instead of using imported tile for the flooring, for example, pick a domestic stock. Using less expensive cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms, too, can add up to savings. Any area where you can achieve your standard of aesthetics without using the most expensive materials can help you keep the final costs in check.

Making the choice to have a stick built house constructed on property you already own is an excellent way to enjoy real cost savings without giving up on your dreams. When you take the right steps to ensure quality, you can keep construction costs in check and still have a house youll be proud to call home.

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