Wife and I are nearing completed plans with an architect for our custom home (appx 4500sf). We will be meeting with several custom home builders to learn their style and process of building a custom...an interview/introductory meeting if you will.

Asking for advice on what questions should be addressed during this meeting?

1. Will my proj manager (on site) be same guy/gal start to finish

2. Payment schedule vs. progress schedule
3. Change-order system/process
4. How much 'say' do you have in the quality of certain items (some items you don't want china made like plumbing fittings)

What's their plan for material shortages and escalation? Who wears the risk for price increases mid-stream?

consider including your architect in your decision process.

you don't have to take his recommendation, but it might provide you some insight.

also ask about timeline. they are likely to hedge due to supply shortages, but how they respond is probably as important as what they say. What are they seeing, how are the mitigating, extended timelines will add up in construction loan interest.

do they see any value-engineering possibilities in the design. We can do it this way instead of that way, it will be transparent to you, and it will save you "X" amount. Another good reason to include your architect.

Here are some of the questions we asked?

1) are you planning to do an engineered slab? If so, which engineering firm do they use to design the slab? What are the costs for different options?

2) you need to tell each builder exactly what you want in your home to ensure they are all bidding what you want, I.e. brand of appliances, HVAC manufacturer - 2 stage, multi stage, etc., roofing material ( metal, shingle (class III or IV, etc.), flooring, cabinetry and hardware, trim work, ceiling treatments, audio/video packages, security packages, landscaping, sprinkler system, fence, plumbing - fixtures, water heater (tank or tankless -brand) l, water purification system - brand, insulation - (bat, bib, foam), countertops, door - hollow core or solid core, painting and staining, lighting, garage doors (insulated or not).

Make a list of all of these items and ensure each builder is bidding what you want. Every builder we spoke with was a little different on how they priced things as some of these items were standard in the homes they built and some were not. They will give you an allowance on many items. You need to understand the allowances. If you do not, you may see many change orders which drive up your costs once you start building.

Good luck!

Thank you all these are great points and questions. We will add them to our list.

Mission Ranch AG said:

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Here are some of the questions we asked?

1) are you planning to do an engineered slab? If so, which engineering firm do they use to design the slab? What are the costs for different options?

2) you need to tell each builder exactly what you want in your home to ensure they are all bidding what you want, I.e. brand of appliances, HVAC manufacturer - 2 stage, multi stage, etc., roofing material ( metal, shingle (class III or IV, etc.), flooring, cabinetry and hardware, trim work, ceiling treatments, audio/video packages, security packages, landscaping, sprinkler system, fence, plumbing - fixtures, water heater (tank or tankless -brand) l, water purification system - brand, insulation - (bat, bib, foam), countertops, door - hollow core or solid core, painting and staining, lighting, garage doors (insulated or not).

Make a list of all of these items and ensure each builder is bidding what you want. Every builder we spoke with was a little different on how they priced things as some of these items were standard in the homes they built and some were not. They will give you an allowance on many items. You need to understand the allowances. If you do not, you may see many change orders which drive up your costs once you start building.

Good luck!

---

one way to solve this is not to do allowances.

1. Have them bid everything exactly like you want it; tough because you have to make all the decision up front

OR

2. You buy all of the things that are normally "allowances." We bought all of our appliances, light fixtures, door hardware, plumbing fixtures, cabinet hardware (knobs and pulls, not hinges), etc. ourselves. Contractor bid the labor to install.

if you are working with a true CUSTOM builder, there should be very little talk of "allowances." you should have a spec sheet of exactly what you want before the builder bids your home.

where is the ptoject?

cavscout96 said:

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Mission Ranch AG said:

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Here are some of the questions we asked?

1) are you planning to do an engineered slab? If so, which engineering firm do they use to design the slab? What are the costs for different options?

2) you need to tell each builder exactly what you want in your home to ensure they are all bidding what you want, I.e. brand of appliances, HVAC manufacturer - 2 stage, multi stage, etc., roofing material ( metal, shingle (class III or IV, etc.), flooring, cabinetry and hardware, trim work, ceiling treatments, audio/video packages, security packages, landscaping, sprinkler system, fence, plumbing - fixtures, water heater (tank or tankless -brand) l, water purification system - brand, insulation - (bat, bib, foam), countertops, door - hollow core or solid core, painting and staining, lighting, garage doors (insulated or not).

Make a list of all of these items and ensure each builder is bidding what you want. Every builder we spoke with was a little different on how they priced things as some of these items were standard in the homes they built and some were not. They will give you an allowance on many items. You need to understand the allowances. If you do not, you may see many change orders which drive up your costs once you start building.

Good luck!

---

one way to solve this is not to do allowances.

1. Have them bid everything exactly like you want it; tough because you have to make all the decision up front

OR

2. You buy all of the things that are normally "allowances." We bought all of our appliances, light fixtures, door hardware, plumbing fixtures, cabinet hardware (knobs and pulls, not hinges), etc. ourselves. Contractor bid the labor to install.

if you are working with a true CUSTOM builder, there should be very little talk of "allowances." you should have a spec sheet of exactly what you want before the builder bids your home.

---

Lots of contractors/installers won't warranty items you buy unless they agree it's a quality product. We're doing a bathroom remodel and the bids we got all the contractors said "don't got to Home Depot or Lowes" for some items and instead gave us a place to go pick out fixtures, tile, flooring, etc. with an allowance on the bid. If we go over the allowance, we know up front and know what the cost increase will be.

all of those items are warranted by the manufacturer, not the contractor anyway.

we had a mix of vendors. some of the cabinet hardware came from show rooms, some came from HD.

Almost all of the lighting was from a showroom in Houston, but two of the fans and one of the fixtures in the kids' rooms came form HD

Bottom line, many "custom" guys aren't really custom. If you're doing a lot of talk about allowances, you aren't really working with a custom builder.

OP - if you have set of plans from an architect and engineered foundation and structural drawings, you need a custom builder. That's why I asked where you project is.

Quote:

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all of those items are warranted by the manufacturer, not the contractor anyway.

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not the labor.

We recently hired a full custom builder and started our home build last week.
Small firm, been building in Bryan for 20 years, he is the GC and project manager, only employee is a part time book-keeper.

Contract is T&M plus a % fee to him so all our costs are fully transparent.
Not ideal but reflects the unstable supply chain.

Our construction budget is a very detailed spreadsheet with estimates backing the line items. I reviewed each one of the estimates, ensuring the inputs were rational. I had the experience and background to verify the estimates. I only had to challenge a few estimates, such as material quantities on paint, I had upgraded the paint and the painters estimate change was out of line, it was quickly resolved. .

I realize I have to absorb any cost increases but benefit from savings.
I'm controlling the contingency funding, not the bank or builder. It's cash we put in a construction account.

I found it ironic the first change we worked out last week was a net savings of about $12K.

We spent about 4 months "working together" on finalizing the house & cost details (instead of allowances) before signing a construction contract with him.

While going around Bryan talking to suppliers picking out the items for the house such as windows, doors, flooring, countertops, etc I was asking some questions about the builder and his reputation.
Also talked to some of his previous clients.

Fortunate for us they were all very positive, I'm glad I asked, It was re-assuring.

One of the discussions we had is what makes us angry dealing with contractors and he did the same- what ticks him off with his clients.
Realizing there will be conflict in any complex project- we just put in on the table to try to prevent future conflicts and irritations.

Builder has been looking out for our interest and cost savings. As an example, he had the windows ordered and delivered in advance - on his account, we didn't have a contract. Windows were a long lead item that delayed one of his 2021 builds.

This is an example of a good builder with solid practices.

Very similar to our experience.

We had every line item on a multi-page SS

We provided the numbers for the items we were supplying.

For clarification, this isn't something we came up with. This was his standard business practice.

Remove ambiguity by putting the client in full control of those items instead of bidding an allowance and having difficult discussions later about "oh, that's more than we allowed for in our bid...."

We're doing a full custom now and we have allowances for certain line items.

Now, we have detailed assumptions to back said allowances up but gives flexibility to go more or less without a change order.

As for questions to ask:

1) How long have your key subs worked for you?
2) Details on the warranty offered? Insured product, etc.
3) How much are they making on the home? No reason this should be a mystery.

Agree architect should be involved with builder to help with value engineering side.

Thank you - We are in BCS as well. Would you be willing to share which builder you are using?

If you can get your hands on a set of specs for a large commercial project and read through it that will open your eyes to a lot of things that you may not think of. That will offer you a lot of protection but the home builder will probably look at you like you have two heads.

If you have a secure warehouse to store materials that will greatly help your budget/schedule.

1. Architect should be creating a long list, based upon his inspections and not just his income from them.
2. Did you invest in a Construction Science degree in college? If not, what was your major, how it related to homebuilding and why changed to homebuilding.
3. Names of critical subs/suppliers, please. Your architect/engineer's past inspections will quickly ID the A-B-C quality expected and bids reflecting such.
4. Can you name two other builders you find almost as an equal for bidding?
5. How much are change-orders and how minor a change triggers one?
6. Please show us photos of something similar to what we have designed you have built, inside & out.
7. Referral names/numbers? esp. from the photos best favored
8. Banker/loan help associates?
9. If we went Sole Bidder, will we then see al least two bids from each major cost sub/supplier?
10. Cost+ vs Turn-key bidding pro/cons please
11. At first blush, where might we save building costs in these current plans?
12. Range of ETA move-in dates?
13. How many spec.houses (not sold) will you be serving same time as our custom (pre-sold) ... too many means the bite of ongoing interim financing costs may send your plumber/etc. to the un sold property, delays to you.
14. How many customs do you juggle at one time?
15. How have you countered all these supply delays? Special source? Stockpiling? Other?
16. List of suppliers where we would shop our allowances ... then ask those suppliers a) are these allowance amounts enough? any other builders to consider that treat you better ... and thus maybe us as well?
17. What brands do you employ other than Trane, Lightolier, Jacuzzi, Kohler, Devoe, Pella 350 ... copper vs PEX and cost diff. + copper wiring?
18. Are all workers bonded/insured?
19. Port-a-potty on site and serviced regularly?
20. No major deposit upon contract signing!

I'm a builder. Message me and I'll be happy to give/answer some questions

tgivaughn said:

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1. Architect should be creating a long list, based upon his inspections and not just his income from them.

Architect definitely should have a few recs
2. Did you invest in a Construction Science degree in college? If not, what was your major, how it related to homebuilding and why changed to homebuilding.

Irrelevant
3. Names of critical subs/suppliers, please. Your architect/engineer's past inspections will quickly ID the A-B-C quality expected and bids reflecting such.

That's a no. You want the job to go south, pester the subs
4. Can you name two other builders you find almost as an equal for bidding?
Bidding or quality? I dont know what other builders bids are
5. How much are change-orders and how minor a change triggers one? Good question
6. Please show us photos of something similar to what we have designed you have built, inside & out.
It's a good idea to see a completed build and/or one in progress
7. Referral names/numbers? esp. from the photos best favored
Yes
8. Banker/loan help associates?
Yes.
9. If we went Sole Bidder, will we then see al least two bids from each major cost sub/supplier?
Nope
10. Cost+ vs Turn-key bidding pro/cons please
Good question
11. At first blush, where might we save building costs in these current plans?
Value engineering is a good idea
12. Range of ETA move-in dates?
Not realistic in today's market, especially custom
13. How many spec.houses (not sold) will you be serving same time as our custom (pre-sold) ... too many means the bite of ongoing interim financing costs may send your plumber/etc. to the un sold property, delays to you.

14. How many customs do you juggle at one time? Good question
15. How have you countered all these supply delays? Special source? Stockpiling? Other?

Good question but custom builds rarely have a stock supply because you end up hoarding material for years
16. List of suppliers where we would shop our allowances ... then ask those suppliers a) are these allowance amounts enough? any other builders to consider that treat you better ... and thus maybe us as well?
Definitely
17. What brands do you employ other than Trane, Lightolier, Jacuzzi, Kohler, Devoe, Pella 350 ... copper vs PEX and cost diff. + copper wiring?

That should be spec from the architect
18. Are all workers bonded/insured?
Sure.
19. Port-a-potty on site and serviced regularly?
Better be, by law
20. No major deposit upon contract signing!
Yep. Also, don't pay for work not done, except for material deposits

---

Animal Eight 84 said:

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We recently hired a full custom builder and started our home build last week.
Small firm, been building in Bryan for 20 years, he is the GC and project manager, only employee is a part time book-keeper.

Contract is T&M plus a % fee to him so all our costs are fully transparent.
Not ideal but reflects the unstable supply chain.

Our construction budget is a very detailed spreadsheet with estimates backing the line items. I reviewed each one of the estimates, ensuring the inputs were rational. I had the experience and background to verify the estimates. I only had to challenge a few estimates, such as material quantities on paint, I had upgraded the paint and the painters estimate change was out of line, it was quickly resolved. .

I realize I have to absorb any cost increases but benefit from savings.
I'm controlling the contingency funding, not the bank or builder. It's cash we put in a construction account.

I found it ironic the first change we worked out last week was a net savings of about $12K.

We spent about 4 months "working together" on finalizing the house & cost details (instead of allowances) before signing a construction contract with him.

While going around Bryan talking to suppliers picking out the items for the house such as windows, doors, flooring, countertops, etc I was asking some questions about the builder and his reputation.
Also talked to some of his previous clients.

Fortunate for us they were all very positive, I'm glad I asked, It was re-assuring.

One of the discussions we had is what makes us angry dealing with contractors and he did the same- what ticks him off with his clients.
Realizing there will be conflict in any complex project- we just put in on the table to try to prevent future conflicts and irritations.

Builder has been looking out for our interest and cost savings. As an example, he had the windows ordered and delivered in advance - on his account, we didn't have a contract. Windows were a long lead item that delayed one of his 2021 builds.

---

Sounds like a really solid builder.

Ask about pre-treating the ground and/or framing for termites.

10andBOUNCE said:

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Ask about pre-treating the ground and/or framing for termites.

---

Not worth it. It decays in about 5 years time. Better to do termimesh and borate on the frame

Agthatbuilds said:

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tgivaughn said:

---

1. Architect should be creating a long list, based upon his inspections and not just his income from them.

Architect definitely should have a few recs
2. Did you invest in a Construction Science degree in college? If not, what was your major, how it related to homebuilding and why changed to homebuilding.

Irrelevant
3. Names of critical subs/suppliers, please. Your architect/engineer's past inspections will quickly ID the A-B-C quality expected and bids reflecting such.

That's a no. You want the job to go south, pester the subs
4. Can you name two other builders you find almost as an equal for bidding?
Bidding or quality? I dont know what other builders bids are
5. How much are change-orders and how minor a change triggers one? Good question
6. Please show us photos of something similar to what we have designed you have built, inside & out.
It's a good idea to see a completed build and/or one in progress
7. Referral names/numbers? esp. from the photos best favored
Yes
8. Banker/loan help associates?
Yes.
9. If we went Sole Bidder, will we then see al least two bids from each major cost sub/supplier?
Nope
10. Cost+ vs Turn-key bidding pro/cons please
Good question
11. At first blush, where might we save building costs in these current plans?
Value engineering is a good idea
12. Range of ETA move-in dates?
Not realistic in today's market, especially custom
13. How many spec.houses (not sold) will you be serving same time as our custom (pre-sold) ... too many means the bite of ongoing interim financing costs may send your plumber/etc. to the un sold property, delays to you.

14. How many customs do you juggle at one time? Good question
15. How have you countered all these supply delays? Special source? Stockpiling? Other?

Good question but custom builds rarely have a stock supply because you end up hoarding material for years
16. List of suppliers where we would shop our allowances ... then ask those suppliers a) are these allowance amounts enough? any other builders to consider that treat you better ... and thus maybe us as well?
Definitely
17. What brands do you employ other than Trane, Lightolier, Jacuzzi, Kohler, Devoe, Pella 350 ... copper vs PEX and cost diff. + copper wiring?

That should be spec from the architect
18. Are all workers bonded/insured?
Sure.
19. Port-a-potty on site and serviced regularly?
Better be, by law
20. No major deposit upon contract signing!
Yep. Also, don't pay for work not done, except for material deposits

---

---

especially #2

a COSC degree is not going to make a huge difference in custom home builds. Plus there are mountains of very good custom builders that never went to college at all.

you don't learn craftsmanship from sitting in a classroom. you learn it from other craftsmen.

cavscout96 said:

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all of those items are warranted by the manufacturer, not the contractor anyway.

we had a mix of vendors. some of the cabinet hardware came from show rooms, some came from HD.

Almost all of the lighting was from a showroom in Houston, but two of the fans and one of the fixtures in the kids' rooms came form HD

Bottom line, many "custom" guys aren't really custom. If you're doing a lot of talk about allowances, you aren't really working with a custom builder.

OP - if you have set of plans from an architect and engineered foundation and structural drawings, you need a custom builder. That's why I asked where you project is.

---

It's a bathroom remodel, not a complete home build.

I'm just saying that you need to confirm with your GC on where you selections for fixtures, appliances, cabinets, countertops, etc will be sourced up front. And as pointed out, the labor warranty comes from the installer.

agracer said:

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cavscout96 said:

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all of those items are warranted by the manufacturer, not the contractor anyway.

we had a mix of vendors. some of the cabinet hardware came from show rooms, some came from HD.

Almost all of the lighting was from a showroom in Houston, but two of the fans and one of the fixtures in the kids' rooms came form HD

Bottom line, many "custom" guys aren't really custom. If you're doing a lot of talk about allowances, you aren't really working with a custom builder.

OP - if you have set of plans from an architect and engineered foundation and structural drawings, you need a custom builder. That's why I asked where you project is.

---

It's a bathroom remodel, not a complete home build.

I'm just saying that you need to confirm with your GC on where you selections for fixtures, appliances, cabinets, countertops, etc will be sourced up front. And as pointed out, the labor warranty comes from the installer.

---

Maybe I'm weird but, if it's really custom, the client is going to my suppliers and selecting their finishes. Where they go shopping is a recommended or preferred vendor from my end, but I'm not picking out your stuff.

cavscout96 said:

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Mission Ranch AG said:

---

Here are some of the questions we asked?

1) are you planning to do an engineered slab? If so, which engineering firm do they use to design the slab? What are the costs for different options?

2) you need to tell each builder exactly what you want in your home to ensure they are all bidding what you want, I.e. brand of appliances, HVAC manufacturer - 2 stage, multi stage, etc., roofing material ( metal, shingle (class III or IV, etc.), flooring, cabinetry and hardware, trim work, ceiling treatments, audio/video packages, security packages, landscaping, sprinkler system, fence, plumbing - fixtures, water heater (tank or tankless -brand) l, water purification system - brand, insulation - (bat, bib, foam), countertops, door - hollow core or solid core, painting and staining, lighting, garage doors (insulated or not).

Make a list of all of these items and ensure each builder is bidding what you want. Every builder we spoke with was a little different on how they priced things as some of these items were standard in the homes they built and some were not. They will give you an allowance on many items. You need to understand the allowances. If you do not, you may see many change orders which drive up your costs once you start building.

Good luck!

---

one way to solve this is not to do allowances.

1. Have them bid everything exactly like you want it; tough because you have to make all the decision up front

OR

2. You buy all of the things that are normally "allowances." We bought all of our appliances, light fixtures, door hardware, plumbing fixtures, cabinet hardware (knobs and pulls, not hinges), etc. ourselves. Contractor bid the labor to install.

if you are working with a true CUSTOM builder, there should be very little talk of "allowances." you should have a spec sheet of exactly what you want before the builder bids your home.

---

Also, this isn't true. I only build custom homes of the 7 figure variety and there are always allowances.

The key is for the client to make as many selections as possible during the pricing/design phase so that an allowance can be converted to a bid. But that doesn't always happen so an allowance is kept.

Also, you shouldn't be buying any of the selections. We don't allow our clients to because it nearly always ends up a huge Charlie foxtrot. Also, if you buy it, you're responsible for it. If something should show up broken or missing pieces then you have to resolve the issue. Lead times are brutal and we can't have clients potentially screwing up the sequencing.

Fair warning for any potential client: in the current market, a lot of builders will either only do a cost plus job (essentially the entire budget is an allowance), will only bid labor but will want materials set as allowances and/or want to have a extra large contingency budget to draw from in case of drastic spikes of material costs.

Further, read your contract. There is an escalation clause allowing the builder to come ask for more money should material costs increase a certain percentage from the bid date to the purchase date.

When it comes to client selections, it is vital the builder give realistic budget amounts for said items. For example, giving you a budget of 2.00/sqft for floor tile is not realistic. The builder should list their amounts and its a red flag to me if every allowance category is low balled.

I can't tell you how many jobs we didn't get because our budget was higher than another builder onlynto have the client later come back and inform us our budget was much more realistic.

I bought every fixture for our custom. Admittedly, it isn't seven figures, but it isn't a barndominium either. Also admittedly, I have several uncles who have been in the custom, and spec, and remodel business for decades. I've been around it my whole life and I framed for them during summers and Christmas break. It was easy for me to talk to my builder and his foreman and speak the same language.

Most of the vendors came off the builders suggest list

Plumbing
Electrical
Appliances

All of the vendors secured and housed the fixtures until the builder was ready for them and the vendor delivered to the build site. In some cases I wrote the vendor a check fora deposit, some cases the full balance, and in some cases they invoiced the builder and he added it to the draw for that week.

The exceptions were door hardware (bought from showroom and stored by us) a literal handful of lighting fixtures that my kids picked out for their rooms/bathrooms

And one pedestal sunk that the plumbing showroom couldn't get their hands on so we got it online.

All of that took up about half of the spare BR in the house we lived in before this one.

We did a ton of pricing and research before the final budget was put together and WE decided what went into the budget for those items based on our (several) spreadsheets of data.

Still went over on door hardware and some of the electrical switches and trim pieces.

In those cases architectural design trumped budget, but it was a conscious decision on our part, not a low ball from a builder allowance.

Have you ordered our appliances yet?

shhopkins said:

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Have you ordered our appliances and windows yet?

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Windows are definitely long lead time, but not all appliances are. Plenty of low, middle, and high end options available in 1-3 month range or sooner.