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How long to build a house?

469K views 143 replies 58 participants last post by  Calidecks 
#1 ·
Hi, I don't know if this is a silly question or not...

How long does it take to build an "average" house, say about 2800 sq ft?
As a GC you would have to have some sort of formula/idea, or not?
From signing a contract to getting a C.O.
Just curious...
 
#8 ·
That is unreal. I can count of only about 3 jobs around here that was completed in less than 8 months. Most of the run out to around a year. It is common practice around here for the contractors and subs to be on several jobs at a time. Many uncompleted homes sitting around with no one present for weeks on end. Combination of poor managment, greed, and subs with no sense of time or honesty.
 
#12 ·
That is unreal. I can count of only about 3 jobs around here that was completed in less than 8 months. Most of the run out to around a year. It is common practice around here for the contractors and subs to be on several jobs at a time. Many uncompleted homes sitting around with no one present for weeks on end. Combination of poor managment, greed, and subs with no sense of time or honesty.
It is easy for keyboard commandos playing contractor to spout off unrealistic schedules, I wonder how many projects they have actually been in charge of.

One reason I am getting all of the licenses and certifications I qualify for is so I don't have to rely on subs that show up when it is convenient for them and many times they send a bonehead that has no clue what they are doing and when you tel them they are doing it wrong they want to argue because they work for a guy who has a license, yet they don't have a license.

The last plumber I used on a commercial job had a guy with one tooth in his head, and my 13 year old son or my 8 year old daughter would have done a better cleaner job than this hack, that is the job that made me decide to get my Certified Plumbing Contractors License.
 
#9 ·
Hi, I don't know if this is a silly question or not...

How long does it take to build an "average" house, say about 2800 sq ft?
As a GC you would have to have some sort of formula/idea, or not?
From signing a contract to getting a C.O.
Just curious...
My neighbor is an owner builder, doing a 4500 square foot house and she has been at it 2.5 years and they don't even have all the trusses up yet.

She told my wife didn't want to hire a contractor because they are too expensive and would rip her off, my wife the said "My husband is a contractor" now she asks questions all the time on how to get the job done.

This house is on a stemwall and the footers filled with water at leats 10 times and was full of muck when they poured it, the stemwall then filled with sand and the fill has a bunch of organic material in it that she covered with fill so the inspector wouldn't see it, she had planned on pouring her slab right over the weeds.

The house is ****ed and it isn't even done yet, I will take some pictures of it and post them.
 
#11 ·
The last complete home I built took me 6 months. i subed out the foundation, plumbing, elecrtic, heating. Me and 3 of my guys did the rest. This house had a lot of custom woodwork/trim. That took along time. Basement also was finished off. looking back I think it was one of my favorite jobs I have ever done. We got paid by the hour, weekly! Everything was charged on homeowners accounts. I made a profit of 2000+ a week for 6 solid months! I wish I had one right now!!!!
 
#16 ·
2,800 sq ft is absolutely a 6-8 month build. As long as it is not a mudular. I cannot imagine knocking off 2800 sq ft in 2 months unless you have 60 people on site everyday. I would say our average workforce throught the duration of a project is 12 workers a day. That is how I estimated my 6-8 months.

As for 2,800 sq. ft. being the average try 6,000sq. in my market. Our projects usually take 12-18 months.:thumbsup:
 
#19 ·
I always tell my clients what I think is a realistic time frame and I also tell them it wil usually take longer as we always run into some issue.

I have a client that when I started doing work for her, I would always show up on time and she complimented me on that and she made a comment about how the project would finish quickly because I was so punctual, I explained to her showing up on time for an appointment is easy, completing a major remodel quickly and correctly is another thing and that I will try to give her a realistic time frame, but most likely it will take longer than I tell you it will.

The main thing I have found that bothers people is when the job does not have forward momentum and sits, it drives them crazy, so working at the job steady is more important to most people than rushing to get the job done after it has had long idle periods.
 
#20 ·
I hear a lot of complaints from HO's about contractors that they have worked with before I showed up.

The two most prominent ones are that the GC was never on the site, and the schedule was completely blown.

Archy's and subs F-ing up have been brutal on me when I'm trying to stay on schedule.
 
#21 ·
I hear a lot of complaints from HO's about contractors that they have worked with before I showed up.

The two most prominent ones are that the GC was never on the site, and the schedule was completely blown.

Archy's and subs F-ing up have been brutal on me when I'm trying to stay on schedule.
I have a commercial remodel/addition project the architect started on over 1 year ago, I still don't have a complete set of plans.:rolleyes:

The job is less than 2 miles from Raymond James Stadium, that is where the Superbowl was, and the job has been demo'd waiting for my plans so I can permit it, I was hoping to have my sign in front of a nice building instead of a shell.:mad:
 
#25 ·
I ain't no builder, but just a lowly 'lekturshun. But I'll throw my two cents worth in anyway.

It can depend on how the builder subs things. Some builders have the same crew do the framing, pour the sidewalks, install the roofing, gutters, siding, do the trim carpentry, lay the wood floors, etc. If there's just 2 or 3 people on the crew, it will take longer than if the builder hired subs to do all that work.

If the weather's nice, they could do any number of things outside (sidewalk, roof, build the deck, etc). The rub is, they can only do one thing that day. But having a sub for each discipline would get more bodies on the job and all could get done the same day.

Makes a big difference.
 
#31 ·
Two Weeks!!!:laughing:
If someone beat me to it i missed it.
I agree with the 8-12 month thing. Between client decisions, revisions, waiting on subs,inspections,failing an inspection for some reason........
We are on a job now and the engineer and the steel guy are still tryin to get together so they can get steel in the air, meanwhile the entire 1st floor is framed and ready.
And i'm dead in the water, until the steel goes in then i can frame the roof.
 
#33 ·
Yeap, I don't build houses but the people I work with, I just guess they have their ducks in a row because I never saw a house take more then 3 months unless it had a lot of extras going in. Must say something about some of your scheduling skills if it takes as long as some of you claim. Need a refresher course on time management? How about delagating duties?:laughing:
 
#35 ·
im a g.c. in the middle of building a 2400sqft house with a 1200sqft three stall garage with two decks in the plains of sodak. due to the weather here thirty mile an hour wind with plenty of negative degree days and no subs except elec. plumb. hvac. my goal is 6 months could be a lot more with the weather here.
 
#39 ·
Lets see - in Arizona - some of the production builders would be 30 to 45 days (avg size is less than 2800 though - 2800 SF thats a custom or spec house not an average house)
Record time that I personally know of - Tucson - 56 or 58 hours from the gun going off till full sign off (about a 1600 SF house as I recall)

For Arizona - slab

For me - it depends on the scope, the finishes & the clients, it could take anywhere from 4 months to over a year - full basement or crawl
 
#50 ·
Here ya go Joasis. Educate me. Substitute siding for stucco (since cure times would take you well past 4 weeks).

View attachment 14872
If you need an education, you have it thinking that your spreadsheet is the one size fits all answer. For instance, I have never used stucco yet...where did you get that idea?

Have you ever seen an inspector check framing, rough in elec, plumbing, and hvac on one trip?

In other words, your spread sheet looks good, but I will still do it our way here....now if I was somewhere else, it may be different.

New member huh? Read past posts and you will get a better idea about how some of us actually work.
 
#42 ·
Guys, I consistantly turn out 3,500 sf one-off plan houses in less than 120 days. What's this 8 months to a year stuff? I would have homeowners on my neck about their financing if I let it drag out like that.
 
#44 ·
I worked for this guy once who turned project manager. He was given 60 calendar days for each home to be completed from permit to CO. It turned pretty much into a disaster.

Some people I have met can do this with no problems at all.

Comes back to one of my favorite beliefs

Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Production

Edit: Oh and I've seen Kingdom Halls go up in 2 days complete. Foundation already poured.
 
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