How long to build a house? - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

Bender · 02-04-2009, 09:05 PM

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...

**joasis** · 02-04-2009, 09:07 PM

It depends.....my time to build, allowing for weather and delays from the subs, runs about 6 to 8 weeks. Most realistic times are 3 months.

MikeNeufeld · 02-04-2009, 09:08 PM

4 months max. My best friend who builds generally from city permits to end takes this amount max

BattleRidge · 02-04-2009, 09:11 PM

depends on the house you know? I would say 7 - 8 weeks but lots of times It draaaaags out at the very end. 3 MONTHS would be for something more complicated maybe.

rbsremodeling · 02-04-2009, 09:11 PM

4 months. In a perfect un rushed world I would like 6-8 months

MikeNeufeld · 02-04-2009, 09:16 PM

it all depends who you know... My dad gets his company mitsui homes to build the homes, all prefab, a week for foundation, 2 days to put the house together and 3 days to land the trusses and sheeting, all in 2-3 weeks max.... then off we go....

Mitchell Const. · 02-04-2009, 09:53 PM

2-3 months with a 2-3 man crew

jcalvin · 02-05-2009, 07:22 AM

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.

bwalley · 02-05-2009, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bender

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.

Cdat · 02-05-2009, 07:41 AM

3 months and a question. 2800 sqft is average? Where is that?

mnjconstruction · 02-05-2009, 07:44 AM

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!!!!

bwalley · 02-05-2009, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcalvin

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.

wallmaxx · 02-05-2009, 07:54 AM

From permits to move-in...6 months if EVERYTHING goes flawlessly. That never happens. Try 8 months to a year.

rbsremodeling · 02-05-2009, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwalley

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.

You tell them Walley. Fake ass contractor wannabees. I wish we could go back to the time when there were real men in this trade

bwalley · 02-05-2009, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbsremodeling

You tell them Walley. Fake ass contractor wannabees. I wish we could go back to the time when there were real men in this trade

I wasn't talking about you as you seem to know what you are talking about and gave a realistic answer to building a house, but if you want to take offense to my answer about boneheads who think you can build a house in 2 months, go ahead.

I work in Florida and don't have the weather issues that you guys up north have, the only thing that slows us down is rain and crappy subs, there is no way I would try and rush a house, I would figure 6-8 months from permit issue to CO, if everything went well and the client made their selections quickly and didn't continually change their mind and the financing was in order, it could be done quicker.

Most projects proceed slower because the HO can't make decisions and money gets tight.

D.A.S.Anthony · 02-05-2009, 08:34 AM

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.

precisionbuild · 02-05-2009, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwalley

I wasn't talking about you as you seem to know what you are talking about and gave a realistic answer to building a house, but if you want to take offense to my answer about boneheads who think you can build a house in 2 months, go ahead.

I work in Florida and don't have the weather issues that you guys up north have, the only thing that slows us down is rain and crappy subs, there is no way I would try and rush a house, I would figure 6-8 months from permit issue to CO, if everything went well and the client made their selections quickly and didn't continually change their mind and the financing was in order, it could be done quicker.

Most projects proceed slower because the HO can't make decisions and money gets tight.

Well, I think you stated it a little bit harsh the first time, but you are right. I'm not putting a deadline of less than 4 months on a 2800 sqft home. More realistically, I am giving myself at least 6 months. I can always finish sooner, but I am not going over the deadline.

That's the problem with the residential industry, they cut their own throats with unrealistic schedules. They should be penalized when they don't deliver on time and budget. It makes us all look bad when so many are promising things that don't get delivered. That's the biggest complaint I hear from homeowners...It took twice the time they told us it would.

D.A.S.Anthony · 02-05-2009, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by precisionbuild

Well, I think you stated it a little bit harsh the first time, but you are right. I'm not putting a deadline of less than 4 months on a 2800 sqft home. More realistically, I am giving myself at least 6 months. I can always finish sooner, but I am not going over the deadline.

That's the problem with the residential industry, they cut their own throats with unrealistic schedules. They should be penalized when they don't deliver on time and budget. It makes us all look bad when so many are promising things that don't get delivered. That's the biggest complaint I hear from homeowners...It took twice the time they told us it would.

Exactly! Me too.

bwalley · 02-05-2009, 08:43 AM

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.

Bodger · 02-05-2009, 08:49 AM

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.