 |
09-30-2008, 09:24 PM
|
#1
|
|
Pro
Trade:
General Contractor
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Springfield, MO
Posts: 134
|
Need advice on a custom
I have recently began work on a custom home near the lake and I think I've made a mistake on it but am unsure how to handle it...this is one of my first customs, usually specs or customs for family where I run like a spec.
I chose to do 11' walls on the foundation to make sure we stayed above curb, now I look and think I could have gotten away with only 10' walls...altogether with the amount of walls, rebar, concrete and corresponding walls about 3k. Not a huge amount but when the foundation ran us about $4700 over budget due to this extra wall height and the lot. I did make the HO aware the budget for foundation was based off presumed circumstances...it could change due to site conditions.
I just feel like I am starting out on the wrong foot with this one given we also are going to have more fill than we originally planned...I just hate going to them and saying we are 5k over budget on the first draw. Any advice on the best way to handle the situation? Usually I am within a few hundred dollars on the foundation, but this one I personally made a mistake in going with the extra height on the walls.
|
|
|
Warning: The topics covered on this site include activities in which there exists the potential for serious injury
or death. ContractorTalk.com DOES NOT guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information contained on this site. Always use proper safety precaution and reference reliable outside sources before attempting any construction or remodeling task!
Join the #1 Contractor Forum Today - It's Totally Free!
ContractorTalk.com - Are you a Professional Contractor? If so we invite you to join our community and see what it has to offer. Our site is specifically designed for you and it's the leading place for contractors to meet online. No homeowners asking DIY questions. Just fellow tradesmen who enjoy talking about their business, their trade, and anything else that comes up. No matter what your trade is you'll find that ContractorTalk.com is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally free!
Join ContractorTalk.com - Click Here

|
10-01-2008, 07:53 AM
|
#2
|
|
Pro
Trade:
custom home building
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Central Iowa
Posts: 1,157
|
The walls are 11' high so the house would be at the right elevation? I'm not sure I understand. Why didn't you excavate less deep and have shorter walls?
|
|
|
10-01-2008, 08:42 AM
|
#3
|
|
Pro
Trade:
General Contractor
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Springfield, MO
Posts: 134
|
Cleveman - We excavated as little as we could to keep the walls as short as possible. Its one of those lots where the streets were brought in really high and it just sloped down steeply right off the start, I think by the time we were at the front of the garage we were at 7-8' without touching the ground. We just skimmed the surface to make sure the ground was good to build on. (See pictures) I did the 11' wall to remain 1' above curb/street level on the far left of the garage, off picture. Hindsight I should of only done 10' walls and been at curb there given there will be a little wall in front of that area around an existing tree. I would of saved the HO about 3k there and about 4k in gravel. I just hate going to them with all these bills this much higher than originally planned. I did state in the bid that these numbers were rough estimates and they could change with ground conditions...but I never thought I'd been this far off. The other home I'd done in this neighborhood I felt had a worse lot and so I basically took those numbers used on gravel, etc and put them in there for this one.
|
|
|
10-01-2008, 03:23 PM
|
#4
|
|
Carpenter
Trade:
General Contractor
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Maryland
Posts: 514
|
but this one I personally made a mistake in going with the extra height on the walls.[/quote]
Make up for it somewhere else down the line. Sell the HO on some extras at the finish stages or somewhere else to make up for it. A happy client in this market probably means more. Besides, you say you made the mistake.
__________________
"An idea is salvation by imagination"
Frank LLoyd Wright
|
|
|
10-01-2008, 04:31 PM
|
#5
|
|
Pro
Trade:
General Contractor
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Springfield, MO
Posts: 134
|
It's a cost plus so it doesn't affect my bottom line personally, but I just want to make sure I am getting any HO the best deal possible and in this case I feel I didn't do my job there.
And I think it will be made up later down the road in other areas I've always got some fluff in, but partially because of the extra height and mostly the crazy lot I was even over on gravel to fill this thing up.
|
|
|
10-01-2008, 05:35 PM
|
#6
|
|
Pro
Trade:
General Contractor
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Hennessey, Oklahoma
Posts: 4,864
|
Give them the straight story and explain your judgment call. This isn't a cheap home, and on a cost plus, to "make up for it later" is not honest. Since you said "depending on site" and you did what you thought best at the time, you are correct, and you should not be second guessing it now. I doubt $4500 will be a budget buster, but do watch the rest carefully.
__________________
Ladwig Construction Hennessey, Oklahoma 405 853 1563
Ladwig Insulation & Construction Services Serving Oklahoma Statewide 405 314 5802
|
|
|
10-01-2008, 05:45 PM
|
#7
|
|
Contractor
Trade:
Excavation, Foundation, Concrete
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Maryland
Posts: 2,193
|
I would agree with Joasis.
Just lay it on the line. The tall walls are going to give them a better end product from what I can see of the lot and elevations.
I just hope you don't have to pay for fill, that looks like quite a few loads of soil to get that lot looking good.
Be strait with the client, you will come out OK.
|
|
|
10-01-2008, 05:54 PM
|
#8
|
|
Pro
Trade:
General Contractor
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Springfield, MO
Posts: 134
|
Thanks guys.
We have had to get fill and its been a lot already but even if I'd done shorter walls I'd have just as much fill.
Like I said in the first post this is my first custom away from it being for family where I ran the job as a spec...they let me make 90% of the decisions. I just want to have a happy customer at the end.
|
|
|
10-01-2008, 06:03 PM
|
#9
|
|
Contractor
Trade:
Excavation, Foundation, Concrete
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Maryland
Posts: 2,193
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by monticellohomes
Thanks guys..........
I just want to have a happy customer at the end.
|
You will.
Stay on the strait up with them and keep doing nice work. That is a nice clean site, it is obvious that you take pride in the work being done.
|
|
|
10-01-2008, 06:25 PM
|
#10
|
|
Mod / ArchiBuilder
Trade:
Design/Build Construction
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: ArkLaTexOma
Posts: 6,373
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by monticellohomes
Thanks guys.
We have had to get fill and its been a lot already but even if I'd done shorter walls I'd have just as much fill.
Like I said in the first post this is my first custom away from it being for family where I ran the job as a spec...they let me make 90% of the decisions. I just want to have a happy customer at the end.
|
Your on your way to a happy customer. Coming here asking for information, showed a lot about who you are and I can tell that you really are wanting to give your client the best possible home they can afford. Good Luck!
|
|
|
10-01-2008, 07:06 PM
|
#11
|
|
Pro
Trade:
General Contractor
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Springfield, MO
Posts: 134
|
Thanks a lot!
|
|
|
| Thread Tools |
Search this Thread |
|
|
|
| Display Modes |
Rate This Thread |
Linear Mode
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
|