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Take Advantage of the Real Estate Market
1 Comment | Posted by armchairbuilder in Owner-Builder, Save Money
There are some fantastic deals out there in today’s sluggish real estate market. Keep in mind, some of the best deals will need some work. I should know, this year I purchased what I feel is the deal of a lifetime…but it needed some serious TLC. My wife and I looked at several hundred properties […]
Five Tips to Save Money on Your Finished Basement Design
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Basement Finish, Save Money
With the state of the economy today, people are looking for ways to save money. Many people have moved in with relatives until they can get back on their feet. So what is the least expensive and quickest way to add finished space to your home? Finishing your basement is the quickest, most cost […]
Getting Bids for Your Finished Basement, Part II
1 Comment | Posted by armchairbuilder in Basement Finish, Save Money
We’ve been talking about how to go about finishing your basement as an owner-builder. In our last post (Getting Bids for your Finished Basement, part I) we discussed the importance of the bid package and how the bid sheet gives your subcontractors a specific format for submitting a bid. This format allows you to easily […]
Getting Bids for Your Finished Basement, Part I
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Basement Finish, Save Money
We have been talking about how to go about finishing a basement. In this post, we will discuss how you go about getting bids from subcontractors. You will send out bid packages to a minimum of three subcontractors per activity. So, you will send out a package to three different drywall companies, three different trim […]
Floor Joists: Use Manufactured or 2x’s?
12 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Great Products, Save Money
I had an owner-builder recently ask, “what are the best floor joists to use on my new addition and why?” First, let’s get the options out there. You can go the traditional method with dimensional lumber, otherwise known as 2×10 or 2×12 floor joists. Or, you can use a manufactured floor truss, that is typically […]
With today’s economy, people are looking for ways to save money. What if you could save $40-50 a month on your utility bills just by making a few adjustments to your home? For the average American family, heating and cooling typically account for the largest portion of the utility bill. By making a few simple […]
I was talking to a successful owner-builder friend this weekend and asked him if he could give one piece of advice that I could share with new owner-builders. He said the one item that had the biggest impact on his project was getting (or not getting) a minimum of three bids for each activity. In his case, […]
