Energy Saving Ideas for Your Home
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Owner-Builder, Save Money
Creating a home that’s energy efficient helps the environment as well as your wallet. Whether you’re looking to improve the efficiency of your existing home or want to build an energy efficient new home, there are so many options available. Here’s a look at the best Armchair Builder articles covering energy saving ideas for your […]
Tips to Save on Cold Weather Construction
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Quality Check, Save Money
Freezing temperatures add another layer of complexity and cost to your building projects. In our last article, Cold Weather Construction Considerations, we discussed how building a home in the winter can really affect your budget. For those of you who’ve decided to proceed in the cold anyway, we’ve put together some pro builder tips to […]
Cold weather is just around the corner for much of North America. So before you break ground on your dream project, you will want to carefully look at the requirements for building a quality home in freezing temperatures. Here we give you some cold weather construction considerations that can impact your budget and quality. Feasibility […]
Home defects can turn an otherwise exciting process into a nightmare for unsuspecting customers. From warped roofing to squeaky floors, basic framing errors can lead to major frustration for homeowners. For those of you that are building a new home, we’ve created a simple checklist to help you verify the framing basics are completed correctly […]
Building your own home as an owner builder can help you achieve tremendous cost savings. From pocketing the general contractor’s markup to doing some of the actual labor yourself, this project has huge money saving potential. Having friends help with your new build can also add to your cost savings. But just because your friend […]
Material Deliveries: Avoiding Damage, Delays & Theft
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Build Your Own Home, Owner-Builder
In many parts of our lives, getting things done early is a good thing. However, when we are building a home, this is just not the case. Having materials for your new home arrive on the job site early can lead to all sorts of problems. Let’s take a look at some of the […]
Buying Land: Minimize Cost Overruns
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Build Your Own Home, Owner-Builder, Save Money
When you’re buying land to build your future dream home on, it’s extremely important to do some due diligence prior to finalizing the deal. From zoning to soil checks, a little extra work performed upfront can save you tens of thousands of dollars and a bunch of headaches. I drove by a new custom home […]
The other day I was asked by a family member to help get a tile floor installation cost for a sunroom. Actually, the request was to review the pricing already obtained for the project. The process reinforced just how important it is to get at least three detailed bids for any work you are having […]
Leveling the Playing Field for Owner Builders
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Build Your Own Home, Owner-Builder
Is it really possible for owner builders to compete with professional home builders when it comes to price and quality? The short answer is…Yes. There are some great resources available to help those wanting to build their own new dream home. From professional builder management tools, to builder consultants, to house plan packages, these resources […]
Permit Previously Built Project: A Reader Question
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Build Your Own Home, Owner-Builder, Quality Check
Here’s a reader question that came in to Armchair Builder last week… My wife and I bought our house back in 1996. At that time there was an unfinished room above the garage. HVAC and electrical were already in place. With the help of a contractor friend of ours we finished the room (sheet rock, […]
