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Registered
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: houston, tx
Posts: 7,261
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Choosing a contractor
Thanks for all the generosity and well wishes to me and my family on the "my house burned downed tonite" thread. It has been crazy busy and I have not had time to properly thank everyone. I will give it a go soon.
I am currently taking bids for the reconstruction project and am agonizing over choosing a contractor for the job. We hit our policy limit for insurance (meaning there is a certain amount of money available with a cap in place, a generous amount) so there is no squabbling over the amount provided by insurance. This removes one of the contractors selling points (I can get you more money from the ins. if you choose me) and creates a fairly level playing field. I've got bids from large companies and small. Any thoughts or experiences on this process would be helpful. Thanks in advance, Scott
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the unexamined life is not worth living, unless you are reading posts by goofballs-Socrates 88 coupe |
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Platinum Member
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
Posts: 20,945
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I'm a home-builder/developer in NJ.
I would suggest you sell your lot, add insurance money and buy a new house. Seriously. It's a buyer's market, you can put this behind you and get on with life sooner. Are there any homes in your neighborhood for sale comparable to your old home for sale? |
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Garage Queen
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Ask if you can see any past work and if you can talk to past clients. Good Luck.
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Stephanie '21 Model S Plaid, '21 Model 3 Performance '13 Focus ST, Off to a new home: '16 Focus RS,'86 911 Targa 3.4, '87 930, '05 Lotus Elise, '19 Audi RS3, |
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Get off my lawn!
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I have never personally had a house built, but I know several people that went through it. They all swear never again. Of course that does not answer your question. I can't help you there.
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Glen 49 Year member of the Porsche Club of America 1985 911 Carrera; 2017 Macan 1986 El Camino with Fuel Injected 350 Crate Engine My Motto: I will never be too old to have a happy childhood! |
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Dog-faced pony soldier
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1. Check your state's licensing board for any history of reprimands, violations, etc.
2. Consult an architect (yes, that sounds self-serving, but it's a small world and many of them can make impartial recommendations on your behalf - there may be a small fee associated with this or not). At risk of sounding self-serving, this really IS your best resource other than personal word-of-mouth endorsements or evaluations. 3. Angie's List - good resource Good luck to you!
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A car, a 911, a motorbike and a few surfboards Black Cars Matter |
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Parrothead member
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Monmouth county, NJ USA
Posts: 13,829
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References! A #1.
(I'm a contractor in NJ. We dont require licences here, just have to be registered with DCA. Unfortunately that leaves the door open to alot of hacks.) Plus I also echo all of Jeffs reccomendations. A major home rebuild is way different than a small remodeling job. There are many trades involved. You need to know who your GC is using.
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Vinny Red '86 944, 05 Ford Super Duty Dually '02 Ram 3500 Diesel 4x4 Dually, '07Jeep Wrangler '62 Mercury Meteor '90 Harley 1200 XL "Live your Life in such a way that the Westboro Baptist Church will want to picket your funeral." |
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Cars & Coffee Killer
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: State of Failure
Posts: 32,246
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Quote:
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Some Porsches long ago...then a wankle... 5 liters of VVT fury now -Chris "There is freedom in risk, just as there is oppression in security." |
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Registered
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There will be no damaged home once the bulldozers are finished.
He will be selling an empty lot.
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Randy '87 911 Targa '17 Macan GTS |
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Parrothead member
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Monmouth county, NJ USA
Posts: 13,829
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Im dont know the extent of the damage, but its real easy to tell someone else to tear down their "building" and move on. That is more than just a "structure" to someone. That is their home. Where they grew up, raised their family, played with their kids out in the yard. etc, etc... Lots of memories in that "structure".
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Vinny Red '86 944, 05 Ford Super Duty Dually '02 Ram 3500 Diesel 4x4 Dually, '07Jeep Wrangler '62 Mercury Meteor '90 Harley 1200 XL "Live your Life in such a way that the Westboro Baptist Church will want to picket your funeral." |
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Cogito Ergo Sum
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unindicted co-conspirator
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Fresno, CA
Posts: 1,660
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the architect generally does not control the start time for construction.
If someone told you that, it probably was told to them by the contractor (who was really the one at fault) trying to cover his azz & not look like the dufus. Usually an architect can save you several times their fee by heading off problems that contractors, or owner/builders create
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'03 996 - sport exhaust, sport seats, M030 sport suspension, stability control, IMS Solution ‘86 928S3 - barn find project car |
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Feelin' Solexy
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: WA
Posts: 3,786
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+1!
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Grant In the stable: 1938 Buick Special model 41, 1963 Solex 2200, 1973 Vespa Primavera 125, 1974 Vespa Rally 200, 1986 VW Vanagon Syncro Westfalia, 1989 VW Doka Tristar, 2011 Pursuit 315 OS, 2022 Tesla Y Gone but not forgotten: 1973 VW Beetle, 1989 Porsche 944, 2008 R56 Mini Cooper S |
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Registered
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 8,673
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Quote:
I also think he should look hard at buying another house, clearing the lot and selling it. |
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Platinum Member
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
Posts: 20,945
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Quote:
From a financial point of view, a contractor is not going to work with slim margins on someone else's lot. The payment schedule is going to be front loaded, the owner has a risk of the contractor not finishing the job. And construction loans are harder to get than std mortgages. |
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Cogito Ergo Sum
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No, direct experience... The architect screwed the building owner by specing signage that didn't make sense.... then he turned around and screwed us(the sign guys) by not including what we asked for in the building specs... It was just one piece of steel bracing...
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Registered
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: houston, tx
Posts: 7,261
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Well dad911 you have made some excellent points, darnit, and gave me one more thing to consider. The varied responses on this thread illustrate the varied problems that I've got on my plate.
Wish I had a crystal ball.
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the unexamined life is not worth living, unless you are reading posts by goofballs-Socrates 88 coupe |
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Registered
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Cambridge, MA
Posts: 44,292
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starting fresh is an excellent idea, an adventure making another house a new home as a family. take advantage of this opportunity.
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Tru6 Restoration & Design |
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Registered
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Posts: 14,150
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In many places, you will have to disclose that the house burned, even if it's just the footers left. How much that affects resale, I don't know, but I would think twice about it if I were buying it.
And you will sell it one day. |
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Registered
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 17,338
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Find out how big is his crew, and how many projects he has going. Go and visit them and see if there's anyone working there. Ask to see the last 10 projects and try and talk to the owners of the properties, not only from the list he gave you. Talk to the salesmen at the lumber yard where he purchase materials and see if he pays his bills on time. Does he use lots of sub contractors? I use subs all the time and have a small crew of 3 that can do everything, but they mainly do finish work and cabinet making.
How extensive is the fire damage? I would buy another house and if you can swing it, remodel the original home at a later date and sell it and make a profit. Again that depends on how badly damaged is the home. Jeff |
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Canadian Member
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If I hired 1 contractor, I've hired 10,000.
Best reference is their subtrades. If the subtrades like working for them and they pay their bills your about 98% good to go. Get a list of trades they work with as referrences. .... and save yourself some money, hire a draftsman not an architect. ![]() |
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