Thanks, Jay. If we'd have it to do all over again we would break the entire project into smaller phases and steer one into completion before the next one starts. We started everything at once and one contractor was dependent upon another getting done on time to stay on schedule and it all was just a catastrophe. Our original goal was to get everything done by Thanksgiving and now, realistically, it'll be mid-January. The warmer weather has been so nice here after that Artic blast we had. We got to -32 at one point with windchill.
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Did you use a general contractor? I'm guessing it might cost more, but there might be benefits to someone overseeing every aspect of the job. I think we are still leaning towards moving rather than putting a lot of money into this house. Most of our snow is almost gone already except for the big drifts which is kind of sad with Christmas right around the corner.
We didn't. We have some contractors who have sub-contracted with others to do certain aspects like tile and carpet but they didn't manage the scheduling or crews at all. They just showed up when they felt like it. I've heard adding a GC can increase the costs by about 20%, which in certain cases might be worth it. Considering we work at home we've been able to deal with the scheduling issues but if we had to take time off work to be here when the crews were it would have been impossible. Honestly, in hindsight, we should have bought a home that we liked as-is versus a home that had "good bones" but needed work. The only thing we would have given up in our case is this great location. It's so unique in the area to be surrounded by all this nature and protected wetlands. I think a decade down the road we'll be happy we chose this place as development engulfs all the open land outside of the Twin Cities. Ours is melting too! It was 45 degrees yesterday and I was outside without a jacket it felt so warm!
I can believe that about the cost of having a general contractor, but as you said, it might have been worth it. I think getting a house with good bones is your better bet. I've heard too many horror stories about people buying new homes and the quality just being trash. It might be what they want now, but they are going to end up putting more into it down the road.