Columnist's Construction Project To Finish Ahead of Schedule, Under Budget

Thanks to the housing slowdown, a conscientious contractor and a little bit of luck

By NANCY KEATES

This is the latest installment of Teardown Diary, columnist Nancy Keates's account of building a new home in Portland, Ore.

Amidst our worries about the credit markets and falling housing prices there is one piece of good news: Our house will very likely finish under budget and ahead of schedule.

The lower cost and faster time frame is partly due to the efforts of our contractor -- JDL Development Inc. They have been fantastic about finding lower-cost options and methods and staying on top of their subcontractors to keep the project moving.

Most of the some dozen or so change orders for our project were in our favor – orders that deleted the laminate floor from the mechanical room, substituted broom finished concrete for acid washed concrete in the front walkway and used simpler window trim. We opted for interior doors with less elaborate woodwork and worked with the cabinetmaker to keep built-in cabinets to a minimum.

Luck played a role: There have been (as of yet) no unforeseen disasters like hitting an underground creek or a tree falling on the house. And the collapse in the home construction market made it easier to find subcontractors who are willing to work for more reasonable prices and and are available to get the work done faster. JDL was able to lower the painting cost by $6,000 by re-bidding the work and they found a local garage-door maker whose work was better and less pricey than those of a larger company.

Anyone just starting the process now will find even more to cheer: Construction cost increases–which have been above inflation for the past five years–are finally coming down. Framing lumber is now 18% cheaper than it was 18 months ago, while drywall is selling for 40% less. The cost of roofing and sheathing materials fell as well.

Back at the end of 2006 when we started the design, our architect Dave Giulietti of Giulietti/Schouten Architects warned us about the emotional rollercoaster that building and renovation can involve. He referenced a book called "Managing The Emotional Homeowner" (by David Lupberger) that chronicles the up-and-down stages people go through when building a home. For example, the framing stage, when the walls go up quickly and lots of workers swarm the site, is a homeowner high; the post-drywall stage–when the trim and cabinets go in–can be excruciating as progress seems slow and there's no clear answer about why things are taking so long.

Mr. Lupberger's timeline ends at nine months and we are already at a year. And he wrote the book in 2000 and thus couldn't have anticipated the agony the tight credit markets would wreak. We are near the end of the hardest part: Post drywall, when the house looks like it should be done in a month, but actually has three more months to go.

To find out exactly why the contractor needs three months I met with our home's construction manager, Ron Boersma -- someone I have been in twice-daily contact with for months. Mr. Boersma is the kind of contractor who cares more than I do about details like the stain on the wood floor. He insisted the tub spout be placed on the end next to the window so we could look outside while using it without hitting our heads. And he has helped me make every little niggling decision, from the placement of the doorbell ringer to the width of the bookshelves.

Mr. Boersma prepared a timeline of the steps needed to complete the house. Much to my astonishment, his timeline showed completion on May 1–a whole six weeks before the company's partner Dave Lyons had told us the house would be finished. Mr. Lyons was being careful because anything can happen–and it is best to factor in a contingency, said Mr. Boersma.

Mr. Boersma explained that for a few weeks our first floor was held hostage to the finish carpenter. Until he completed that work–on the staircase, the trim and moldings and the installation of the cabinets--nothing else could be done on the first floor. There's no point in finishing the floor, putting in tiles or painting the walls until everything else is ready; scruffs and scrapes unintentionally caused by workers could mean having to do the job over again, he said.
[The Stairs] Nancy Keates

The now-finished staircase

The finish carpenter has workers who helped put in the cabinets and doors, but only two workers are accomplished enough to do the fine work required for the mantles, the staircase and the various moldings. It could have gone faster if we wanted to hire additional skilled workers, but that would have cost more money. We had to wait for some parts for the staircase, which added to the timeframe.

Meanwhile, the painting and tile work could be done on the second floor. Painting a floor takes three weeks: two weeks for prepping alone. But when the floors are sanded and refinished, no other workers can be around for a day or two because of the smell. At that point, the concrete for the driveway and patio can be poured.

Once the floors are finished, the lighting and plumbing fixtures will be installed. Again, he could do that earlier, but there's always the danger that workers could bang the floors or get paint on them.

Even though the exterior siding is still not finished – and has been taking months – that's not holding up the job, Mr. Boersma told me. It is the interior that is driving the schedule.

To keep everyone motivated, Mr. Boersma says he has to "be charming and I have to cry a little bit." If there are no natural or human disasters, our project will be finished a month ahead of schedule and some $50,000 under the cost estimated by our contractor.