Any Advice on Building a new home?

I am self contracting to build my home and I was curious to see if anyone else has? And if you had any advice?Any Advice on Building a new home?
The most important issue in self-contracting is SCHEDULING! I am a carpenter, and have been involved in construction on and off for much of my life. 5 years ago I decided I was ready to take the plunge, and build my own house. The paperwork, loan, bidding, etc. wasn't too bad. Once it got moving though, it got much more complicated. A large part of that is due to the fact that i did a ton of stuff myself, but there were simple oversights that could have been costly. For example, I was sitting in the kitchen on a Monday, drywallers were coming on Wednesday. I knew I had forgotten something. Central VAC! Luckily, just after I called the installer, he had a cancellation, and was able to do his rough-in that day. But you can't count on luck. It's a rewarding feeling when the building inspector hands you the certificate of occupancy though, not to mention the fact that i saved over 20%. Hope this helps.Any Advice on Building a new home?
It can be a full time job! There are reasons that people hire out this job. If you are not familiar with the building process, and don't have good contractors that you are familiar with, it could be a nightmare. You will save money, if you do it right. However, delays, mistakes and miscommunication can cost you more than if you hired a reputable contractor. Consider hiring an interior designer to help you pull everything together - you want to be happy with the final result!
See about joining Directbuy.





You can save THOUSANDS of dollars on everything from your house plans, to the kitchen, bathroom, flooring, appliances, right down to the handles on your kitchen and bathroom cabinets.





Just to give you an idea, I purchased a bedroom set from a big box discount furniture store and paid $3000. I could have gotten it for $1800. That's not the best part though, the bedding on the set at the store was $1200 for 2 euro shams, 2 regular shams, 3 small pillows, the comforter and bedskirt. I could have gotten the EXACT same set for $233. That's just on one bedroom set.





Imagine how much you can save if you're building a house and then furnishing it?





Just a suggestion.
Woodtick made some good points. It can be tricky to be your own GC but if you're willing to put in the effort there can be some rewards. Here's how Tom Silva, This Old House general contractor, puts it:





';I bet if you asked ten people who built their own house if they would do it again, seven of them would say no. First of all, being your own general contractor takes a lot of time. You have to make sure the subcontractors you hire are right for the job. You have to make sure they're doing the job right and not cutting corners. Then you have to schedule them at the right times. Having the insulation company come before the plumber or electrician has completed their rough-ins can cause headaches. Or what if the tile guy comes in and the showers aren't connected?





';You may have to be there in the mornings to meet your workmen and set them up before you go to your own job. If they don't show or they're late, then you'll be late, too. These are just some of the problems that can come up. If you are willing and ready to spend long days and late nights on the phone and at the job site, go for it. If not, hiring a general contractor may cost more but it will save you time and energy. They have well-established relationships with subcontractors and familiarity with the time it takes to get different parts of the job done. Remember your time is worth something and, in the end, a savings of 30 percent may not be worth the personal investment that you'll have to make. ';





If you decide to be your own GC you'll pick up some useful tips in the following articles about choosing and working with contractors:





';Can't We All Just Get Along?';


http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/鈥?/a>





';Getting the Best Contractors:


http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/鈥?/a>