Let’s Talk Budget – New Build

Build Update

Spring came early in NW Montana, so Jason from J Martin Builders (https://www.jmartinbuilders.com) worked with his excavator to lay out our site location, which provides a better driveway location, awesome views from the house, and a flat portion of yard on the North and West sides of our build. In addition, we’ll have a flat area around the front of the house. In the picture below, you’re standing in the living room looking out to the Swan Range. Our primary bedroom is to the right and the kitchen is on the left. The living, kitchen and our primary bedroom, as well as a guest room will have mountain views.

Budget Meetings

J Martin Builders shared our initial build budget, which included fixed and cost-plus allowances broken into categories. Before going over each build category, Jason and Paul shared the bad news. We were about 10% over budget. I’m not going to lie, it was disappointing. But as the guys reviewed each line item, they made several helpful cost cutting suggestions. In addition, we’ll need another 5-8% for contingency costs, so realistically we started 15-18% over budget. Yikes!

We knew we might be over budget, so we were prepared mentally and already had alternatives that would work for us. Since our February meeting, Jim and I used our builder’s preferred site, https://www.build.com, and a few other sources to choose finishes for our new build. The preparation included Excel spreadsheets with choices, costs, source locations, etc. Jim and I got to work gathering up all our build data, including cost-plus allowance items and build.com choices. After spending several days working on it, we were happy with the results and sent everything to our builder, along with our cost cutting priorities. We met a week later for a second budget meeting. Here’s where we found the most savings:

• Switched from standing seam metal roof to composite shingles. You can’t see the roof from the ground, so it is not a problem aesthetically
• Fewer, but larger windows, including cost saving fixed windows. We’ll have operable windows on multiple sides to optimize air flow
• Installing our own bedroom closets and laundry cabinets
• Using a 38″ instead of a 48″ fireplace
• Buying mid-range appliances
• Taking on another DIY project with our wood feature walls and fireplace
• If needed, additional savings is possible in the cabinetry budget and changing the fireplace surround from quartz slabs to tile

Contract

At this point, our builders have done quite a bit of work without a signed contract or any payments. Paul asked how we were feeling about the budget numbers, and we asked a few more specific questions about budget items, including the type of windows, etc. Once we clarified a few points, we said the budget was looking good and asked about signing a contract and next steps. Paul mentioned he’ll send out the contract next week, which is amendable within reason.

We received the contract on a Friday and took the weekend to review it. My hubby, Jim works with contracts all the time, so we felt comfortable reviewing it ourselves instead of hiring an attorney. Here are some of the questions or issues we brought up to our builder:

1. Work Description Document – We’d like to discuss our plan for completing this section in our next couple meetings.  What will it include and what level of detail do you expect to include?
2. How the builder gets paid for additional work – I think this implies labor or services associated with change orders or work scope covered by allowances, not work in the fixed scope.  Can we clarify this in the contract?
3. Price changes on building materials – We understand why this is in the contract based on what happened during the COVID crisis and do not expect you take losses like we’ve heard some builders take. However, as stated this is not constrained in the contract and does not require notice or transparency. We’d like any increase in price due to these conditions to require prior notice to the owner if the price will exceed the agreed upon fixed price and an accounting of the price change.  This will give us a chance to mitigate price changes in other aspect of the build if we need to take that path.
4. Building cracks, including drywall and tile – The other items in this clause are reasonable but tile cracking does not seem like one that should be included.  Shouldn’t the proper application of approved membranes prevent this?
5. Do-it-Yourself Projects – Just want to make sure the items we discussed removing from the work scope (closets, wood wall treatment, etc.) and plan to perform at some future post-build date are clear with respect to the clause.
6. Mold Concerns – There is no restriction on this during the construction phase. If there is a mold problem prior to substantial completion of the residence, this would require us to pay for mitigation?
7. Building Warranties – Water intrusion exception should be limited to something like “unless water intrusion is the result of a covered defect.”
8. Also, regarding dates of completion, please note the HOA does have the following in the covenants. “When construction of the dwelling is commenced it shall be completed as to exterior finish including siding and/or masonry, paint and roof, ground rough graded and building debris removed within one (1) year after start of construction.”

Most of the above items needed clarification or additional language added, which Paul agreed to adjust in the final contract. Finally, when we discussed the mold disclosure, Paul said they only see mold in the crawlspace, when snow and ice builds up in that space. Our build timing will avoid having an open crawl space during winter, so we should not have an issue with mold in this space or others.

Paul also suggested we come out before our planned September trip to confirm the location for our home. Jason’s initial site location pictures were helpful, so while we are in Montana, we will theoretically place the house to take advantage of the mountain views and path of the sun throughout the year. Once we confirm the site location and orientation of the house, our builder will be ready to start our excavation.

Excavation

Our site will utilize Cut-and-Fill excavation, which will remove several feet of earth (dirt and rocks) from the top of our build site. Our excavator will use this earth to fill in and grade our driveway approach. This accomplishes two goals, a larger build site and a much-improved driveway. The more excavation your site needs the higher the price, so this step is not cheap. We’re pretty certain we won’t find any large boulders or bedrock, so we won’t require blasting into bedrock using dynamite, so that’s a win. In fact, once the build is finished, we’ll bring in some larger boulders for our driveway and garden area.

Visit the link below to see our plans for our garden in the mountains:

Mountain Garden Ideas

Interior Designer

If you’re building a home, you’ll be making hundreds of choices and spending a great deal of money. Creating a home that you’ll love means creating an environment that seamlessly blends aesthetics with functionality. Here are some reasons why you should consider hiring an Interior Designer for your project:

• Avoid Costly Mistakes – From choosing the right color palette to ensuring proper furniture scale, designers guide you through decisions to create a harmonious and balanced space.
• Knowledge of both classic and trends in design, as well as quality brands – Skillfully blending existing and new pieces into your design ensures you have a unique and beautiful space furnished with durable and high-quality materials.
• Space planning and functionality expertise – Designers take into account your lifestyle to optimize the room layout, furniture arrangement and traffic flow to create beautiful, harmonious spaces that are also practical.
• Contractor relationships and On-site involvement – Designers cultivate strong relationships with contractors and are actively involved in on-site walkthroughs. They can help you catch potential issues before they become problematic and costly.
• Keen eye for placement – They understand the importance of placing key elements, like vanities, windows, and lighting.
• Continued education – Just like most professionals, designers are lifelong learners who stay on top of industry trends, emerging technologies, and innovative design solutions.
• Budget Management – Designers have access to a vast network of suppliers and resources. Their expertise can help you prioritize your spending on elements that have the most impact.
• Personalized Design – They will help you create a space that is uniquely tailored to your lifestyle and preferences.
• Increased Property Value – A well-designed and aesthetically pleasing home makes a lasting impression, which can make your property more valuable to renters or buyers.

If you’ve read some of my prior posts, you know that I have interior design training. I also have over 20 years of experience in home additions, remodeling, and designing three beautiful homes and gardens. My husband and I have designed two large additions and two kitchen renovations, as well as the floor plan and entire design for our new build. I absolutely love the choices we’ve made, but I don’t design homes every day like a professional interior designer. They simply have more experience than I do, so we have hired a local interior designer to ensure our choices are beautiful, cohesive and good quality.

We do not need a design plan or someone to pick our finishes. Our designer, Joni Stoll Designs https://www.jonistolldesign.com/about will work with our existing design plan. Interior designers have all sorts of price points, including online designers that are very affordable. Here’s a quick overview of our design contract with Joni:

• Flat Fee $3,200 and
• $125 hourly fee and
• % of any furnishing purchased through the designer

Here’s a peek at some of the finishes I have chosen for our living room:

• White oak cabinets and wall paneling, although we still have to see the cabinet makers samples
• Cambria Delamere quartz for range backsplash and fireplace surround, although budget might dictate a less expensive option like tile
• Sucelating 13.8″ Brass and Alabaster Wall Sconces
• Interior Define Sectional with potential fabric choice
• White oak wood floors
• Unique interior privacy lock door handles

Check out my last post to learn more about how we created our floor plan and picked our builder:

Design, Plan and Bids – New Build

We are thrilled to be on this journey and feel lucky to have found wonderful partners to bring our dreams to reality. In my next post, I’ll share another build update, information about hiring a third-party inspector, as well as details about our finish selections, including our window package. If you’re in a hurricane zone, take a look at the post I did regarding impact windows we installed in our South Florida home.

A Cool Breeze is Nice, Hurricane Force Winds, Not So Much

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