Readers Respond: Did you save on building or remodeling costs?

Responses: 13

By Jackie Craven, About.com Guide

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From the article: Build on a Budget

Have you found a creative way to cut costs when building or remodeling? How did you save money? Share your tips

I acknowledge that we are hardly the bleeding edge of style in Northeast Ohio, but stucco is hideous, period. It looks so out of place around here, I cringe whenever I see it.
—Guest Adam

When getting material, try to get all the material at once such as wood, cement so that you would not need to spend a lot of deisel going back and forth to get the same thing and it would take a lot of time too. When everything is set, then you would be able to set a time limit for the builders so that they would know their target and their work deadline. Do note that they must always be supervised so they do not "sleep on the job". Remember, time is money and money is power and the more power you have the more things you get!!!! ExavioR
—Guest ExavioR

About the worst thing you can do for a house is put vinyl siding on it. It starts out ugly, especially if the windows and edges require a lot of J-channel. Then it slowly warps and gets gradually dingier. It can be cleaned to some extent, but the warping is permanent and the need for cleaning contradicts the claim that it is "maintenance free" (no siding is). It's also much more inviting to bugs and other vermin, not to mention fire damage. A vinyl-sided house can be made fire-resistant by adding a layer of gypsum under the siding but this is seldom done, drives the cost closer to that of better sidings like stucco and cement board and nothing will protect the vinyl itself from a fire. A house with vinyl siding looks worse than one with most other sidings, but a whole neighborhood covered in vinyl looks worse still. And better siding choices are no more expensive in the long run because they last longer; vinyl might be warrantied for 50 years, it will look bad long before that.
—Guest AnythingButVinyl

Vinyl siding is economical and easy to install. Choosing the right colors and properly installing it will make it look great, not tacky and significantly lower the cost of building when weighed against other options (brick, stucco, etc.)
—Guest Justin

When building our home (ourfoursquare.com), we found several good deals on craigslist. We did not mind putting used items in our brand new home. It added character and we saved a lot of money.
—Guest ownerbuilder

Paying cash and buying in advance of need will let you buy when products are on sale. If you hire professionals in the slack season in your area, selection will be more plentiful, often faster, and sometimes lower cost than during the busy season. Stock components will almost always be cheaper than special order items. Designing rooms to take full advantage of stock width vinyl floor coverings will reduce wastage and minimize seams. Look for discount building supply stores in reasonable driving distance. Use half-inch drywall on ceilings rather than 5/8". The thinner drywall is now strong enough, and is legal in most areas. Check your local code.
—Guest Marvin McConoughey

Compare suppliers and be around to make certain smaller subcontractors are treated well on site.
—hollytroubetzkoy

We are planning to build our dream home when our son graduates from high school next year. We are building on my in-laws farm so the cost of land is $0 and to cut other cost we have been buying lighting, faucets, ordering bathroom furnishings on-line etc and just staking items in our garage for now. We are hoping that we'll have all these things bought and sitting ready when it's time to install them in our new home.
—Guest Kelley G

Check GoodWill, Habitat for Humanity surplus goods stores, and any other discount outlets in your neighborhood.
—marvinlee

I remodeled my entire kitchen myself and saved about 50% off of a contractor quote. The downside was giving up all my free time for a month, but the dollar value saved was about $15K. If that is a trade off you are willing to make, do extensive research on installation methods and ask your DIY friends for advice and help.
—Guest DIYer

If tackling projects on your own, avoid big-name lumber suppliers like Home Depot. Often the best deals for lumber are at the individually-owned companies tucked away on the outskirts of towns. When dealing with more exotic wood, you will find prices at a steal.
—Guest rob

I have found it is important for homeowners to take responsibility for their home cost, as determined by their own choices. For instance, if they want a Wolf range-oven, they need to understand that this will likely cost several thousand dollars more than a basic GE. At our firm, Custom Home Architects, we try to make sure clients understand these things and more so that the traditional sticker shock can be controlled by the homeowner from the start.
—Guest Home Architects

There are lots of ways to save. One of the major ways is to contract out the different jobs, and if you can do it yourself, why pay some one else to do it!!
—Guest oilfield_trash_electrician

Jackie Craven
Architecture Guide