Archive for Building Costs
A Screencast of our Advanced Estimating Program at PL Lyons
We get a lot of questions about our advanced estimate. We get questions from customers, from subcontractors and from other builders. We’ve been teaching the Advanced Estimating class at the Home Builders Association of Louisville for several years partly because of our estimating program. This quick video gives you a glimpse into how we use our estimate to drill down to every area of a custom building or remodeling project. We’d love to answer your questions about our estimate. Leave them in the comments below or feel free to use our online contact form. We’d also love to estimate your project, but I’m sure you knew that already.
You can enlarge the screencast tutorial video by clicking the bottom right button to full screen mode. You can exit by clicking the esc button.
Building a custom home- get an estimate not a guestimate.
What do you mean estimate verses “guestimate”?
An estimate for a construction project is arrived at much like an estimate for your car repair after an accident. You list the parts and labor and give an estimate. With one huge exception: the construction estimate does not have a standardized cost manual like the automotive repair center does. Additionally, there are many more products to define for the end cost. For this reason, you must be sure that your building contractor is giving you a good detailed estimate, and not just a “guestimate”.
A detailed estimate will always have “take off” information that drives the list of final costs. If you get a lump sum cost for your project, ask your builder for an itemized list of costs that produces the final number. Ask for the details that define the itemized list of costs. This assures a detailed estimate, and most likely a pleasing and enjoyable final result.
If someone quotes a per foot price, beware! There are no details tied to that figure, and something as small as a faucet or specified window manufacturer can alter the per foot price by thousands of dollars.
Guestimates or Estimates
If you’re in the market for a custom home, which I know there are still a few of you out there. Then make sure you pick a custom builder who does estimates and not guestimates.
What’s the difference you ask? Just several months of arguments over costs and fights about change orders. If your custom builder doesn’t have his costs added up, then somebody will pay for the extras. Will it be you or them?
Reminds me of a verse in scripture. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, this fellow began to build and was not able to finish. ~ Luke 14:28-30
At P.L. Lyons, Inc. owner Perry Lyons bids every custom home and remodel himself. He takes off the plan and inputs it into his proprietary estimating program. With over 60 pages of detailed costs, formulas and options, the estimate can narrow your buildout down to the last dollar. Customers are walked through the 60 page estimate and are allowed to take the 3-page cost analysis with them. It’s such an impressive system that Perry has been asked to teach the Advanced Estimating course at the Louisville Home Builders Association the last several years.
There are many reasons why using an estimating program is a must. We’ll get into those on future posts. For now just take our word for it.