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Mrs. Groovy and I are very happy with our builder. We had a good feeling about Terry right from our first meeting, and nothing has happened since that meeting to alter our opinion of him. This guy is solid. He looks you in the eye when he talks to you, and he does what he says he’s going to do.
But in all honesty, we got lucky on this one. We didn’t do exhaustive research. We didn’t interview any of Terry’s previous customers. We just did the bare minimum amount of due diligence and went with our gut.
So just for poops and giggles, I decided to see how far we strayed from expert advice. Here, then, are 10 tips for choosing and working with a builder from Houzz.
1. Don’t approach a builder too soon. Wait until you have a set of drawings and a list of specs and finishes.
Fail. Mrs. Groovy and I approached three builders right after we bought our land. Drawings, specs, and proposed finishes were nowhere in sight.
2. Consider the scope of the project. Will the build require multiple managers or will a single manager suffice?
Success. Groovy Ranch isn’t complicated. Any experienced builder armed with a smartphone can manage its construction. All three builders we considered had experience and smartphones.
3. Determine whether you need a specialist or a general builder.
Success. This was easy. Our farmhouse is basically a box with a front porch. No need for a specialist here. All the builders we considered had plenty of experience building simple residential homes. Terry was the most experienced of the bunch. He has been building residential homes for over thirty years.
4. Let the builder build the entire house.
Success. We had no interest in saving money by doing any portion of the construction ourselves. Whichever builder we chose was going to be tasked with building the whole magilla—from the big ticket items (foundation, framing, electrical, etc.) to the little ticket items (caulking, outlet covers, door stops, etc.), and everything in between.
5. Let the builder manage the project.
Success. No issues here. Mrs. Groovy and I know our limitations. I picked up dead animals and managed databases during my professional career. Mrs. Groovy acted and set up conferences during her professional career. Neither of us have worked in the trades or built homes with our own hands. So we were prepared to surrender general contracting duties to whoever won the bid.
6. Be specific.
Success. The drawings and the list of specs we submitted to the builders for bids were very specific.
7. Embrace bidding.
Partial success. We had three builders bid on the Groovy Ranch project. We would have liked a couple more, but Groovy Ranch is being built in a very rural area north of Raleigh, NC. In other words, there were only so many builders interested in the project. Mrs. Groovy called a number of builders in Raleigh and Wake Forest, and all of them balked. The location of Groovy Ranch was just too far away.
8. The building contract is extremely important.
Fail. Terry uses a very boilerplate contract. It lists the duties and obligations of both the builder and the homeowner, states the allowances for the various components of the build, and outlines the important specs and requirements (e.g., conditioned crawlspace, 16-seer heat pump, Hardie plank siding, low-E windows, oak floors, granite or quartz countertops, etc.).
But much is left unsaid in the contract. For instance, the contract only specifies that Terry will install a 16-seer heat pump. It doesn’t say whether the heat pump will be supplied by Billy Bob Industrial Supplies or by Trane. Now, if Mrs. Groovy and I were doing this build on Long Island, there’s no way we’d sign such a vague contract. We’d want all the equipment and materials used for the build locked down. Nothing would be left to chance or memory.
So why did Mrs. Groovy and I go with the boilerplate contract? In a word, trust. Terry just strikes us as a man of honor. He says he only installs quality equipment and only builds with quality materials, and we believe him.
Would I recommend you do the same when it comes to building contracts? Hell no. We’re definitely rolling the dice here. I don’t think we’ll get burned. But the possibility is there. We could wind up with Billy Bob flooring, Billy Bob windows, and Billy Bob roofing shingles. [Mrs. Groovy here. Let’s remind our readers about Groovy Ranch Update 20 in which you described how we enlisted the help of a lawyer for the contract. And that lawyer went AWOL. At least we added a few protections to the contract, which Terry readily agreed to.]
9. Determine who will do the rough-in and finishing work.
Success. One of the reasons we chose Terry is because he’s a hands-on builder. He doesn’t just show up to the job site every once in a while to see how things are going, he’s doing a lot of the build himself with his sons. So Terry, his sons, and his subs will be doing all of the rough-in and finishing work. Suppliers of the building materials won’t be doing any of the work.
10. Make a comprehensive inspection list.
To be determined. Haven’t even thought of this one yet. But I’m sure we’ll put together some kind of punch list that must be addressed before we make the final payment to Terry. [Mrs. Groovy here. I don’t see any issues with this at all. Our contract references something called “Substantial Completion”, as well as a punch list for any final “imperfections”. And Terry’s boilerplate language didn’t even include a payment schedule; we added one stating we’d pay him monthly. He has yet to accept a check from us even though he has laid out money for materials. He prefers to bill us after he’s completed specific stages of the build. So I don’t think we need to be concerned about the completion of the work and final payment. The man has been more than honorable.]
Building Update
Things are about to get real. The foundation is complete, and the framing starts tomorrow.
Fight-O-Meter
No fights. But things are tense. I offered to sign a nonaggression pact and recognize Mrs. Groovy’s right to have opinions, but she rejected that overture with extreme prejudice. In fact, right after she stormed out of our Groovy Ranch summit, she went on Twitter and referred to me as “The Great Satan.” [Mrs. Groovy here. Whatchu talkin’ bout Willis? Seriously. I went on Twitter and called you The Great Satan? Nonaggression pact? We need to come up with some better fights.]
Final Thoughts
Okay, groovy freedomist, that’s all I got. What say you? Will our way of choosing a builder come back to haunt us? Or will going with our gut prove to be a very effective decision-making tool? Let me know what you think when you get a chance. Peace.
very informative content, just love it.
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Wow that’s a lot into building a house! Glad to hear Terry isn’t letting you guys down. Imagine the crazy ugly complication of an inexperienced builder! One shouldn’t dollar and dime that.
When we added on 500 sq ft years back, we acted as our own contractors and Matt did a lot of the work. We hired a builder for the “foundation, framing and roofing” and found a gem of a guy who specialized in framing. I insisted on writing my own items in addition to his boiler plate and it included the term “roofing”. Not “shingling”. So when we got to that part, he was waiting for us to call a shingling company to get that done. Our guy was as trustworthy as Terry, and so I realized with one look that it was my error. $2000 later, I learned a valuable lesson. And I still struggle to write!
All of these big construction projects have their ups and downs and you are so, so lucky to have found someone like Terry. It makes the experience pleasant and it goes way further than what’s on the dotted line.
Oooh, very interesting. I would have assumed that “roofing” would have included “shingling” as well. Like you said, “live and learn.” I can’t say that Mrs. Groovy and I will avoid such a faux pas, but we’ll try by asking a lot of questions. The good new is that Terry doesn’t get annoyed with our ignorance. He’s a teacher as well as a builder. Thanks for sharing, Susan. Appreciate it.
Wow, you are having a great progress over there. In the light of the fights, I don’t know if this is a good idea to confess but in my case going with my guts is not the best option BUT going with the feeling of the guts of my wife is almost bulletproof. Especially in terms of buildings, renovation, and such things. This kinda makes me miserable but that’s the truth.
Haha! What is it about wives? Why are they right far more than they are wrong? It’s not fair.
It sounds like your gut is working in your favor here. Finding a hands-on builder who will do quality work no matter what’s in the boilerplate contract is 100 times better than finding a builder who will only do what’s in the complicated contract and not a lick more. It’s always possible to have problems, but overall I think you covered most of the rules and did what you could to find the right builder.
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“Finding a hands-on builder who will do quality work no matter what’s in the boilerplate contract is 100 times better than finding a builder who will only do what’s in the complicated contract and not a lick more. ”
Wow, Gary. You articulated in one sentence what I tried to articulate in an entire post. Thank you, sir.
Terry sounds great. You guys definitely lucked out. I’m surprised he didn’t lay out a payment plan in his contract, but it looks like you guys thought of that. Definitely withhold the last bit until the job is done.
Terry has been great. He has absolutely no concerns about getting paid. He didn’t even want us to prove that we have the funds to build Groovy Ranch. This is why I’m confident the build will go well. We trust him, and he trusts us.
You two seem like DREAM custom home clients, to be honest. I wonder how much of this was choosing the right builder (still quite a lot of the luck) and how much was your laid back non-micromanaging approach that actually let them do their job 🙂
Agreed. We are laid back. But I did pick Terry’s brain for about a month before we chose him. For instance, I watch a lot of builder vlogs and a lot of them speak very well of the AdvanTech flooring system. So when I asked Terry what flooring system he would use, and he said AdvanTech, I knew he was a solid builder.
Does it count as a fight when Mrs G challenges Mr G on the legitimacy of his “Satan” claim? In my vote, editorial liberty wins the day, and Mr G gets a point on the Fight-O-Meter.
Sounds like you’ve got a good one with Terr, hope the progress continues smoothly. Looking forward to progress pics as the framing goes up!
Mrs. Groovy takes my writing way too seriously. She has no appreciation for rhetorical flourishes.
we have a paint contractor working right now and he’s like terry. it’s an expensive job and he asked for nothing up front and he’s been here with his crew for a week. our roof last fall was another matter where we probably needed more detail in the contract. oops is all i can say. i think y’all will be ok with your choice, but that’s a good list to consider.
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Hey, Freddy. Drove by Groovy Ranch today. The framing has begun. And Mrs. Groovy and I still haven’t given Terry a cent. He’s a good man. And when you find a good one, the t’s don’t always have to be crossed, and i’s don’t always have to be dotted. Thanks for stopping by, my friend.
I think sometimes intensive research makes people sometimes unhappier than people who just go with their gut. There was some study done on that. lol! For real! I think you will be OK! Seeing the framing go up will make it start to feel REALLY real I’m sure!
Thanks, Tonya. I’ll take any empirical study that speaks well of the gut. Haha! It’s all I got right now.
Sounds like things are moving along nicely! We did a bit more research than that, but like you guys, our area was not super flush with builders. Then the ones that were in the area weren’t interested in out project because it was too small potatoes for them, or they were really small mom and pop outfits.
However, we won’t be going thru that process for quite a while now. Especially if this teaching gig turns out nice for Mrs. SSC, we’ll be out of TX for at least 12 years while the kids finish up highschool. Until then, I’ll live vicariously through your build process.
Good luck!
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Thank you, Mr. SSC. Yeah, our intention was to be more thorough. But when we could only find three builders interested in our project, it didn’t make any sense to get super wonky. Oh, well. The die is cast, my friend. We’ll do our best to make you proud. Best of luck with Mrs. SSC new gig. I have a feeling it’s going go extremely well. Cheers.
We also used a generic price list and contract. I am just getting on the builder having to keep a good reputation as he is building a ton of homes in the area.
We are still waiting on our permit. Crazy how slow this process has been.
I get the logic behind red tape. But, man, is it tough at times. Best of luck on the permit front, my friend. I think you’ll be fine on the builder front. Few people are insane enough to purposely ruin their good reputations. Cheers.
I think you can already tell Terry will do what he says. Could things go south? Maybe. I guess there is always that chance. We did the same thing last fall. We couldn’t get anyone to come and bid the work – so we took someone we knew did good work in the area and put our faith in him. And he came through. We’re in a smaller town and we are both well connected. If things wouldn’t have turned out well, plenty of people would have found out. Instead, we are one of their top references. Hang in there Groovy’s and maybe we’ll chat in the next few days from our “summit” in Cleveland as we “build” our business!
Oh, man, thank you, Vicki. I was a little worried about our decision-making process. It wasn’t an exactly a textbook example of how to choose a builder. But as you pointed out, sometimes your gut and the reputation of the contractor in the community are worthy guardrails. Hope all is well on your end. Looking forward to the summit. Cheers.
Its a very helpful and easy to follow checklist. I will follow the same. Thank You
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