Читать книгу Building Your Custom Home For Dummies - Peter Economy - Страница 21

The biggest motivation for being an owner-builder is the supposed savings. Ordinarily, a contractor makes money from charging a percentage on top of the cost of labor and materials used in the project; this fee or markup can be anywhere from 12 percent to 35 percent, depending upon what and where you’re building. Generally, more established contractors work on higher margins where younger contractors with less experience may work for less. Ask your contractor for a detailed breakdown of how they calculate costs.

Where materials are concerned, discount suppliers such as The Home Depot have made construction supplies available to the consumer at contractor prices, which can be real savings if you’re satisfied with the selection available at these stores. If you’re building with more elaborate materials and fixtures, the contractor may have access to wholesale pricing that allows them to make some money without your having to pay more. In some cases, they may be working on a lower margin and may be able to save you some money on items with a high retail markup.

With labor, you’ll be subject to the prices and availability of the subcontractors in the marketplace. If the market is busy, pricing will reflect a direct supply-and-demand relationship, pushing prices up. If you have no preexisting relationships with any subs, you’ll end up paying the full price for their time. If they’re unable to work into your schedule, you may have other costs that come from delays on your project while you wait for the subs to become available.