All Forum Posts by: Josh Cuthbertson

That's a tough one because I've never seen it not be the architect. It would be difficult to find someone that would be impartial to make conflict decisions between the owner / contractor. Maybe just a different architect? I don't know. The only other thing I could think of is a construction manager that isn't tied to the project perhaps?

Was the IDM identified in the AIA contract already?

@Jackson Acuff

Hi Jackson - I’m originally from Cheyenne and work a bit in the Cheyenne / Laramie area. Have lots of resources in both areas of that is where you’re looking. Let me know!

It is a lot! If you're ok with the learning as you go, wanting to save that much, and are comfortable with it taking longer than you might think, give it a shot!

I actually don't have any experience with Cupertino, but our saying is always, "Anything is better than San Jose."

Ask your friend network if they know any contractors that could act as advisors. See if they'll have a drink with you and ask them what the worst part of being a GC is, and then research why those are problems. Once you have that understanding, you be that much farther in your learning process.

Think about it this way, when your subs won't show up on time which inevitably will cause project delays, can you afford to lose a few months, not weeks, months, on your construction to save $150k? It'll be totally doable, just really painful. Some things people don't consider when GC'ing their own project...

1. Can you schedule subs in the correct sequential order?

2. When subs don't show, can you find the backups quickly and then in turn schedule all other trades around the change?

3. Are you willing to handle the massive amount of contracts / paperwork that come from hiring 10 different trades?

4. Are you going to verify all of their licenses? Insurance?

This is all totally subjective, but saving $150k for you to put $150k of time in, are you losing time / money elsewhere in your life? Just some things to ponder.

The other thing to consider is the San Jose building department. Are you familiar with the department? Their inspectors? I don't know much about their inspectors, but I'll tell you what I'm familiar with. The San Jose building department is the single most difficult department to work with....in the Country. I've dealt with building departments in 10 different states, my structural engineer in all 50. They are the most strict, unwavering, and unforgiving we've ever seen. Every time a project comes up for us in San Jose, our entire engineering team says no, flat out. Doesn't even matter what it is. Just keep that in mind.

I've been involved in a few attempts at our clients trying this concept. So far, none have panned out. Not because they cannot, but because they haven't been able to get proper zoning, or the tiny in tiny home still ends up being very pricy.

The first thing I notice is your idea of building small sheds. You need to check the building code, because most jurisdictions have limitations on what a minimum square footage for livability may be. If you pass that hurdle, the next is how you zone this property. We tried a few times at zoning as a mobile home park. That would have worked as a guideline, but once they saw these were not actually mobiles the city reneged. The only way we could actually zone this appropriately was to create PUD (Planned Unit Developments) which added a ton of fun costs in the entitlement phase.

Lastly, we were looking at turn-key units, modular units, and any other creative solutions that would keep the construction cost of these units low. We failed. Even small 300 - 400 sf units were going to cost $75k. It gets a bit ridiculous. We solved that problem by designing our own prototypes on trailers to meet the mobile home community park zoning limitations, and because they were "mobiles" didn't have to follow standard building code. Those units ended up at 207 sf and cost around $35k to build. Problem was the investors and communities said we were just building RV's that looked like homes.

I wish I could offer more, but at least wanted you to know the challenges we were running into.

Paul - Excellent, that information should get many more responses on the BP thread! That is not my area of expertise but hopefully the details will get some more responses from these BP wizards. Sounds like a cool project!

Paul - If you are analyzing building a new circus tent in downtown you'll need to see how the market will handle a new influx of clowns and how to source the elephants. Not to mention the local jurisdiction and how they feel about the smells!

Just kidding. But seriously, if you want BP's help, you'll need to include details. Any details at all. What are you developing? Where? How big? For what? Anything....provide anything more than this otherwise the commenters won't be much help because they have nothing to comment on.

Talk about what you want to develop in much more detail and you'll get many more responses.

From a very high level approach, the less buildings you have the less underground work you're going to have. I imagine doing a ton of duplexes would be awful to coordinate with utilities and such.

What does your contract with this manager look like? Was there a contracted price and finish date? If there was, and he didn't get written approval from you to modify the contract he has to pay the difference.

If there is no contract showing these two items, you're stuck with what he gives you, unfortunately.