11-11-2005, 05:04 PM
I needed to ship household goods over. The cost from the PacNW is about $4K for a 20' container delivered to my house for packing and then to Port of Hilo where I need to deal with it.
I'm buying tools I needed/wanted, stainless steel/galvinized fasteners, pressure treated plywood, hurricane ties/brackets, tongue and groove cedar, cedar fencing gates, TYVEK house wrap, refrigerator, oven, dehumidifiers, ceiling fans, lighting, shower, sinks, toilet, rebar, and on... and on... and on. Yes, I will even have some sheetrock shipped since it is about $12.50 a sheet at Home Depot in Hilo and 1/2 of that at the Home Depot where I am. I have the room in the container and will try and use it all.
Would it pay to do it if I didn't already need to ship? Probably not really worth it. But I have heard of people who have had their house designed for Hawaii and then had EVERYTHING shipped over and save a substantial chunk of change.
It is also a lot of work to chase things down to buy if you are on a budget and not in a position to do all of your shopping in one or two places.
One thing about Hawaii that I find harder to deal with than the often high prices of building materials there is the lack of availability when you need something. I would really rather spend my money in Hawaii and if I can, I will buy from a smaller locally owned place rather than give my money to Wal-Mart or Sears. But I don't have the time to waste waiting for something to be shipped from the mainland because NO ONE has it there.
I'm buying tools I needed/wanted, stainless steel/galvinized fasteners, pressure treated plywood, hurricane ties/brackets, tongue and groove cedar, cedar fencing gates, TYVEK house wrap, refrigerator, oven, dehumidifiers, ceiling fans, lighting, shower, sinks, toilet, rebar, and on... and on... and on. Yes, I will even have some sheetrock shipped since it is about $12.50 a sheet at Home Depot in Hilo and 1/2 of that at the Home Depot where I am. I have the room in the container and will try and use it all.
Would it pay to do it if I didn't already need to ship? Probably not really worth it. But I have heard of people who have had their house designed for Hawaii and then had EVERYTHING shipped over and save a substantial chunk of change.
It is also a lot of work to chase things down to buy if you are on a budget and not in a position to do all of your shopping in one or two places.
One thing about Hawaii that I find harder to deal with than the often high prices of building materials there is the lack of availability when you need something. I would really rather spend my money in Hawaii and if I can, I will buy from a smaller locally owned place rather than give my money to Wal-Mart or Sears. But I don't have the time to waste waiting for something to be shipped from the mainland because NO ONE has it there.