09-17-2007, 07:07 AM
Honestly, the biggest mind-transition in moving here is understanding peoples' concept of work times, family and recreation, and then being flexible. After having done a major remodel in the Bay area with a great general contractor at the typical Silicon Valley pace, we worked with another great contractor on Maui for our Haiku house. He really helped us understand about things like island time, but also got our house completed (framing to finish) in 4 1/2 months, nearly record time. Hard working folks for sure. Here, we went owner-builder using Castleblock products and Rob's good will, honesty and generous advice. Had a local crew from our community help with the basic structure. We had our 1000 sf house enclosed in about a month's worth of work (spread over 2 months). No complaints -- great crew who became good friends in the ohana.
I would say, packaged homes aren't necessarily bad -- it's the finish and personalization that make or break 'em. Learn to work with people's schedules, and understand their values. Get recommendations. Talk to people who worked with them, and how they handled problems that cropped up. If possible, talk to their subs to see how they work together. Not everything is smooth sailing, so their problem-solving is the key to a happy relationship. Value their willingness to tell you when your "change order" is going to wreak havoc with all sorts of things. Have a "plan B, C, and D" in mind when doing the design, particularly when it comes to the value engineering phase to deal with cost over-runs.
We've been fortunate in our building efforts when they involved contractors -- three great people/companies that we enjoyed working with very much. Personally, I think that some folks generate their own "contractor from hell" situations by not doing their up-front legwork, and not partnering in the process in a thoughtful way.
My $.02 worth -- we've really enjoyed the folks we've worked with, both here and on the mainland, but we've also been very hands-on and collaborative in the process. We've also had experience doing it all ourselves, and have liked the current hybrid approach.
Jane and Pete Adams
I would say, packaged homes aren't necessarily bad -- it's the finish and personalization that make or break 'em. Learn to work with people's schedules, and understand their values. Get recommendations. Talk to people who worked with them, and how they handled problems that cropped up. If possible, talk to their subs to see how they work together. Not everything is smooth sailing, so their problem-solving is the key to a happy relationship. Value their willingness to tell you when your "change order" is going to wreak havoc with all sorts of things. Have a "plan B, C, and D" in mind when doing the design, particularly when it comes to the value engineering phase to deal with cost over-runs.
We've been fortunate in our building efforts when they involved contractors -- three great people/companies that we enjoyed working with very much. Personally, I think that some folks generate their own "contractor from hell" situations by not doing their up-front legwork, and not partnering in the process in a thoughtful way.
My $.02 worth -- we've really enjoyed the folks we've worked with, both here and on the mainland, but we've also been very hands-on and collaborative in the process. We've also had experience doing it all ourselves, and have liked the current hybrid approach.
Jane and Pete Adams