To Build or Not To Build The Home Ourselves
Your family doesn’t seem to fit in your house any more!?! The boots overflow the entryway, the upstairs bathroom is too crowded and there is no place to go for privacy. So, you begin the discussion of moving, but where? In Humboldt, Saskatchewan, like many growing communities, family homes in great locations get snapped up quickly. Plus, you and your partner have been planning for your next step to be building your dream home. This has been the conversation at our house for quite a while. My husband and I are planning to live at Prairie View Properties. We want to live close to the city, but be in the country with neighbours close by. We want a trail in a beautiful landscape, where we and our daughters can go for a bike ride or a run on a safe route.
Now the big decisions begin: should we hire a building company to coordinate the whole project, or be our own general contractors? We could save a lot of money if we act as project managers, hiring and organizing all the trades. However, this requires a lot of our own time and patience – can we do it well? Since we work as consultants in crop production, our spring and summer months can be overwhelming. We will hire a builder that can manage the whole project.
There are great resources locally and online to help you with key decisions made throughout your building project.
Do we have the skills to complete some of the building work ourselves? In our case, other than painting, we are MUCH better off to pay a professional to complete the work well, than to try and muddle through it on our own. However, I am sincerely jealous of those that can frame a house, or install wiring, or rough in the bathrooms – good for you!
Once those decisions are made, you need to find one or more contractors. It is ideal to get at least 2-3 bids for your project, so you feel confident that you are getting a fair deal. However, in Saskatchewan’s busy housing market, that can be challenging. Many smaller companies do a great job of building, but seldom advertise. In order to assist, we have assembled a Humboldt Area Building Trades Directory. Contact us and we will email it to you right away. Building your dream home where you’ll have space to enjoy it – begin by asking us for help!