In addition to being a motivation for much of what we do, money is energy. It enables us to go places and do things, including taking care of our families or buying and building a new home. Most of us have a finite amount of this energy, mainly through long years of hard work, patient savings and perhaps the sale of a conventional home.

Read more

Now you&#;re ready to use all that energy to create your dream home. But is it enough? Where can you conserve? That&#;s why the Log and Timber Homes Council created this Buyer&#;s Guide, to help consumers make wise choices on the Perfect Path to Your Dream Home.

Begin by sitting down with a lender who specializes in log and timber homes to discuss financing options. By being pre-qualified by your lender, you will how know exactly much energy you have to work with.

How Much Do Professional Builders Spend?

What to the pros typically spend on new home construction? Are there any ballpark figures out there that can help you see if anything is out of line? Indeed there is.

The total cost of an average new home in the U.S. breaks down thusly, according to the Cost of Doing Business Study: The Business of Building, published by BuilderBooks.com, a division of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

• Finished lot costs 20-25% of the total selling price, with half of that reflecting infrastructure costs, such as utilities and driveway.
• Building materials, everything from foundation and flooring, to porches and roofs, cost 25-30% of the total.
• Onsite labor costs 20-25%.
• General overhead is about 6%.
• Financing costs are about 2%.

Thinking of being your own general contractor to save money? Small-volume builders (constructing an average 4.9 homes a year) who built exclusively on their clients&#; land had average gross profit margin of 18.9% and an average net profit of 4.8%, according to the study.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website TIANYING.

If you decide to build your own home, you won&#;t earn all of that 4.8%. You will pay far more for labor, since subcontractors will see you as a one-time job and price their services accordingly. You will also pay more for specialty tools needed in log construction. Professional log and timber home builders pro-rate their tools costs over several jobs. You will also pay more for insurance, since insurance companies will see you as a greater risk. It&#;s also almost guaranteed you will make costly mistakes that pros won&#;t, which will cost you more in time, materials and labor.

Value Engineering

Want to do more with less? This is called value engineering. Your log and timber home producer and builder have an assortment of cost cutting tricks. Use their expertise. Simply communicate that you need to save money on your budget. They can provide all kinds of helpful advice, including:

1. Reducing Square Footage
   One way to dramatically reduce costs is to just reduce the square footage of the entire home. Think small and cozy to slash costs. Another smart strategy is to build upward with a two-story design rather than outward, such as with a ranch design.
2. Choosing a Stock Design
   Custom designs cost more in design time, materials and labor. Most log and timber home manufacturers have dozens of stock plans that they have built time and time again. Many errors have been eliminated in these designs, which makes them go up smoothly, saving you time and money.
3. Reducing Lineal Feet of Logs
   Adding decorative stone, cedar shake or stucco can actually accent logs and reduce costs.
4. Opt for a Simple Roof System
   The roof is one of the most expensive material and labor line items in your budget. This is why the simpler the roof system, the less expensive it will be. The most inexpensive roof is a simple, single ridgeline with a shallow pitch. More complicated roof systems, called hips and valleys with a steeper pitch, are more visually interesting. But they are also a lot more expensive.
5. Use Drywall on Interior
   Pine paneling on the interior of your ceiling looks great. However, it&#;s roughly twice the cost of drywall&#;and cedar paneling is even more expensive than pine.
6. More Modest Kitchen
   If your marriage can take the heat, down grade your kitchen appliances and amenities. Almost everything in a kitchen can be upgraded later, including flooring, appliances and cabinetry.
7. Don&#;t Take a Bath on Your Bath
   Much like kitchens, bathrooms have a variety of materials that can be upgraded later. If you want that jetted tub in the master bath but can&#;t afford it now, specify a soaking tub of the same size from the same manufacturer. Swapping it out in the future will be a snap.
8. Avoid Change Orders
   Last minute changes in design or materials are called &#;change orders&#; and they can quickly take a toll on your budget. Save these for correcting any serious errors.

How to Save Money when Purchasing a Building

How Steel Buildings Save Money At Every Stage Of Your Project To say an item or process saves you money is to only tell half the story, as there are upfront, short term and long term costs associated with almost anything; especially something as intense as building a whole new structure. Using prefab steel buildings is something that saves you money at more than one part of the entire process, broken down into phases. There are three &#;phases&#; during which you can save money: Purchase, Construction and Use. These represent upfront, short and long term costs, and the ways you save money on all of them when comparing it to using more conventional building methods like wood or brick. Purchase At this stage of the process, you&#;ve obviously decided that steel is the best option to complete your project. Prices for prefab steel buildings typically ring in at approximately 30% less than more traditional building methods. This also depends on the size of the building you&#;re looking to construct. With widths up to 200 ft. and unlimited lengths, the use of the building is going to be a vital consideration before you make the final decision to purchase one or our structure types. Find one that is the closest to what you&#;re looking for, and keep in mind that some of them can be used interchangeably depending on what it&#;s being used for. At this initial point, look to make a decent savings on just the purchase of the materials you&#;ll need for your project. Keep in mind, everything you need will be included in the package so there won&#;t be a need to buy extra materials or specialized tools to get the job done. Construction During the construction process, you&#;ll have yet another opportunity to save money on your building. As mentioned, all the parts and pieces of your structure are sent to you together for the purpose of easy and seamless DIY construction. Since the pieces only have to be correctly placed and well secured, this can be done without needed specially skilled contractors to do the job. Using general contractors saves you money in the end, especially considering that you will need them for much less time than with other construction methods. Right after the construction is over, there will be little to no waste left over after the fact. This means you will save money on the extra cleanup labour and transport of waste materials to another location. When using building methods like wood or brick, there&#;s often tons of leftovers from having to customize and correctly size the material while on site. With prefab steel buildings, those items come to you intact and ready to go. Use You can also save money once your structure is already up in two main ways. Firstly, steel structures will require little to no maintenance due to its durability, resistance to pests, extreme weather as well as fire and general aversion to wear & tear. This saves you money on costly repairs and other upkeep and helps you get many more years of use out of your building. Prefab steel also makes for great energy efficient buildings, capable of saving you lots of money on utility bills. These are both things that will save you money in the long run when comparing it to others types of buildings. For more information contact us today at 1-888-449-775

To say an item or process saves you money is to only tell half the story, as there are upfront, short term and long term costs associated with almost anything; especially something as intense as building a whole new structure. Using prefab steel buildings is something that saves you money at more than one part of the entire process, broken down into phases. There are three &#;phases&#; during which you can save money: Purchase, Construction and Use. These represent upfront, short and long term costs, and the ways you save money on all of them when comparing it to using more conventional building methods like wood or brick.At this stage of the process, you&#;ve obviously decided that steel is the best option to complete your project. Prices for prefab steel buildings typically ring in at approximately 30% less than more traditional building methods. This also depends on the size of the building you&#;re looking to construct. With widths up to 200 ft. and unlimited lengths, the use of the building is going to be a vital consideration before you make the final decision to purchase one or our structure types. Find one that is the closest to what you&#;re looking for, and keep in mind that some of them can be used interchangeably depending on what it&#;s being used for. At this initial point, look to make a decent savings on just the purchase of the materials you&#;ll need for your project. Keep in mind, everything you need will be included in the package so there won&#;t be a need to buy extra materials or specialized tools to get the job done.During the construction process, you&#;ll have yet another opportunity to save money on your building. As mentioned, all the parts and pieces of your structure are sent to you together for the purpose of easy and seamless DIY construction. Since the pieces only have to be correctly placed and well secured, this can be done without needed specially skilled contractors to do the job. Using general contractors saves you money in the end, especially considering that you will need them for much less time than with other construction methods. Right after the construction is over, there will be little to no waste left over after the fact. This means you will save money on the extra cleanup labour and transport of waste materials to another location. When using building methods like wood or brick, there&#;s often tons of leftovers from having to customize and correctly size the material while on site. With prefab steel buildings, those items come to you intact and ready to go.You can also save money once your structure is already up in two main ways. Firstly, steel structures will require little to no maintenance due to its durability, resistance to pests, extreme weather as well as fire and general aversion to wear & tear. This saves you money on costly repairs and other upkeep and helps you get many more years of use out of your building. Prefab steel also makes for great energy efficient buildings, capable of saving you lots of money on utility bills. These are both things that will save you money in the long run when comparing it to others types of buildings. For more information contact us today at 1-888-449-775

Are you interested in learning more about Custom Prefab Buildings? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!