Local Lumber Yard as my General Contractor?

[JOsmund999]

We have a regional Home Store / Lumber Yard. " Sutherlands " which is built roughly on the Lowes / Home Depot / Menards model but at much smaller scale.

They offer Pole Barn Packages and can arrange for concrete and build labor. Plus, they assure me they are well versed in the county build codes and the service desk lead claims the proposed kit is upgraded to meet the codes.

I spoke with the builder and he claims they have done " dozens " for them and he and the concrete guy have the system down.

A big plus for me is that I pay for the kit and labor at the lumber yard. They then pay the subs. I like this as I feel I have some security knowing I can always walk through the door and get answers if needed. Plus, I know where my money is.

Any thoughts on this idea? The total build cost looks competitive but I haven't looked at each build component closely.

P.S. Overhead doors are 14 weeks out and expensive at this place.

 

[nadogail]

If you have confidence in them and have seen some of their work, and they have good local references, I personally would consider them.

Have you checked with your local Better Business Bureau?

 

[Daniel Dudley]

Sounds like it could work for you. The only caveat is that subs are generally reliable until they aren't. There are no 100% guarantees in life.

 

[JOsmund999]

If you have confidence in them and have seen some of their work, and they have good local references, I personally would consider them.

Have you checked with your local Better Business Bureau?

The Lumber Yard has an excellent BBB Rating and reputation. I guess I'm counting on them to vet the contractors they work with. I've yet to ask for references but that's a good idea.

Thanks,

 

[JOsmund999]

Sounds like it could work for you. The only caveat is that subs are generally reliable until they aren't. There are no 100% guarantees in life.

I know finding good reliable contractors is a big challenge these days with demand high and supply low for quality labor. Since I'll be a one and done job, my hope is the subs will want to keep the Lumber Yard, a steady supplier of work, happy and give my job priority.

Plus, if someone goes missing, they will need to find an alternative... not me. That's what I'm thinking anyway. Still millig it around and looking for caveats.

 

[BillK]

I spoke with the builder and he claims they have done " dozens " for them and he and the concrete guy have the system down.

If that is the case I would think it would be pretty easy to ask them for four or five references and then go look at the finished product ??

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

I have a buddy who sells Pole Buildings at one of our small lumber yards (3 Locations) here in Michigan and they do the same thing.

Good subs are always their goal, as they won't sell the building / materials if they have a bad one in the bunch and reviews are not good.
With that said I believe they get a premium doing it that way, however they are in the burbs of A2 and people that way have too much money to spend on hobby shops and horse barns. He does very well selling them!

I did order my materials through them for my garage build, but built it myself.

I will likely hire an Amish crew when I get to my shop project.

 

[ace10]

Who's neck do you grab when/if things don't go as planned?

 

[MerlinsBeard]

I went with a local concrete contractor that did my subdivision as I already saw the quality of their work and I went Amish for the building portion. They tend to be very ethical if you can make arrangements with them. If you're willing to do the research and leg work, you can either save a little money or get higher quality with a lower risk of problems for roughly the same amount of money.

If a contractor has been around 10+ years, they probably know what they are doing and price themselves to remain in business. There's a premium for that usually, but the price may be worth the peace of mind of what happens when a problem occurs.

However, the cost of doing the contracting yourself is time, whether it's finding good contractors and better contractors tend to be busier so it'll be more difficult to schedule things in order in an efficient manner. There's not really one right answer for this in the middle of a labor shortage and a global pandemic. Good luck!

 

[JOsmund999]

Who's neck do you grab when/if things don't go as planned?

I’m counting on the lumber yard. I wouldn’t think they could tell me to lost? I’d at least have people I could find to pester.

 

[racecougar]

One of the better pole/farm building outfits in my area started out based in a local hardware and lumber store. If they submit a competitive bid, provide references, and you feel comfortable working with them, have at it.

 

[finn]

The general condition, organization, and cleanliness of the Southerlands stores in Texas that I have been wasn’t too impressive, nor was their retail stock selection.

Not exactly awe inspiring, for sure.

The quality of their buildings would probably depend on the local store manager’s capability, but, I would look elsewhere, based on what I have seen.

Definitely not in the same league as Menards.

 

[FMB4]

I’m counting on the lumber yard. I wouldn’t think they could tell me to lost?

The lumber yard could point the finger at the contractor(s) who could, in turn, point the finger back at the lumber yard. Imo, there are too many 'cooks' in what you're considering.

 

[FredWanaker]

Think about it for a minute. In their eyes, is the lumber yard giving a referral to a local builder, or are the people doing the work employees of the lumber yard? That is material in how you will handle defects if there are any. I once let my insurance company recommend a roofer after a storm. Sounded good, the insurance company, USAA, said that if for any reason the roofing company had a defect that USAA would cover it if their approved roofer did not. There was a defect and the roof leaked. The roofer gave up after 2 tries of trying to find it and said nothing was wrong. USAA sent out a specialist to inspect it. He spent three hours here looking at things and measuring them, and then did a many page report absolving the roofer and USAA of any mistakes. I was going to sue all of them for the leak, but decided to have a crack at it myself. Took a row of shingles off where it was leaking and the tar paper underneath was reversed, meaning that the lower layer was on top rather than the top layer overlapping the lower. Fixed that, put the shingles back on with a little mastic under each nail I'd pulled, and literally 20 minutes later the leak was fixed. 20 years later it was still dry. The cause was that I (1) took USAA's word that they would back up any defects (2) used their roofer whom I really had no way of finding anything out about them. So find out about the relationship between the lumber yard and the builder, read the contract closely, and be prepared to say no if you don't like any part of that relationship. Don't get caught in a situation like I did with USAA and the roofer.

 

[nadogail]

You Pays your Money and Takes Your Chances, will the Lumber Yard be the General Contractor and inspect the work in addition to having control of the funds?

 

[Stuart in MN]

Get references and check out their work in person. If the previous customers give them good recommendations and the price is fair, go for it.

 

[MerlinsBeard]

I’m counting on the lumber yard. I wouldn’t think they could tell me to lost? I’d at least have people I could find to pester.

I've found that the best person to trust is yourself. I started at a box store before going to an Amish shed builder and I quickly noticed that there's a difference in quality when the solvency of your business depends on a fraction of your business (box store) vs when its your entire business (Amish shed builder).

I even provided a cooler with gatorades and water and had fruit/cookies available when the concrete contractors did the work, and again when the Amish installed the shed. Did I pay more in the end, absolutely, but the Amish installer said he never saw a slab so square when he did the install.

I'm probably at the upper end of OCD (...cough engineer...) when it comes to things like this, so take that into account.

 

[mikedodge]

Why not see if you can check out some of the previous pole barns they built with the same contractor. If they anyways use the same contractor it should be ok but quite often they work with multiple ones and the contractor may or may not do a decent job depending on how much they are getting paid.

 

[FMB4]

USAA. The very worst insurance company that we've ever had the misfortune of doing business with.

 

[nafterclifen]

"I think..." and "I'm counting on..." are not good approaches. Compile a list of questions. Some good ones are already in this thread. Get references of customers who purchased and built what you're planning to do. Talk to THEM and ask all of the questions. Even go visit them and look at the build. Bring a small gift card to thank them for their time. And if you want to really vet out your local store, ask them some questions and record their answers. Then ask those same questions to the customers that you speak with. See if it all matches up. If not, RED FLAG.

Why is this important? Because the internet is full both good and bad info. Some real and some not real. I'm speaking in terms of reviews (e.g. BBB).

 

[Northislander]

Been There Done That. You would think the lumber yard knows most of the building trades in the area and would use the best for projects they are general-ling. Unfortunately in my experience they use the builders that are overdue on their accounts as this may be the only way they ever see the account payed up to date. And the builders that are not paying the account are usually the shittier ones that are fighting to get payed for inferior work.

 

[MerlinsBeard]

I've had a similar experience. When I asked for electrician references from the local electric supply store, I got references for people who had low tasking which is a bit of a red flag. I'd prefer someone who has a busy schedule and get in line to wait for someone good, if you have the time to wait.

 

[nadogail]

USAA. The very worst insurance company that we've ever had the misfortune of doing business with.

I have been damaged by USAA insureds, they settled their claims rapidly and fairly.

 

[larry4406]

USAA did poorly on my house claim with storm damage (last house). Local guy was a clown.

USAA has been fantastic on automobiles.