I am madly trying to finish off 2 projects (and planning / scheduling 2 more projects for the future) in order to get started on our Road Trip (really plane trip) project. I flew out last week the day the young married couple closed escrow on the house. Very nervous first time homebuyers. They do not have a clue how much time things take or how much it costs. They have a caviar wish list and a beer budget. Mostly they think they are going to be in there by August 1st. No way since the soonest my crew can get there is July 1.
Spent 3 days measuring, drawing and planning for the project. Still working on the schedule, big list of materials we need to get ordered and figuring out how to get my crew over there and all the tools we are going to need.
The biggest issue with this type of project is the tools. Luckily I have 2 friends in the location that have some tools, we can rent the big stuff we need like concrete saw and jackhammer, but we are going to have to bring a big box with drill guns, plumbing tools, electrical tools, etc. We have to carefully package the lithium batteries for the drill guns and bring those as carry on.
Then there is an issue about where 3 guys are going to stay, eat, sleep and get a truck for picking up materials. I don’t think this would ever work if the house was not vacant and the guys can stay in the house. And the house has functioning bathrooms and kitchen. Otherwise, the cost is prohibitive. I helped the owners try to find a local contractor who could start within 3 weeks. They are in a somewhat remote location and it was impossible to find anyone that would work on this project. I also calculated the local labor costs and we will be saving them approximately 35 to 40% over local costs even after the cost of plane flights.
I’m not going to reveal the location because it will be fun for you guys to guess. Here is one picture of the front of the house
Is it on an island? If you can fly your crew there and it is still cheaper for the home owners I have to think it is someplace where it is really expensive.
You can find houses with a similar style from in many areas of the country. For example, the house below is in San Marcos. However, you obviously wouldn’t need to fly to San Marcos or have issues with getting tools, nobody else available to work due to remote location, etc. Maybe Catalina, although all the homes I have seen on Catalina are a different style, generally larger and more upgraded.
Very happy. OMG. I have no idea how you found that. You have excellent search skills. Did you do like an image search??
Yes, North Shore of Oahu
Flights to Hawaii are jammed and expensive through the summer. The homeowner used a combination of points and credits and got one way tickets at about $230 each. But they are flying to Lihue Alaska Airlines, tight layover, have to get their bags and run over to Southwest and check in again for short hop to Honolulu at $99 each
But you already found it.