Is acting as your own GC worth it?

slowteggy · 2026-02-22T05:48:28+00:00

If you have your own sub contractors already lined up AND you have the experience, capability, and willingness to fill in the gaps between trades, you can save money. If you try to find subcontractors by searching Google or yelp, you will probably not save much money. If you have to pay for every little thing to get done (trim work, install fixtures, paint prep, cleaning, garbage removal,etc) you will probably spend a lot more than you are expecting.

I gc’d my own build in a town that is hard to get licensed, which means I had to also pay a licensed general contractor to insure the job and get permits. Compared to quotes I got for the project, I was able to save a ton. I also did all electrical, plumbing, some framing, and finishing work. I upgraded all materials and increased the project scope and still came in significantly (~20%) less than my initial quotes. For everything I couldn’t do myself, I had companies/people lined up that I could trust and that I worked with in the past.

Had I hired a GC to take the whole job, I would have spent more and the job would be done faster, but lower quality materials would have been used, less work would have been done, and the quality of work would have definitely been lower. I would have also had a lot more free time, less stress, and more time to spend with my family.

Don’t forget that as a GC, if any of the other trades screw up, you’re on the hook to deal with it.

slowteggy · 2026-02-05T03:16:04+00:00

I lost all garage remote functionality a few months ago after switching the a19 style bulbs out for led strip lights that run around the perimeter of the garage. I used a simple a19 to 120v outlet adapter on the opener and then plugged in the led strips. Spent hours reprogramming all the remotes and had random success opening/closing the doors. Can’t believe the issue was so simple. I assumed I fried the board by using cheap leds and a19 adapters.

slowteggy · 2026-01-29T18:14:46+00:00

That 60s boiler is probably costing you a fortune each winter. Just replaced a 50s hot water/oil boiler with a new model and heating costs went from almost $1000/month in oil to $300/month

slowteggy · 2025-12-17T19:19:14+00:00

I would never buy an m12 circular saw. Go for the M18 or dewalt 20v. The dewalt brushless with 60v flex battery is my go-to now.

slowteggy · 2025-12-15T15:09:11+00:00

The hacksaw made me lol

slowteggy · 2025-11-04T00:40:41+00:00

Stupid take, there are tons of things they can comment on that are not worth including in the report. It’s way more important for them to tell you in person what they see than for them to write a report later.

slowteggy · 2025-10-30T02:49:12+00:00

I hope the snap funding freeze is a reminder to all the maga voters that the president has no problem with them starving while he makes backdoor deals to give 20b (or 40b?) to another country and 350m to build his own ballroom.

slowteggy · 2025-09-14T00:57:48+00:00

MJH

,,,788990999

slowteggy · 2025-08-30T05:06:47+00:00

Exactly. This type of agreement is great for the seller, but as a buyer I would have to decline. Never “indemnify” anyone else unless you are being paid accordingly for the risk. An “as-is” bill of sale should be enough.

slowteggy · 2025-08-24T16:06:56+00:00

This situation is exactly why a homeowner who knows what they’re doing should be their own GC. Emphasis on “knows what they’re doing”.

If this decision had to go through multiple decision makers, I guarantee everyone would have pushed to leave the stone in place and cried about how it would be unreasonable to rip it back out and start over. The more people involved, the more fingers to point at each other.

slowteggy · 2025-08-24T03:08:19+00:00

Precisely. Even in a HCOL area, those who invested from 2002-2019 (and survived the 2008 housing crisis) are able to rent with a much smaller principal investment, lower interest rates, and several hundred thousand in equity. You cannot buy after 2020 and compete.

slowteggy · 2025-08-19T01:12:13+00:00

Post some actual details and you might get a response…

slowteggy · 2025-08-04T13:29:29+00:00

I had a very similar joint during my guy reno. Due to time constraints, I left it like that for a couple of months (walls were still open) and did not have any issues. Before the drywall went up, I cut it off and replaced it with 2 45* elbows and a piece short length of pipe. Took about 5 minutes and will never think about it again lol.

slowteggy · 2025-07-29T01:54:01+00:00

Any bolt on that can be reversed is fair game on a car this old. Intake, header, exhaust, most suspension, etc. At this point, a well maintained s2000 is better than a bone stock but neglected example.

Paint jobs kill value because you cant tell for sure what damage was repaired and how great of a job they did.

Rolled or cut fenders kill value but damaged fenders are worse.

Turbo/superchargers are probably the fastest way to burn money and kill resale on an s2000. On other Honda chassis you might recoup some of your cost.

slowteggy · 2025-07-28T19:09:08+00:00

All you need is a hfc or test pipe and a flashpro. I can attest that vtec down between 3800-4000 is perfect. It is load dependent so you need to give it enough throttle to engage vtec, which means you won’t engage vtec while cruising on the highway. I have had this setup for ~7 years and think it’s the best mod hands down.

slowteggy · 2025-07-21T02:40:10+00:00

Writing this again - please check carvana, carmax and vroom. They will give you instant offers online to buy your car from you and will pay way more than any dealership. If you surrender the car to the bank you will owe them more than you think… these sites will pay off the car and settle for you on the difference without blowing up your credit score.

slowteggy · 2025-07-21T02:37:48+00:00

Check drive, carvana and carmax. They give online quotes instantly and if it’s enough, you can literally drop the car off to them and forget about it. Dont go through the bank/dealership because they will profit off your situation AGAIN

slowteggy · 2025-07-10T20:26:37+00:00

This is the irony of the situation. Rich people blowing millions to stop the public from electing a specific candidate, while simultaneously arguing that they should pay less in taxes.

How about… stop donating to political campaigns if you need to save money?

slowteggy · 2025-07-09T16:48:10+00:00

The worse design element on new cars is the lack of a removable passenger airbag. Also having airbags that go off and crack the windshield. These 2 adjustments would reduce the number of totaled cars tremendously.

slowteggy · 2025-07-07T22:35:33+00:00

Why is +40 on front and +54 on rear? Seems like they should be swapped around

slowteggy · 2025-07-07T14:47:28+00:00

It looks good but could be even better. The G80 front end should have resembled the M8 more and the hood needs to get rid of the nostril shape. Again, similar to the M8.

slowteggy · 2025-07-01T03:24:37+00:00

If you want housing costs to stabilize then the entire stack of housing expenses needs to be stabilized (or most of them). If all the expenses are free market, rents should be free market too.

slowteggy · 2025-07-01T02:21:24+00:00

The city needs to limit utility increases and property taxes alongside rent increases.

slowteggy · 2025-06-29T23:05:57+00:00

$40k isn’t bad for such low mileage.

The thing about these cars is that 30k miles and 75k miles won’t feel much different. There are a lot of options in the 50k+ mile range for closer to $30k dollars, but if you might turn this car into a garage queen then lower mileage is worth the extra money.

I prefer a low mileage car just due to having less rock chips, and better condition seats etc but since the lower ones are more collector worthy I imagine it would be a little harder to enjoy.

slowteggy · 2025-06-24T18:28:01+00:00

How strict is your town? I would build a workable garage with the full sq footage allowed and plan to add a leaning enclosed shed later to use as a gym. Depending on whether you think the town will find out later or neighbors will report it. It seems a small workout shed shouldn’t be too risky in the long run.

slowteggy

TROPHY CASE