Totally relate to this. We ran into similar issues with unexpected cost hikes—not lumber, but concrete prices jumped right before pouring the foundation. One thing that helped us was setting aside a contingency fund of about 10% of the total budget from the start. It felt annoying at first, like money just sitting idle, but it saved our sanity when costs spiked. Detailed plans are great, but having that financial cushion really smooths out the bumps you can't predict...
Did you find that 10% was enough, though? We're just getting started and I've heard some horror stories about surprise costs popping up left and right. I mean, it's great advice to have a cushion, but I'm wondering if we should aim even higher just to be safe. Did you run into any other unexpected expenses besides concrete? Trying to avoid the "wish we'd known that earlier" moments as much as possible...
"Did you find that 10% was enough, though?"
Honestly, I'd bump that cushion closer to 15-20% if you can swing it. We thought we were being conservative at 10%, but ended up hitting extra costs with plumbing reroutes, permits we hadn't counted on, and even some last-minute electrical upgrades. Concrete wasn't our only surprise—watch out for landscaping and drainage too. Better safe than sorry... trust me, those little things add up quick.
Did you factor in the timing of your build when setting aside that cushion? I've seen folks underestimate seasonal price hikes or delays—especially lumber and labor shortages. Curious if anyone else ran into timing-related budget surprises...
I get what you're saying about timing and seasonal price jumps, but honestly, I'm starting to think it's impossible to truly factor all that stuff in. When I first planned my build, I thought I'd covered all bases—researched lumber prices, checked labor availability, even asked around locally to gauge busy seasons. But then bam, outta nowhere, my electrician had a scheduling conflict and pushed everything back by two weeks. That small delay cascaded into other trades needing rescheduling, and suddenly I was paying extra for rush orders on materials I hadn't anticipated.
I mean, sure, seasonal trends matter, but sometimes it just feels like random luck plays a bigger role than careful planning. Maybe it's less about timing perfectly and more about just accepting that something unexpected will pop up no matter how prepared you think you are...
