Either way, if you're thinking about following this person's lead-beware. What you may save by supplying parts and labor may not be as much as you think. In fact, doing some of the work or supplying the products yourself could actually end up costing you in the end.

Nationally known building customer service consultant and author Carol Smith illustrates this concept by likening it to eating, "You can go to the grocery store, purchase the ingredients for a delicious Italian dinner and painstakingly create the desired meal in your own kitchen. If that sounds like a lot of work, an alternative is to invite some friends for a potluck with each family providing part of the meal. Another possibility is to go to a restaurant where your menu selection is prepared and presented to you."

Home building offers you some of the same choices. There is the do-it-yourself method. Just as the meal you prepare at home, doing it yourself usually takes more time. You will save money at the time, but you could suffer repercussions and thus, more money down the road.

The potluck approach in home building means that like the meal, you could end up with too many cooks in the kitchen. If you make the choice to bring in contractors yourself or you choose to buy some of your own products, you are taking a chance of not getting the benefit of the builder's product knowledge or installation experience. While the price may be attractive, if performance and durability can't be relied on, the savings are deceiving.

Additionally, in both the do-it-yourself and the potluck approaches, since neither the builder nor the trade contractor supplied or installed the item, most will not warrant it. If it should break or fail to work, you may be on your own. Also, keep in mind that your builder's work schedule could be thrown off if you choose to take some of work on yourself.