As a 1st time homeowner w/a limited budget or "minion" I have to agree that sweat equity definately works in my favor. However, I think I have a twist that seperates from the others. I actually WANT to become a RESPECTED & HONEST remodeler/homebuilder in my area. There is only one community college program that offers a homebuilder program in my area. So do I take the route of laborer(I have no problem starting @ the bottom/getting my hands dirty) or do I attempt the limited associates degree in my field??

This has been coming up constantly recently. Luckily, most customers know when to walk away when the situation is over their head or too dangerous. I don't have a waiver, but I do spell out in the contract Exactly what I am responsible for and what the homeowner is responsible for. More than once I have gotten a confused look when the job was completed. Because the customer thought there was something I was supposed to do that I thought they were supposed to do... a sticky situation. If the demand is minor I do it and chalk it up to learning experiance and customer satisfaction.
Also it is a given - Customers never use or borrow company tools. And if the customer insists on ordering their own materials, I always go over the order before they place it.

I bid the job as I normally would, as if they were not helping.

The way I look at it, I am providing them with free construction trade training that they can use in the future.

I have been in the home repair/remodeling industry for 12 years and although I have been asked I have never allowed it to happen. Our industry is probably the only one where clients feel it is appropriate to question that we possess skills above the weekend project level. Once, when I asked a client if I could do his job he said his job required years of training; my reply was so did mine. My point is, outside of purchasing materials and bringing them to the jobsite (which could save you several hours per job), don't sell yourself short. Skilled labor is a commodity!

I have owned our business for 28 yrs. We find that for a client to work beside our workers usually slows us down (making us less profitable). I do have to deal with clients wanting to make the project more affordable, so we offer that the sweat equity a client can do should come before "project start-up" as in demolition of wallpaper, decks, etc. or "post project finish" of painting, flooring or landscaping. This allows us to control our liability risk and our schedule. I find that using this approach can buy me projects and help create relationships, but also creates concern with the "quality issues" for the final project outcome. I always end up spending a little extra time consulting or educating my clients in these situations.