Of course, you can buy nearly any given item for less at a discount sale than your contractor will charge you for it. That’s because the contractor builds in a markup on the item. So on the surface, it would appear that buying the materials yourself will save you money: on a huge job, huge money.

But, most contractors won’t agree to work with you on that basis. They simply won’t take the job if you insist on purchasing the materials yourself. Some renovators reckon the reason is that con