What the "Experts" May Not Tell You About(TM)...Building or Renovating Your Home

by Johnston, Amy

• ISBN13: 9780446690836
• ISBN10: 044669083X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-04-01
• Publisher: Grand Central Pub

Summary

In the bestselling tradition of the Dummies series comes a comprehensive guide to getting the best results while building or renovating a home. Creating a dream home shouldn't be a nightmare. Hiring a contractor is an enormous investment and a high-risk endeavor involving decisions that will last forever. This book equips homeowners with the information and strategies needed to turn their vision into a home-or a renovation-that can be built on-time and within budget. Chapters give detailed coverage of critical topics: design; selecting and supervising the architect and contractor; cost estimates; budget; plan specifications; contracts; dealing with town officials; and keeping track of everything along the way.For each stage of the project, there is detailed information on common pitfalls and how to avoid them, as well as insiders' tips which reveal what most contractors wouldn't want you to know.

Author Biography

Amy Johnston has worked as an owner's representative and construction project manage for fifteen years. She has coordinated over one hundred new construction and renovation projects

Table of Contents

Introduction: Building from Smart to Finish	p. xiii
Ready, Set, Think: How the Savvy Owner Starts a Project	p. 1
The Mind-Set: How to Approach a Project	p. 1
The Players List: The People Who Will Be on Your Team	p. 5
A Gleam in Your Eye: Can You Build?	p. 11
Don't Bank On It: Is Your Loan Officer Your Ally?	p. 12
The Scary Money: Down Payments	p. 17
The Plan Is the Thing: Making a Successful Project	p. 18
Task-Oriented: Your To-Do List	p. 18
Getting What You Need: How to Approach Your Design	p. 19
Sneaking Up On Your Design: Do's and Don'ts to Get You Started	p. 24
What's It Worth to You? Money and Design	p. 27
Beyond Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo: A Formula for Balanced Choices	p. 29
A House United: Working Together as a Couple	p. 30
Design as a Noun: Refining and Conveying Your Vision	p. 33
Decisions, Decisions: Your Design	p. 33
Conveying Your Decisions: Construction Documents	p. 34
Building In Flexibility: Allowances, Unit Pricing and Alternate Pricing	p. 38
Help with Your Vision: When and How to Employ an Architect	p. 41
Do You Need a Professional? Considering an Architect	p. 41
The Yin to Your Yang: The Right Architect for You	p. 49
Everyone Pick Up Your #2 Pencils: Working with an Architect	p. 59
Bang for the Buck and the Sixteen Divisions: What Can You Have and What Should You Worry About?	p. 63
Divide and Conquer: The Sweet Sixteen Divisions	p. 63
The Devil's in the Details: Where to Focus Your Attention and Money	p. 65
And Another Thing: Considerations When Determining Materials and Scope of Work	p. 95
And the Grand Total Is ...: Cost Estimating and the Budget	p. 100
Follow the Money: How It Works on a Construction Project	p. 100
Where'd You Get That Number? Four Methods of Cost Estimating	p. 102
Crunching Their Numbers: Assessing a Cost Estimate	p. 106
It's Alive! Your Budget as a Living Document	p. 109
Setting Up Your Deal: Contract Structures	p. 117
Who Knew You Had a Choice? Options for Contract Structures	p. 117
The Second Oldest Profession: Selecting and Working with a Contractor	p. 127
He Was Such a Nice Guy: Choosing More Wisely	p. 127
Welcome to His World: Working with a Contractor	p. 137
To Protect and Serve: Protecting Your Project and Serving Your Contractor	p. 140
How Low Can They Go? Bidding the Project	p. 149
You Talkin' to Me? Should You Bid Your Project?	p. 149
Package Deal: Getting Your Bid Package Together--the Four Elements	p. 151
Going Out: What You and They Need to Do--the Four Stages	p. 156
Cover Your Assets: Contracts, Insurance, Liens, and Other Commitments	p. 168
If You Only Knew: Where Laypeople Go Wrong	p. 168
Whose to Use? Construction Contracts	p. 169
Don't Build Home Without It: Must-Haves	p. 175
It Couldn't Hurt: Optional Additional Protection	p. 187
Believe It! Time Really Is Money: Schedules	p. 192
Ticktock: How Time = Money on a Construction Project	p. 192
More Than One Way to Tell Time: Types of Schedules	p. 195
What Was That Other Thing? Additional Things to Track	p. 202
Mother, May I? Getting Through the Permit Process	p. 204
Nothing to Fear: Knowing the Process and Its Players	p. 204
People Pleasing: The Steps for Permit Approval	p. 209
Good to Go: Once You've Got the Permit	p. 217
Step Lightly: Making Changes to the Neighborhood	p. 218
Ready to Build? ... Not So Fast: Pulling It All Together	p. 220
Just Like Santa: Make a List and Check It Twice	p. 220
Long Time No See: The Preconstruction Meeting	p. 221
Ensurance: Make Sure These Things Are Done	p. 225
When Are They Leaving?! Renovation Tips	p. 226
Let the Games Begin: Managing the Construction Phase	p. 232
Who's on First: Establishing the Roles and Rules for All	p. 232
Watching the Store: Monitoring the Project	p. 240
For Richer or Poorer: Budget Management	p. 249
The Homestretch: Project Closeout	p. 265
Conclusion	p. 269
Talk the Talk: A Glossary of Terms	p. 271
Inspirations: Other Resources	p. 284
Index	p. 288
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