Comment Re:I suppose.... (Score 3, Interesting) 376
No matter how good that book is, if you don't have a substantial understanding of construction you really shouldn't even attempt to be your own general contractor. My wife and her parents have more knowledge about construction than most general contractors. Her parents built their 5000 sq ft home by hand (nearly no contractors). My wife has worked in the construction industry. Her father also did for a couple of decades. Her mother served as CFO and project manager for a mid-sized construction company. In spite of all that, it was still a very daunting task.
If you have a full time job, forget it. This is a full time job, and then some. My wife and her father weren't working and we still spent many nights up until after midnight.
Contractors, in general, just cannot be trusted to do anything correctly. It's not their home and they'll cut corners anywhere they can. They really have to be managed full time and you have to know their trade nearly as well as they do. If you've been in the game for a long time you can build up a short list of those that can be trusted. But if you're a first-timer then you're just going on uneducated instincts. Good Luck.
A good contract with every contractor is very important. There were several things that we inferred from the contracts we signed, but when it gets right down to it, it's a legal thing and a contractor will end up using it against you if he has to. If you don't know enough to add in everything you really need, you'll either do without or you'll pay extra because it wasn't in the contract. You need ALL of the details. Plus, they generally are willing to let you threaten to take them to court. They know that the legal fees are just not worth it to you to take them to court over a couple thousand dollars. Plus, you don't want the delay. You just want your house completed.
I could go on. In the end, however, we ended up with the dream house we set out to build. I truly don't think it would have been possible without the substantial amount of knowledge and experience we had on our side though.
Also, I agree with another poster. Design your house around your comfort and the house's ability to function. In the end you're the only one that actually lives there.
If you have a full time job, forget it. This is a full time job, and then some. My wife and her father weren't working and we still spent many nights up until after midnight.
Contractors, in general, just cannot be trusted to do anything correctly. It's not their home and they'll cut corners anywhere they can. They really have to be managed full time and you have to know their trade nearly as well as they do. If you've been in the game for a long time you can build up a short list of those that can be trusted. But if you're a first-timer then you're just going on uneducated instincts. Good Luck.
A good contract with every contractor is very important. There were several things that we inferred from the contracts we signed, but when it gets right down to it, it's a legal thing and a contractor will end up using it against you if he has to. If you don't know enough to add in everything you really need, you'll either do without or you'll pay extra because it wasn't in the contract. You need ALL of the details. Plus, they generally are willing to let you threaten to take them to court. They know that the legal fees are just not worth it to you to take them to court over a couple thousand dollars. Plus, you don't want the delay. You just want your house completed.
I could go on. In the end, however, we ended up with the dream house we set out to build. I truly don't think it would have been possible without the substantial amount of knowledge and experience we had on our side though.
Also, I agree with another poster. Design your house around your comfort and the house's ability to function. In the end you're the only one that actually lives there.
