Acting as Your own General Contractor when Building your Dream Home

Written by Robert Kempe


This article is intended forrepparttar DIY (Do It Yourself) home builder; however, it is very useful information forrepparttar 135284 new home buyer to understand what processes you can monitor even if you are not acting asrepparttar 135285 general contractor and hiring a general contractor. Forrepparttar 135286 inexperienced DIY home builder, acting as a general contractor is one ofrepparttar 135287 most stressful things anyone can undertake. After that statement, you ask yourself “Why would anyone really want to berepparttar 135288 general contractor for their new home?” Wellrepparttar 135289 number one reason is to save money, and in our society it’s all aboutrepparttar 135290 money isn’t it? It doesn’t necessarily mean that you are buildingrepparttar 135291 home (but with this approach sweat equity has a whole new meaning), you are only managingrepparttar 135292 sub-contractors. Successful general contactors are either born good, or have been trained to be good. You, as your own general contractor, do not haverepparttar 135293 time to be as good as a contractor who makes their living building homes. For this reason, I will give you some guidelines to help you out and feel a bit more comfortable managing your new dream home as your own general contractor:

Define Your Project; I have published an article on very effective ways to decide on a dream home floor plan. I recommend that you read that along with this article. The article is called Home Floor Plan Designing for Your Future Home by Robert Kempe. Once you have decided onrepparttar 135294 floor plan and allrepparttar 135295 associated up front planning projects, such as findingrepparttar 135296 right plot of land, gathering information on building codes and permits, having signed construction drawings, etc. you have to apply forrepparttar 135297 building permits. Withrepparttar 135298 homework of gathering all this information priorrepparttar 135299 application process and having your construction drawings drawn to comply with city, county and state codes this process is just a paper work issue. If you have not properly done this entire process prior torepparttar 135300 application, this will slow your time frame down considerably. Most DYI builders wait forrepparttar 135301 building permit application to find out what is needed. Make it easier on yourself and do it first.

Execution ofrepparttar 135302 Project; Now that you have a clearly defined project you can get accurate quotes fromrepparttar 135303 contractors. The construction disciplines you will need are as follows: Electricians, Plumbers, HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning), Framers, Concrete, Drywall, Finishers, Painters, Roofers, Siding, Landscaping, Windows and Doors, Garage door. Etc. Keep in mind that most contractors will have multiple disciplines and will try to combine them as much as possible either with their own work force or they may hire out subcontractors as well. This is how you executerepparttar 135304 project. Do your homework onrepparttar 135305 contractors that you will want to work with on your home. Ask people who you know that have recently built homes who they have used as contractors. Actually any resource on contractor evaluation is helpful. Have them evaluaterepparttar 135306 experience. With this process you can then get three to five contractor references from trusted resources without involving any salesmen. Have a set of construction plans ready for each ofrepparttar 135307 contractors that you are going to have bid fromrepparttar 135308 list you have generated. Make sure that allrepparttar 135309 disciplines will be bid upon.

Deciding who to hire as your subcontractors; You do not always have to takerepparttar 135310 lowest bid! You wantrepparttar 135311 contractor that isrepparttar 135312 most qualified and most prepared to build your home. It is highly suggested that each ofrepparttar 135313 contractors break downrepparttar 135314 categories and itemize how they arrived at their price. This is best done by communicating this up front before receiving their price. Once you have all this information, evaluaterepparttar 135315 prices according to their breakdown. Raterepparttar 135316 contractor on their responses on a scale of 1-10 with 10 beingrepparttar 135317 highest rank. Ifrepparttar 135318 bids are close then it’s a matter of what contractor you favorrepparttar 135319 most. If there is a large gap inrepparttar 135320 prices, you need to determine why. This is where your breakdown ofrepparttar 135321 work performed andrepparttar 135322 associated prices can help you determine this. This is also where you find out which contractors arerepparttar 135323 most serious and most qualified and which contractors are easier to work with. This might lead you to conclude thatrepparttar 135324 best contractor isn’t alwaysrepparttar 135325 lowest price. You get what you pay for!

CHOOSING A BUSINESS

Written by Hamoon Arbabi


Creating a Business of Your Own The majority of people who have a home business started from scratch. Creating a successful business requires that you ask yourself "What will people pay for?" Market research will help you find out, and that can be as simple as asking prospective customers what they need and investigating whether you can compete on price, service, quality, variety and ease of use. With these considerations in mind, here are six possibilities for findingrepparttar ideal business for you. You can: • Turn your favorite hobby or interest into a business Find a need you can fill that's related to your interest. Example: Someone nearing retirement and interested in helping other senior citizens remain active could create a counseling business, advising on how to enjoy retirement. • Turn your existing job skills into a business. Accountants, communications specialists, graphic artists, salespeople, teachers -- people from all walks of life -- can take their skills and reinvent them. Examples: A secretary could start a secretarial service; a personnel director could set up telecommuting guidelines for companies.

THE RIGHT BUSINESS FOR YOU

• Solve a problem People will pay to have someone do tasks they find unpleasant or need help with. Examples: Errand runners help thousands of people take care of their daily tasks; someone who's dealt with a disease and recovery could provide information and teach classes on coping.

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005
Terms of Use