What Your Contractor Can't Tell You: The Essential Guide to Building and Renovating

"What Your Contractor Can't Tell You, the Essential Guide to Building and Renovating". I was in over my head. I couldn't figure out who to hire, or what to do first. I had been burnt several times before. I was uncomfortable signing the contractor's contracts. When I tried to get the contractors to be detailed in their bids and contracts; they just ignored me.I had bought a LOT of books trying to figure out what I needed to know. Most of the time, I had to wade through a lot, to pick out useful information. This book lays it out there, in easy to understand language, that is not only clear, but each word seems precisely chosen. The book is orderly, and thorough, and yet easy to read even for a beginner. The book makes sense. It is a little overwhelming on how much you need to do, and know, to run your projects right...but I can tell you from experience, either you pay with your time and some money up front, or pay with a LOT of your money and a LOT of frustration ...and a loss of trust, afterwards.I like the author, Amy Johnston's, observations about contractors probably being, for the most part, good people; but that their culture, due to the risks they run, makes them tend to try to get as much as they can, for as little as possible...even if they ARE really nice guys. Ms Johnston points out that if you try to play, "I'm a nice guy and you're a nice guy, and we can be informal about all of this", then you have a pretty good chance of finding yourself holding the bag. Ms. Johnston shows you how to be the Clint Eastwood of owners;fair, and stone cold clear in what you expect and what you insist that the contractor does for you. She shows you how to do this by using tools that she explains step by step, such as instructions to bidders, the plans, the specifications, the contract, and more. She gives checklists and much more.I have been jumping here and there in the book trying to just pick out what I need, but I can see I will be reading the entire book, and outlining it and taking notes to send to my children so they won't get taken either, in the future. Thank you Ms. Johnston. I wish there were people like you all over for owners to hire. I am not sure how much it would cost, but I am wondering if the cost wouldn't outweigh the pain and trouble I have had to go through so far. Your book is the minimum someone should use, if they don't hire a professional to help them navigate through the contractors.UPDATE June 2014. I still think what the author said is right...the problem is, and I wish she had mentioned this...it is harder for a female to try to be their own general contractor (or GC as some call it) than a man. Probably for a lot of reasons, one being a lot of men, especially in the construction trade, don't respect women as much as they do other men; and as a result tend to purposefully "not hear" what they are told, or are told to do. They tend to ignore, or not do what they said they would do, or not do all they should do...I am told by other MEN, that they would not have tried this IF they were working for a man.PLUS if you are a woman trying to do this, sometimes women want to be: nice, liked, pleasant, friendly, mannerly, a mother, a grandmother,sexy, pretty, a nurse, WHATEVER....at the same time they are being a general contractor. Since you are probably dealing with men working for you, I would suggest not confusing them any more than they are JUST by working for a woman. Keep in mind the # ONE THING YOU WANT TO BE, a general contractor, the boss, the authority then be THAT, just that.Show respect, but demand what you want. They would be upset if you didn't pay on time, so you have the right to be upset when they don't do what they agreed to do on time too. They don't want your excuses, you don't want theirs. Make it plain from the start, and put it in writing.DON'T rely on them to keep their own time records. Make it plain that you want the records kept and turned in daily, for everyone if you are paying on an hourly basis. If you are on site, you keep them. Watch out for lunch and breaks.Make sure IF they are to get a bid to you for the cost to do the project that you have it in hand BEFORE they start and they have explained it to you. Lots try to tell you they are still working on it when they show up to start the work...and they know you need the work done then, so they have you over a barrel. The rule is don't rely on them completely, for anything you need to have. Like receipts. Get them on the day they get them. Have them explained and note what each item is for...it's funny how other items for other jobs just get added to your job.THIS IS IMPORTANT, STAY ON THEM. Call and call and call again. Remind and remind and remind again. You think it is agreed? Ha Ha HA. To be nice, and not so obvious you are doing this because you want to make sure they do what they say they are going to do...it may take some creativity for why you are calling again...OR just tell them you ARE going to call every day, or want them to, to get an update on where things stand. If parts are needed to do work and they are not in, find out what they are doing to make sure they WILL be in. Then you call behind them and see whats up. If they say they are coming in a week. Call every day and make sure that they are still OK with coming the day and time you think they will be here. Usually you will have one worker like say an electrician that has to do something before the other will be able to do his work...so stay up on where everyone is on your project.Job placement offices...many say they do background checks on the workers...what they don't tell you is they don't do it unless you specifically say you want it done...and that it takes time to get it done. Many that are sent out, say for cleaning or manual labor, get half of what is charged and may have MANY personal issues, including drugs, alcohol, mental illness, physical problems. It is important that people working for your contractors have worked for them awhile and not be just temp hires, or recent hires, or not able to speak the language they will be given instructions in.IF you have ordered over what you need, in order to have material to do any patches latter in the future...keep an eye on the material...it tends to leave on their trucks...with the statement I didn't know you wanted that. Even if you told them you did.KEEP and eye on your material. Make sure it is stored where it will not be damaged. Make sure that it "RESTS" for the right amount of time and in the right place...like flooring, it needs to come up to the same temperature as the room. They may not know, or they may just want to get a job done and will just DO it, and not read the instructions or wait.GET ALL THE PACKAGE INSERTS. For what they use. If it is to be installed out of site like ducts, have labels put on what is there.HAVE FILES, or a BOX to put all the paper work and inserts and stuff in, right from the start.Know what you want. Put it in writing. Lots of contractors will do this for the "commercial" trade, but when you try to do it on a "residential" project they balk at having it in writing. Almost ALWAYS they ALL can do EVERYTHING you want and understand just what you mean, until you hire them and they have some of the money in their bank accounts...then...they NEVER said that.All building inspectors, county or private are not equal. Some for the county have very little experience in what they are inspecting...so you can't rely on their expertise to make sure it is right.All contractors seem to say the same thing:For not getting there on time: my truck broke down, my mother got sick, my father got sick, my grandmother got sick, my truck broke again, there was an emergency at another residence, I had to take my son, brother, family member somewhere. (all normal things that happen to every one...but they happen over and over and frequently to contractors/construction workers that are farting you off.)For construction workers and contractors that are not that good: I am the best, I work on million dollar projects, ask anyone, (and if another contractor/ construction worker they know comes by they always say how GREAT the other person is...this is almost the kiss of death)

I think this book will end up saving me tens of thousands of dollars during my life as a homeowner. The author should be doing a nonstop roadshow presenting the information to homeowners around the country.The book has the right title for the target audience, but a more technically correct or accurate title would be "Construction Management for Homeowners". If you don't know about "construction management", look it up. It's an academic discipline related to engineering, and a profession. Professional construction managers, like the author, typically get involved in big construction projects, but the principles of construction management, presented in the book, are also applicable to small projects like a homeowner would do.Every homeowner should read this book and learn the basics of construction management. It's well written but not a fun read. The hard slog getting through the book and digesting the information was worth all the time and effort.Highly recommended.

This is a great book for anyone thinking of taking on a renovation or new home construction.While it doesn't cover the how-to's of design, this book covers information that is equally important: the various contract structures, how to write a contract to protect yourself in the event something goes wrong, and how to manage your project's budget so that you don't go over budget.I would recommend this to anyone who is getting ready to tackle a big construction project.My one complaint is that the author didn't really cover projects that are builder financed. We're getting ready to build a home (a first for us) and we are contracting to purchase with the builder. He is building off plans we had of our previous house (with some changes), we pick the finishes, and he carries the construction loan. Once the house is completed, we'll get a mortgage and close, paying off the builder's construction loan.I guess not many builders do this sort of thing any more or perhaps it's more a regional phenomenon (we live in the South) that she is unfamiliar with.Even so, there's still a lot of valuable knowledge to be gained from this book, so if you're building/renovating, buy and read this first.