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)

If you are going to be building a house, or doing a $25,000 + remodel, this is a book that can save you a lot of money, by getting everything in writing first, understanding the contract before signing it. My friend had his house remodeled, and the contractor left before painting the stucco. His neighbor read through the contract, and no paint color was ever selected or specified. So the neighbor offered to paint it for him, he is a professional painter. I am sure now after reading this book, the contractor went home and waited by his phone for a call "When are you going to paint this?" and the contractor would have given a not so well discounted price to paint the home expansion. Because it is a change order, they can charge a lot more for the paint job, than if included in the original contract. I worked for a large city, and they had a 92,000 square foot building remodeled, down to the bare walls, and they rebuilt just about everything. Even had a Bobcat inside the building, taking out the old walls and scraping up the old floor tiles. While they where building the new insides, they kept looking for things to create a change order. Several where issued, but not for the HVAC, I had reviewed the plans, and changed a couple of things that might have become a change order before they went out to bid. Just after they moved in, the electricians where there, installing extra receptacles, and other things that should have been included in the first contract. However the "Tenants" (our city workers) had no idea how to request the power plugs before the building was built, and then arrived at work the day the place opened, and started requesting plugs to run equipment that should be been on the plans. This book would have helped me understand the way the contractor looked at the project, with making more money on change orders in mind, while the rest of us kept thinking that the poor taxpayers are paying for this building, we wanted it done right, and to last more than 50 years, like the 1949 building they where moving out of. When I build my house, I will put it out to bid with paint thickness specified, colors, and tiles, type of grout, (epoxy grout), type and style of cabinets in the kitchen and each bathroom. I also want a spec for each power panel, timetable, and other specs for the ground it is built on, how it is compacted, and through specs for everything I can think of. If you do not tell them to install a medicine cabinet with a mirror on it, how will the contractor know to put it in, or what type you wanted? If it is not in the contract, expect it not to get installed. If it is in the contract, the contractor will tell the cabinet sub "Give me a price to install all this stuff" and it will be put into the total house bid, and then has to be installed by each related sub. A lot to think about!

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.

This is an incredibly helpful book, written on layman level, invaluable for those about to engage a contractor and/or architect in a renovation or building project, whether for your own home or for rental property. Whether planning a 2-story addition or just adding a bathroom, Amy lays out a methodical, logical way to ensure the project goes well with fewer unpleasant surprises. She diplomatically instructs the owner in how to navigate the process, step by step. Her perspective on dealing with those delightful rascals called "Contractors" was spot-on from my experience. As a court mediator, I can't tell you how many cases -week after week at our local courthouse - pertain to renovations and building gone terribly wrong... and the customer is often the one who loses most of the time. I would urge everyone to follow Amy's advice, as doing may keep you from wasting thousands of dollars, being tied up in court, slowly losing your sanity and coping with inferior work. I'm so thankful Amy directed the reader to "Quick Specs" and urged the use of specifications for all renovations and building projects with contractors. I knew specifications are routine on commercial jobs - so of course adapting that process (and protection) for non-commercial jobs just makes good sense. I bought a used copy of "Construction Specifications Portable Handbook" by Fred Stitt - it has the Quick Specs in it and folks, that book and Amy's will be my go-to source for years to come for future contractor jobs whether for our home, our adult children's homes, and for our rental property. If I had my way, this book would be prominantly featured on the racks at home improvement stores, and reviewed and recommended by Consumer Reports! Thank you, Amy Johnston!

Witty, Charming, and Wise. With Ms. Johnston's wisdom I was more than prepared to hire architects, bid contractors, and hold everyone accountable. She makes suggestions and tells stories that make sense to me, with wit and charm. And while most suggestions paid off handsomely, I will say that utilizing AIA contracts was a negative ordeal. The software on AIA's end did not work well and I had to pay the architect's staff for the hours they spent trying to get access to the contract we bought and getting the editing feature to work for us all (owner, architect, contractor). The one suggestion that was especially beneficial was having a networking party after construction with the intent of bragging on all the principals (kitchen designer, architects, contractor and subs, cleaning team). I invited many friends and neighbors to meet the principals, which kind of acted as a means to get the small details that I was not 100% happy with worked on. Amy did us a huge favor writing this book. If you are contemplating a project and don't know where to start, start here.

I've done quite a bit of research in preparation for a custom home we're planning on building later this year. I've read several books on construction as well as some books on being your own general contractor. This book is the most valuable of the bunch and sits somewhere in the middle of the two genres. The author is a professional building consultant who offers classes where he teaches people how to navigate the building process and his experience really comes through. Thoughtfully written, it does not speak down to you (going over obvious information just to fill pages) or get too cought up in the minutia of building techniques. Well organized with great tidbits of information that you will really use. Highly recommended. Btw - get the paper version as you'll want to copy, highlight, and dog ear the book so you can refer to sections during the planning and building phases of your project.

I will say that this author is brilliant, she is very concise and profound in all that pertains to remodeling or handling contractors ( i am one, handyman and always learning about my trade via reading ) this teaches lots to contractors or home owners that is if you are savvy enough to read between the lines but just the same you will never be guessing about remodeling after reading this, all throughout the book i was amazed at how smart this woman author is she covers every imaginable area it really is astounding and I imagine only the humble will admit that they will gain golden knowledge reading this book which pertains to most of lifes lessons in general areas and for lack of better words. lots and lots of notes were written by me on every page of this book I really cannot praise it enough!

This book has some value, but it doesn't help that much if you are going to act as the GC. Still, we got some value out of it. But, it is NOT the essential guide it claims to be in its title. Its OK. If you are planning a large remodel or building a home, i would seek out multiple references and probably not this one. We did it and here is what you must do and have: 1. A huge amount of time to invest 2. The ability to organize, reorganize and reorganize as you attempt to manage an extremely complex process 3. Excellent communication skills to understand what you need to know and convey your needs in a friendly, professional but also strong way because - whether you know it or not, and whether you use a GC or subs - you will be competing with their 'other jobs', with laziness, with poor communicators, etc. 4. Patience and persitence 5. Really excellent level subcontractors - especially the framer and the foundation folks. If the slab and the footings are great, and the framer isn't precise - you will have lousy looking floors, walls, and windows and doors will be a pain.. 6. A very strong marriage if you are married 7. A lot of self confidence - because periodically you will think the whole thing is spinning out of control (money, time, outcomes planning, cooperative scheduling of the various trades, shopping for essentials, delays, problems with inspectors, weather, etc.)

Really great book wit lot of useful infos

Great book!