Remodeling: How To Put It All Together

You can be the contractor with a few more hours then you would have put in to your project had you hired a contractor.  And by the way save a lot of money doing it.

What you are about to learn can save you a considerable amount of money, depending on the size of the project you are needing to complete.  Taking on the role of the Contractor, will cost you some time of course, but what you do not realize is how much time you will have to spend with a contractor on the job making decisions anyway.   Even if you decide in the end to use a contractor what you will gain is worth the time to read.  

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People remodel for a number of reasons,  and most use a general contractor to complete their projects,  for me it was a matter of more space.   The first need a Family room,  most family functions happen here and being in a basic 1400  square foot 3 bed 2 bath ranch style home.  The way the house sits and with the back yard being large enough to handle coming out around 14 feet the whole length of the house would give some 760 extra square feet of living space.  The location is perfect, down town Phoenix around five miles,  freeways close and traffic is not a problem.  

After speaking with a few Contractors we decided to do the project our self.  

1. Write down everything  that you want to do, make a rough drawing of the space yo want to create,  at this point it does not have to be to any kind of scale.   This is your plan and is the starting point of the project.  It is important to you that put everything down that you want to do, it will keep you from surprises later on. 

   Depending on where you live and what is available to you, resources that you can use;  the local high school drafting class would be a example,  contact the teacher and see if they would like to draw up the plans for you, and of course a donation is in order,  or if there is a college with a program that fits what you need,  and of course a local firm one that a contractor would use is always not a bad idea the cost is still less for you to work with them. 

2. You should take a trip down to the building and codes department and find out what you will need for them once you have a rough drawing,  if you use a local firm for your drawings they know what needs to be done to obtain your permit to build, and will fallow through with it.   The permit will need to be in your name, as you have become the contractor.

   Inspections will be done by the city inspector during stags of the the project, which will be outlined with the permit you receive.  They are to make sure that the work is done correct a safe guard for you. 

3. Once you have a working plan in hand,  talk with the sub-contractors that you need.  Work out what they are going to charge, and the time frame that it will take them to complete their work.  Your total cost will come from these conversations,  it may be best to get bids from as many as three each,  and consider time frame, references, even check with the board of contractors.  Sub contractors that that buy the materials that they need usually will require a portion up front and draws as they proceed into the project –  example: drywall, use two different trades to install.  First the hangers come in and fasten, then finishers come behind them.  Cost of materials with a draw after each process and final payment when finished,  final percent should be as much as 25%, call it incentive to complete the work, and after inspection.  

That is the basics of a project, does it sound easy?  I think of it this way, the time that I spend putting my own project is time that I would for the most part been involved with anyway.   When the contractor is on site, well so is the home owner to make a decision on a matter that needs resolve at least 60 % of the time.  And a realized savings of around 40%.  note: Depends on costs plus labor that a contractor has to pay verses what you will have to pay for the same trade.  Plus you do not have the same over head costs that are tied to having a office staff etc.   If you have any questions, I will always be happy to answer them or at the very least give you my opinion —  email me at   npelkola@yahoo.com   subject:  remodeling Nic