Building Your Own Home For Dummies, 2nd Editionis filled with useful information on building a beautiful home on every budget. From design and construction techniques to finding an architect and reviewing floor plans, this book serves as your trusty guide. Find out how to evaluate contractor bids, and explore the ins and outs of the contractor’s role. Examine construction loans in detail, learn about the financial aspects of a home as an investment, and see how to put together an accurate building budget. Follow the process from excavation and foundation to framing and finishing. And more!
Updates:
- Smart homes
- Green building
- Design/build firms
- House flipping
Kevin Daum is the award-winning author of six books, including Building Your Own Home For Dummies.
Janice Brewster Weiser has written extensively on custom homes and is a former editor of Log Home Living magazine.
Peter Economy is a Wall Street Journal best-selling business author and ghostwriter of more than 100 books.
Anne Mary Ciminelli is an author, editor, and ghostwriter.
Introduction 1
Part 1: Getting Started with Custom-Home Building 5
Chapter 1: The Custom-Home Process in a Nutshell 7
Chapter 2: Preparing for the Process 21
Chapter 3: The Land Grab: Selecting the Perfect Site 39
Chapter 4: Defining Your House Style 61
Part 2: Assembling Your Team 81
Chapter 5: Architects and Design: Time Spent Is Money Saved 83
Chapter 6: Engineers and City Folk: Approval Bureaucracy Made Somewhat Easy 109
Chapter 7: All the King’s Men: The Contractor and Their Cohorts 125
Part 3: All You Need Is Dough: Financing Your Custom Home 141
Chapter 8: Cash Is King: Borrowing to Your Advantage 143
Chapter 9: Knowledge Is Power: What You Don’t Know about Construction Loans Can Hurt You 157
Chapter 10: Qualifying: It’s the Bank’s Way or the Highway 179
Chapter 11: Show Me the Money: Flowing Cash through the Project 203
Part 4: Hammers and Nails: Overseeing the Construction Process 219
Chapter 12: Excavation and Foundation: Getting a Solid Start 221
Chapter 13: Framing and Rough: So Much Goes behind Those Walls! 237
Chapter 14: Heading for the Finish: The Devil’s in the Details 261
Part 5: All the After Stuff 287
Chapter 15: Making a House a Home: Moving In, Furnishing, and Using Smart Tech 289
Chapter 16: Taking It Outside: The Art of Landscaping and Hardscaping 297
Chapter 17: Making Your Nest Egg Financially Sound 313
Part 6: The Part of Tens 321
Chapter 18: Ten Common Custom-Home Mistakes and How to Avoid ’Em 323
Chapter 19: Ten Great Ways to Lower Construction Costs 329
Chapter 20: Ten Common Stuck-in-the-Middle Problems and Their Fixes 337
Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Build Sustainably 345
Chapter 22: Ten Helpful Custom-Home Resources 353
Index 359
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