| Part 1: Me, Build a Home? |
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Nailing the Real World of Housing |
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3 | (8) |
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Face the facts of building your home. Consider your needs, dreams, resources, and options. Problems you'll face and how to solve them. Myths and misconceptions about building your own home |
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Sticks and Stones: How Homes Are Built |
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11 | (12) |
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Watch as a real home is built before your eyes. Step by step, this chapter explains the home design and construction process in clear terms including a typical project schedule |
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Exploring Your Housing Options |
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23 | (8) |
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You have lots of housing options including conventional, manufactured, and kit homes. Take a look at each one to see if it's right for you. Also consider stock plans to save you time and money |
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Who Wants to Be a Thousandaire?: Home Savings |
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31 | (8) |
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Build it yourself or have it built--or both? How much can you do? How much can you save? Includes a look at how computers can help you save money on building your own home. Lots of places to look on the Internet, too |
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| Part 2: Designing and Paying for Your Home |
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How Many Bedrooms?: Designing Your Own Home |
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41 | (10) |
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Figuring out what you want in your home, what works best, and what fits your budget. Tips on cutting costs without cutting quality |
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Making Your Home Energy Efficient |
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51 | (8) |
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Learn from the pros how to cut the operational cost of your home by planning for efficient energy usage. Look at some of the latest ideas in efficiency and figure whether they will pay you back |
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Where to Live: Choosing a Location |
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59 | (8) |
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Where is the best place to put your new home? Consider regional, local, community, neighborhood, economic, crime, and school issues. How to research from afar |
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Selecting a Building Site |
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67 | (6) |
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How to find the right lot or acreage for your home. How to negotiate the best price. Figuring site costs (hookups). House orientation issues. Neighborhood issues. Why you shouldn't buy your site just yet |
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Wallet Blues: Estimating Construction Costs |
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73 | (10) |
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Okay. You know what you want and where you want it. Now, how much is it going to cost? How to estimate no-surprises construction costs. Getting bids and quotes |
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83 | (8) |
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And how are you going to pay for it? Learn all about new home construction loans and draw schedules. Includes valuable tips on getting the best interest rates, selling other assets, and negotiating the lowest fees. Timing your mortgage to save thousands |
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| Part 3: Hiring Some Help |
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91 | (34) |
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Codes, Permits, and Legal Stuff |
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93 | (6) |
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A house is built of paperwork. Learn what papers you need, which codes you need to follow, and how to handle all the legalities of constructing a home. Also covers estimates, purchase orders, change orders, and other common documents |
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99 | (6) |
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You'll probably need a general contractor for your construction project. How to select the best one for the job--and keep your contractor honest. Peek inside the daily life of a contractor to see how to hire and motivate him or her to help you build your dream home |
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Being Your Own Contractor |
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105 | (6) |
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Yes, in many places you can be your own contractor on your home. Why should you? Why should you not? How much will it save you? How can you tackle the job? Answers to many common questions including how to be a smart owner contractor |
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Hiring Subcontractors and Laborers |
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111 | (8) |
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How to hire-or help your general contractor hire--qualified and motivated subcontractors and workers. Also, how to hire yourself as a sub to your general contractor and save money. Insider tips included |
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Two-Off Ten: Hiring Suppliers |
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119 | (6) |
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Get the best advice and materials at the lowest prices delivered, when needed, by hiring the right suppliers. Learn how to hire an architect, an engineer, and materials suppliers as if your home depended on them. Tips on paying suppliers |
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| Part 4: Constructing Your Home |
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125 | (122) |
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What Goes Where?: Planning Construction |
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127 | (8) |
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Smart planning is the first step in any successful construction job. Learn how to plan conventional and nonconventional construction to anticipate and solve problems before they arise |
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On Your Mark: Site Preparation |
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135 | (8) |
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Surveying the building site, locating the house and other buildings, planning for utility hookups, ordering services, preparing the site for workers, and more |
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Excavation and Foundation |
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143 | (10) |
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Cutting the site for the foundation, working with concrete and masonry, building foundation walls and piers, pouring slabs, and working with difficult sites |
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153 | (8) |
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Posts and girders, joist installation, sill construction, floor joists, bridging, subflooring, and deck construction |
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161 | (10) |
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Selecting framing materials. How walls, ceilings, and roofs are framed. Framing doors, windows, skylights, clerestories, and other barriers. Selecting materials including engineered trusses |
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Closure Is Good: Exterior |
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171 | (10) |
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Selecting exterior materials. Installing siding (including wood, masonry, and stucco), roofing, gutter systems, and trim on houses, garages, and outbuildings |
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Power to the People: Services |
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181 | (10) |
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Your master service plan. Installing electrical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, cable, security, computer, and other services in your home |
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Somebody Get the Door: Interior |
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191 | (8) |
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How to finish the interior, including insulation and drywall, and installing doors and windows, cabinetry, and flooring. Tips on finishing the garage |
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Decorating Finishing Touches |
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199 | (8) |
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Painting, papering, trimming, lighting, appliances, furniture, and other finishing touches |
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207 | (6) |
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Final inspections and sign-offs, occupancy permit, order for services, turning on utilities, preparation for moving in |
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213 | (34) |
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Landscaping, fences, decks, pools, sunrooms, outbuildings, paths, walks, driveways, and other amenities |
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| Appendixes |
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A Home Construction Glossary |
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221 | (18) |
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Clear definitions for nearly 400 residential construction terms |
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B Home Construction Resources |
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239 | (8) |
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Extensive list of agencies, suppliers, designer, planners, associations, books, magazines, and other valuable resources for owner builders and contractors |
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| Index |
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247 | |
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