A good rule of thumb is the 75/25 rule where the hard-costs are about 75 percent of the Total Project Costs, and the soft-costs are the remaining 25 percent. Learn what this means for your project.
Read MoreWhat Is A Master Plan, and Why Do You Need One?
If you don’t have a road map of ALL of the projects you hope to accomplish, you could be headed for major pitfalls. This road map is your Master Plan, and every home owner with home improvement projects on the brain should have one.
Read MoreShould you pay your contractor’s markup? (Yep.)
Contractors typically charge homeowners a 10-20% markup on their subcontractor’s (“subs” for short) work. If you think you might want to pay your contractor’s subs directly (like the plumber or electrician for example) to avoid your contractor’s markup, I want you to understand what you are getting and giving up by going that route.
Read MoreHow to Determine Your Construction Budget? Start Here... Save Thousands
Nailing down your approximate budget and priorities will save you thousands of dollars in the long run. What I’m NOT going to do is tell you how much a second story addition costs. What I AM going to do is give you a means of making some estimates based on average costs per square foot. If you want to know if your foundation can hold a second story, yes, you should call an architect. If you want to be able to discuss with your partner if you can afford even to CONTEMPLATE adding a second story, keep reading.
Read time 6 minutes
Read MoreShort on Money? Try Phasing Your Construction Project.
Phasing is a lot like a puzzle with the exception that there is more than one way to put the pieces together. I know what you are thinking.... great... tell me something I don't know! Here's how to do it successfully so you can break up what would normally be an unattainable goal into smaller manageable pieces.
Read MoreHow to stay within your construction budget
You must plan for the unknown as inevitably there are surprises in every construction project. One of the few things all home owners commiserate about, regardless of whether they have been through a construction project or not, is the idea that projects always go over budget. Want to avoid this? Pick one: Higher contingency or higher architectural fees.
Read time: 5 minutes
Read MoreEmpower yourself! Give yourself permission to ask questions
You don’t know what a soffit is? You aren’t expected to have all of the answers or know the ‘lingo’ before you start your project, but you have to become familiar with it as your project progresses. Like anything, the more knowledgeable you are, the more successful your project will be.
Read time: 3 minutes
Read MoreWhat Should You Ask Your Architect To Draw?
Be aware that there is a difference between asking an architect to draw as much of your wish list that will fit within a given budget and drawing a wish list to see what the budget will be.
Read MoreWhy You Should Be Honest With Your Architect About Your Budget
I’m sure that you have heard horror stories about projects going over budget and have friends whispering in your ear about not telling the architect what your ACTUAL financial cap is, but let me explain why that doesn’t benefit you.
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