Customer Reviews

How to Be Your Own Contractor and Save Thousands on Your New House or Renovation While Keeping Your Day Job: With Companion CD-ROM

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The very readable new book by Tanya Davis walks you through the basics of self contracting in terms of either renovating your current home if you are staying put or building a new one from scratch. Managing a residential construction project, especially if you're holding down a full-time job and have family responsibilities, is clearly not for everyone, so this book will help you decide whether the homebuilding process might be right for you--a highly individual decision that can only be made after careful consideration.

Drawing upon her own experience and research as well as interviews with contractors and other real-estate gurus around the country, Davis authoritatively explains how to save money and time, and avoid frustration, when taking on a do-it-yourself project of this magnitude. According to Davis, "Building [or remodeling] a home has become increasingly complex, but by developing a straightforward, organized way of handling each step of the process, you can easily create the structure you always dreamed of from beginning to end. You will be able to create a house that will be beautiful and functional, and bring you joy for years to come. The best part is that you will have the satisfaction of having created it yourself." Davis says that you can save anywhere from 10 to 35 percent by hiring yourself as the contractor and even doing some of the actual labor yourself.

The book covers key topics such as the seven steps to the perfect home design, pre-construction activities, financing, finding and negotiating with subcontractors, building code compliance, supplies and materials, and avoiding problems and common mistakes. Even if you are just considering some minor remodeling or weekend fix-it projects, this reader-friendly book offers helpful guidance.

The book includes many checklists and sample forms (which also appear in the companion CD) to help you stay on top of your all-important scheduling and recordkeeping tasks so that you can manage material and workmanship effectively.

Whether you are ambitious enough to be the contractor for your entire project or just some sections this book is will hold your hand through the process. The author includes useful charts and lists to guide you through your project. Specific projects, such as kitchens and bathrooms have their own chapter making for easy reference.
I found the most helpful chapter to be "Potential Problems & Common Mistakes." The advice given here is a huge money and time saver. The appendix is chock full of great websites and additional resources. Even if you decide not be your own contractor you will be educated and prepared to work with whomever you decide to hire.

If you are building or remodeling a home this book is worth its weight in gold. Even if you do not want to be your own contractor, it provides the information you need to understand the building and remodel process. You will never have to rely on someone else to know what is happening.
Everything is covered, from site selection to finishing touches. I especially liked the part describing dangers, problems, and mistakes, that might happen.
You could easily save yourself the cost of the book with all the good advice, not to mention a lot of headaches.

How To Be Your Own Contractor by Tanya R. Davis provides a helpful guide to organizing building and construction activities. There is great detail, from planning right down to decorating. She includes a timely chapter on green remodeling that many will find informative. There is also a good description of financing options for new construction and remodeling projects. The chapter on finding and negotiating with subcontractors is useful for anyone hiring an outside contractor to do work in their home or investment real estate. While she does emphasize the importance of written contracts, she did not outline the necessity of adding language to the contract, spelling out who is responsible for injuries or damage due to a subcontractor's negligence. In addition, she discusses briefly the importance of a subcontractor having workers compensation insurance, but neglects to discuss the importance of liability and auto insurance as well. The sample bid sheets and lists of materials prove to be useful templates to be used again and again, during any number of projects. The information on building codes and materials is eye opening, as it details important aspects most do-it-yourselfers might not think about. In addition, I found the in-depth description of the materials to be extremely useful. All in all, this book is a must have if you are planning any type of construction on your residential property.

If I was to build my own house, I would frame it out of steel and try to pick a lot on a slant upward from the street so that I can have a water-free basement. Thanks to "How to Be Your Own Contractor" by Tanya R. Davis, I now know the ins and outs of building a home and you can too. With simple understandable directions, Davis makes every step of the construction feasible for anyone with the determination to see the project through. She includes many examples of documents that familiarize the reader with exactly what they will deal with. The layout is easy to follow and flows from section to section. Each chapter is ended with a checklist, which serves as a great reminder and summary of all the important points previously covered. "How to Be Your Own Contractor" is a wonderful read for anyone with interests in the world of house building.

There is nothing quite so satisfying as finally building that dream home, except perhaps being involved in process every step of the way. This book will help you do just that. While Davis doesn't walk you through the entire building process (obviously, for safety reasons, most of the work should be done by licensed professionals), she does show you how to oversee the project and eliminate the middle man, the contractor who oversees the building process.



You'll find everything from choosing a lot and planning to applying for financing and obtaining permits all the way through to the final finishing touches. Special recommendations regarding finding reasonable, honest subcontractors and money-saving tips throughout the book make this book necessary for anyone new to the construction process.



Davis presents potentially overwhelming information in an organized and accessible way. If you are looking to build that dream home or turn your current house into your dream home, this will be a helpful resource.

Start studying and collecting designs and plans for your dream house or upgraded room.

A thorough step-by-step, streamlined process that takes into account your desire to save money is available.

This book makes it possible to realize what you have envisioned. Plus, it's not limited to its intended audience. Current homeowners and future homebuyers can also benefit.

Davis starts off by encouraging you to take a reasonable approach to the process. She highlights special considerations, such as finding an appropriate lot and examining that lot for potential issues that could become extremely costly after the house is built.

It reinforces effective management. It provides advice in the selection of competent subcontractors, and suggest staying privy to what is occurring throughout the building process through daily visits to the site.

The book points out substantive details. For instance, it describes how the house sits on the land determines how sunlight enters a room, getting the site plan from a surveyor can help with the proper placement of the house; and if you chose to have a basement, a sloped lot is better than a flat lot because it provides for better drainage.

As you read along, you may be inclined to inspect the current condition and construction of your present abode, especially for people who aren't as cognizant of everything that goes into the development of the house they've purchased. They may have been too captivated by the unobstructed views of the lake as opposed to whether the house is subject to flooding.

The book is an easy read. Tips are provided in shaded boxes to help you identify cost-savings, and not lose track of your budget. Key information is reinforced at the end of the chapters. Davis is cautious of the reader's comprehension, and suggests further reading on the topic to help familiarize you with more technical terminology. She also advises attendance of zoning meetings and trips to your local government to review licenses and laws.

The book is a great introduction as to what you can expect when taking on your housing project.

With the recent popularity of TV shows such as HGTV and DIY, along comes this book that takes it to the next level. Davis writes a very thorough, well-organized `how-to' book that caters not only to the weekend warrior, but the serious budding contractor. What I liked most is that Davis provides a step-by-step explanation on how to tackle contracting and remodeling, while also providing a "heads up" on potential problems that may occur with the appropriate remedy. Whether you are a novice or a professional, "How To Be Your Own Contractor" should be the only book you need to navigate through your next project.
Rating: 5

Anita Smock

This book is written for those of us who want to remodel or build our own dream home, and don't want to hand over all decisions to a contractor. You don't even need to know how to hold a hammer for this book to teach you all you need to know to make good decisions and run every aspect of your build. If you want to be involved in every stage of your project, and know why you made every decision right down the line, this is the book for you.

"How to Be Your Own Contractor..." is written with three goals in mind:
* Describe each major step in the building process, providing checklists and common mistakes for each
* Save YOU money
* Save YOU time
It covers each goal surprisingly well in an organized and detailed fashion. This book DOES NOT address issues like steps to lay floor or drywall. It DOES cover the whole contracting process including how to manage subcontractors and materials (managing all people and things), and how to make informed decisions and get the best deals all along the way. It provides direction on how to juggle building or remodeling with your own job and family responsibilities.

This book details the best floor plans, how to choose durable materials that will save you time and money in repairs later, and how to choose thickness of walls. Chapters include (these are just a few):
* Financing (for new builds and remodeling)
* Insurance
* Find & Negotiate with Subcontractors
* Complying with building code, inspection, and permit requirements
* Potential Dangers and How to Prevent Them
* Potential Problems and Common Mistakes

Each chapter provides a checklist of all materials, paperwork, and tasks you need to complete before getting started--a great help with some of these chapters! There is a lot of information on site safety, and accident prevention too--very important for you and your wallet!

This book gives complete details on the process, useful information, and great resources for further help. This is a very user-friendly, useful book! Highly recommended if you want to be your own contractor, even if you don't know anything about it going in to your project.

As a single, independent woman, I was very excited when I came across this book. I mean nothing beats bringing home the bacon and frying it in a pan - except designing the home that you are bringing the bacon to.

This book is very helpful because it gives the average person language and ideas that are very useful and necessary to navigate through the homebuilding process.

The money saving tips, checklists and appendix filled with resources for additional information were definitely an added bonus.