Customer Reviews

Outwitting Contractors: The Complete Guide to Surviving Your Home or Apartment Renovation

Any building process, especially a renovation project, relies on fully developed plans, drawings and a well informed owner. This point is glossed over in this book. Oh! You might want to use an architect or designer for big projects like the pyramids, but you really don't need one for small things, like kitchen/bath renovations or room additions... Wait for your builder to do something and then decide that it should/could have been done differently..

Well, you do need a design professional. If you don't know what you want - or even if you do, but don't have it documented relying instead on a contractor's clairvoyance and your own eloquence - you are going to be disappointed in the final product.

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The real point of this book - although never well expressed - is that it is of the first importance to work with reputable people. A tradesman whose office is in his hip pocket is likely not going to have the resources to do anything more than basic handiman work.

It IS a funny book - unless you want to get your project done.

Seriously! If you're (a) hiring work on your home (especially remodeling) or (b) a remodeling contractor, you should read this book. Despite the jokes (some of them are even funny), Adler actually writes clearly and intelligently about his subject, in impressive detail. This is one of the top five books I've read about the customer-contractor relationship. Adler also includes many anecdotes that are as enlightening as they are entertaining. A good book!