Customer Reviews

The Owner-Builder Book: How You Can Save More Than $100,000 in the Construction of Your Custom Home, 4th Edition

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

The main part of this book contains some useful information and some helpful hints for owner-builders. However, beware a major problem that nearly destroyed the reading experience for me. The writing goes until page 272. But the book contains 314 pages. So what do pages 272-314 contain? Look at the cover of the book, where it says "Valuable Coupons Inside! $100 Value". Most of the 42 pages contain full-page ads for the author's seminars, audiotapes, workshops and special reports. To see this for yourself, go to the "Look Inside" feature (click on book picture) and look at the last page of the table of contents. I found these ads irritating, because although this is supposedly a reference book in and of itself, it asks you to shell out $6.00-$99.00 each item for more information. Excuse me, but shouldn't information like "Staying on Schedule" be included in the "Owner-Builder" book? The author offers the explanation that he couldn't "fit" all of this info into the book. He sure didn't have a problem tacking on 42 extra pages of shameless bids for more money. Get a book that doesn't reach into your wallet, like the excellent "Complete Guide to Contracting Your Home".

If you have the time to be your own general contractor, you will save money on your house construction, according to author Smith. This is true; I know two people at least, maybe more, who built their own house in a pricey market and got better results for a lot less. But...they had the time to be a full-time or nearly full-time general contractor.

A general contractor is a business person; a manager. If you can manage projects or people, you can do this. The book has charts, tables and suggestions on how to handle subcontractors. The myths that you cannot buy good lumber or components dashed here. And I can attest that contractor-grade furnishings in houses are often garbage, so much so you have to refit a new house to remove the trash they installed for you. You can avoid this waste by building your own, with your own specifications for windows, doors, brass door fittings, toilets, cabinets.

Don't be fooled; this is a job; you save money because you are doing the job of a professional. But that professional may have gotten into the business at his daddy's knee and really you may have the same skills, just untried. So do read the book first and see if you can manage all the jobs listed.

I liked the tables and checklists best in here. I like guides so I dont forget things. How to handle the subs, including sending knotty, subpar warped lumber back to the lumber yard and how to specify in your sub contract (strike the line that says you pay a restocking fee before you sign with the lumber yard) is worth the entire book price.

If you want some facts; it costs about $50 a square foot to build a house around our area and the builder sells it for about $100 to $140. Think about that.

Our home in New Mexico will be the first and last we build. I reviewed several books at the library before purchasing one as a guide to this project. The "Owner-Builder Book" and the accompanying CD I received after purchasing the book solidified our approach to organizing to build. Its step by step approach, the ideas presented by the author and the side bars from other owner-builders caused us to re-evaluate many of our preconceived concepts on how to build a home. Three items of significant importance were driven home when we followed the approach:
1)Its easy to design a home! However, to then build it for a reasonable price is a real challenge. The ideas for a cost down approach in the book are invaluable in focusing the owner-builder with a budget and big ideas. Of particular interest was the admonition to get multiple bids! We have found price differences of over 100% from the same bill of material. We would never have realized the importance of multiple bids without using "Owner-Builder" as a guide.
2) Our research and experience since purchasing the book last March are right on with the observations of the Smiths. General contractors spend little time at any individual project. The quality of work is up to the lead worker. The quality we have found is variable depending on which house we visited.
3) You cannot do too much planning and we needed a guide for the planning process. We plan to build next March and taking a year to plan the task is not too much time. We will easily spend more than 1000 hours before the first shovel hits the site. We will know what is in the home from top to bottom. The book drove this point home and its organizational steps were invaluable.

Owning your own home has long been considered the American Dream. For many, that includes designing and building the homes themselves. But building a home is a complex project filled with pitfalls and traps, and unwary budding homeowners can find their dreams turning into nightmares.

Enter Mark Smith, who has built several houses of his own. Written by a man who acted as his own general contractor, "The Owner-Builder Book" is crammed with useful advice on how to oversee your own project, from planning to construction. But be warned: it's unflinchingly honest about the amount of work and stress involved. While Mark Smith writes that it's possible to build a house in six months, first will come at least a year of planning and organizing. Once construction begins, you'll have to deal with ensuring that subcontractors appear on time and finish their work on time before the next group of workers appears. You may also have to deal with problems such as late deliveries of materials, subcontractors who don't show up, or who demand advances before working, threatened lawsuits,

Reading this book will give you a better appreciation of what the general contractor goes through. It will either fire your desire to run the show yourself and pocket the savings, or gratefully turn over the work to someone who does it for a living. But what it will also do is give you the information needed to make informed decisions that, even if you work with a contractor, will save you money.

This was the first contracting book that I read. Since then I have purchased and read a few more that were recommended in this book. The book drives home the fact that planning is critical and give great tips to help you organize your plan. After reading this book, if you still think you want to be your own GC. I would suggest reading "The complete Guide to Contracting your Home". It gets more into the technical aspect of each phase of construction.

When it came down to owner-building my house, I purchased a whole slew of books hoping that all of them together would help. I found the Owner-builder Book to be the only book that did. I carried it with me everywhere and it came through for me time and time again. I learned many valuable lessons that I've carried on into my everyday life as well- one of which is "Plan, Plan, Plan". I've found that what he says is true, that for "every hour you spend planning, saves 4 hours in execution". This book is everything I was looking for and more!

The Owner-Builder world is here. When the cost of buying a home in the local subdivision is priced out of the hands of 50% of the local population it is time to look for alternatives.

The title of this book states it all. The Owner-Builder book is the first purchase (must have it) for those considering building their next home to meet family needs. The Author takes an on hands approach listing subject matter in easy to find sections. I like the way he relays this information.

The book will guide you, step by step. A checklist to understanding many of the areas you are expected to know. So very important to complete prior to talking seriously to a lender when securing a construction loan. Better yet, topics included will save you money not just with the construction project but for the fees lenders charge. Protect yourself by knowing as much as you can about the process.

The Owner-Builders book ultimately saves money, time and enhances communication for all involved. Thank You for a great tool I can add to my professional arsenal. I recommend this book as a guide and resource to all future Owner-Builders.

This was the first book I read when I decided to retire and in some way become very involved in building our retirement home. I ended up reading about 4 others - all of which were more substantive and helpful. The most obvious problem from my point of view is the exaggerated claim on the amount you can save. You would have to substitute a great deal of your own time plus a few other person's in place of the building tradespeople to even approach the author's claims. The other problem is since the time since I read it (2003), the book has become a platform for the author to expand his marketing. Finally, the pictures of the home the author built on his own were very unimpressive to me. I thought it looked really dull.

There was one thing I took from the book - that you needed 1,000 hours to do the job. I did that and a bit more since I had the time. I had a fantastic experience on my house, although I had to pass through ideas of being my own GC or getting someone experienced to act as a mentor. Dispensed with the first as unrealistic and ran into significant problems with after starting down the second path. I ended up using a builder who simply let me participate extensively in the process since I had done so much preparation. I ended up designing, planning, and participating extensively with all the subs. It ended up being done on time, on budget, and with a quality level that exceeded my expectations.

This is an excellent book to read during the PLANNING stages of your building project. The book is written in an easy-to-read format and had insightful suggestions on cost savings, tax avoidance, quality construction and more.
Highly recommended!

I was fortunate to come across this book as I was making my decision to owner build my custom home. This book was an excellent resource and it allowed me to go in to my construction effort well informed and ready to tackle the project. From tax insights, to planning and organizing techniques this book covers everything that I needed to know. It's step by step plan of attack, and it's insightful and fun to read reminders truly helped me get into the drivers seat. In the end, I was able to save a substantial amount of money in the construction of my home, as well as avoiding several headaches, and mistakes along the way. The owner builder book chronicled owner builders like myself who had a story to tell, and insider tips. I also learned strategies that enabled me to take advantage of tax benefits. In owner building, knowledge isn't only power, it's tremendous savings.