Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets: How to Fix America's Trillion-Dollar Construction Industry [Paperback]

Barry B. LePatner (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"LePatner describes what is wrong with the current system and suggests ways that architects can help - by retaking their rightful place as master builders." - Fred A. Bernstein, Architect Magazine "Every now and then, a major construction project is completed on time and on budget. Everyone is amazed.... Barry LePatner thinks this exception should become the rule.... A swift kick to the construction industry." - James R. Hagerty, Wall Street Journal"

Product Description

Across the nation, construction projects large and small—from hospitals to schools to simple home improvements—are spiraling out of control. Delays and cost overruns have come to seem “normal,” even as they drain our wallets and send our blood pressure skyrocketing. In Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets, prominent construction attorney Barry B. LePatner builds a powerful case for change in America’s sole remaining “mom and pop” industry—an industry that consumes $1.23 trillion and wastes at least $120 billion each year.

 

With three decades of experience representing clients that include eminent architects and engineers, as well as corporations, institutions, and developers, LePatner has firsthand knowledge of the bad management, ineffective supervision, and insufficient investment in technology that plagues the risk-averse construction industry. In an engaging and direct style, he here pinpoints the issues that underlie the industry’s woes while providing practical tips for anyone in the business of building, including advice on the precise language owners should use during contract negotiations.

Armed with Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets, everyone involved in the purchase or renovation of a building or any structure—from homeowners seeking to remodel to civic developers embarking on large-scale projects—has the information they need to change this antiquated industry, one project at a time.
 
“LePatner describes what is wrong with the current system and suggests ways that architects can help—by retaking their rightful place as master builders.”—Fred A. Bernstein, Architect Magazine

 

“Every now and then, a major construction project is completed on time and on budget. Everyone is amazed. . . . Barry LePatner thinks this exception should become the rule. . . . A swift kick to the construction industry.”—James R. Hagerty, Wall Street Journal  

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; Reprint edition (September 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226472698
• ISBN-13: 978-0226472690
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #182,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #31 in	Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Industrial Relations
  #37 in	Books > Business & Investing > Real Estate > Law
  #26 in	Books > Nonfiction > Law > Business > Construction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Critical Insight, Worth Reading, December 21, 2007

By	Fernando Pages - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets: How to Fix America's Trillion-Dollar Construction Industry (Hardcover)

This book will not make contractors happy, but anyone in the business for more that few years will recognize the author's critique. Our industry has not grown from craft to professional management. We resist improvement and defend the status quo. The author points out the flaws in our industry, provides valuable history lessons, and then suggests, in principle, that equal information for owners and builders might help balance the scales.

I don't know that these suggestions will amount to more than so many other attempts to bring construction into the 19-th (let alone 21st century). But looking at the truth straight on seems to help one resolve to do better; for the owner it serves as a caution. A bit repetative, but insightful and most certainly worth reading. My compliments to the author for good research and blunt talk.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fascinating general interest material on the economics of construction, September 27, 2007

By	scaler rdh - See all my reviews

This review is from: Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets: How to Fix America's Trillion-Dollar Construction Industry (Hardcover)

I try to read all of Robert Wright's books because his prose is always
crystal clear and his analysis is often incisive. (I'm not sure why
Amazon doesn't list him as third author but plenty of other online sites
do. Maybe it is because his name is on the title page but not the
cover?) In any event, he does not disappoint here. Combined, the three
authors provide a provocative take on the construction industry and its
problems. This book may represent the first time that construction has
been analyzed from the perspective of game theory and asymmetric
information. I'm not sure it's right, but it is a fascinating read and
too little of general interest is published on the economics of
construction.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Focused on large projects, April 20, 2009

By	Richard K. McLaughlin "Richman" (San Diego) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets: How to Fix America's Trillion-Dollar Construction Industry (Paperback)

This book focuses more on large, commercial construction projects and the industry in general. If you are looking at a book for home construction or improvement this would not be my first choice. With that said, it offers a lot of insights in how the construction business operates, some of which is quite eye opening. The book includes good descriptions of types of construction contracts and offers sound advice on how to write a contract that benefits you as the customer.