Mr Info Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 We are building a house and considering writing a book that would be entitled something like "Custom Building a House on a Budget". This is not intended as a LAMP but rather whether I should spend the time and energy on writing something that few people are interested in reading. We have been repeatedly asked by friends and acquaintances that see the house as to where we obtained certain things, who are architect was, and so on and so forth. To make a long story short, we spent a great deal of time on products, suppliers, and vendors to determine how we could get the greatest bang for our buck in building a custom house. We picked everything from the windows, flooring, and doors to the switch plates, mouldings, casings, balusters, data cabling, etc. The book is intended to be for someone acting as a GC or for someone who hires a GC. We did the latter and stayed very close to our budget by looking at most items as commodities and getting the best price for an item from anywhere around the country. If you're building a custom house you expect to have a custom builder instead of a tract builder but we plan on offering suggestions on determining the flexibility of the GC before you hire. We have had some pitfalls with our GC but they have been correctable and just helps with providing more material for a book. After viewing the thread on How old is everyone??, it appears there is a diverse population here so this may be a better sampling than our friends. I am not looking to make a buck but it would have helped us if a book like this had been available. But I do not want to write it for my own satisfaction - I have plenty of other things to occupy any free time. It may be that people are happy with letting the builder make all the decisions for them. Some people have told us just that. Thanks for any feedback. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 I'd buy the book. I always wanted to do it, even looked at some land, but figured it was kinda outta my league right now b/c I'm working so much. Maybe later on in life, tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 We are building a house and considering writing a book that would be entitled something like "Custom Building a House on a Budget". This is not intended as a LAMP but rather whether I should spend the time and energy on writing something that few people are interested in reading. We have been repeatedly asked by friends and acquaintances that see the house as to where we obtained certain things, who are architect was, and so on and so forth. To make a long story short, we spent a great deal of time on products, suppliers, and vendors to determine how we could get the greatest bang for our buck in building a custom house. We picked everything from the windows, flooring, and doors to the switch plates, mouldings, casings, balusters, data cabling, etc. The book is intended to be for someone acting as a GC or for someone who hires a GC. We did the latter and stayed very close to our budget by looking at most items as commodities and getting the best price for an item from anywhere around the country. If you're building a custom house you expect to have a custom builder instead of a tract builder but we plan on offering suggestions on determining the flexibility of the GC before you hire. We have had some pitfalls with our GC but they have been correctable and just helps with providing more material for a book. After viewing the thread on How old is everyone??, it appears there is a diverse population here so this may be a better sampling than our friends. I am not looking to make a buck but it would have helped us if a book like this had been available. But I do not want to write it for my own satisfaction - I have plenty of other things to occupy any free time. It may be that people are happy with letting the builder make all the decisions for them. Some people have told us just that. Thanks for any feedback. Tony 213770[/snapback] I would... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Me too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JinVA Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 There already is a book out there similar to what you described. I believe it is called "Dreams to Beams" and should be available through your local Home Builders Association. However I'm not sure if it was written by someone such as yourself or a General Contractor. Anyway if you can't find the book PM and I can send you a copy. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHardFan Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 FYI: the DIY, HGTV, and one of the Discovery channels have current series that follow building and adding on to a house: Be Your Own Contrator, HomeIQ, and HouseLift. [Go to respective websites to find who shows what and when.] Gives a basic insight into the decisions required and the inevitable pitfalls. Video is a better medium for a novice (like me) since it turns jargon into a viewable lesson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownBillsFan Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 I would buy it. My father inlaw just went through an extreme headache building his home. A book like that would have benefited him greatly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyT Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 I would check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 There is even companies and websites that act as help aids to people acting as their own GC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 I would... 213787[/snapback] Great... now when I make a comment on a house, living in a house, or anything about houses in general, you'll be able to correct me on that... f---. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Info Posted January 21, 2005 Author Share Posted January 21, 2005 There already is a book out there similar to what you described. I believe it is called "Dreams to Beams" and should be available through your local Home Builders Association. However I'm not sure if it was written by someone such as yourself or a General Contractor. Anyway if you can't find the book PM and I can send you a copy. Good Luck. 213800[/snapback] Thanks - I had looked around and I could not find a similar book but I missed this one and I don't want to copy someone else's work. "Dreams to Beams: A Guide to Building the Home You've Always Wanted" by Jane Moss Snow. The paperback is readily available and inexpensive. But I am going to send you a PM before I buy it. I am interested in the TOC - our target audience may be different. And this book is 15 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JinVA Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Thanks - I had looked around and I could not find a similar book but I missed this one and I don't want to copy someone else's work. "Dreams to Beams: A Guide to Building the Home You've Always Wanted" by Jane Moss Snow. The paperback is readily available and inexpensive. But I am going to send you a PM before I buy it. I am interested in the TOC - our target audience may be different. And this book is 15 years old. 213890[/snapback] Don't buy it I have a copy right here in my hand that I would be glad to send you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eSJayDee Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 My lifelong dream is to build my own house, doing most of it myself. It's put on hold as I think it's more prudent to get a wife 1st. I'd potentially be interested in a book like that. Some of my preferred TV viewing is 'be your own contractor', 'home IQ', etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Info Posted January 21, 2005 Author Share Posted January 21, 2005 FYI: the DIY, HGTV, and one of the Discovery channels have current series that follow building and adding on to a house: Be Your Own Contrator, HomeIQ, and HouseLift. [Go to respective websites to find who shows what and when.] Gives a basic insight into the decisions required and the inevitable pitfalls. Video is a better medium for a novice (like me) since it turns jargon into a viewable lesson. 213842[/snapback] I am going to comment on this post but there are a couple others like this one, too. We looked at these resources, too, but they were more meant for the tract-type house rather than the custom house. "This Old House" is more appropriate for serious custom building than these others. But it's renovation rather than new construction. But the level of detail they are delve into is more like the research we did. Unless you are an experienced home builder, a custom home should not be your first project. Our home builder, with 30 years experience, (and his sub-contractors) had never heard of or were unfamiliar with the some of the suppliers and products we chose. Most GCs, electricians, hvac, trim people, etc. are very familiar and comfortable with the products they use. And they are good products but, in a custom home, maybe there are better products that suit what you are trying to do and they are simply not experienced with these. Now, you could hire an architect and an interior designer to do all this for you and have them work with the builder and contractors. But this book is meant for those who want something special but hiring architects and interior designers are beyond their budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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