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Here are home builders websites and links to find local builders near you...Find Prescreened Local Home Builders
International Log Builders Association - is a worldwide organization dedicated to furthering the craft of handcrafted log building, to the advancement of log builders, and to the promotion of the highest standards of their trade.
Tips for Contracting Your Own Home Acting as the home builder contractor for your own home's construction can be an effective method for lowering costs and assuring quality. But beware - the unsuspecting and unprepared may wind up enduring long delays, mounting expenses, and sleepless nights. The following tips should help you avoid some of the more common pitfalls of grabbing the self-contracting reins.
"Being your own contractor is a full-time job," states Brad Johnson, president of the Minnesota Society of the American Institute of Building Design (AIBD). "If you don't have the time for it, don't do it." Being a contractor involves duties such as gathering bids and proposals, lining up subcontractors, working with financial institutions, and developing detailed work schedules. Tom Montgomery, president of Plan-It Consulting, a Minneapolis-based company that specializes in consulting for building companies, says, "There are roughly 30 to 40 different home-building categories that require subcontractors. The contractor will have to get three or four bids from subcontractors for each separate category. It takes a lot of time." It helps if you've got the kind of job that allows the flexibility to maneuver your schedule, since you may be called away to the job site at any time, or you might have to meet with subs or inspectors during the day. If you don't — if you're stuck at work from nine to five Monday through Friday — you can expect to spend your evenings and weekends doing your contracting work.
Timing is everything! Timing is another vital factor. The delicate coordination and scheduling of jobs is perhaps the predominant function of a contractor. One subcontractor's work will often need to be finished and inspected before the next subcontractor can begin his/her part of the job. Or a portion of one sub's work will have to be completed before another sub can then do his/her part. The two may play this little subcontracting chess game all the way to inspection day. It's the role of the contractor to make sure that the timing throughout the building process is appropriate and that deadlines are met. One poorly planned step can send your project careening down a tangled and troublesome path, and it may take weeks to recover. Check referrals. One advantage an experienced contractor has is that he/she has probably been around the business long enough to know who to trust and who not to trust. If you're a contracting neophyte, you have several resources at your disposal, the first of which should be the subcontractors themselves. Each subcontractor should be able to readily provide a list of referrals. If they're unable to do so, you may want to eliminate them from consideration. Understand what quality is in construction. Understanding quality is knowing whether a sub's framing techniques are sound, or whether the placement of outlets in a room is ergonomically wise and so on. If you're not sure about your ability to recognize quality, start seeking knowledge and information wherever you can. Learn as much as possible. The more you educate yourself about contracting and the building process, the better off you'll be. Your pursuit of knowledge should include talking to experienced folks in the residential home builders industry, as well as making several trips to the library or bookstore. There are many books and guides designed to ease your way through the contracting process. Some of the information you'll find helpful; some won't help much at all! But at this point, remember that you're looking for any useful advice you can possibly find, so read and research as much as possible.
Be persistent and patient. As (most likely) a tiny voice in the building world, you may sometimes find it difficult to get the undivided attention of your subs. It's quite possible that they have bigger home builders demanding their time — don't forget that they, too, have financial considerations.
Being persistent with your subcontractors lets them know that you're focused on your project and that you're expecting them to be focused on it, too. Patience is also a home building virtue, and in the construction world it's often a virtue that's forced upon the home builder — it's rare for a project to go from start to finish without a glitch or delay. "In a perfect world," Montgomery states, "a home can be built in six weeks. On average, though, it takes about ten weeks. In a worst-case scenario, it could be anywhere from twelve to fifteen weeks." At the very least, patience will help you control your blood pressure (not to mention your sanity) throughout the construction process.
Consider using a construction consultant. Not quite enough time for contracting your own home? Not yet comfortable with the whole process? There is a middle ground for those of you who don't want to shoulder all of the work and responsibility that's involved, but still desire the psychological and financial rewards of being intimately involved in building your own home. A "construction consultant" is someone who guides you through the process. If you're somewhat unfamiliar with the building process, a construction consultant may be just the person for you. Knowing whether a bid is unreasonably high, workmanship is satisfactory, or the time allocated for completing a job is too short are areas where an experienced contractor can provide a great benefit to a less experienced one. Using a consultant is also far less expensive than using a full-time general contractor. So what can contracting your own home do for you? It may result in savings of up to 20 percent of the cost of your home. However, Montgomery recommends looking with caution at such numbers. "If you're just doing it to save money, chances are you won't. The industry will beat you up." Unless you're committed to thoroughly learning the industry and its labyrinthine ways, you may be unable to avoid the many snares and trap doors that exist. On the positive side, though, is the pure satisfaction of overseeing the building of your very own home — perhaps your most prized and personal possession. With a little homework, you can make sure it's the home you've always dreamed of. Article courtesy of Homeplans.com - providing quality home plans for over 50 years.
When looking for good home builders in your area, use the power and speed of the internet to help you in your search. For example, if you're searching for a Pocono new home builder or Tallahassee custom home builders - new construction, you can find prescreened builders by using the 'Prescreened...' link shown above. What you don't want to do is simply use local 'yellow pages' and select local home builders based on their phone book advertising.
Common internet searches are - central oregon home builders, richmond home builders and home builders in palm coast florida, for example. Use the service shown on the top of this page to find these kinds of qualified local builders.
A new home is the largest purchase most people ever make in their life. Use the information on yourdreamloghome.com and the links above to find home builders that will be right for you. As you are looking for home builders, be knowledgable of the differences between 'general contractors' and 'builders'. General contractors usually depend on subcontractors to actually do the home building work. The work of home building consists of various trades - excavation, foundation, concrete, masonry, framing, roofing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, plastering, painting, landscaping and so on. Larger home builders, on the other hand, generally have their own tradespeople that do the work. In general, a home builder company that is large enough to do most of the construction with its own employees will be some cheaper than a general contractor that hires subcontractors. Always get references from past customers of home builders you are considering doing business with - and speak with those customers, or visit them if possible. To read more about avoiding home building pitfalls, see home building tips. Books about home builders and building...
Build Your Dream Home for Less
by R. Dodge Woodson
If you're planning to build a new home, acting as your own developer and general contractor can save you a lot of money.
Build Your Own Low-Cost Log Home by Roger Hard
A small revolution has taken place in the American countryside, and with it has come a change in the kind of houses people wish to live in.
The Owner Builder Book: How You Can Save More than $100,000 in the Construction of Your Custom Home, Third Edition (Paperback) by Mark A. Smith, Elaine M. Smith This book covers everything about building your home, shows you how to get organized with charts and important lists and how to cut on construction costs.
The first 10 chapters take a practical management approach to such things as financing, site selection, working with subcontractors, legal concerns, even how to cope with inevitable worry. The remaining chapters treat the stages of home building from excavation to landscaping.
Included for each is a logical task sequence, a list of specifications to be used in subcontractor agreements, an inspection checklist, and a glossary of unique terms. The lengthy appendixes offer scores of adaptable forms as well as a critical path master project schedule.
Home builders related articlesEducate yourself on home building. Considerations for buying land for your log home or log cabin. Are you looking for bathroom wall decor ideas? Country small bathroom and designs. Kitchen island design ideas.
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