What Your Contractor Can’t Tell You: The Essential Guide to Building and Renovating, could be called “What Your Contractor Should Tell You”. This paperback is full of valuable advice for everyone building or remodeling. Written by a construction manager, the focus isn’t about self-building or self-contracting. Instead, the reader will learn to reduce risk and increase success when hiring building pros. Thorough discussions about working well with others, budgets, contract types and avoiding common pitfalls are included. Also covered are tips for using budget as a management tool and understanding the pro’s perspective.
The Good: A productive insider’s view of construction management is presented. Clearly written, the technical level is appropriate for homeowners. Included are insightful “Insider’s Tip” and “Pitfall” bubbles spread throughout the pages. Alone, these laconic words of wisdom are worth reading. Chapters on choosing, hiring and working with an architect and builder are equally beneficial. All providing classic advice everyone should heed.
The Bad: The book’s format is simple with few visual aids. Readers would benefit from images that visually explain key topics while breaking up the text. More insider tips would be nice. Costs mentioned for working with architects may actually be conservative, depending on the project’s location.
The Bottom Line: This really is an “essential guide to building and renovating”. Buildwise highly recommends this book for both homeowner and pro. Homeowners can expect this text to provide helpful advice for ensuring a productive process and quality project. Pros will also benefit. Reading this book is a great reminder of how best to manage a project. And what clients should expect from a competent pro. Better yet, initiate a frank discussion by giving your clients a copy.
Full Citation: Johnston, Amy
What your Contractor Can’t Tell You: The Essential Guide to Building and Renovating.
Burlington: Shube Publishing, 2008. Paperback.
208 pages, 7″ x 9.25″ size, mostly text with a couple drawings and tables.
What Your Contractor Can't Tell You
Pros
- Written for homeowners
- Good insider view
- Insider tips & pitfalls
- Realistic advice
Cons
- More images would help
- More potential problems could be discussed