This book is written for the average home owner, or building owner in general, who's place needs fixing, or upgrading, or remodeling, or anything else for that matter, and just doesn't feel comfortable cold calling some stranger who says they are a contractor and asking them to come over and start ripping into their place. This is a cookbook that will allow you to keep the whole process under control and best of all.....simple! I will show you how to figure out what it is you want to do on your building, how to present it clearly in writing, and then, as a result, enjoy the immense benefits of a process called "competitive bidding". It's simple.....engineers and architects have developed a system over the years that is based on written specifications leading to competitive bidding leading to the job getting done in as simple a way as possible. It works really well. A basic understanding of that system is what I am bringing to the layman homeowner here. Once you know the system you will be in control of your repair project and know that you are getting the best price for the work you want done. Who needs the headache of a home repair or remodeling job gone way south? Keep it simple!
About the Author: I started my career as a civil engineer. It wasn't quite as exciting as I had hoped but I stuck with it long enough to learn how to go about getting things done.....how to go about getting something in the physical world built or fixed. I moved on from that by basically starting over from scratch. I had seen firsthand in my engineering work that you could write the prettiest specifications all day long but if you the writer didn't understand the actual process of building that thing you were specifying you were heading for a train wreck.....usually a pretty expensive one. So I decided to go back and learn building from the ground up. I went to work for carpenters, plumbers, electricians, heating guys, and masons. I never did get to learn how to operate heavy machinery though....always wanted to have run a bulldozer..... I learned the trades from the bottom up, the hard way. I stayed with each trade long enough so I understood how things went together and importantly, I learned the lingo associated with the work. If you can't speak the language how can you function? After that I went into contracting, doing repair work and new construction on residential and light commercial buildings. I got to the point where I could, on my own, build a house from the foundation clear to the chimney top. When I write specifications now to get something done I know of what I speak. For the next sixteen or so years I worked in a local non-profit agency in Maine running a home repair program. We used public funds to repair the homes of low income home owners and if their place was too far gone, build them a cunning little ranch house. These last six years I have been working as a private consultant doing the same thing but for individual towns. I would compete for a grant for the town and then use the money to repair homes throughout their town. I have worked with a lot of different contractors over the years and know how the game works inside and out. I lost track long ago, but I would guess that I have managed the repair of well in excess of a thousand homes and am pretty sure I have seen most everything....good and bad. I was able to get all that work done because I had learned that system back in my engineering days. It works and keeps things simple.