Thursday, April 11, 2013

Builder Basics - How To Build Like The Pros


Are you looking to build your own home without a General Contractor or using a General Contractor during the framing process only?

Don't do this alone.  Let CC Construction Services help you!  There are a lot of owner builder books on the market, but there isn't one which goes through how to bid, what to look for in bids, how to manage the design changes.  CC Construction Services has over 40 years of home building experience with the big, national builders.  Now they show people, like you, how they do it.

For only $19.95, you'll get over 275 pages of 'how to' along with downloadable forms you can start using today.  Contracts, Scopes of Work, Change Order, Lien Waviers, and much more!


Check out Builder Basics today!

Monday, September 10, 2012

Communicating With Contractors

Let's get to it.  The biggest complaint we hear from Contractors is being hired by an owner builder who hasn't done any home work before starting the build process and expects the Contractor to teach them everything.

This is one way to create tension and just a bad foot to start on.

How do you avoid this?  Get familiar with what each trade does, the basic terminology and the building process.  You will gain more respect from your Contractors and they will be more willing to help you and answer your questions.

For people who expect Contractors to educate them, they will more than likely also be taken advantage of, Contractors will be a little more lazy on your job (like not showing up on time) or slow to call you back.  We've seen it.  Don't be that guy or girl.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Builder Basics eBook

WHAT'S NOT ON THE MARKET
We scoured the "How To Build Your Own Home' market.  We've looked at all the books at Barnes and Noble (no joke!) and tons of book sellers online.  There sure is a lot of information to help you build your home.  But we were shocked there wasn't one book that went into depth about bidding and contracting.

This is where it all happens.

Yes. If your project is bid incorrectly, that's time and money - and that's the world of construction.  If you don't contract correctly, that's time and money too.  If you contract incorrectly, what do you do if your subcontractor is running 2 weeks late?  If you are working on a bank loan, that sub could run other subs behind so your finish date might be late.  Late subs are common - how can you protect yourself and your job?  Contracts aren't a mean way of doing business - most people are scared of them.  Contracts are for worse case scenarios.  They law rules and expectations.  REMEMBER - you are hiring your subcontractors - they aren't hiring you.

NATIONAL BUILDER EXPERIENCE
We've worked for the majority of the national home builders.  There is a way to bid and contract correctly.  We have all that information for you in our Builder Basics eBook.  It's downloadable.  We also included contracts, scopes of work, pay (draw) schedules, lien release forms, a schedule you can adjust.  Check out our Table of Contents.

This is the most money you'll spend on one item - get as much education as possible.  Build it right the first time.   This book is included in our 1Day Seminar.




Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Contractor Deposit


Contractors who want a deposit up front.  The answer is No.  

Why?


A Little Shady
Contractors who want money upfront 1) either can't manage their money, 2) don't have enough work going on, 3) you could be their only job and they don't want to put up their own money for materials upfront.  All of these possible answers are not your problem.  It's theirs.

Once you give a Contractor, we are also referring to Subcontractors, money before they start the job or a portion of their job, then they are running the job.  Not you. 

The above animation is quite common.  And ladies, if a Contractor likes to tell you how pretty you are or is complementing you a little too much, stay away.  I'm serious.  They are trying to get the job.  

When you think you've found a good Contractor/Subcontractor for your job, ask for references.  These references include other people they've built for, other trades they've worked with and ask for a few of their suppliers.  Why suppliers?  You want to see if the Contractcor/Subcontractor pay them on time.

Pay Schedules
Your Contractor/Subcontractor and you should agree to a pay schedule.  Sure, you can ask your Contractor/Subcontractor what they usually do.  But you are hiring them, they are not hiring you.  If you need examples of pay schedules, we have them for you in our Builder Basics book.  We have worked for the majority of the national home builders and they pretty much all use the same Pay Schedule for their Subcontractors.  What is a pay schedule?  It's also called a Draw Schedule.  

For an example.  The Plumber.  Your Pay Schedule would be a percentage for completing the water and sewer from the street to the house.  A percentage would be completing the rough plumbing.  A percentage would be completing the plumbing finish.  So an average of 3 Draws for a Pay Schedule or a Draw Schedule.  This is agreed upon by both you and the Contractor/Subcontractor.  If you are working with a Contractor, then you need to agree to every trade.  Some owner builders hire a Contractor for the framing through drywall and then hire the other trades on their own.  There is still saving doing this.

Be Careful
Find good Contractors and Subcontractors takes time and is a HUGE portion of the job - they can make or break your job.  Make sure you find ones you communicate well with.  It doesn't matter if your neighbor down the street had a good experience with one and recommends them to you.  Add this company to your list and you do your own homework on them.  If it doesn't feel right, then it isn't right.

Owner Builders Who Are Looking for Specific Information
There is a GREAT series of reference books by Greg Berge who is been a General Contractor for over 25 years.  He has the following downloadable books:   
  • Guide for Hiring Contractors
  • 501 Contractor Tips
  • Simplified Stair Building
  • Simplified Stair Building with Landings
  • Advanced Stair Stinger Layout Methods
  • Simple Stair Stringer Layout
  • Simplified Bracket Stair Building
  • Simplified Tile Floor Installation
  • Simplified House Inspection Checklist (note to you Owner Builders - your City Inspector is not handing you an Inspection Checklist)
  • Simplified Home Inspections  

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Outsourcing in the Design Build Industry

What is outsourcing?  You can outsource day to day items that would cost you more with your time than to have someone else to do it for you.  And for pretty inexpensively.

Why outsource when you are building your own home or if you are small general contractor?  To save you time and money.  In construction with heavy deadlines, time is money and money is time.  

The design build industry is heading toward 'lean construction contracting', ie virtual construction, and we can help you do just that. 

We have worked for the majority of the national home builders and custom build contractors.  Our services include contracting (your contract or ours), bidding, bid evaluations, budget management, construction help, scheduling, project coordination, design change management, job walk scheduling to name a few.  We can free you up so you can run your job smoother. 

For more information about us at CC Construction Services, please visit us ccconstructionservices.com 

To see who we are, please visit our bio page.

To read more about the direction of lean construction, please read 'Lean Construction Contracting' from the  The Journal of the Design Build Institute.  



Monday, August 13, 2012

Building Your Dream Home?

Join others like you who want to build their dream house and bypass the GC. 

1Day Seminars.  Give us a day and we'll educate and train you to build like a Pro!  Next seminar is in Park City, Utah, Saturday, October 6th!


                    Come and bring a guest for FREE!  Don't start without us!

                       For more information, visit www.ccconstructionservices.com