What Your Contractor Can't Tell You. The Essential Guide to Building and Renovating

Editorial Review

What Your Contractor Can't Tell You is a comprehensive guide to getting the best results while building or renovating a home. Most homeowners spend about 20% of their time on the plan and 80% of their time on a messy, traumatic, expensive construction phase. Pros spend 80% of their time on the plan and 20% on a smooth construction phase. But the homeowners can't know what goes into a solid plan unless someone tells them. This book is based on a simple premise...if homeowners knew even 10% of what the professionals in the construction field know, they could avoid 90% of the problems. Creating a dream home shouldn't be a nightmare. Hiring a contractor is an enormous investment and a high-risk endeavor involving decisions that will last forever. This book equips homeowners with the information and strategies needed to turn their vision into a home or a renovation that can be built on time and within budget. Chapters give detailed coverage of critical topics: design; selecting and supervising the architect and contractor; cost estimates; budget; plan specifications; contracts; dealing with town officials; and keeping track of everything along the way. For each stage of the project, there is detailed information on common pitfalls and how to avoid them, as well as insiders' tips which reveal what most contractors can't tell you. This book was previously published by Warner Books (2004) and titled What the "Experts" May Not Tell You About Building or Renovating Your Home.

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Customer Reviews

What Your Contractor Can't Tell You, Great Book!

2008-05-29
This is a great book if you are going to embark on building a house. The author is very good at outlining things and it is also not boring. I've highlighted so many things in the book that I didn't know and need to consider or do. A must have for anyone who is going to build a new house or tackle a large renovation!

Excellent Resource

2008-04-11
As a building professional (licensed general contractor since 1991), I think that this book by Amy Johnston is an excellent resource in preparing a person to undertake a building project. The book is chock full of practical, insightful information that gives consumers a 'peek behind the curtain' of building contractors, as well as the building process in general.

Over the years, I have heard of many construction horror stories and am dismayed to see builders with great marketing but little integrity continue to do project after project. If more consumers would take the time and effort to educate themselves about the building process, there would be far less 'money pit' experiences on building projects. This book makes it easy to be an informed consumer.

Excellent reference - good education for the owner

2008-03-06
This book was an excellent resource - helps make you a more savvy owner. You will better understand both the process and the contractor's mindset. Good guidance on where to focus and how to avoid pitfalls.
Would also recommend Hiring Contractors Without Going through Hell.

an excellent place to start...and revisit again and again

2008-01-07
there are thousands of books on the general subject of home renovation. for the important steps that take you from idea/dream to budgeted plan and actual work, this is the perfect guide. ms. johnston is a rare author whose main objectives are to inform and support. readers of this book, if they're anything like my partner and me, will be empowered to pursue their ideas in a realistic, fiscally disciplined way. after reading ms. johnston's book, we feel like agents or real participants in renovating our home, and not hope-filled homeowners eager to make someone else's labor work for us. we know what work we can do, and what work we need someone else to do. this is an excellent place to begin planning an addition or home renovation. it's a text you can return to again and again throughout your process. (i understand that a revised edition will be published in january 2008. i have the first edition, and will buy the new one. these comments refer to the original edition.)

Very happy with this book.

2007-02-06
I read and I reread this book often. We are getting ready to build and this is one of the most helpful reads that I have found. If you buy this book, you WILL stay one step ahead of the game.

Useful detailed practical information for building a home

2007-02-06

Very thorough

2006-07-05
Very well organized and in depth. This book is a detailed and practical guide to the process of building or remodeling that every owner needs before starting. Best I've read in terms of working with the key players and protecting your interests.

Excellent read and reference

2006-06-05
This book is excellent for those new to building or renovating and need to know what to do and say and who to say and do it to. The author does an excellent job setting out the relationships, processes, chronologies, and thinking for dealing with other parties all the way from dreaming about doing a remodel/build to finishing it. This is exactly the book I was looking for -- not a technical manual about building, but a handy reference about my role as owner and how I can or should interact with the architect, lender, general contractor, etc. to get the home or addition I want.

The beauty is in the details

2006-02-10
Amy's book is wonderful. We received it when we were about to undertake a huge three story addition. Reading this book helped us to think outside the box and ultimately opt to renovate an existing porch. We ended up doing most of the work ourselves but chose to hire out the things we don't like and are not good at (sheet rocking). This book has many helpful details that have positively impacted our renovation. Amy articulates that most standard trim on houses is too small and therefore looks bad. We took her advice and used wider trim, it makes a huge difference. Our new windows look really balanced with the wide trim. I would recommend this book to anyone undertaking renovations. I learned so much.

Confidence on my bookshelf

2006-01-24
Ms. Johnston's book is an easy and enjoyable read chock full of sound advice. I purchased the book a year ago, one month before my husband and I began to interview architects for our project, building a new home 1000 miles away. After one quick read, I knew it was my "organized builder's guide for all non-builders". By using the suggestions found in the step-by-step approach we have now successfully survived the design phase, bid and builder selection process, contract negotiation, and the permitting phase. The knowledge we have gained from this book has provided us with confidence and there have been a few times already that we have impressed the industry professionals!

It pays to be prepared and Ms. Johnston's book is a very big bargain when considering renovation and new construction costs. We have miles to go before our house is complete, but along the way I expect that we'll refer to this book time and time again...