Home Improvement: Six Steps to Saving Money Before Taking the Big Plunge

By Lynnette Hartwig

Thinking about adding on? Renovating? New kitchen? Dormer? Peek behind the curtain of the construction industry. If you're a landlord, house flipper, or property manager, this book is even more valuable.
The six chapters here are a few select excerpts from the book "Contractor Heaven" which focus on mainly larger projects. The full book offers more detailed help with under-three-day projects as well as large, and also contains a section with dozens of free or low cost design features to ask for during the work, enhancing your daily enjoyment forever.
Contents:
1. Why Asking for 30% off—and Getting It—Means You’re Still Being Overcharged
2. Five Little-Known Truths about Contractors
3. Renovate, Add On, or Move?
4. Being Your Own General Contractor
5. The Building Inspector
6. Buying Components Yourself
When hiring contractors, be brave, have self-confidence and wear the cloak of your authority. Don't waste your time reading about projects gone into the ditch; learn how to keep yours on the road.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lynnette Hartwig
• Release date: Sep 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310571916

Lynnette Hartwig

Lynnette Hartwig lives in Westford, Massachusetts, and has worked as an Engineer and Project Manager for ahem years. She started her career as the first woman Journeyman Toolmaker in Wisconsin. Later she served as a Habitat for Humanity crew lead, mostly renovating old homes. In addition to fixing up four homes herself, she has managed buildings and grounds projects for her employers and condo association. As an engineer she performed cost estimating for clients and wrote dozens of Requests for Quote for equipment, additions and repairs.She has been involved with mechanics, repairs, and home improvement her whole working life. Currently she runs a technical writing business, Current Tech, specializing in industrial and QA documentation and marketing materials for job shops/ tradesmen.

Book preview

Home Improvement

Six Steps to Saving Money Before Taking the Big Plunge

By Lynnette Hartwig

Published by Current Tech - Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2014 by Lynnette Hartwig

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 9781310571916

Cover design by Lynnette Hartwig

Cover photo courtesy of

http://www.homedit.com/60-under-stairs-storage-ideas-for-small-spaces

Thank you for downloading this ebook. It remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commerical purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

While the author has devoted many years to the acquisition of this information, there are no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaims any implied warranties for infallibility of advice or fitness for a particular purpose. This publication is designed to provide interesting and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. Examples used in this book are altered to protect privacy.

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The Six Steps

1. Why Asking for 30% off—and Getting It—Means You’re Still Being Overcharged

2. Five Little-Known Truths about Contractors

3. Renovate, Add On, or Move?

4. Being Your Own General Contractor

5. The Building Inspector

6. Buying Components Yourself

Conclusion

About the Author

Other Books by Lynnette Hartwig

1. Why Asking for 30% off—and Getting It—Means You’re Still Being Overcharged

Home improvement at a good value is possible for every property owner. Most people think the way to get the best price will vary by specialty: how to get the best price with the painter, the window installer, the handyman, the kitchen remodeler, the landscaper, the tree service, the cement contractor, the HVAC repairman, the roofer or the electrician. Even more with the home builder, the architect or the roofer. Actually, it makes no difference what the specialty is. The approach is identical.

Each one is selling his training, talent with tools and experience by calculating the amount of time it will take to do the job plus the cost of materials. Each has overhead: his shop, the office staff, vacation, holidays, vehicles, equipment, benefits, taxes, utilities. Each has a sense of how much he deserves to make per hour. And that’s it. He adds them up, and that’s the price.

The price to make a good living and stay afloat, that is. If he wants a better facility, bigger car, or simply lost money on the last three jobs, he will want more than needed to merely stay in the black. Most contractors know where their breakeven point is. How far above that his price ends up being depends upon you. If he wants the work his price has to be a price you are willing to pay, right? That’s why knowing a good ballpark price before he opens his mouth is so successful.

But before we