Don't Be Screwed!!: A Guide to Homebuilding

By John Ambrose Jr.

John Ambrose, Jr. says You are...Never Alone Building Your Home


As a building, Civil engineer and Construction Manager, John Ambrose, Jr. walks you through the process, step by step and give you a check list by chapter including a glossary of names starting with the site work, architectural, mechanical/electrical and finances.

Potential homeowners, residential builders, realtors are continually confronted with question, problems and issues that perplex them often due to poor communication. If you decide to be your own contractor, you will be totally responsible for each subcontractor. While it is exciting for a family to be building their own home, there are numerous pitfalls that the unsuspecting buyer faces.

This book will help you plan your home and give you guidance as to how to use experts to your full advantage.

This book discusses how the General Contractor/builder can save you money, aggravation and pain by partnering with the General Contractor who will oversee the entire project for you and with you.

The information and knowledge gained will guide you in your endeavor with the architect, builder and other experts who will be involved in the design and construction of your future home.


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• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 20, 2003
• ISBN: 9781465330826

John Ambrose Jr.

John Ambrose, Jr. is a Civil Engineer, builder and has performed construction management and design build projects. He has built homes in the one million dollar range. Also is past president of the Building Contractors Association of New Jersey.

Book preview

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to acknowledge and thank Becky Whelan, my daughter-in-law. Becky not only helped me with the dictation and computer entry, but also was the driving force that gave me the inspiration to write this book. Although I had the knowledge to write it, I needed the extra push to make it a reality.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank a friend Michael Perini and my nephew Robert Geraghty for their time and effort in reading and editing the final manuscript. This took a great deal of time and effort on their part.

FORWARD

The author has worked in construction since he was 17 years old, having worked as a carpenter with his father on numerous building projects. He spent two years in the Navy having attended and graduated from the Navy electrical school. Immediately after returning from the Navy he pursued his Civil Engineering degree from Manhattan College. His experience prior to engineering school gave him an insight into all phases of construction. While working as a carpenter he was also exposed to all aspects of plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical work. His first position was a Project Engineer for a major construction company where he was responsible for bidding, negotiating and awarding contracts. After spending eight years he left and formed a partnership where he became the Vice President of Operations for the Malcolm Company. In 1969 he founded his own construction company, which performed commercial, industrial and residential construction. His company constructed buildings for major corporations such as Motorola, Nabisco, Holiday Inn and Hoffman La Roche.

His engineering background was indeed an asset in dealing with various owners, architects and engineers. In 1976 he founded another company, which he classified as a service company, which dealt with the Design-Build and Construction Management Projects. In Design-Build his company was responsible for furnishing an owner with design drawings in accordance with the BOCA code for all major phases of construction. In the Design-Build he was responsible for the bidding, negotiating and awarding of major contracts. In Construction Management his company managed and supervised large projects—again handling the bidding, negotiating and awarding of major contracts.

He explains the difference between Design-Build and Construction Management—namely in Design-Build I proceeded with the designing in accordance with code per the owner’s requirements. In Construction Management, the owner provided me with complete design drawings, and I assumed responsibility for soliciting bids, negotiating and awarding of contracts. In Construction Management I was also responsible for the supervision and complete management of the construction project.

John has certainly carved his niche in the construction industry. He served for two years as President of the Building Contractors Association of New Jersey. This association consisted of approximately 144 contractors throughout the entire state. He was also named as a panel member for Labor Management for the Associated General Contractors of America, based in Washington D.C. Since 1974 he has served as a panel member of the American Arbitration Association, having rendered many decisions in disputes within the construction industry. John has also served well in the community. He served on the Board of Education for approximately seven years and the last two years as Vice President. Also in Hawthorne, New Jersey he served approximately seven years on the Planning Board with the last two years as Vice Chairman.

John has attempted to express his knowledge and expertise in writing this book. He has explained in detail the phases of home building so that the average layperson will comprehend the process from selecting the architect to final completion.

Becky Whelan

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Constructing a home looks relatively simple—HOLD ON!—Back some years ago if you wanted to build a house you would sketch out a rough plan, hand it to a carpenter/ builder and hooray, your home was built—NOT TODAY! As we discuss construction you will realize the process can become a lot more complicated. I will try to explain that you do not have to be an expert in home building to build a quality home. After reading this book you should have sufficient knowledge to make prudent and reasonable decisions. The sole intention of this book is to provide the potential homeowner with sufficient information on a broad range of the various trades, needed to construct a home. This book is not intended to be a do-it-yourself book, but is written as a guide for home construction. A guide to use the experts! Hopefully I will guide you in that direction.

You may have chosen or are considering the purchase of a building plot. Most building plots look alike to the average person. Adequate consideration should be given in the selection. Does the plot have a steep grade or will considerable fill be required? Choosing a building plot sometimes can be very difficult. One must weight the cost of the plot against added site work. Remember, a cheap building plot may be more expensive in the final analysis. Therefore, seek professional advice before your final purchase.

On many occasions throughout the book I state that one of the most important criteria for the owner is to ask questions, lots of questions. For example, how should one evaluate a general contractor or subcontractor? The only way this should be done is to seek as many references as you possibly can. Remember you are putting your faith, trust and hard earned money in people to build your home. I suggest that you begin by making a checklist concerning your basic requirements. Try to anticipate your needs within the confines of a potential floor plan. Ask yourself these questions. Should I construct a home with only a first floor, or should I anticipate a second floor? The number of bedrooms and living areas should be of most importance. Remember the kitchen area, together with the laundry room require a pleasant atmosphere—you will spend considerable time in both areas. Try to incorporate into the laundry area a section for sewing and ironing. I have observed some homes where this area was very bright and cheerful. Some owners have incorporated in this room a nook containing an office with a cookbook library. Try to make use of every square foot of the home. Do not confine yourself to small areas. Your budget is important however, if you add 50 or 100 square feet to these areas during construction it will benefit these working areas. You will be more than gratified that you added the additional space. You may want to concentrate and focus on such things as kitchen cabinets, plumbing fixtures, selection of hardwood floors or carpeting, the type of heating and cooling systems, and the electrical layout. These topics will be discussed at length in other chapters of the book.

It may take a minimum of nine months to complete a custom home from the start of site work to final completion. Remember a custom home is a special home requiring more detail. Therefore, additional time will be necessary for completion. Please do not be disillusioned if construction takes a little longer, you are not constructing a production built home, which usually takes four to five months to complete. Your so-called, dream home will be completed by selecting a good builder, so don’t be impatient. Eventually you will realize that your efforts will be most rewarding.

The size of a home is based upon the total square footage of actual living space—the attic, unfinished basement and garage are never included as living space. In home construction the phrase price per square foot is used indiscriminately. This phrase never portrays a true story concerning the total cost. There are too many variables in construction, which can increase the cost tremendously. For example, the style of the home, the rooflines, and the finishing materials selected will vary the per square foot price. Stay away from the bogus price per square foot, it can be confusing and it certainly will lead to trouble. The only true cost that you should rely upon is a complete construction estimate wherein all of the items will be listed in a cost breakdown. This is the only way to arrive at the actual true cost for final completion.

Finally, words to the wise, since you are not knowledgeable in construction therefore, rely on the experts. There may be times where it may be necessary to seek a second opinion to satisfy your curiosity. Do not hesitate to seek additional advice. I sincerely hope that this book will instill a desire for you to ask many questions of the experts. I have tried to write this book in plain language so that the average layman will understand its contents.

I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this book. Please use it as a guide for construction. The book will add considerable value in helping you, as an owner, make prudent decisions.

CHAPTER 2

FINANCE

In constructing a new home the decision is very simple—how much can I afford for the size of the home anticipated? The size of the home together with your credit rating will determine the amount of a mortgage that can be obtained from a lending institution. You will need both a construction mortgage and a final mortgage upon completion. Here, I would like to cite an example. I, once constructed a $1.2 million dollar home during which I sought a construction mortgage from a local bank. I was granted a $450,000 construction mortgage. I stupidly told the bank that I only needed $350,000 and they granted my request. Mind you the house was 95% completed, then I chose to install some additional amenities and requested an additional $25,000, which the bank refused to honor. The reason I point this out—don’t make the same mistake, request as much construction money as possible. You are not obligated to draw down the entire amount of the construction loan if not needed. This is how lending institutions think, so try to stay one step ahead of them if possible. I suggest using the same lending institution for both the construction and final mortgage. If this can be done it will make things a lot easier in converting from a construction mortgage to the final mortgage. Naturally, it will be to your advantage to obtain all of the necessary information from as many lending institution as possible to obtain the most satisfactory result.

In speaking to a lending institution, be sure you obtain from them any and all cost factors other than those included in the closing costs, if any—they may become rather expensive. In confronting the lending institution, ask them bluntly to set forth all of the costs for the construction financing, and all of the cost for the permanent mortgage. Tell them quite frankly that you are not about to pay any hidden costs. Tell them to set forth