The Complete Guide to Contracting Your Home


Book Description

Save 30% on home construction! Whether you want to take on all the responsibility of contracting your home or simply want to intelligently communicate with your homebuilder, The Complete Guide to Contracting Your Home can help you save 30% or more on the cost of home construction by teaching you the ins and outs of managing your construction project. Learn how to get your project off to a solid start. Get financial and legal details in language you can understand. Learn what to consider when selecting a lot and how to deal with suppliers, labor and subcontractors. Gain understanding of building codes and inspections so you can manage with authority, confidence, and efficiency. This extensive guide walks you through each phase of construction including preconstruction, foundations, framing, roofing, plumbing, electrical, masonry, siding, insulation, drywall, trim, painting, cabinetry, countertops, flooring, tile and landscaping. Completely revised and updated, this edition includes a new section on sustainable building as well as the most comprehensive building resources section ever compiled. You'll find schedules, order forms, control logs, contracts and checklists to help keep your project on track.




A Practical Guide to Successful Construction Projects


Book Description

Written by experienced and innovative projects lawyer Arent van Wassenaer, this book explains what the critical success factors are for construction projects to be completed on time, within everyone’s budget, to the right quality, with all stakeholders satisfied and without disputes. In so doing, van Wassenaer discusses how such projects could be structured, tendered for, executed and completed, and what legal and non-legal mechanisms are available to achieve success in construction projects. Using examples of real projects, A Practical Guide to Successful Construction Projects provides tools for those in leading and managerial positions within the construction industry to change – where necessary – their usual operational methods into methods which are aimed at achieving project success.




Construction Project Management


Book Description

Construction Project Management offers some of the best project management studies commissioned by ELECTRI International: The Foundation for Electrical Construction that were selected, coordinated, and monitored by some of the most progressive contractors and performed by outstanding scholars from top U.S. universities. Topics include pre-construction planning, early warning signs of project distress, impact of change orders, project sequencing, ideal jobsite inventory levels, tool and material control systems, recommended safety practices, partnering, total quality management, quality assurance, performance evaluations, and contract risk management. All specialty and general contractors will find value in this practical book. The concepts presented will improve your understanding of the main issues affecting construction project management and will provide you with tools and strategies to enhance your company's productivity and profitability.




Construction Process Planning and Management


Book Description

By their very nature, construction projects can create seemingly endless opportunities for conflict. Written by a best selling author with over 40 years of experiences in the construction and general contracting business, Construction Process Planning and Management provides you with the necessary tools to save time and money on your construction project. In this book, Sid Levy provides valuable advice for avoiding or working through the common problems that are a result of the long-term nature of construction projects, failure to select a ?project delivery system? appropriate to the project, incomplete drawing and specifications, unrealistic scheduling, poor communication and coordination among participants, and inadequate contract administration. From project genesis, through design development to contractor and contract selection, on to construction oversight, punch list and successful project close-out, this book will point out those pitfalls to avoid and offer practical advice at every step along the way. Administer the general construction process including solicitation of contractor's qualifications (pre-qualify bidders), comparative analysis of bid packages, recommendation for contract award, contract document negotiation and documentation of job change orders Provide Project Planning and on-site management and coordination of all construction projects Ensure compliance of building construction rules and regulations and collaborate with chief engineers to monitor quality of construction Conduct technical/plan review of construction documents and submit written responses identifying required corrections or changes Design, implement and oversee Company standards for construction policies, practices and processes




Contractor's Guide to Green Building Construction


Book Description

Written for contractors and endorsed by the Associated General Contractors of America Written specifically for contractors, this "how-to" book enables you to meet the challenges of green building construction. You'll discover how constructing environmentally friendly, sustainable buildings influences project management, delivery, documentation, and risk. Moreover, the book guides you through these important considerations at all phases of a green construction project, including: Bidding and contracting Managing green design when the contractor works as a design builder Subcontracting Procurement Construction management Project commissioning and closeout This book is endorsed by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) and was written with the assistance and advice of a specially assembled AGC task force. With a focus on the green building process from the contractor's viewpoint, the book avoids endorsing any one green building rating system in favor of presenting the business fundamentals common to them all. Throughout the presentation, flowcharts and other features offer working tools for successfully managing green construction projects. Plus, real-world case studies developed through discussions with the actual contractors involved help you understand exactly what to expect and how to best manage constructing a green building. In short, this is one book that you need to have on hand to be a part of the rapidly growing green building movement.




NASCLA Contractor's Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, Oregon Construction Contractors


Book Description

Part 1 Focuses on planning and starting your business. This section will help you formulate a business plan, choose a business structure, understand licensing and insurance requirements and gain basic management and marketing skills.Part 2 Covers fundamentals you will need to know in order to operate a successful construction business. This section covers estimating, contract management, scheduling, project management, safety and environmental responsibilities and building good relationships with employees, subcontractors and customers.Part 3 Provides valuable information to assist you in running the administrative function of your business. Financial management, tax basics, and lien laws are covered. Effective management of these areas of business is vital and failure proper attention can cause serious problems.




The Construction Project Management Success Guide


Book Description

THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT SUCCESS GUIDE 2ND EDITION: Everything You Need To Know About Construction Contracts, Estimating, Planning And Scheduling, Skills To Manage Trades And Home Renovations You're about to discover how to the re-emergence of the real estate market sparked renewed optimism in construction. Across different states in the country, residential construction jobs are being undertaken in order to satisfy the demands in housing. Since residential construction projects are still a business (except when you want to build your own home), the idea is to build enough living spaces and to offer them to prospective clients or leasers at an affordable price. Of course the success of such a goal still lies on income and the general economic outlook, but one thing is for certain: now that the housing crisis is over, more people will look forward getting a place to call their home.







The Project Oversight Guide


Book Description

Whether you are a project manager tasked with overseeing an outsourced capital project or an owner investing in a major project critical to the future of your business, you are most likely starting at a disadvantage. A savvy contractor's project team is likely to be populated with project management professionals who have read an abundance of literature on how to maximize project value for themselves. Unfortunately, as any book search will show you, there is virtually no guidance out there for how to successfully oversee a capital project from an owner's perspective. In project management terms, the client or owner is just a "managed external stakeholder." The book is intended to bridge the gap between knowing how to run a project and knowing how to oversee one. Readers of the POG will find out that project oversight and project management are uniquely different disciplines. Bad project oversight can make an otherwise good project fail, whereas good oversight can lead a substandard project team or contractor to succeed in delivering the expected return on investment. Did you know that, when done right, project oversight more than pays for itself? By reading the POG, students of project management, project management professionals, and owners will gain insight into all facets of the oversight of capital projects, including tools and techniques, organizational design, best practices, behaviors, and processes. The POG packages this information in an examples-based look-see at real situations and lessons learned from the field. WORDS OF PRAISE and REVIEWS The Project Oversight Guide is a much needed and significant addition to project management literature. Well done! --Robert Brese, Former CIO, Department of Energy The framework in The Project Oversight Guide drives project performance to a "win-win" outcomes for owners and contractors! --Kelly Powers, President, Williams Industrial Services If you read this book, it will surely improve the prospects for your capital projects ending in a more predictable and successful outcome. --Cliff Eubanks, 36-year Oversight Senior Executive




Building a Successful Construction Company


Book Description

How you can make your construction company more profitable. A 'must read' before you price your next project.Many construction companies fail despite the hard work and knowledge of their managers and owners. Some companies even start well, earning good profits, building successful projects, and the company grows - only for it all to come crashing down, often leaving a mountain of debts behind. So why do construction companies fail? Is it due to bad luck?This book explores important aspects of managing a construction company that impact its success and profitability. Obviously managers should have an understanding of running a business as well as the appropriate technical skills. But, it's usually more than this. The chapters in this book focus on the importance of selecting the right project, how to find projects, tendering correctly, winning the project, delivering the project, avoiding unnecessary costs, increasing revenue, financial and contractual controls, managing the company, the importance of good people, growing the company and ensuring the company has a good reputation.The chapters are set out in an easy to read format, filled with practical tips, which provide a step-by-step guide to growing profits, remaining profitable and running a successful construction company.