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The Biggest Mistake: (Part 1)95% of homeowners planning a remodel make these three disastrous mistakes– before they start their project!
The Biggest Mistake: Part 1
Copyright © C. S. McMinn 2006
DISCLAIMER: Nothing contained in this article is presented as legal advice. We strongly recommend you have all contracts and legal documents reviewed by a competent, state-registered attorney. The ideas and suggestions contained herein are presented as advice only and are not to be used in any legally binding format, document or contract.
Before you send out your working drawings to contractors, are these Level Two or Level Three plans?
Don’t make this mistake:
#1) You must have a full set of level three plans and specifications.
At least 95% of homeowners don’t understand what this means. They tend to think that all plans are the same. I hear this many times: “I went to that designer down the street and he charged me seven hundred dollars for these plans! They were good enough for the building department to issue me a permit! Why are you trying to tell me they’re not good enough?
Reality is this: ever heard of that expression, “Concept car”? We’ve all seen them in glossy magazines. They look great: wheels, tires, a superb paint job. Most of them have an attractive model posing on the hood. But underneath–there’s no engine, no transmission– and– no controls.
“Working drawings” as they are called, are typically what designers and “draft persons” deliver. Yes, you can get a building permit from working drawings. Especially if you live in places like Montana and Dakota.
But if you live in California, these same drawings, while detailing the structures necessary to withstand an earthquake, still omit many expensive details: like windows, doors, cabinets, plumbing fixtures, counter tops.
Level three drawings include details and specifications for every component of your project. From wood grades and species to cabinet handles and paint colors.
“That’s too much to decide!” Some of you will say. Consider this: if you plan to remodel anything, your project will not be complete until all those decisions have been made.
So when are you going to make them? Now, before you start, when you have time and space to review all your options– or...
During the chaos of a remodel project? Because either way, you will make these decisions, or they will be made for you– by others; by your contractor; by the shipping warehouse clerk because that’s all he had in stock and you need it now; or by some mixture of pressure and circumstance you have yet to anticipate.
That’s why you need a great set of plans, unless you like rush decisions, paying air freight from Europe, or driving around town for hours and days picking up bits and pieces for your project.
For some, independently wealthy, the unpredictability of the decision making process is fun. But our experience has convinced us euphoria soon turns to dismay. For ordinary working folks, planning ahead is far better.
Look for # 2 and number # 3 mistakes in part II of this article. |
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