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M aybe you cant wait to bang the first nail. Or you may be just as happy leaving town until the windows are cleaned. The extent of your involvement with the construction phase is up to you. Your time, interests, and abilities can help you decide how to get the project from lines on paper to reality. But building a house requires more than putting pieces together. Whoever is in charge of the process must competently manage people as well as supplies, materials, and construction.

He or she will have to: Make a project schedule to plan the orderly progress of the work. This can be a bar chart that shows the time period of activity by each trade. Establish a budget for each category of work, such as foundation, framing, and finish carpentry. Arrange for a source of construction financing. Get a building permit and post it conspicuously at the construction site. Find subcontractors and negotiate their contracts. Coordinate the work so that it progresses smoothly with the fewest conflicts. Notify inspectors at the appropriate milestones. Make payments to suppliers and subcontractors.

Youll have to take care of every logistical detail yourself if you decide to act as your own builder or general contractor. Youll have to take care of every logistical detail yourself if you decide to act as your own builder or general contractor.

But along with the responsibilities of managing the project, you gain the flexibility to do as much of your own work as you want and subcontract out the rest. Before taking this path, however, be sure you have the time and capabilities. Do you also have the time and ability to schedule the work, hire and coordinate subs, order materials, and keep ahead of the accounting required to manage the project successfully? If you do, you stand to save the amount that a general contractor would charge to take on these responsibilities, normally 15 to 30 percent of the construction cost. If you take this responsibility on but mismanage the project, the potential savings will erode and may even cost you more than if you had hired a builder in the first place. A subcontractor might charge extra for having to return to the site to complete work that was originally scheduled for an earlier date. (If you had hired a builder in the first place he or she would absorb the increase.) Acting as the builder, requires the ability to hire and manage subcontractors. Building a home, includes the need to schedule building inspections at the appropriate milestones.

A builder or general contractor will manage every aspect of the construction process. A builder or general contractor will manage every aspect of the construction process.

Your role after signing the construction contract will be to make regular progress payments and ensure that the work for which you are paying has been completed. You will also consult with the builder and agree to any changes that may have to be made along the way. Leads for finding builders might come from friends or neighbors who have had contractors build, remodel, or add to their homes. Real-estate agents and bankers may have some names handy but are more likely familiar with the builders ability to complete projects on time and budget than the quality of the work itself. The next step is to narrow your list of candidates to three or four who you think can do a quality job and work harmoniously with you. Phone each builder to see whether he or she is interested in being considered for your project.

If so, invite the builder to an interview at your home. The meeting will serve two purposes. Youll be able to ask the candidate about his or her experience, and you'll be able to see whether or not your personalities are compatible. Go over the plans with the builder to make certain that he or she understands the scope of the project. Ask if they have constructed similar houses. Get references, and check the builders standing with the Better Business Bureau.

Develop a short list of builders, say three, and ask them to submit bids for the project.

A lump-sum, or fixed-fee, contract lets you know from the beginning just what the project will cost, barring any changes made because of your requests or unforeseen conditions. This form works well for projects that promise few surprises and are well defined from the outset by a complete set of contract documents. You can enter into a fixed-price contract by negotiating with a single builder on your short list or by obtaining bids from three or four builders. If you go the latter route, give each bidder a set of documents and allow at least two weeks for them to submit their bids. When you get the bids, decide who you want and call the others to thank them for their efforts.

You dont have to accept the lowest bid, but it probably makes sense to do so since you have already honed the list to builders you trust. Inform this builder of your intentions to finalize a contract.

Under a cost-plus-fee contract, you agree to pay the builder for the costs of labor and materials, as verified by receipts, plus a fee that represents the builder's overhead and profit. This arrangement is sometimes referred to as time and materials. The fee can range between 15 and 30 percent of the incurred costs. Because you ultimately pick up the tab whatever the costs the contractor is never at risk, as he is with a lump-sum contract.

You wont know the final total cost of a cost-plus-fee contract until the project is built and paid for. If you can live with that uncertainty, there are offsetting advantages. First, this form allows you to accommodate unknown conditions much more easily than does a lump-sum contract. And rather than being tied down by the project documents, you will be free to make changes at any point along the way. This can be a trap, though. Watching the project take shape will spark the desire to add something or do something differently.