Kevin Daum - Building Your Custom Home For Dummies

Building Your Custom Home For Dummies

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2021 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2021942675

ISBN 978-1-119-79679-4 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-79680-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-79681-7 (ebk)

1. Chapter 5

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 3
3. Chapter 4
4. Chapter 5
5. Chapter 6
6. Chapter 10
7. Chapter 11
8. Chapter 12
9. Chapter 16

As you read this book, you most likely have the seed of a dream taking root in your mind. Your current home isnt all it could be. Youve been daydreaming about a different place one with more land, one by the water, or one with a gourmet kitchen. Youve trolled the open houses in your area, but none of the homes really lights your fire or seems to fit your lifestyle or your family. You want something that feels more like you.

The only way to get a perfect house fit is to design it specifically for you. Whether your new home is a month away from completion or ten years down the road, you need this book.

In our work, weve seen plenty of people like you tackle the process of building a custom home. For some, the process is challenging, but enjoyable. For others, a custom-home project becomes a nightmare that leaves them short on cash and long on anxiety. We understand the process and what it takes to move through it with as little stress as possible. In this book, we provide you with the very best advice our many years of experience have to offer.

No matter if your dream consists of a simple $250,000 house in the Midwest or a multi-million-dollar mansion in California, Building Your Custom Home For Dummies is for you. This book can help you turn your dream of a custom home into reality without losing your shirt or your sanity. With this book (and some hard work and perseverance on your part), your dream of building, owning, and living in your very own custom home can come true.

Thousands of parts and hundreds of tasks go into a custom-home project. This book doesnt tell you how to install a toilet or hang a door (other For Dummies books cover those topics in detail), but it does tell you everything you need to know about building a custom home from scratch. Where do you start? Who is responsible for what? How much will it all cost? These questions and hundreds more are what this book answers, and all in an easy-to-use reference that you can take with you anywhere.

The great thing about this book is that you decide where to start and what to read. Its a reference you can jump into and out of at will. Just head to the table of contents or the index to find the information you want.

Sidebars (text in gray boxes) and anything marked with the Technical Stuff icon (more on that later in this Introduction) are skippable. You may notice that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If youre reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it appears in the text, pretending as though the line break doesnt exist. If youre reading this as an e-book, youve got it easy just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.

We wrote this book with some thoughts about you in mind. Heres what we assume about you, our reader:

• Youve been sketching your custom home on napkins or doodling floor plans during business meetings. Youve looked at your current home with a critical eye and have, at least once, sighed and muttered, Someday .
• Youre drawn to home-improvement stores, television shows, and books.
• Youre desperately looking for a comprehensive guide that demystifies the home-building process by focusing on the information important for you the homeowner to know.
• Youre willing to do some soul searching in order to get your custom home right. You (and any significant others you may have) have decided that the only way to get the perfect home is to start from scratch.
• You dont live in a money-is-no-object world. You want to make educated financial decisions regarding the budget and long-term financing of your custom home.
• You want to be involved with the process, but youll rely on professionals to help you when you need it. Professional help may come in the form of a financial adviser or loan officer, an architect or designer, a plumber, or a landscaper. Youre willing to assess your strengths and weaknesses and seek help when necessary.