Lester Kent - The complete guide to contracting your home : a step-by-step method for managing home construction

The Complete Guide to

CONTRACTING
YOUR HOME

4TH EDITION

by KENT LESTER and DAVE McGUERTY

CINCINNATI, OHIO
www.popularwoodworking.com

Read This Important Safety Notice

To prevent accidents, keep safety in mind while you work. Use the safety guards installed on power equipment; they are for your protection.

When working on power equipment, keep fingers away from saw blades, wear safety goggles to prevent injuries from flying wood chips and sawdust, wear hearing protection and consider installing a dust vacuum to reduce the amount of airborne sawdust in your woodshop.

Dont wear loose clothing, such as neckties or shirts with loose sleeves, or jewelry, such as rings, necklaces or bracelets, when working on power equipment. Tie back long hair to prevent it from getting caught in your equipment.

People who are sensitive to certain chemicals should check the chemical content of any product before using it.

Due to the variability of local conditions, construction materials, skill levels, etc., neither the author nor Popular Woodworking Books assumes any responsibility for any accidents, injuries, damages or other losses incurred resulting from the material presented in this book.

The authors and editors who compiled this book have tried to make the contents as accurate and correct as possible. Plans, illustrations, photographs and text have been carefully checked. All instructions, plans and projects should be carefully read, studied and understood before beginning construction.

Prices listed for supplies and equipment were current at the time of publication and are subject to change.

The Complete Guide to Contracting Your Home. Copyright 2009 by Kent Lester & Dave McGuerty. Printed and bound in China. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form (excepting the enclosed worksheets and forms, for personal use only) or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by Betterway Home books, an imprint of F+W Media, Inc., 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45236. (800) 289-0963. Fourth edition.

Distributed in Canada by Fraser Direct
100 Armstrong Avenue
Georgetown, Ontario L7G 5S4
Canada

Distributed in the U.K. and Europe by David & Charles
Brunel House
Newton Abbot
Devon TQ12 4PU
England
Tel: (+44) 1626 323200
Fax: (+44) 1626 323319
E-mail: postmaster@davidandcharles.co.uk

Distributed in Australia by Capricorn Link
P.O. Box 704
Windsor, NSW 2756
Australia

Visit our Web site at www.popularwoodworking.com.

Other fine Popular Woodworking Books are available from your local bookstore or direct from the publisher.

13 12 11 10 09 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lester, Kent, 1953
The complete guide to contracting your home / by Kent Lester and Dave McGuerty. 4th ed.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: Complete guide to contracting your home / Dave McGuerty & Kent Lester.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-55870-871-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. House construction--Amateurs manuals. 2. Building--Superintendence--Amateurs manuals. 3. Contractors--Selection and appointment--Amateurs manuals. I. McGuerty, Dave, 1954- II. McGuerty, Dave, 1954- Complete guide to contracting your home. III. Title.
TH4815.M27 2009
692.8--dc22
2009029856

Acquisitions editor: David Thiel, david.thiel@fwmedia.com
Senior editor: Jim Stack, jim.stack@fwmedia.com
Cover Designer: Brian Roeth
Interior Designer: Doug Mayfield
Production coordinator: Mark Griffin
Illustrator: Kent Lester

Kent Lester

About the Authors

Kent Lester provides computer consultation and programming services to business and construction firms. He also authored The Compete Guide to Being Your Own Remodeling Contractor.

Dave McGuerty is a management/data processing consultant to international accounting firms.

Forward

The Complete Guide to Contracting Your Home has been around for over 20 years and is now in its fourth release. We strive to keep the material up to date, but new construction technologies, methods, and changes in the marketplace are happening at an exponential rate.

In an effort to keep you informed, we have created a new web site called www.selfmadehomes.com, where you can find updates on construction technology, supplemental forms and checklists, and a forum where you can interact with other aspiring self made builders and homeowners.

Check back often and give us yourw suggestions for making this the best home contracting site on the Internet.

We hope you will enjoy the site and this book!

Sincerely,

Kent Lester

Disclaimer

The forms and contracts are provided as is, for example purposes only. Construction laws and regulations vary considerably from state to state, so make sure to have any legal documents you plan to use for construction purposes reviewed by a lawyer familiar with regulations in your area.

The authors take no claim or responsibility for the use of these documents.

Image Contributors

The authors would like to thank the following for their kind assistance: