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Planning

Basic Building Materials Used in a House

Starting at the bottom, let’s consider concrete in the foundation. It is a plastic material made of Portland cement, a baked and ground limestone named for Portland, England, and mixed in various proportions of cement, sand, aggregate (gravel or crushed stone), and water. Aggregate also can be materials like mica… (Read more…)

Buying Land – the Ups and Downs

by Beth McCall
While there are many ups of purchasing land there are downs. You may find that perfect piece of property and make an offer on it only to find out that someone else has gotten it from you. You may find that perfect tract of land to get and your credit will not allow you to get it. Read more…

What to Consider When Taking Bids

by Amie Martin
Shopping for the right home building or remodeling contractor is a lot like shopping for the perfect pair of shoes. Whether you’re a guy or a gal, when you score the perfect pair, you’ve usually found shoes that: one – you’re comfortable wearing and that perfectly complement your stylistic sensibilities, two… Read more…

Building Permit Application Checklist – Obtaining Your Permit

When obtaining a building permit for your small house building project, you must keep in mind that every township, county, and state, is going to have slightly different requirements for obtaining a building permit, although they all seem pretty similar. Before going ahead with your building permit application checklist, the first step is to undoubtedly confirm the building department jurisdiction your land falls under. Read more…

Choosing the Right House Plan

Choosing the right house plan for you and your family can be very frustrating. Even if you’re looking at a future house plan and thinking only of the needs of one person you’re probably trying to have an eye toward usability by a future resident. Maybe factoring in multi-functionality of the spaces within the house (eg: bedroom into office into nursery into craft room). Read more…

Construction Finance, Home Loans

So you have the small home of your dreams in your mind, but it does not yet exist. Some people are lucky and can find their dream homes ready to go, complete with everything they need to move in and live happily ever after… and in the right location. Other people choose to look into building their own custom home and securing a construction finance home loan to get funding for their dream home. Read more…

Construction Liability Insurance

Many small house builders who are managing their own project think construction liability insurance (the link takes you to an example for the EPA) is too pricey, only for large contracting firms, or only necessary if they have a bank loan. These are the lucky ones – those who have not been sued. Read more…

Estimating a Building Materials List

If you’re lucky your chosen house plan will come with a building materials list, also known as a takeoff, or take-off, list. Sometimes you can buy the materials list as an extra. The smaller the house you build the shorter and simpler your materials list will be. And, conversely, the bigger and more complex your house design the more extensive your materials list will be. Read more…




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