A successful home-building project requires a three-sided balance of the size, the cost and the quality of the home. No builder can construct a huge home of the highest quality for a bargain-basement price. Quality and size requirements determine the cost while budget constraints determine the size and quality.

   Having realistic expectations about the size and quality of the home your budget can accommodate will help you, the builder and the designer agree on a plan that will suit your needs and fit your budget.

   Orange County Construction will work with your budget. We are extremely versatile when it comes to designing a complete package that will fit your construction budget. We know many ways to save money and to add a touch of class to your project while paying attention to details.

   'BABY STEPS' The best way to start a remodeling project:

	Start with setting a budget for your project. Then take about 15% off of that and try to work with that. Your budget will always go up, and almost never down.
	Start interviewing contractors that can offer you both the design and the construction services. If you hire a separate designer and contractor, they might not communicate well together and the response time when there are problems might not be good.
	Upon finding the top 2 or 3 contractors that you might want to work with, do a full background check on them. Then get them to offer you a free 'DETAILED ESTIMATE' in writing along with a sketch of what they propose to offer. (sketch may be vague)
	Ask to see plans that his designer has done for other jobs like yours. Ask for the name and phone number to verify with the owner of those plans that they were happy and that the job was managed in a professional manor and time frame.
	Be sure to check with your local building department to be sure that they will allow you to build what you are designing. Setbacks and other requirements vary greatly.
	When signing the contract, be sure that at least the following are included: start date, competition date, detailed pricing, progress payment schedule, notice of cancellation, license number, insurance policy number and carrier, a complete detailed list of material types to be supplied, hourly rate for additional work added, references to check on and full contact info on the contractor.
	When you feel that your contractor can offer you everything you want for your budget, then sign the 'DETAILED CONTRACT' with him and start the plans. Be sure to have an 'escape clause' in there if the price should escalate more than a certain percent.
	Submit plans, get approval, pull permits and start your room addition or home remodeling project. Get a 'critical path' from your contractor at the beginning of the project.
	Try and do as much communication with your contractor and designer as possible by email. This is a great way to keep a hard copy and a paper trail of the project.
	Follow up with all phone calls with an email to recap what was discussed and agreed upon. This is very important.
	Don't pay any progress payment before they are due, and execute lien releases.
	For more information, CLICK HERE NOW for our free 'How to Hire a Contractor' PDF booklet. Send us an email and we will send it to you same day... This is 100% FREE.