1 ARCHITECT'S TRACINGS

Should You Purchase A Handyman Special? I have taken on several of these projects over the years. In the end they all where wildly successful for the same reason. The owner had a vision of a final product everyone had overlooked and the location’s market value supported the investment. All of the projects involved adding very little square footage (at larger square footages the construction costs will push against the option of buying a building lot and total new construction), and all where approached exactly as you would new construction. The homes where first stripped down to the bones” or at least all of the unwanted elements where removed prior to any new construction taking place. The construction projects then moved forward in the sequence, new foundations or repairs, rough carpentry, windows and roofing (to create a weather tight shell), rough wiring, plumbing and mechanical, sheetrock, finish carpentry, painting, flooring. This approach preserves the cost advantages of the value of the existing elements of the house. Too much in and out, multiple visits by sub-contractors, or re-doing work twice will probably only make sense if you are doing all the work yourself and you are trying to live in the house for a significant period of time.

After                                                               Before