Article Title: So you want to be your own contractor

Excerpt: Why would any homeowner act as a general contractor on his or her remodel? Del Buono cited several reasons: He was looking to cut costs (homeowners who manage the job themselves can typically save as much as 30 percent); he has an interest in construction; and he wanted to make sure the job was done right.

Excerpt: Del Buono said he did "a ton of research" before beginning the two-year project, relying on books, Web sites and even helpful inspectors when he had specific questions. Still, he said, "You can't prevent everything. You have to be psychologically prepared and can't expect everything to go as planned."

Excerpt: When hiring subcontractors, Irwin stressed interviewing each one at length. "It lets you build up your own knowledge," he said. "You get more information as you go along. Getting bids from people should not be a passive activity. Ask questions. Walk through everything."

Article Title: The long process of do-it-yourself blueprints

Excerpt: If the addition is not too complicated, drawing the plans is a real option. Several sharp pencils, sheets of vellum (for converting into blueprints) and some rudimentary drafting tools are all you need. If you've never done it before, the learning curve is a little steep and you'll make some mistakes, but the building inspectors will make sure you comply with the code and zoning requirements. What they won't do is make sure you get the floor plan and door and window placements you want. So take care and be sensitive to what you want and need from the new space.

Excerpt: The toughest part of the addition to draw -- and, for that matter, to build -- is the roof framing and how it ties into the existing roof. Even a simple gable roof can be a challenge for the novice.

Excerpt: To help you along we suggest you invest in a good reference book containing discussions of building techniques, span charts and schematic drawings explaining how the many parts of a house come together. One we've used for many years that Kevin found invaluable when he designed and we built his house in Idaho was "Principles and Practices of Residential Construction" by Joseph D. Falcone (Prentice Hall, 1987). It's full of valuable information presented clearly. There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle that is a house. It's helpful to have a handbook for reference.

Excerpt: If you decide to design the addition and draw the plans yourself, the first step is a trip to the local building department. Go with a floor plan and an elevation drawing of what you want to build. Most building departments have packets explaining the types of drawings you'll need to submit to get a building permit. Building department personnel are a great resource. They will explain the permit and inspection process and perhaps even point out some alternatives you might consider. Typically you'll have to provide a plot plan showing the house as it exists on the lot and the proposed addition with setbacks from the property line. You'll also have to submit a floor plan and one or more elevations (views of the exterior) and a framing plan showing the proposed framing of the walls and the roof, sheeting and finish siding, and roofing material. You'll probably also be asked to provide a plumbing schematic, a mechanical plan showing additions to the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning system, and an electrical diagram.

Article Title: Little House on the Drawing Board

Excerpt: A spartan budget of $100 a square foot for 1,000 square feet wasn't the only hitch. Jacobs, the founding editor of Dwell magazine, the glossy bible for the Bauhaus crowd, is a devotee of modern design. To qualify as her dream house, the architecture would have to belong to this time. Not yesteryear in Burgundy or at Monticello, but now.

Excerpt: Jacobs does make an intriguing discovery: A good number of mostly young, very inventive architects are working on designs for cheap, cool houses that could be replicated. She calls them the New Pragmatists.

Excerpt: For now, big homebuilders are hammering away on studs and rafters for 1.7 million neo-traditional houses in the United States this year. They are layering their creations with the aspirational grandeur of faux stone turrets, Mediterranean tiles and entryways framed by soaring plastic columns. Houses are getting bigger -- the median is up to 2,200 square feet -- while families get smaller. Creature features -- home theaters, formal laundry rooms and spa baths -- grow unabated, while little attention is paid by builders or homebuyers to the kind of energy-efficient, environmentally sound design that inspired the National Building Museum's "green" Glidehouse, a prefab model Jacobs doesn't mention, but which is in the aesthetic ballpark.

Article Title: So You Want To Be Your Own Contractor

Excerpt: "You can't imagine all the little things you have to deal with," says Guy Leflar, a business consultant in Houston who, with his wife Debbie, supervised the construction of a home office and photographic studio over their garage. The project, which cost $61,000, was completed in 1999. It took five months -- three more than they had anticipated. But, says Leflar: "We got exactly what we wanted." That would not have been the case had they let someone else supervise because "we were there to catch things before it was too late."

Excerpt: Get three subcontractors to bid on every job. Tim Carter, a plumber and carpenter who writes "Ask The Builder," a syndicated newspaper column, says you should ask each candidate for three references from three different time periods: "Talk to people the guy worked for 90 days ago, 18 months ago, and 4 years ago." That way, you'll see recent work, work just out of warranty, and work that has been subjected to the test of time. Remember that the lowest bid may not be the best deal. You'll likely get terrible work -- or they'll ask for more money and threaten to walk out if you don't pay up.

Excerpt: You'll save a lot of time and aggravation if you have detailed building plans. "You want your blueprints to specify absolutely everything," down to whether you want nails or screws to secure your floorboards, says Carter. Such plans should include meticulous scale renderings known as elevations. Drawing them up will force you and your architect to think through every detail. For example, an interior elevation would show the exact locations of all electrical outlets, how they should be wired, and even the type of cover plate. This will ensure you have all materials on hand and should prevent midstream changes that could be costly.