On Mar 6, 7:02*am, dick tomchinmethew[at]gmail[dot]com wrote:
I was wondering if anyone knows of a good resource to find contractors? I
have been looking online and all I have seen are sites where you have to
describe the job then wait to get called from a contractor or if I find a
directory type of site there is a limited number of contractors in my area,
but I know there are many more. I am trying to build my first house and I
was planning on hiring all the contractors so I need a good resource to
find them. Something with reviews and article would also be very
beneficial, please let me know if anyone knows of a good place to look.

"Dream House" in the subject line implies that you are more interested
in house coming out just the way you want it rather than saving
money. If this is the case I would say forget contractors and start
with an architect.

If you really think you have a design and want to skip an architect,
then you either need a general contractor (GC) or else you are the GC
and need to hire all your own subs. By the very fact that you had to
ask about contractors means that right now you are not prepared to be
the GC. But that's not to say you couldn't be the GC, you just have a
*lot* to learn.

Start by reading some books on the subject. You will also need to
find out who all the good subs are in all the trades. You can only
really do this by word of mouth, getting out and talking to people.
Forget anything you read online.

You'll also need to learn to deal with your town for the permits,
inspections, etc. You'll probably still need some sort of drawings so
if you have no architect you still need to figure out where your
drawings are coming from.

Once you learn how to be a GC, then still be prepared for the biggest
headache of your life once you start construction. Expect to be up
till 4am finishing something yourself to be ready for the next sub
that is coming at 7 am the next morning.

I'm purposely trying to scare you because this is a project that
routinely breaks up marriages and such.

Ken