Regardless, I'm going to get it done. Now all I have to do is put together a project that reflects our key requirements and assemble it in the form of a plan and a group of cost estimates that make sense to us and to the contractors doing the job.
I'm letting the overall management of the whole thing to a general contractor who I know and who has done a lot of work for us over the years. He has a stellar reputation in the district and he's personable to boot. If you can't get along with your contractor you're in a lot of trouble.
I have strong ideas myself as to how and what I want. My original concept was to follow one of the Kohler Idea Homes on line. Have you taken a look at any of those? Kohler bought a variety of properties in differing environments and has made them over to utilize their products among others. More importantly, they are done with a lot of flair. You can go online and take virtual tours of the homes and see details on some of the primary installations along the way. Really well done. If you haven't seen them yet, take my advice and spend some time on the site.
I also went to a couple of home shows in our region and got all the literature I could lay my hands on.
Then I started work. Once I had an overarching design in hand, I went to the general contractor I hope to use and asked his advice. He took my raw ideas and developed a detailed set of plans and cost estimates.
We have spent countless hours poring over those plans, trying to make sure they are practical and buildable and that they will give us what we are looking for as a family. I think the results are pretty darn good. We let the contracts next week and I'm hoping work can begin next month.
One thing I need to say, is do this as a family. Get everyone's input and review the detailed plans with the whole group. Take their comments in good heart and follow through to incorporate those little adjustments that will mean so much to each one of you.
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