Midwest Book Review states, "Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, The Homeowner's Guide to Contracting, Building, and Remodeling is a comprehensive and thoroughly 'user friendly' instructional guide and manual that is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, and community library Home Design Design, Remodeling, & Construction collections."

Building or remodeling a home can be an extremely rewarding experience, but it can also be a stressful and daunting challenge. Organized to cover all the major phases of construction and renovation, this book is complete with over one hundred actual construction and renovation photographs, checklists, financing options, builder insights, industry secrets, design ideas, and other valuable information to help homeowners save a fortune while completing their project on time, within budget, and with less stress.

Whether building a new home or renovating an old home, with this book you will learn: how to avoid builder markups; how to control costs and avoid costly setbacks; how to finance your project; how to find and hire contractors; how to obtain estimates for materials and labor; how to work with an architect; how to apply for permits and work with inspectors; learn the practical uses and installation methods of many home improvement products; and most importantly, you will learn how to save money without sacrificing quality. This is not a book about how to be a professional contractor but how homeowners can learn more about the building process and how to save money by controlling their costs.

Read what the experts have said: "A valuable guide to contracting, building, and renovating, homeowners will surely benefit from Joe Oswald's knowledge and experience." Joe Carroll, Architect. "Written from the perspective of a homeowner, Joe Oswald shares his knowledge and attention to detail in a straightforward and user-friendly style." Allan Boerner, Electrical Contractor.

Please Note: The Kindle version of this book contains full color images of all the photographs in this book as well as active hyperlinks to videos and articles for further reading from the bibliography.

About the author: Joe Oswald was a licensed real estate agent for over twenty years, worked as a new home consultant for a residential builder, and completed a general contracting course. Joe served as his own general contractor when building a three-level brick addition onto his Spanish Revival home. In this book he details that journey and shares all the things he did to save money and bring his project to a successful completion without sacrificing quality or workmanship. Joe also has Masters' degrees in history and educational administration and has taught history for over twenty years. His other books include a history of Chicago's Beverly/Morgan Park Neighborhood, published by Arcadia Publishing as part of their Images of America series, and a vocabulary improvement book titled Vocabulary for Champions.