Building your dream home is one of the most exciting things you'll ever do, but all that excitement comes with a lot of responsibility. Hiring the best general contractor for you and your project is an extremely important decision. That choice will determine the quality of craftsmanship and will minimize emotional stress and unexpected costs. Bringing in the right contractor early in the design process is one of the most important ingredients in staying on budget and on schedule during construction.

Here are five simple steps to help you hire the right contractor for your project.

Buckminster Green LLC

1. Get referrals. Talk with people you know and trust. Your architect is an obvious source, but talk with family, friends, neighbors, lawyers, real estate agents and others who have built projects similar to yours.

Browse professional listings to find general contractors in your area. Check out their reviews and browse photos in their portfolios to see how their work lines up with the scope of your project. You can even message them to get a conversation going.

Are there recently completed or under-construction projects in your area? Ask the owners about their contractor and the working relationship they have with him or her.

2. Verify licenses. Make sure your contractor candidates are licensed and in good standing with your state license board. Ask to see the contractor’s pocket license, picture I.D. and certificate of insurance.

Proper licensing demonstrates a company’s best practices management, but hiring a licensed contractor will also protect you. For example, worker's compensation insurance is a contractor’s responsibility, not a property owner’s, but that's not the case if a contractor is not licensed or does not carry proper insurance.

In California anyone who contracts to perform work on a project valued at $500 or more, including labor and materials, must hold a current, valid license from the Contractors State License Board. Check out the National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies to find information about contractors' licenses in your state.

Ventana Construction LLC

3. View recent work. After looking at a contractor's portfolio, request to visit a few projects similar in size and style to yours. Try to check out one that was recently completed, one that's under construction and one completed five to 10 years ago. Ask yourself:

• Does the work carry a warranty, and are problems corrected?
  
• How does the construction site look?
  
• Did the older finished project stand the test of time?

4. Check references. Ask for a list of references. In private, discuss with previous clients their experiences working with the contractor. Ask:

• Was it a pleasant working relationship?
  
• Did they and the contractor communicate well?
  
• Was the contractor fair and honest?
  
• Was the project completed on schedule and within budget?
  
• Were there extra costs or surprises?
  
• How were problems handled?
  
• How was the quality of craftsmanship and follow-up?

Buckminster Green LLC

5. Understand the contract. Decide on the contractor you wish to hire and while your plans are in the permit-review process, discuss the different kinds of contracts available and ask for one to review.

• Ask for updates to the construction bid if plans change for any reason.
  
• Do not sign the contract until your permits have been approved and all costs have been finalized.
• Be aware that there are always unknowns in the construction process that create change orders and additional costs. This is normal. Expect it. Allow 5 to 8 percent of your total budget for these extras. With good planning, design and management, they can be minimized.

There are far more reputable, honest and hardworking contractors than there are the slapdash, fly-by-night operations we read about in the news. With proper planning and research, you will find the perfect contractor for your project. Invest the time and remember that spending a few extra dollars in the beginning could save you thousands of dollars in the end.

Tell us: What are your tips for hiring a contractor or your experiences with one — good or bad?

More:
How to Contact a Pro on Houzz and Get Your Project Going
What to Look for in a Contractor's Contract
More guides to working with home pros
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2:34 PM

What exactly makes a great design? Well, it's less about how your project looks (although it should look awesome) and more about how efficient it is. "'Design' is a funny word," Steve Jobs once said. "Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works."

Great home design can get you everything you want in a smaller footprint, which means there's less to build and more room within your budget. One of the first steps to a great design is having an efficient floor plan. Cutting back on circulation space, including massive and unnecessary hallways, can help you reduce square footage, and in the end, can save you money on the overall cost of your new home.

Harrison Design

A hallway should never be a narrow, dark passageway between two rooms. Instead, it should make the most out of available space and improve functionality. There are two ways to deal with hallways: Get rid of them or embrace them as part of the home's architecture.

Kenorah Design + Build Ltd.

One of the best ways to make a hallway disappear is by including it in the circulation of the more public rooms. By opening rooms up to one another, you remove the need for separate circulation (a hallway) and can use the existing room circulation to get you from one side of the house to the other. This room, for example, combines the living and dining room, eliminating the need for a hallway in between. The large, open space makes the house feel bigger.

An open plan doesn't work for every house, and many people prefer a more formal separation between the main rooms in their homes. That's OK. After all, it's your house, and you should have what you want. Just remember, if you spend a little extra time to make your hallways more than just an afterthought, the reward will be huge.

Dylan Chappell Architects

Here's an example of a floor plan with an excessive amount of circulation space. The client came to us with a self-designed plan; he said he was on a tight budget and needed some help getting a building permit. I told him right away he could save a lot of money if he cut down on all the hallways in his home.

This diagram shows the circulation spaces in orange and the living spaces in blue. The total square footage for this home is 2,815 square feet, and 924 square feet of that was delegated to circulation — that's 32 percent of overall square footage wasted on unnecessary hallway space.

JAUREGUI Architecture Interiors Construction

What does that mean in real numbers and real money? Well, if you're building a house in Santa Barbara, California, where I work, construction costs average about $300 per square foot. So all of that extra circulation space could cost more than $270,000. That's a lot of money to spend on hallways.

Dylan Chappell Architects

Here is another conceptual floor plan; this one is for a four-bedroom, four-bath house. The overall space is 2,588 square feet, with 115 square feet of it used for circulation (highlighted in orange). That's a superefficient 4 percent of the overall square footage used for getting around the house. The rest of the space goes to good use in living spaces or can be taken out of the total square footage costs.

MAC Custom Homes

So why do we have hallways? Of course, sometimes nothing else will do. Most of the time, you have to have some way to get to all the rooms in your house. But that doesn't mean a hallway can't function as another space. A great way to deal with a hallway is to give it a second purpose. Maybe it can be a small study area, a window bench or a place for book storage.

Koch Architects, Inc. Joanne Koch

The truth is, great design does not mean some glass box that every architect loves but no one could live in. Instead, great design translates to a house that functions better, costs less to build, is more efficient to run and maintain, and gets you more for less.

More: Put a Narrow Hallway to Work

Tell us: Do you have a great hallway design? How have you cut down on circulation space in your home?

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11:31 AM

The unknown — it's what causes most homeowners to pause before embarking on a remodel. It's impossible to know what you're getting yourself into, and the lurking, unseen issues in your walls, floors or foundation could easily cause a change order, a schedule delay and potentially a shift in budget.

Instead of worrying about all the things you can't control, educate yourself. The best way to control your fears is to know them. Here you'll learn all about the bad and ugly things you might find during a remodel.

Ventana Construction LLC

1. Asbestos. You can find asbestos in many places: wrapped around your furnace duct joints, in the mastic that attached floor tiles during the '50s, in window glazing installed to keep old single-pane windows from failing, in some ceiling tiles and other miscellaneous locations — all depending on the era and location of your home.

The good news is that testing is relatively inexpensive and easy. The bad news is that if material containing asbestos will be disturbed, it must be abated: removed with containment, followed by a test of the air, since asbestos is most dangerous while airborne (also called friable).

The only contractors who can legally remove asbestos-containing materials are licensed abatement contractors.

Ventana Construction LLC

2. Old pipes. Galvanized pipes tend to slowly corrode on the inside, eventually filling up completely after 50 years or so. This makes for fixtures with a trickle of water and the potential for the supply water pipe's failing completely. Galvanized pipe is often so brittle that a cut to connect it to new piping can cause a break downstream.

The only long-term solution is to replace all of it — not just in your home, but also the run of pipe from your home to the meter box, where it connects to the main supply.

Dismal drainage. Many homes have downspouts that lead into tight-line systems — buried pipe that drains into the sewer system or elsewhere. Those lines can become clogged over time and cause drainage issues, as can waste lines in the home that may not be large enough to deal with an added bathroom or two. Waste lines buried in walls and concrete often yield surprises, including crooked or leaking connections, lack of vents or traps, and the occasional collapsed clay pipe leading from the home to the main sewer line.

Ventana Construction LLC

3. Lead paint. Used primarily in homes built before 1978, paint that contains lead can cause a host of physical problems, particularly for young children. However, not all homes built before1978 have lead paint, so testing is essential.

If lead paint is found and will be disturbed, the EPA requires specific containment measures to be taken and certification by the company doing the work. Complying with the lead paint law tends to result in increased demolition and debris removal costs.

Ventana Construction LLC

4. Creative electrical. Homes with otherwise decent wiring can still have their surprises: jerry-rigged extension cords buried in walls, overtaxed circuit breakers and junctions outside of junction boxes.

Older homes add insult to injury: decaying knob and tube wiring, fixtures secured only to wiring with no box, lack of grounding, ground fault interrupters and other "improvements." When remodeling an older home, count on some wiring adjustments outside of the immediate remodeled area to account for these unknowns.

Ventana Construction LLC

5. Things that make you go "ewwwww." Open enough walls and floors, and you’re bound to find something gross, from desiccated rats to hornets' nests, termites and other icky things. Your home looks awfully homey to pests and insects, and they can make an awful mess.

In Seattle there’s a running joke that there are two kinds of homeowners here: those who know they have rats, and those who don't know they have rats.

Count on some kind of yucky discovery during demolition and be relieved when it’s minor.

See what some homeowners found in their walls

Ventana Construction LLC

6. Dry rot. Whether deteriorating exterior trim and siding, or a subfloor that’s seen a little too much water from an adjacent toilet or shower, your home is bound to have dry rot in at least one place that will be exposed by your remodel.

The best-case scenario is a quick fix by a carpenter. More involved work could be required if the framing or other structural members have rotted, or if there's rot that extends across rooms and under flooring.

Ventana Construction LLC

7. Structural surprises. Architectural plans tend to have “verify in field” notes, meaning the contractor must confirm that structural framing and foundations are as expected. Sometimes instead of a footing, you'll find a nice rock. It doesn’t matter that the rock in the corner has held up a three-story building for 70 years — your contractor must replace it with an engineered concrete footing, and that means a change order.

Tell us: What unfortunate surprises have you encountered on your remodels? Share in the Comments below!

More: 11 Things to Expect With Your Remodel

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10:30 AM

Newlyweds Jeremy Borcher and Jordan Mertens never knew a moment in their first home when they weren't renovating. "Fixing up the loft was a labor of love," admits Borcher. "But by the end it had turned into a slow death march."

But they got so much satisfaction from the process — and the income they earned renting the place afterward — that they predict they'll always be renovating. Here's how the couple kept the project from overwhelming them and created a beautiful space with lots of elbow grease, secondhand finds and big-box bargains.

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Jeremy Borcher and Jordan Mertens, when they're not renting it out
Location: Forest Park, Illinois
Size: 950 square feet; 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms

The loft is on the back side of this building, a former Masonic temple in Forest Park, Illinois, built in the early 1900s. The building was converted into lofts about seven years ago.

Scoring the property and getting it to suit the couple's tastes took a lot of patience and hard work. Closing on the short sale took six months, redoing the hardwood floors took two months and renovating the unit themselves took 18 months.

Being on the top floor meant they could take advantage of vaulted ceilings and exposed metal trusses — which, along with the exposed brick and ductwork, give the space a classic loft look.

Mertens has an affinity for mixing old and new, and enjoys adding vintage pieces to the open, modern space. "Using mostly new, neutral pieces makes the older ones stand out more," she says. She also loves the thrill of the hunt, whether at flea markets, secondhand shops or HomeGoods. "I don't understand how to shop at HomeGoods," Borcher confesses. "Nothing goes together, and I get lost. But Jordan can zero in on just the right things, and she always knows exactly where it will fit into our space."

The balcony affords views of the Chicago skyline. Getting downtown is easy: The train station is three blocks away, and the ride takes about 20 minutes.

Wicker settee: The Home Depot

Before Photo

The previous owners were two college buddies. "It was the quintessential bachelor pad," Mertens says. "There were big white track lights everywhere, racing stripes, orange paint ... I knew right away that everything had to go."

One of the first things they got rid of was the Mr.-Kotter's-apartment paint job, and the horrifying faux painted brick on the island.

Before Photo

"I always could see the end product in my mind, and I knew the feeling I wanted to evoke, but it is hard to know where to begin, especially when you are working within a small monthly budget," Mertens says. "The question became, Where do I start, and how do I make it entertaining for my engineer-minded husband, who needs to know why and where for every piece we purchase?"

The couple created a process they call "mission layering." Layer one was the things they needed to complete before moving in: hardwood floors, paint, trim, blinds and curtains. "By dividing the overall project into layers, it also made shopping a lot easier — I knew which store I needed to venture to next and what I would be looking for," Mertens says.

The first major project was the flooring. "The old hardwoods ran diagonally and were installed on top of 1-by-4s nailed and glued down onto the concrete underneath. You could feel them sagging every time you walked on them," Borcher says. The bedrooms had wall-to-wall Berber carpeting that was past its prime.

"We have a general contractor friend who kept giving us doses of reality about all of our plans," Mertens says. "He told us the floors should take us about three days to replace ourselves. It took us two months!"

The couple ripped up all of the floors and 1-by-4s and replaced them with glued-down hickory flooring. "I can't believe how well the glue-down hardwoods turned out. They are really solid," marvels Borcher. "If you're thinking about using them, just be sure the concrete floors are truly cured first."

Another big project was giving the fireplace a major makeover. The fireplace wall divides the main living space from the two bedrooms. They kept the original firebox but gave it a new modern surround that adds some texture and stands up to the scale of the room. The fireplace surround is covered with 17- by 26-inch porcelain tiles.

Tile: Porcelanosa, The Home Depot; accent paint on fireplace wall, Woodcliff Lake, Benjamin Moore

In the kitchen they worked with the existing cabinets and granite countertops. They added a beveled marble tile backsplash and Benjamin Moore's Raccoon Hollow paint to pick up the granite's creamy tones.

"Neither Jordan nor I had ever done anything else we tackled here, except we'd both painted before and knew we absolutely hated it. That was the one thing we hired a pro to do," Borcher says. The cabinets are painted with a semigloss, and the walls are matte, creating a very subtle distinction between the two.

Once the floors were down, the couple was ready for layer two: basics for comfortable living, including rugs, sofas, bed frames and nightstands. Mertens chose neutral tones for the basics, because she wasn't planning on replacing them for a long time, and they needed to coordinate with any future vintage finds.

Although the basics are neutral in color, Mertens mixed in lots of textures, including metal, wood, soft upholstery, sisal and woven sea grass.

Sisal rug: Crate & Barrel; resin stag head: Restoration Hardware; counter stools: Toledo, Restoration Hardware

The third layer brought in some patina. One at a time, the couple added in antiques that showed some age and wear and tear (what Houzz writer Fred Albert calls "da funk"). "Following the second layer of progress, it was easy to insert the old pieces ... an open spot would just call for something with some character — a piece that commanded the room and just upped the game of all the other pieces," Mertens recalls.

Case in point: The trunk they repurposed into a coffee table has a beautiful patina and adds a big splash of color to the center of the room. Other pieces from layer three include the antique pie safe next to the fireplace, a sewing table Jordan repurposed into a side table, and a charmingly crusty vintage locker. The couple scored many of the antiques at the Kane County Flea Market in nearby St. Charles.

The final layer was "the fluff": pillows, bedding, lamps, decorative pieces and rugs layered on top of the carpeting. Mertens hung antique tin ceiling tiles over the nightstands to add a fitting industrial patina to the bedroom.

All of the exterior walls in the loft are original exposed brick that is about a hundred years old, which plays nicely off both the old and new pieces.

Bedding: Ralph Lauren, Macy's

One of the biggest problems with the loft when they moved in was the lack of storage, so Borcher installed a modular system from The Home Depot that he raves about. "I may not understand HomeGoods, but I understand Home Depot," he says. "I was so proud of this job, I had to take a photo." In fact, he is still so proud of it that I felt compelled to share said photo with you.

The couple stripped, sanded and repainted some beds that they already had, to freshen them up. Mertens scored the antique mirror at Scott Antique Market in Atlanta.

The bench is a vintage church pew they picked up at a consignment shop for $60 and repainted.

At first the couple planned to gut the bathrooms one at a time, but a friend's comment at their housewarming party dramatically changed their plans. "He said, 'I would totally rent this place,' and we perked up and asked, 'Really? How much would you be willing to pay?'" Borcher recalls. The wheels started turning, and the couple started exploring their loft's income-generating potential on Airbnb.

Once they figured out how much income they could derive from their home, they switched their thinking. They realized that cosmetic changes, such as painting the walls and vanities, and adding items with character like the mirror and the baskets (both from HomeGoods), were all they needed to get the bathrooms ready for renters.

Another mirror from HomeGoods adds personality to the second bathroom. Unable to find a shower curtain she liked, Mertens used window sheers from Bed, Bath & Beyond instead.

The couple, shown here, loves the Airbnb model and continues to be surprised at how popular their home is with renters. "We really enjoy the Airbnb process; we get to be bed-and-breakfast hosts without having to make breakfast," Borcher says.

They also enjoy meeting new people; the current renter came all the way from Istanbul. "Plus," Borcher notes, "we still can book our own place whenever we want to stay there."

Their best advice for trying out Airbnb is to check the reviews that potential renters have written on the site, and be prepared to move out at a moment's notice. Their listing was instantly successful, so they had to get out much more quickly than they had anticipated. They also suggest adding special touches, like fresh flower arrangements to greet guests.

Borcher and Mertens are staying in temporary digs while they look for their next home renovation project. "I loved doing it so much that I cannot wait to find another property and do it all over again," Mertens says. The couple hopes to find a two-family home, so they can fix up one side and rent it out, and live on the other side while renovating it.

More: Make Money From Your Home While You're Away

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8:28 PM

Maureen and Ray O’Bryan were at that in-between age. Some of their kids were leaving the nest, but the O’Bryans weren’t ready to move into a retirement community. If anything, they wanted more space — so they could entertain friends more comfortably and accommodate their children, should they need to return.

The couple never liked the looks of their 1950s rambler, but they loved the neighborhood too much to leave it. Expanding the house didn’t seem like an option, as Maureen was concerned that a second-story addition might tower over the neighbors and feel out of scale. Then she met with local architect Jim Rill, who saw Craftsman echoes in the rambler’s massing and roofline, and proposed transforming the house into an Arts and Crafts bungalow with a second story tucked into pop-up dormers.

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Maureen and Ray O’Bryan, with visits from Colin (age 26), Brendan (24) and Claire (19)
Location: Bethesda, Maryland
Size: 2,900 square feet; 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms
Year built: Mid-1950s; remodeled in 2012

Before Photo

Rill Architects

“We never cared for the look, but it was what we could afford at the time,” Maureen says of the house that she, a retired nurse, and Ray, an accountant, purchased back in 1993.

“My children never had a lot of friends over, because there wasn’t space,” she adds. In fact, guests always ended up in the basement, because it was the only space where the family could comfortably entertain — although it meant that Maureen was often stranded alone in the kitchen upstairs.

Rill Architects

AFTER: The most dramatic changes were made outside, where the old rambler got a new second floor and new roofing, including a part that overhangs a new front porch.

“It’s all about the slope of the roofs — that’s what made the transformation to Arts and Crafts work,” says architect Rill, who collaborated on the remodel with project manager Kay Kim and Woodhaven Contractors.

The existing brick was painted, and the fake shutters were replaced, helping to relieve the house of its Eisenhower-era aura.

Rill Architects

By tucking the second floor into the roofline, Rill was able to diminish the addition’s scale, which was Maureen’s biggest concern.

Initially she objected to painting the house olive, but Rill encouraged her to extend the Craftsman theme into the color palette. “I didn’t know that choosing the Craftsman look was going to tie us in to this color palette,” Maureen admits. “In the end I loved it.”

The ground floor was expanded in back to accommodate the new family room, as well as a new deck. The remodel ended up adding 1,200 square feet to the 1,700-square-foot home.

Before Photo

Maureen is an accomplished cook, and a new kitchen was a top priority. Although she and Ray had redone the kitchen in the early ’90s, it still wasn’t big enough for Maureen’s collection of cookware (she was constantly traipsing down to the basement to retrieve something), and the appliances and finishes were starting to look pretty dated.

Rill Architects

AFTER: Maureen longed for a sleek, modern kitchen with professional-style appliances, two ovens and loads of storage. She got all that and more. The new kitchen — designed in collaboration with Aidan Design — incorporates parts of the old kitchen, daughter Claire’s room and some of the bump-out in back.

The old cabinets and appliances were donated to Habitat for Humanity. (Find out more about Habitat’s stores and donation centers here.)

Wall ovens: Wolf; hood: Vent-a-Hood; refrigerator: Sub-Zero

Rill Architects

White Brookhaven cabinets from Wood-Mode surround a contrasting walnut island topped with a sheet of Cosmos granite. Originally the island was supposed to have Taj Mahal quartzite counters, like the rest of the kitchen. But when the slab arrived, it had an unsightly vein running through it, and no more could be found, so the designers proposed the Cosmos instead.

“It looked like a petrified tree with the rings coming out,” observes Maureen. “This was really going to make a statement, so I thought, ‘Let’s go for it.’”

Rill Architects

The 60-inch BlueStar range is backed by a field of stainless steel penny round tiles that Maureen had admired in a showroom (but found online for less than half the price). The backsplash on either side is covered with 6- by 12-inch glass subway tiles from Architectural Ceramics.

Rill Architects

The tiered island includes a butcher block prep surface and an elevated granite counter, where Ray — who stands 6-foot-3 — finds it easier to work.

Rill Architects

Part of the old kitchen was turned into a pantry, where Maureen can access all her serving pieces, extra glassware and frozen foods. (She opted to put a freezer in the pantry instead of the main kitchen.)

Rill Architects

An expansive pass-through and breakfast bar divide the kitchen from the adjoining family room. “Sunday morning Ray sits at the breakfast bar and reads his newspaper while I fix breakfast,” Maureen says. “When we have company, everyone can be around me, and it doesn’t impede on my cooking space.”

Rill Architects

“Maureen loves to cook for other people,” says Rill, “so the idea was to create a big but cozy family room.” The room is housed inside an addition at the back of the home.

Although the O’Bryans lost their formal living room in the remodel, they never used it anyway and say they much prefer entertaining friends here.

Rill Architects

Ray used to retreat to the basement to watch TV. Now he can do it in the family room while Maureen works in the adjacent kitchen. Meanwhile, the basement was turned into a suite for son Colin.

Rill Architects

The O’Bryans like to entertain but could never seat as many people as they wanted in the dining room. So Rill turned the former living room into the dining room and painted the space eggplant to give it more of an intimate, Craftsman-inspired feel.

The former dining room was turned into an office for Maureen; the family room at the back of the house takes the place of a formal living room.

Although most of the interior spaces were changed to some degree, Rill resisted moving walls as much as possible, to help keep remodeling costs down.

Chandelier: Restoration Hardware

Rill Architects

Since there was no second floor before, the architects had to add a staircase, which they placed atop the old basement stairs, where a closet used to be. They opened up the basement stairs in the process to make the descent less constricted and more appealing.

Rill Architects

The new second floor includes a master bedroom and an office for Ray that could be used as a nursery by a future buyer. Maureen says she and her husband kept resale in mind throughout the remodeling process.

Rill Architects

Maureen’s directive on the master bath was to “make it fun,” and the architects complied, providing a delectable tub that feels like it’s nestled in the treetops.

Rill Architects

The O’Bryans’ old shower was so small, you had to enter it sideways. That’s no longer a problem. The new shower offers ample room and has two glass walls, making it feel even more spacious than it is.

Rill Architects

The old house had a front stoop that was so small, you had to step out of the way to open the storm door, and there was no interaction with the street. So Rill added a generous porch in front. “We love sitting out on our front porch after dinner,” Maureen says. “We’ll have our cocktail out there and wave to the neighbors.”

Rill Architects

SInce the remodel was completed, sons Colin and Brendan have both returned home for extended stays, and daughter Claire visits, so the extra space has come in handy.

When the weather’s nice, friends congregate on the back deck to toast marshmallows or to partake in Maureen’s latest passion, beer pong.

Clearly, a retirement community wasn’t an option.

More:
Roots of Style: See What Defines a Craftsman Home
Movin’ On Up: What to Consider with a Second-Story Addition

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6:26 PM