Q&A / 

Budget cuts can be avoided if you calculate your costs and understand the resources you have to build a new home. Home building costs can be calculated. Cutting costs and the heartbreak of eliminating the items you've set your heart upon can be side-stepped if you plan and do your homework.

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Budget cuts will not save you money on major items in your new home. Hopes of cutting home building costs with low quality substitutions of major components will likely rack up major expenses later.

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Plan your new home budget to avoid the nightmare of cutting costs later. Budget management will hone your home building costs and save you emotional and financial dismay. Cutting costs on house building will be avoided if you take charge and know what you can afford in the planning stage.

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A fair contractor payment schedule also protects you from unfinished work. Use this chart as a basis for determining cost breakdown to build a home, and a mutually agreeable payment schedule to your contractor.

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Contractors have been known to disappear and never return to finish a job. Why? Payment has usually been given in full by the homeowner before the job was done. Reputable contractors will work out a mutually fair and timely payment schedule. Do not pay up front until you read this advisory and check out the fair payment schedule provided.

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Finding qualified contractors for your building or remodeling projects requires some self education. A contractor may be far less qualified than you might expect, even with references, BBB checks and visits to his/her completed jobs. A building contractor or remodeling contractor can start a business with no formal technical education, but simply a self proclaimed title of expert. Know the right questions to ask about your own project to find the right, trustworthy, contractor to do your job.

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Silane or siloxane water repellents can be found at the following listed companies. Instead of using a silicone based sealer, which actually forms a film over the surface of your masonry, apply a penetrating water repellent to protect your masonry from water vapor.

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Build a brick wall that will not let water enter your home. Here is what you need to know to construct a brick veneer system.

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Sealing brick will remove the confusion the homeowner feels when they find a foundation or brick leak. Didn't they buy a weatherproof brick home? Where can these mysterious leaks be coming from? All of the mortar joints look tight. The brickwork appears sound. Is it the roof, a window, where...?

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There are many articles written about tuckpointing how to, tuckpointing masonry and brick walls, or repointing. Some of the articles are written for the average homeowner, and some are written for the professional. They all contain great information. If you spend some time at the library and secure some of the following publications, you will obtain a wealth of information.

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