On Time and On Budget : A Home Renovation Survival Guide

Rating:
Summary: Great Examples, Educational, Contractor perspective
Review: As someone planning a remodel, I found this book to be very good reading and educational. The two examples of Good/Bad remodel are excellent. I learned alot. Then only negative thing I can say is that he had, in my opinion, a bias towards the contractors position (he is a former contractor). He tries to be fair and in general is, but with a little bias towards his former perception. That being said the book was great.

Rating:
Summary: clear, fun to read, full of useful information
Review: John Rusk's book is easy, even entertaining to read, and full of insights into the motivation of home owners, architects and contracts. Don't start your project without reading it.

Rating:
Summary: clear, fun to read, full of useful information
Review: Of all the books we've ordered to educate us for our upcoming home renovation/addition, this has been the best. After I read Rusk's book, I passed it on to my husband, so we'd be on the 'same page' when evaluating contractors. Subsequently, I bought 2 more copies, for the architect we're working with & contractor-TBD. The architect's finding great value in it as well. Together, we've been using this book to help us select the best contractor for our project. Rusk's advice is terrific & has been our bible.

Rating:
Summary: Perceptive writing on renovation
Review: This is a very good book, but the subtitle needs a small addition so that it reads: "A Home Renovation Survival Guide For The Affluent". The author, a contractor in Manhattan, is expert at dealing with problems most of us never have to deal with, such as the mob-influenced/socialist-inspired New York City building code and cutthroat clients poised to fleece him with the stroke of a pen. If you've got plenty of money and you want to spend it prudently on a renovation of your home, this is the book for you. If, on the other hand, you are strapped for cash and struggling to add space for a growing family, or you are interested in doing it yourself to learn things and save money, look elsewhere. This is a book for the elite. To John Rusk, there is a right way and a wrong way to do every project. If the right way is too expensive for you, then you should forget about it until you have enough money. Now, if most of us were to follow such advice, nothing would ever get done, except in the posh neighborhoods. Still, it's interesting to read, if only to find out how the other half (other tenth) renovates. The structure is composed of three parts: Rusk lays out his theory and methods in one; the other two are fictional narratives of a pair of young marrieds--one bright and the other foolish. The foolish ones get into squabbles with everyone from the architect to the carpenter; they are unfailingly pennywise. The bright ones, after a few missteps, submit to the Rusk method, and are rewarded with an excellent renovation. These fictitious episodes are naturally less dry than the how-to sections, and make for highly enjoyable reading at times. That technical contractual stuff may go over well at the Harvard B. School, but let's face it, it's not the kind of thing you want to read when you're gearing up for a big construction project. Most people I know would rather take the contract out of contractor. "Let's get on with it!" is their rallying cry. In just a few words, Rusk masterfully sketches the character of the "good" contractor: Giovanni DeTomaso, who sits, Brutus-like, sharpening his chisels and waiting for the phone to ring. As a sometime contractor myself, I relished the scene of the irate male of the bright couple being brought to heel. Mr. DeTomaso threatens to sever a support beam that was discovered inside a wall unless Mr. Finley shows more respect. All too often, we contractors allow clients to bully us just because it's their house. And the downward spiral of the foolish couple was also gripping in a morbid sort of way, reminiscent of the reversal-of-fortune plots of Dickens or Thackeray. As I read, I thought of how the foolish element could give an edge to "This Old House" when it gets dull. Imagine a Farrah Fawcett or Mary Tyler Moore character fighting with Norm Abrams over the placement of a sink. In fact, this could easily be expanded to a full-length feature where a couple of plutocrats from Manhattan or Cambridge receives its comeuppance from an unwashed pushy pair from Queens or Medford.

Rating:
Summary: Perceptive writing on renovation
Review: This is a very good book, but the subtitle needs a small addition so that it reads: "A Home Renovation Survival Guide For The Affluent". The author, a contractor in Manhattan, is expert at dealing with problems most of us never have to deal with, such as the mob-influenced/socialist-inspired New York City building code and cutthroat clients poised to fleece him with the stroke of a pen. If you've got plenty of money and you want to spend it prudently on a renovation of your home, this is the book for you. If, on the other hand, you are strapped for cash and struggling to add space for a growing family, or you are interested in doing it yourself to learn things and save money, look elsewhere. This is a book for the elite. To John Rusk, there is a right way and a wrong way to do every project. If the right way is too expensive for you, then you should forget about it until you have enough money. Now, if most of us were to follow such advice, nothing would ever get done, except in the posh neighborhoods. Still, it's interesting to read, if only to find out how the other half (other tenth) renovates. The structure is composed of three parts: Rusk lays out his theory and methods in one; the other two are fictional narratives of a pair of young marrieds--one bright and the other foolish. The foolish ones get into squabbles with everyone from the architect to the carpenter; they are unfailingly pennywise. The bright ones, after a few missteps, submit to the Rusk method, and are rewarded with an excellent renovation. These fictitious episodes are naturally less dry than the how-to sections, and make for highly enjoyable reading at times. That technical contractual stuff may go over well at the Harvard B. School, but let's face it, it's not the kind of thing you want to read when you're gearing up for a big construction project. Most people I know would rather take the contract out of contractor. "Let's get on with it!" is their rallying cry. In just a few words, Rusk masterfully sketches the character of the "good" contractor: Giovanni DeTomaso, who sits, Brutus-like, sharpening his chisels and waiting for the phone to ring. As a sometime contractor myself, I relished the scene of the irate male of the bright couple being brought to heel. Mr. DeTomaso threatens to sever a support beam that was discovered inside a wall unless Mr. Finley shows more respect. All too often, we contractors allow clients to bully us just because it's their house. And the downward spiral of the foolish couple was also gripping in a morbid sort of way, reminiscent of the reversal-of-fortune plots of Dickens or Thackeray. As I read, I thought of how the foolish element could give an edge to "This Old House" when it gets dull. Imagine a Farrah Fawcett or Mary Tyler Moore character fighting with Norm Abrams over the placement of a sink. In fact, this could easily be expanded to a full-length feature where a couple of plutocrats from Manhattan or Cambridge receives its comeuppance from an unwashed pushy pair from Queens or Medford.