Homeowner Toolbox
You Don't Have to Keep All of This in Your Head
Building a home comes with a lot of moving parts.
Budgets. Bids. Contracts. Allowances. Selections. Payments. Change orders. Inspections. Decisions. Receipts. Warranties.
And somehow you're supposed to remember who said what, what you approved, what you've paid, and what still needs to happen.
You don't need more information scattered across your desk. You need a way to keep the information you already have organized.
I've created these resources to help homeowners understand the building process, ask better questions, keep better records, and stay involved in their project without trying to become the contractor.
Building Your Dream Home
Start With the Knowledge
Building Your Dream Home: What Your Contractor Won't Tell You walks homeowners through the construction process and explains the things many people don't learn until they're already building.
It's designed to help you understand what questions to ask, what to watch for, and where costly mistakes commonly happen.
Best for: Homeowners who are planning a build or want to understand the process before construction begins.
Home Build Package
Put What You Are Learning Into practice
Knowing what to watch for is one thing.
Keeping track of it during an actual construction project is another.
The Home Build Package gives homeowners practical forms and resources for managing important parts of the building process, including items such as change orders, payments, allowances, decisions, bids, warranties, and project documentation.
Best for: Homeowners who want ready-to-use construction forms instead of creating everything themselves.
Digital Project Planner
Your Construction Project in One Organized System
A home build can involve hundreds of individual expenses and decisions.
The Digital Project Planner was created to help homeowners manage the financial and organizational side of construction in one place.
Track your project information, construction budget, expenses, and detailed construction costs throughout the build instead of trying to piece everything together from notebooks, receipts, texts, and spreadsheets.
Best for: Homeowners who want a more comprehensive system for organizing and tracking their construction project.
Not Sure Where to Start?
You don't need everything at once.
Still deciding whether to build?
Start with the book and the free homeowner education on this site.
Getting serious about planning?
The Home Build Package gives you practical documents and tools to begin organizing the project.
Preparing to build or already under construction?
The Digital Project Planner gives you a more complete system for tracking the project and your money.
The goal isn't to sell you another pile of construction paperwork.
It's to help you stay informed, organized, and in control of one of the largest investments you'll ever make.
Free Homeowner Resources
Not everything here requires buying something.
The Texas Bricklady Homeowner Resources are here to help you understand the building process before, during, and after construction.
Use the guides throughout this site whenever you need them, and come back as your project moves into the next stage.