All Businesses
- AC, Plumbing & Heating
- Air Duct Cleaning
- Appliances
- Architects
- Basement Services
- Builders
- Carpet & Rug Cleaners
- Carpet and Flooring
- Chimney Cleaning
- Closets
- Contractors
- Custom Garages
- Deck Builders
- Disposal and Recycling
- Driveway Pavers
- Electricians
- Furniture Repair & Finishing
- Garage Doors
- Garage Interiors
- Gardensheds
- Generators
- Gutters
- Handyman
- Hardscaping
- Hardware
- Hardwood Flooring
- Historic Preservation
- Home Automation & Networking
- Home Improvement Consultants
- Home Inspection
- Home Insurance
- Home Theaters
- Insurance
- Interior Design
- Junk Removal
- Kitchen & Bath
- Landscapers
- Lawn Maintenance
- Mattresses
- Mold Remediation
- Moving and Storage Companies
- Paint
- Painters
- Pet Fencing
- Plumbing
- Power Washing
- Real Estate Appraisers
- Renovations
- Roofers and Siding
- Security Systems
- Self Storage
- Sheds and Gazebos
- Solar Installation
- Sump Pumps
- Tile
- Upholstery
- Wallpapering
- Water Heaters
- Waterproofing
- Windows
| Princeton Beauty and Fitness - Princeton Online's Beauty and Fitness guide provides comprehensive, trustworthy information about all aspects of beauty and fitness - skin care, cosmetic procedures, physical fitness, yoga studios, meditation, body building, weight loss, nutrition, and a complete list of Princeton beauty salons, Princeton spas, and Princeton gyms. POL's Beauty and Fitness Feature is your guide to feeling better, looking better, and living a healthy lifetstyle. | Princeton Weddings - A complete guide to help you with all of your wedding needs. From the proposal to the honeymoon you will find everything you need to plan the day of your dreams. Princeton wedding locations, florists, caterers, jewelers, event planners, cakes, and more. Princeton Online wants your day to be an affair to remember! | Princeton Financial Services - A feature focused on all aspects of Finance in the Princeton area. Both personal and business financial services are represented with a thorough list of accountants, banks, brokers, insurance and mortgage companies, and other finance related businesses. |
 |
 |
 |
Home Improvement Articles
Most recent posting below. See other articles in the column to the right.
Five Things A Client Should Do For A Successful Building Project
Recently I was interviewed for an article in the Princeton Packet newspaper group of papers for their PM Magazine. The article was about my collaboration with a local architect, Joshua Zinder, on designing two new contemporary homes. After publication I shall share it with my newsletter readers.
I was asked what the five things are that a client should do for a successful building project. Normally I think we as the builder focus more on what we have to do for the project to be successful for both us and our clients. This gave me an apportunity to think about the project purely from the client perspective.
Here is my list:
1. Prepare a building program on what is to be built. This is not a design but a scope of work for the project and should include the major features to be incorporated in the design and construction.
2. Prepare a budget for the construction which should be complete and include not only the design and building cost but the cost of any civil engineering, financing costs, and any other indirect costs for carrying the property, utility hookups, site work and any municipal fees. Very often clients think only about the construction cost and not all of the other items that go into the total costs of the project.
3. Select the professionals to work with you on the project. This should be the architect, builder or a design build firm.
4. Prepare a list of specific features, materials or design elements that are of interest, to be incorporated into the work.
a. Pictures or any materials or features that have been collected to be considered in the design and construction.
b. Amount and type of rooms desired.
c. Special needs for anyone who will live in or visit the home.
d. Define the lifestyle of the residents of the home.
e. Specific materials or systems to be incorporated in plan.
f. All program elements that you want incorporated into the design.
5. Commitment on the part of the client to give the necessary time to work with the design and construction professionals from the beginning to the completion of the project. This is very important for a successful design and construction experience.
I believe that the best home building projects have a great collaboration of the architect, builder and client. All three are necessary. I have been fortunate to have many great clients. I hope I have served them well.
Warm regards,
Richard Dickson
Dickson Development
Corporation
666 Plainsboro Road, Ste. 2000F
Plainsboro, NJ 08536
(609) 799 0220 - phone
info@dicksondevelopment.com
www.dicksondevelopment.com
Add a Comment
By Date
2011
- November (1)
- October (2)
- September (11)
- July (2)
- June (1)
- March (2)
- January (2)
2010
- November (2)
- October (2)
- September (7)
- August (1)
- July (1)
- June (2)
2009
- December (2)
- October (1)
2008
- September (2)
2007
- November (8)
2006
- October (4)
