DIY Network

Colorado Ski-Country Home: Introduction From "Be Your Own Contractor: Vacation Homes" episode DBCV-108

	The Morgans' vacation home at the base of the Rocky Mountains in central Colorado.

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In each episode of DIY's Be Your Own Contractor: Vacation Homes viewers are introduced to dreamers and do-it-yourselfers who oversaw the building of their own vacation home and hear firsthand about the challenges that they faced. In this episode we meet homeowner Glen Morgan who acted as his own contractor on the construction of his "mining-shack" style cabin at the base of the Rocky Mountains in central Colorado.

Glen talks about the amount of time and effort it took to be his own contractor and how he worked with a project manager who could be his "eyes and ears" on site while Glen was working his full-time job. Viewers hear about the area Glen built and the challenges he faced in getting the building process started -- from dealing with stop-work order because of a wetland issue to dealing with a sub-contractor who didn’t return to the job.

Glen shares how he oversaw the framing, roofing, plumbing and heating on the vacation home and his experiences in working with sub-contractors on those jobs. Finally he offers some final about what it’s like to act as your own contractor when building a vacation retreat.

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	Homeowners Glen and Dawn Morgan

The Big Decision

Glen Morgan and his wife Dawn wanted a vacation home both as an investment and as a place for weekend getaways. Because of the high cost of hiring a general contractor ($40,000 to $60,000) to manage the job, and because he wanted top make sure things were done his way, Glen opted to be his own contractor on the project.

Glen's job description in his banking job is project manager, and he had acted as his own contractor on the building of his main residence, so he had some experience to draw upon. Nevertheless, he knew that taking on this project, while working a full-time job in another city, would be a significant challenge. From the start, Dawn was supportive of his decision to undertake the project.

Glen talks with subcontractor and project manager Art Anderson.

On The Importance of a Trusted Supervisor

The site for the vacation home is about 100 miles, and about a 2-hour drive, from the couple's main residence in Denver. Because Glen could only be onsite about one day a week, he decided to hire his drywall and painting subcontractor, Art Anderson, as a project manager. Art checked daily on the work progress of the various subcontractors, was available to troubleshoot when problems came up and maintained steady contact with Glen throughout the construction. Glen had met Art because he was the chairman of the homeowners' association's architectural committee for the area where they built. Glen selected him as project manager because he knew him to be a man of integrity.

"You have to be committed," says Art, "If you're not committed, I just don't think that the communication is going to be there, and things are just going to fall through the cracks. Once we had agreed that I would be his project manager, I just took it as that was my commitment, and basically it became 'my house' too."

It was that kind of devotion that gave Glen peace of mind and the knowledge that his project was in good hands. "I don't know that I'd suggest that anyone try [building a vacation home] without one trusted subcontractor, specifically a project manager," says Glen, "who's going to visit the site at least once daily -- on retainer. I think that was essential, and anyone trying to do it without that sort of boots-on-the-ground representation will find it frustrating, difficult and considerably more expensive."

Glen and Art were in constant communication with each other, by phone and email, during the major phases of the project. Glen upgraded his cell-phone contract to allow unlimited minutes to facilitate unfettered communication. He also purchased a digital camera so that Art could photograph progress on the project and email pictures to Glen for him to inspect. This became a valuable tool to assist in decision making when Glen was away from the site.

Glen estimates that, even with modern tools of communication as aids, his time investment in the project was around 25 to 30 hours per week -- and sometimes more. "It was much like having a second job," he says.

In the segment that follows, Glen discusses the location chosen for this vacation home, and some of the initial setbacks and obstacles to construction that he faced as the project got off the ground.

RESOURCES :

Investing in a Vacation Home for Pleasure and Profit
Author: James H. Boykin
Order this book from Amazon.com
Publisher: South-Western Educational Pub (2005)
ISBN: 0324314116

How a Second Home Can Be Your Best Investment: New, Tax-Free Methods for Using a Vacation Home for Recreation, Retirement and Investment
Authors: Tom Kelly, John Tuccillo
Order this book from Amazon.com
Publisher: McGraw-Hill (2004)
ISBN: 0071429700