Town & Country Builders LLC is a licensed general contracting design-build firm that has been serving Oahu residents for the past 35 years. The company specializes in custom and package homes, remodels, additions, designer kitchens and bathrooms, Americans With Disability Act (ADA) modifications/improvement, as well as multi-generational homes and offers full construction services including planning and permitting.

If you are a novice to the construction world and are not familiar with the process of building, planning, and permitting, as well as the actual fieldwork involved with a project when adding on to your home, then this article is for you.

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Here are some things you should contemplate before the launch:

As of Jan. 1, 2015, the City and County of Honolulu will no longer be accepting plans in a hard copy form, but will require that the plans be submitted electronically in a pdf format. The fee schedule for permitting has been adjusted so that it is now necessary to pay a plan review fee when submitting the plan and upon review and approval by the City. An additional permit fee is required before issuance of the permit.

When selecting a building contractor for your work, make certain that you check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the Contractors Licensing Division to ascertain if they have any complaints and are properly licensed to perform the work. This step will protect you from fraudulent activity and uninsured contractors. Check the BBB rating of the firm in question.

All proposed work should have a set of plans, scope of work document, and construction contract. No verbal agreements please. That’s not acceptable. Always ask questions if any part of the process is unclear and requires a better description. The contractor should explain in detail the proposal before you sign and the work begins.

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Any changes to the original scope of work need to be agreed upon in writing with a description and cost associated with the change. Contractor and owner must sign the document. Generally, a payment is required to cover the cost of the change. Most builders call this a change order.

This is part one of a two part series and will be expanded upon next time. Please look for Town & Country Builders LLC in the April Renovations series for more useful information.

To learn more contact Town & Country Builders LLC. Call 737-7766 for a free complimentary quotation or visit www.townandcountrybuildersllc.net.

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Town & Country Builders is a member of the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating and is a certified remodeler. The company is the winner of the excellence in customer satisfaction award for 2011, 2012, and 2013. It is also a member of the National Association of Home Builders and the Building Industry Association of Hawaii.

TOWN & COUNTRY BUILDERS LLC
contact // 737-7766
web // www.townandcountrybuildersllc.com