The contract templates of most interest to you as the homeowner are the “Series A” AIA documents.  These are the agreements set forth between the owner and the contractor.  Remember, in the absence of having an architect perform contract and project administration for your home remodel, you should change the sections to say “Owner” instead of  “Architect” where applicable.  Here’s a brief rundown of what each document is used for…

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By now, you’ve made some sort of decision on whether or not to accept any of your contractors’ bids or to boldly take on your home remodeling project on your own.  In either case, having well drafted contracts and other agreements are an absolute imperative.  It can potentially prevent a lot of heartache in the future when things go awry.  What they say is absolutely true - your home remodeling project will go awry in some form or fashion.   Having your contracts spell out who is responsible for what when things don’t go as plan helps protect everyone involved in the process.

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