How do I learn more about construction?

[Megan King]

Sometime in the next few years when equity frees up, I would like to rehab a house. I feel like I need to know more about how houses work in order to do this instead of solely relying on bringing a contractor out. I want to be able to go look at houses on my own and be able to have more of an educated guess on what all needs to be fixed and how much it may cost. Also, I would like to just be more knowledgeable in general about my personal rentals, how to troubleshoot issues (plumbing/electric/etc) instead of just relying on what a handyman tells me. My first idea was to take construction management courses at my community college. Is there a better way? Thank you for any advice!

[Julie Marquez]

@Megan King I have a construction management degree, and that was an expensive learning experience (but great for my full time W2 job). Maybe there are some selective classes like materials and methods that might be helpful, or just pick up the textbook and read those 600 pages. (And please don't pay $100 for the latest edition!). I don't think you need to take the actual project management classes.

The other great books are found her at Bigger Pockets - the flipping book and book on estimating rehab costs by J Scott. My husband loves these books!

I also think the how-to books at Home Depot are informative with specific parts of home repair. That goes along with YouTube and all the tutorials people post, you can learn anything there.

Having a general contractor you trust is very important. When you are hiring subs, get bids from 3 different people. When each sub walks through the house they will teach you about their trade. Ask questions and learn directly from them! After they give you their bid (which should be specific and broken down), call them and ask them questions. Find out how they got to that many labor hours, or what are all the materials they plan to buy, and how they plan to go about doing the work and how long it will take. Know every little little of their scope of work.

My other suggestion is just doing the work yourself. I didn't know how to change a toilet until I had to do it twice in one house, and now I know (but I also know it should only take 1 hour, not 3).

What's your background? You could get a job at a general contractor doing small projects and learn how they do it (and make first timer learning mistakes on their dime).