If you are not changing your footprint but doing entire remodel
Start with kitchen - You need a plan 1st the kitchen takes the longest & involves the most sub contractors
If you are gutting you need all new Electric, plumbing, layout
FOCUS on one thing at a time - Layout first you can't run from product to product without design -
Following confirmation of design you put that design out to bid with cabinet places - Cabs can take 4 wks min to 6 mos for custom
- Then you can start looking for products
Appliances, counters, lighting, sinks/faucets, tile

Bathrooms are a 2nd if total gut you need layout prior to anything else then go to product

Just know everything cost more $$$$$$$ than you planned - Architects don't know what carpentry is involved, what wall is load bearing, what plumbing can stay/go etc...
GC's aren't going to price appliances - may not price cabinets -

Do your homework
Know what you want BEFORE you start design phase or you will have others giving their personal preferences in your home...

Be comitted to your project - it's your home/your project treat it that way - the more involved and knowledgeable you are the happier you will be with the outcome.

I've taught each of the trades something new during our project - and these are skilled people! It was my due diligence and wanting things a certain way that brought me to different ideas products/etc....
Dont be aftraid to ask for things to be fully explained

GOOD LUCK you will need it your stress level will wax/wane throughout the project, nothing a good glass of wine can't cure

eileen

I couldn't disagree more with "jejvtr".
First, develop a defined and directed scope of work.

Chances are that your electrical is not up to present codes. To what extent are you planning to upgrade, whole house, particular rooms, bathrooms, kitchen, lighting new heating and cooling plant.

The same applies to the plumbing. Are you changing to copper or PEX. are you changing sinks, lavs, tubs, showers, faucets or adding fixtures.

Spend a couple of months shopping and making committed choices, with alternatives, for each room.

Hire a competent drafts person to develop a floor plan with direction to an accompanying pamphlet with your selections for each room.

Understand these documents
Invite several contractors to bid your project.
Be prepared to ask, answer and discuss proposals, at both the walk-thru and at the bid presentation.

Flooring in some areas, are the last installation.
In the kitchen, they are installed prior to the appliances being set.(Do you really want to have to clean your new cabinets and appliances because you did that first).

If you only feel comfortable with an architect, you can be confident that they are, in fact, capable of determining if a wall is load bearing.
They routinely, and as a common practice, either have on staff or subcontract with civil/structural engineers and GC's.

If you find yourself "instructing" a trade in the common practice of their trade, you've bought into and are perpetuating the PETER PRINCIPAL, or you're worrying the job to death.

My GC wanted to know the major items like toilets, tubs, etc. so that he knew how the plumbing, electrical, etc. would need to be setup. When I went back to him, he only needed the specs. So as I have chose things, I have printed the specs from the manufacturer's websites and will give it to him when he begins construction (which will hopefully be in May). We are now down to picking out a whirlpool tub for the second bath (we starting window shopping back in September or October I believe).

At first I did not think he needed all that information upfront, but now that I am looking into stuff I have found many people selling items at discount on ebay or craigslist because of specs (the toilet did not fit the plumbing in their house, etc.). So now I see why my GC wants to know these things upfront.

I am in the middle of a whole house remodel - no existing room is the same, we added two additions, and replaced the entire garage. I would add: 1. Try using a software for at least general concepts. We used Punch and found it very helpful. The architect couldn't get as specific as we wanted. (unless we spent a huge amount of time with him) For example, what would a double door look like vs single for the master bedroom? We have a late 50's side-to-side split, and had never seen one remodelled to look different. Punch really helped. 2. Have some general concepts of the colors, wood, and overall look. We decided to keep our brick on the outside of the house. It is creamish color which dictated a cream or brown window, and every other outside material. It eliminated a lot of choices. We wanted a fiberglass front door which had to be brown to go with the brick, etc. The interior side of the door is also brown, so that directed some of the look of the new front entry. Similar situation in our kitchen - we kept a table and hutch which dictated a certain style, wood, and color of cabinets which also meant that the stairway would be the same wood, etc. This spilled to the style of interior door and trim. 3. Plan ahead for clothes, etc. DH and I are living in the bedroom and bathroom. I planned on 6 months and it has been a year and still going. My clothes, tax stuff, etc are not convenient. Label boxes, etc so that you can find things, and remember that you will not have electric sometimes - and not in the right rooms. 4. Buy lots of tarps, etc. It really helped keep our stuff clean. I actually bought Christmas tree diposal bags which are really big. After Christmas they only cost .25 and made wonderful covers for stuff. We put tarps under and over furniture, and to close off rooms. The contractor would do some of this too, but by doing it ourselves, we controlled the situation better (like how the tarp was hung). If you have specific questions, I'd be glad to help. A whole house remodel is really different from just a couple rooms!

I just finished a whole-house gut, remodel and expansion last November. My advise would be to figure out your budget -- first and foremost. Even though architects seem to have only a rudimentary idea of how much things cost in the real world (basically, they don't seem to have any idea!) -- emphasize your your budget number and make sure the architect keeps it in mind. Then work with your architect on floorplan and style. The style you settle on will dictate finishes and materials to a certain extent.

While you are getting those items sorted out, be browsing magazines for ideas, then do your homework. There is an enormous amount of information available on the internet.

I created Excel spread sheets for each room in my house with the details of each fixture, including manufacturer names, model numbers, finishes, etc. and included hyper-links to appropriate web pages. I then emailed the Excel spread sheets to my architect. The hyper-links made it very simple for him to look at the detailed spec sheets for each item that I'd chosen -- and it avoided any confusion.

Working with spreadsheets for each room made it simple to jump from one room to another and still keep things organized. There wasn't any need to focus only on only one area at a time. I could work on things in any order, as they occurred to me, or as I made decisions.

One final bit of advice -- don't seek any contractor bids or estimates until you have as many details as you possibly can figured out. It will make the bidding process much more accurate, and will allow you to more readily compare different estimates against one another.

I know you'll be anxious to get the bidding process started, but don't jump the gun. Once you have all of the details figured out, you'll get a much better picture of the cost. Contractor estimates are notorious for low-balled allowances for the items you haven't specified EXACTLY! The more you have specified up front -- the more you will be in control.

Hope this helps.

James

DH and I almost did this but were saved by our next door neighbor (who is an appraiser) and every contractor we talked with. Now I am the Teardown Queen.

Unless you live in CA, with its unique real estate tax laws, why would you spend all this money to have a revamped 1960s ranch house? It would probably cost you less to build an all new house with new mechanicals and new *everything* than to tear apart bit by bit and replace within the existing structure.