How much of the work will you be doing yourself or with your own forces?

www.buildingscience.com
look for your location as there are climate differences
in different locations. read the info on your area and bookmark the site.
best of luck.

Are you going to design the house as well as act as the GC? Who will produce the documents? How much work will you direct or perform yourself? Your question covers far too much territory to give you a concise answer.

Sorry about that macv. We were out most the day. The project is a garage with a studio apartment above it. We live in the main house on the property and I work from home, so I will be on site every day. I will be drawing the rough layout and sketches. My FIL is a professor of architecture and will oversee my design, but we will hire a draftsperson to produce the working drawings, one we have worked with before for on an extensive remodel/addition to our main house.

As for the work that will be done by us, my DH will do all the electrical work. We have subs we have hired before and work well with for plumbing, finish carpentry and flooring.
We're both willing to do alot of sweat equity, but are not skilled tradespersons. I have extensive experience in project management, but not of home construction.

Thanks energy rater la. I forgot to mention websites as well.

I would buy a copy of the zoning code, the building code and any amendments rather than looking it up online. Read then carefully because you are the only person responsible for meeting those laws and your FIL and draftsman might not be familiar with them. These documents are frequently misquoted even by so-called experts so find the answers yourself and mark the pages. You will be responsible for quality control on the project not the subs or the building inspector.

The book linked below may be helpful. It assumes you know nothing but it is comprehensive and cheap.

Here is a link that might be useful: book

Thanks macv. Good idea about the code books. I was back and forth online so much just to get everything correct re: zoning, setbacks, parking spaces required, height restrictions, etc. I haven't even started on the building codes. And based on past remodeling experience, the answers from the building inspectors can vary wildly.

The book you suggested looks like the right place to start for my current level of knowledge. Thanks.