• Job: Construction and design consultant, Sandy Springs

LEITA COWART/Special (ENLARGE)

Jackie Cottrill and her polka-dot Wellies are always ready to tackle the mess of a construction site.

• What I do: Jackie Cottrill isn't afraid to get dirty. That's why the construction and design consultant always has her boots, a pair of pink polka-dot Wellies, in the car.

That way, she's ready for muddy construction sites, where she works with builders, remodelers and owners of high-end homes. Sometimes she's the project manager, other times her duties are like those of a general contractor, and sometimes she's there to help the homeowner choose paint colors.

"Anybody can do renovation," she said. "It can be great or it can be horrible."

Cottrill, 58, is there to make sure it's great.

At a house in Buckhead, she originally was called in to help repair hardwood flooring that was warped by a leak. But older houses are always full of surprises, she said, and the job soon expanded to repairing subflooring and wiring. Before long, the project included replastering the walls, adding ceiling lighting, raising the ceiling above the foyer, refinishing the floors and adding copper gutters and a porch roof outside. Next in line is refurbishing the kitchen.

Cottrill doesn't do the construction work. "The key is having good subs" — subcontractors, such as plasterers, carpenters, plumbers and electricians.

Instead, she said, she's the contact person between the

homeowner and the craftspeople. She will work with the owners' plans — or help them, their architects and builders come up with plans — and make sure the work is done right.

"I'm out there all the time with the builder and the subs," she said.

That contact helps make her job easier, she said. As a woman in the industry, Cottrill said she has to work hard to get along.

"Being a female on a construction site, you don't get too much respect until they know you," she said. Her motto is "Walk softly and carry a big 2-by-4."

She also knows what to wear. No high heels or fancy dresses like some designers — just sturdy jeans and those Wellies.

• What got me interested in this: "When I was in high school, I wanted to be an architect," she said. "I was the only girl in drafting class."

Cottrill said she has "a God-given talent" for design. After her marriage, she worked on her own homes as she and her family moved about every two years.

In Atlanta, she worked for a builder, mostly part time, for 15 years, finding lots on which to build, assisting with design, working with subcontractors and being the front person for the business.

She formed her namesake consulting company about two years ago, after a divorce necessitated a steady income.

• Best part of my job: "The wow factor," Cottrill said. "I love it when the homeowner walks in and we just finished a feature, and they say, 'Oh, wow!' "

• Most challenging part: "Overcoming being a woman in the construction business," she said. "I think women do better plans, because they know exactly what's needed in the house and how much space is required, especially in the kitchen, closets and bathrooms."

• What people don't know about my job: "Sometimes you have to be aggressive and stand up for yourself," Cottrill said. "You have to be prepared to remove people from the job who can't do the job the way you want it done."

• What keeps me going: "If it's good, make it great; if it's bad, make it better; and if it's ugly, tear it down and start over."

• Preparation needed for this job: "You have to have talent and the ability not to give up," as well as a game plan, boots, common sense, a sense of humor, knowledge of subcontractors and a backup game plan.

Cottrill attended a junior college in Florida for two years, studying journalism. "It wasn't me," she said.

Mostly, she is self-taught in decorating and construction through 15 years of working with a local builder. Experience on the job "was like my master's degree," she said.

She said the job taught her to be on site when crews were pouring footers or installing insulation. "I'd crawl around in the dirt, and I got [my boss's] confidence that I could handle the job."

- By Karl W. Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.