Going to build my own house. Need advice.

Dec 27, 2001
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We've made enough over the past year and a half on our house that we should be able to easily pay cash for the construction. We're exempt from the Capital Gains Tax in six months, so as long as we can find a piece of property between now and then I think we're going through with it this Summer. Of course, it may happen later or not at all...everything rides on finding the perfect piece of land and if I feel prepared enough.

I'm a pretty quick learner and want to educate myself thoroughly on every step of the process so I can make the best decisions. Anybody ever do anything like this? I'm looking for resources like books or sites that outline the steps and explain specifics on the residential construction process. Personal experiences are, of course, also very welcome. If everything works out and we do it, I plan on devoting a website to chronicle the process live as it happens with video and pictures and journal entries.
 

PCMarine

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2002
3,277
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It took my dad a couple of years to just finish our basement. He would work on it on weekends and holiday breaks... but he was always busy with business work and other tasks.

If you are actually going to proceed with the project, prepare to dole out tons of beer money since you're going to have to have friends come over to help you with a plethora of stuff...
 

Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,022
17
81
Sounds exciting!

Are you going to have city water, sewage and natural gas? Is your water coming from an aquifer? Gonna have a basement?

Even if you don't get your hands dirty, you can save a ton of money by being the contractor. You should already have your mason, carpenter and other trades people lined up. The contractor has to have everybody lined up on a decent schedule. Check out the work these people do. I'd rather pay a few bucks more for somebody who really knows what they're doing.

You may already be a little late getting started. Find some well built homes in your area, and find out who built them. Contact the builders and get some quotes and ideas from them. They can recommend good masons and carpenters. The carpenters probably work with certain electricians and plumbers. The plumbers may also know good HVAC people. Ask around at the lumber yards and plumbing supply houses.

I could build a house from the foundation up, but I'd still job out the drywall, roofing and probably the HVAC. I'd do tile, but leave carpeting to an installer. I'd reluctantly hang wallpaper, but I might give the painting chore to somebody else. I HATE PAINTING! You better get rolling...

Good Luck!
 

Siddhartha

Lifer
Oct 17, 1999
12,505
3
81
My dad spent a couple of years adding an addition to his house. He worked nights, weekends, and holidays. He told me he saw that his neighbor was adding a similar sized addition to his house but he was using carpenters instead of doing it himself. My dad said he compared notes with his neighbor and found out that the cost of having professionals do it was about the same as he was going to put out for his addition and the professionals were going to finish the job in a week.
 

Ameesh

Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
23,686
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Well i just got my house fully wired so if you need some advice concerning that let me know, ive made myself pretty well educated on the subject..
 

LordMorpheus

Diamond Member
Aug 14, 2002
6,871
1
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Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
We've made enough over the past year and a half on our house that we should be able to easily pay cash for the construction. We're exempt from the Capital Gains Tax in six months, so as long as we can find a piece of property between now and then I think we're going through with it this Summer. Of course, it may happen later or not at all...everything rides on finding the perfect piece of land and if I feel prepared enough.

I'm a pretty quick learner and want to educate myself thoroughly on every step of the process so I can make the best decisions. Anybody ever do anything like this? I'm looking for resources like books or sites that outline the steps and explain specifics on the residential construction process. Personal experiences are, of course, also very welcome. If everything works out and we do it, I plan on devoting a website to chronicle the process live as it happens with video and pictures and journal entries.

get a real architect to do it.

Many builders draw plans themselves and do not have degrees in things like good taste and practicality.

We built this house say, 6 or 7 years ago. My dad is an architect, so he did the plans, but the builder did the rest and some are offensive.

If you have a friend who is an architect, see if he'll work with you. You can also find the nearest school with architecture degrees and ask some students to help you out . . although their designs may be a little off the wall, its worth a shot.
 

T2T III

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
12,899
1
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My dad said he compared notes with his neighbor and found out that the cost of having professionals do it was about the same as he was going to put out for his addition and the professionals were going to finish the job in a week.
That is very true. At first, the labor amount might shock some people. However, if one is doing all of the work themselves, it could take an extremely long amount of time. I have 25 years' worth of experience working with wood and construction. However, I still don't think I would take the time to do a whole house by myself. Certain parts would be contracted out - foundation, framing, windows, roof, wiring, plumbing, etc. I would consider installing the doors/door jambs and finishing things off, but that's about all.

Finally, I read something very interesting in the book: "The Millionaire Next Door" a few years back. When someone is good at a task (e.g. managing a business) and their time is worth $250 per hour, it is silly for them to do something that costs $35.00 per hour - like painting a house. If the owner gets hurt doing the cheap task, they have hurt their earning potential @ $250.00 and running their company. Just a thought ...

 
Dec 27, 2001
11,272
1
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I've done plenty of painting and installing things like fixtures. I plan to definitly do the painting. I also plan to learn about and get help from friends and family for certain smaller parts of the project like cabinets and doors and possibly the roof. As much as I can do with 100% confidence of doing a good job, I'll do, but I'm not even contemplating having any part in the foundation or framing or electrical or plumbing.

Are you going to have city water, sewage and natural gas? Is your water coming from an aquifer? Gonna have a basement?

That's one of the potential problems in finding land is that I want city sewer and water and gas. No basement.

My dad spent a couple of years adding an addition to his house. He worked nights, weekend, and holidays. He told me he saw that his neighbor was adding a similar sized addition to his house but he was using carpenters instead of doing it himself. My dad said he compared notes with his neighbor and found out that the cost of having professionals do it was about the same as he was going to put out for his addition and the professionals were going to finish the job in a week.

I've had to do some project on our house, which was a fixer-upper, and know how to evaluate the cost of doing it myself or outsourcing it. I've always been really good at choosing the right company for whatever job we need.

Again, I'm not going to build it with my bare hands, but I'm going to function as the GC and probably have plans drawn up custom.
 
Dec 27, 2001
11,272
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Originally posted by: LordMorpheus
Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
We've made enough over the past year and a half on our house that we should be able to easily pay cash for the construction. We're exempt from the Capital Gains Tax in six months, so as long as we can find a piece of property between now and then I think we're going through with it this Summer. Of course, it may happen later or not at all...everything rides on finding the perfect piece of land and if I feel prepared enough.

I'm a pretty quick learner and want to educate myself thoroughly on every step of the process so I can make the best decisions. Anybody ever do anything like this? I'm looking for resources like books or sites that outline the steps and explain specifics on the residential construction process. Personal experiences are, of course, also very welcome. If everything works out and we do it, I plan on devoting a website to chronicle the process live as it happens with video and pictures and journal entries.

get a real architect to do it.

Many builders draw plans themselves and do not have degrees in things like good taste and practicality.

We built this house say, 6 or 7 years ago. My dad is an architect, so he did the plans, but the builder did the rest and some are offensive.

If you have a friend who is an architect, see if he'll work with you. You can also find the nearest school with architecture degrees and ask some students to help you out . . although their designs may be a little off the wall, its worth a shot.

That's what I see as the key. Having good plans drawn up should alleviate alot of the hangups during the project. We have only two options 1) buy a detailed plan for a house that suits us, or 2) pay the money for an architect...possibly a combination of the two depending on the site. I won't be skimping here since this will affect every phase of the construction and defintly won't even think about doing it myself. I also thought about the student thing and having some kind of a contest and the plan we choose gets a cash prize type thing...but my wife won't hear of having a student design it.
 

waylman

Diamond Member
Apr 4, 2003
3,473
0
0
just make sure you make the kitchen and living room huge! also make it nice and wide open with high ceilings.
 

79Blazer

Golden Member
Nov 12, 2003
1,037
0
0
Wood.. you'll need some of that. Get some nails too, wait.. use wood glue.. that works well. And some brushed alumunim for the OUTSIDE of the house.

All joking aside: I'd really recommend getting an architect, like previously mentioned. You realise there are alot of things that need to be perfect (within code), where you'll be building this house.
 

flxnimprtmscl

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2003
7,962
2
0
Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
That's one of the potential problems in finding land is that I want city sewer and water and gas. No basement.

Just a suggestion. You might want to think about adding a basement after all. For the simple reason that you can never have too much space and a basement is a great deal all in all. The cost to do a basement up front is a substantial amount less than adding the equivalent space anywhere else on your home. I'm going to be renovating an 19th century farmhouse in about a year or so and I'll be adding a basement when I have the house raised to do the foundation. Think about all the things you can put there to keep them out of the way elsewhere. Water heater, washer and dryer, home gym if you so desire, etc. The possibilities are endless. Anyway, just a thought. Best of luck and be sure to keep us updated :beer:
 

Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,022
17
81
I wish he'd say where he's looking for property. I believe some places don't bother with basements, because you practically need dynamite to make the hole. Personally, it isn't too practical to have a basement in our area, because the water table is so high. I'd need two sump pumps running full time to keep the water out!
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
166
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
Originally posted by: Ornery
Sounds exciting!

Are you going to have city water, sewage and natural gas? Is your water coming from an aquifer? Gonna have a basement?

Even if you don't get your hands dirty, you can save a ton of money by being the contractor. You should already have your mason, carpenter and other trades people lined up. The contractor has to have everybody lined up on a decent schedule. Check out the work these people do. I'd rather pay a few bucks more for somebody who really knows what they're doing.

You may already be a little late getting started. Find some well built homes in your area, and find out who built them. Contact the builders and get some quotes and ideas from them. They can recommend good masons and carpenters. The carpenters probably work with certain electricians and plumbers. The plumbers may also know good HVAC people. Ask around at the lumber yards and plumbing supply houses.

I could build a house from the foundation up, but I'd still job out the drywall, roofing and probably the HVAC. I'd do tile, but leave carpeting to an installer. I'd reluctantly hang wallpaper, but I might give the painting chore to somebody else. I HATE PAINTING! You better get rolling...

Good Luck!
Wallpaper's not too tough, but I agree... it's well worth it to job out the drywall. As easy as it may sound, it takes a beginner a LONG time to get it just right... The pro's work so fast that they're amazing. (don't hire a pro who doesn't work fast!) Roofing really isn't that hard, if you're not afraid of heights. Wear gloves.
 

Raiden256

Platinum Member
Feb 11, 2001
2,144
0
0
Be absolutely sure to pre-wire all potential speaker locations for any room in which you might ever have a home theater system... Best afternoon I spent in my under-construction house!
 

RU482

Lifer
Apr 9, 2000
12,689
3
81
HeroOfPellinor, Where do you live? I'd be willing to help you out if you're local (central Iowa)
 
Dec 27, 2001
11,272
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We live in Fair Oaks...about 10 miles east of Sacramento. I'd love to find a plot of land in Fair Oaks, a nice little town tucked away on the bluffs of the American River, but basically anywhere between Sacramento and the Bay Area where there's some privacy as well as vitality to the land (I absolutly cannot live where it's flat or barren...I NEED trees and hills).

I still don't want a basement. Not many houses in Northern California have them. Every house I've lived in has had a crawlspace though, and I think I'd prefer that to a slab foundation, but I need to learn more about each.
 

RU482

Lifer
Apr 9, 2000
12,689
3
81
if you're going to bother with a crawlspace, why not go with a basement??

But hey, sounds like you're persuing a good dream
 

Regs

Lifer
Aug 9, 2002
16,665
21
81
Originally posted by: conjur
Good luck! :beer:

And "Start from the ground up" ;)

And I do not know what kind of regulations are involved when building houses on privately owned property. State laws, fire codes, environmental laws, and construction regulations might need to be looked into. Because when you sell it, you might need inspection records and certificates saying it's safe and etc..