I’d like to start planning and eventually build my own house.
Can you guys provide me with your recommended books, references, etc… when some of you first tried the same thing?
My family and my in-laws are scattered with builders, I’ve worked construction for a summer, and I’ve successfully tackled lots of remodeling projects.
However, I know I’m not a professional, but I’m willing (I think) to invest the time to learn how to do this myself since we’ll be building our “dream” house.
Would appreciate this group’s advice.
Thanks much.
Replies
What you are talking about is Owner Builder.
There are a number of books and web sites on the subject. Google and amazon will find them.
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
This site right here is one fine reference source. There have been a few threads on the subject, from design to actual. You should give the advanced search feature a workout.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Someone needs to give him the link to 'the house from hell'
Not knowing where you're from.......
Check your local community or state college, you might be surprised to find a class on just this subject.
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
I have kept my fine homebuilding mags for years but i see somewhere here you can buy a cd of all the articles Theres a lot of good ones i use for reference and i like the older ones The best info i have ever seen a lot of it is old hat to me but helps me to refresh what task im going to do if its something different or just making a list of what i need
Screw that, buy a subscription to this site instead!Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Oh, good Lord, no. But I can give him two dollars and an assault rifle.
You'll need to come to terms with a level of quality that is reasonable or it will eat your time and financial budget faster than anything I know.
A great house 95% completed that you can't afford to finish isn't nearly as usable a good house you can actually move into.
A friend has done just that and when he was done his remodel cost as much per square foot as to hire a real contractor, tear it completely down and rebuild with a higher quality overall.
Many marriages and credit ratings have bit the dirt over such things.
As Piffin said, this forum is full of great ideas, and some good intentioned but useless comments as well. You'll get better at filtering the good from bad the more you read.
Good building!
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
To expand on my last comment I should add that as someone new to construction, you lack a feel for where to spend most of your time and attention. The 80/20 rule applies: 80% of your time and energy should be spent on 20% of what you do. Do some things fast so you have time to do other things slow. It's rare to find any printed book that expands on that idea.
If you take 200 days to build your dream house and 15 minutes a day are wasted on misapropriation of your time, you've thrown away a 50 hour week! That's the power of 15 minutes a day.
I've seen some carpenters and a great many more homeowners who waste twice as much time as that each day with inappropriate tools.
The odds are stacked against you to come in on time and under budget, so that's where I'd spend 80% of the time upfront to figure out. Design the house up front and you can spend 80% of your construction time busting hump instead of making it up as you go.
Many DIY owners would be well advised to hire an experienced advisor for a half hour each day for guidance and direction on that day's activities. It's hard to know what you don't know.
Best of luck!
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
Don,
I Generaled my home a couple years ago. Just want to say that your last post was perfect. Please cut and save it and post it again to anyone who asks about building their own home.
I knew enough to get myself in some great fixes. Knew enough to get out of them eventually, but all that time sure would have been nice to have back.
Took me 15 months to complete my own house wasted 4 months framing it myself with a very large learning curve and an excessive waste on overbuild. BUT, and this is a big but, I will say that 15 months was the strongest learning experience of my life and the truest test of my determination I could have possibly self inflicted.
I had a full time job in a factory working the night shift I would get off work at 6am and go straight to the lumberyard and load as much materials as my Dakota could handle.I would work until exhaustion took hold then crawl into a hammock sleep a couple hours get up go home shower and go back to work.
I experienced a snow storm on ground breaking day.Redug my footing three times because of severe rain.Built a tent out of three 40 x60 tarps only to have an icestorm bring it down on my first floor joist(took a week to get all the ice out between the joist).Had a tornado take the gables off.Dealt with a double wammy of rising interest and material prices.The month of June it rained 30 days straight only at my place.Burned the wood pile created by the clearing of 4 acre for 8 months straight.My five year old son fell thru the sheetrock and broke his wrist.
All of this during the first year of my second marriage to a woman who didn't have much faith in me.
Yet I wish for none of this time back as it has made me capable of enduring any hardship and earned the respect of my friends and family and able to take on any challenge in the business now with a positive attitude and an understanding of why customers get flustered.
ANDYSZ2WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT BEING A SOLE PROPRIETOR IS A REAL JOB?
REMODELER/PUNCHOUT SPECIALIST
It's not a bad idea to find a GC that you can hire as an adviser. Someone who will stop by once a week and make sure that you are thinking ahead about the next things that need to be done. Scheduling and planning are the toughest parts of building a house for the first time. I used this book the first time I built a home for our family (We are on #2 now). It is not super detailed but provides some discussion on every aspect of the building process.
The Complete Guide to Contracting Your HomeView Image
Remember, always ask the question, never assume how something should be done. That is how mistakes add up to real dollars.
Walnut Hill Construction
I plan on doing something similar in a year or two. I purchased 2 books which I found very educational and inspirational.
'Building with Sips" by Michael Morley
"OwnerBuilder Book" by Mark Smith.
Both are easy but detailed reads. Having a contractor consultant would be a good thing for your confidence too.
Good luck and don't let anybody tell you "You can't do it"
Mike
My family and my in-laws are scattered with builders
Use that resource to find good subs. Most good subs are tied to good GC's and like me can be hard to find, since we're really not fishing for your business. Usually, the framing sub knows a good plumber or roofer or electrician or vice versa. I seldom work for homeowners, but I'll consider it if a good framing crew has already signed on. Good luck.
View Image
http://grantlogan.net/
"he ot the placed closed down whyyy thhhattt nnooo gooodddd" - sancho
a house that you will build yourself with all the labor will cost three times one already built on the market just like you building. Time is money and county apply penaties if you late on permit finish time..Haga su trabajo de fricken
Intresting. How do you reckon that?
Mike
because Emotion cost money, emotions is time, time cost money..Haga su trabajo de fricken
I'm often referring to and just reading for interest the Visual Handbook of Building and Remodeling, excellent in many ways imho. I also find some value in JLCs 'Field Guides'.
I think the Code Check books are pretty good.
I have a similar background as you and am currently in the middle of a significant addition to our home. I found the book Carpentry & Building Construction: A Do-It-Yourself Guide the most helpful for the basics. I don't rely on it for code information, especially nailing schedules, since the information is sub-standard compared to our local building codes.
Also, I've found that if you get on friendly terms with the local inspectors they can be a great source of information as well.