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I been thinking the past six months of having the house built. Well, I want to build it but the wife, friends, family, employer keep telling me I,m crazy and just have it built. So to keep them happy I check into it. Notice that basically under 2000 sq feet, everybody building the same house, same floor plan, same roof. I never noticed till I saw four in a row on a single road. High class neigborhood too. It seems like they build them in a yard using same plans then truck out to site and finish. Only differents is color of brick. So would this be consider house building or assembly work?
Every builder I talk too would not even look at my plans but try to steer me onto their product. My question is.
Is this the norm?
Replies
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Ask Bob....Bob would know Norm.
*Johnnie,First let me say I think it is great that you want to build your own house and you should probably pursue that avenue untill you positivly exaust it. As for builders steering you toward their plans first, of course they will. They make more money building a house they are already familier with. This is a perfectly reasonable thing for them to do. There are however plenty of builders out there who want to build a truly custom house. My suggestion is that you take your ideas to an architect who is willing to draw your ideas. You may have to look for this person. Architects are pretty busy right now. Then take those drawings to a builder who will build that house. If you walk into a builders office with a set of drawings by a certified architecht, then whether or not the builder will build the house becomes a simple yes or no question. You guys can diker about the price later. I would look for young architects and builders who need the work. Nothing against the old guys they taught us everything we know, but this project sounds right up the ally of some builder looking to get a start. From your post you also sound like someone who is willing to spend the time keeping a tight reign on the building proccess. This avenue may also satisfy your desire to have more of a significant role in the building proccess. There are covanants either restricting or requiring certain things in certain neighborhoods and developments. i.e. "All the houses in Shadowmoss Village will be at least 3000 square feet and have an enclosed garage facing the street." Developers can put whatever covanants they please on the development (I think). If you are planning to build in an area where building covanants apply, the architech would need to know what they are. FTDS Greg
*Johnnie, I think you should stick to your guns and have your house built according to your plans even if eventually you end up being the one building it. Get your plans approved and you shouldn't have to look too far for an agreeable builder. Of course, getting the plans approved could get you into a kettle of fish.fv
*Well I got the plan drawn up last year, and they have already been approved by the architectural community. Complete plans with mechanical, electrical and plumbing takeoffs. The county has them at this moment. I have alway had the plan to build myself but when you get called a crazy daily, you think of other ways. I still want to do it myself, I just notice all in the neighborhood is the same house. The only restriction I have is 1200 sq feet min. and no junk cars in the front yard. This is a picture from the rear property line.
*Don't I love these flat lands...Most of us are builders here Johnnie, and we'll be darned if anyone dared to call us crazy when the time comes to build our own pads. We owe it to ourselves Johnnie! You want to, you'd be crazy not to!fv
*Johnnie,Mass builders use a combination of mass production and convenience to build their homes.Mass production keeps cost down. You can't beat this. Can you build a car cheaper that Chevy? Not likely.Convenience takes advantage of the fact that there are customers that don't know architecture, design, building practises or quality if it hit them in the head, but they do know they want their house right now. If you can demonstrate it will be built on schedule for a price and it looks like something that we've seen before, we will buy it. Can you compete with that? You betcha.You build your own home to get a better product the way you want to live in it. By all means consult the experts to use their knowledge towards YOUR GOAL. You MIGHT save money, but in the worst case you will end up with a better home to live in that was either more expensive, a little smaller or took longer to complete. The difference is between a Big Mac or your own favourite recipe. The Big Mac is cheaper and faster, but can you eat it every day?
*Johnnie,I build houses daily, while I pretty much build the same 20 houses regularly, I also do customs. These customs can be our current prints built to your specs or your plan as well. We like building our own prints because we know them. I know what it takes to get the job done before we start. I can tell you how long, how much and what to expect. If you want to add tile, wood, corian, third car garage or extra trim, I can price it NOW. I do also build owners prints, these are just more costly. You can end up with variables that affect time and money. The owner pays for design time, engineering, estimating and bidding. Maybe its different where you are at, but here (DesMoines) we will build what you want. If you have the approved print already, you're off to a good start. I am confident you can find a qualified builder to handle the job. Just keep in mind, that it will probably cost more per SF than what they build. Its mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter....Steven
*If your wife's not in favor of you building, forget all about it. Months, or years of her upset because you're not home on weekends, you're over budget, the carpet isn't the one she liked, and the whole time you'll know that she told you so. If the two of you want to take this on together and you're both excited about it, you might get it done just in time for her to have only slipped to frustrated. But if she's starting out against it. Don't do it.
*Anyone here ever start building their own house.....and actually finish it? I mean completely finished.....just like when a customers hands over the final payment! Nail holes puttied and painted. Everything? I say this to back up Ryans thoughts. I've started three new remodeling projects and still have the last three to finish up. And that's just remodeling. Every builder I've talked with that has built their own home has has to take off from finishing it to get back to work to pay for it. Then the little finishing details take forever to get around to. If the family is on board for the dollar savings and higher quality....sure, why not. But if they want a finished house to live in??? My wife has learned that brushing your teeth in the kitchen sink while the bath slowly get done isn't really all that bad! Jeff
*I have a friend who wants to build her own house. she has on her side. plenty of time, no husband and alot of friends who know a great deal about building. She talked to Robbie about the cost of framing, Harold about the cost of foundation and other masonry work, Keith about heating and air cond. Shepard about drywall, Jack about painting, me about trim carpentry. ect. ect. She's putting a cost per square foot schedual together now. In order to weigh that against the cost of buying a house alredy built. My point is whatever you do you should not not miss an oppertunity to have what you want. Nothing worth doing is easy. If you bail you may regret it. FTDS Greg
*Since you called your friend "her", she might be able to get Robbie, Harold, Keith, and Jack to pitch in. Otherwise, if you think your friends are gonna spend their weekends and evenings helping you out on your house, forget about it.It took me over six months to fix my wife's grandmother's fence gate. And I really like her!
*Well, the wife been hinting to have it built or she leaving and taking the dog with her. Damn, I'll going to miss that dog.
*You should fight for custody of the dog.fv
*I liked that the Owner Builder Center in Berkeley, in their 16-night course covered (along with financing, foundations, framing, etc.) relationships. And that if the relationship is at all rocky, a construction project can do it in. Maybe that's okay - if you get the dog.I did a hybrid thing - hired a great contractor (cheap, fast, great quality, came in under budget, worked from my sketches) to frame, sheath and roof my house. With all the multiple person jobs done in 21 days, I cranked on the plumbing, electrical, interior as my wife started a 9 month construction project at the same time and I HAD to finish first (did too, by 4 days)! You've got to be realistic about your resources (skill, time, and money). It WILL take MORE time and money than you expect and if that's not going to be okay, don't get started. -David
*Here's a story somebody here posted once before. Sorry, I don't remember who. I liked it so much I saved it.b Diary of a mad Home Builder Or The Perils of Do-It-Yourself Home Building April 1 (Fool’s Day) My banker was very friendly. Said he wished I would get a builder because I didn’t know what I doing. Best rate I could get was 12% because I was too marginal with no experience. Also, said I’d get the money in stages after I showed proof of payments to the subs. What nerve! I didn’t realize there would be this much paperwork. Missed 3 hours of work. April 26- Took 25 days to finally agree on house plans. Never dreamed there were so many details. Discovered that my wife is a very nasty person. Think I’m getting a nervous condition. May 4 – Finally swung the deal on the lot. The developer said,”take it or leave it!” Said the builders buy several lots at a time and that’s why they get discounts and that I didn’t qualify. I know I paid to much but I’ll easily save enough to offset it later. He didn’t show me much respect, May 6- Somebody’s going to pay for this on election day! You need a Ph.D. just fill out all the forms for permits and licenses and to go to all the various government. There was less red tape when I joined the Navy. Somebody will pay. I missed 5 hours of work. May 7 – Staked out my lot the best I could. I didn’t have one of those tapes, so I just stepped it off. Wonder how builders square the house on the lot? I guess it’s no big deal. May 8 – Met excavator in early a.m. He said only a fool would build a basement on that lot. Too low! I let him know in no uncertain terms that it was my money and to dig. He was grinning when I left for work. May 10 – The excavation was filled with water. I told him to fill the dam thing up and chalked my loss up to “experience.” I’m a nervous wreck. May 11- The foundation guys told me it would be at least three weeks before they could get to my job. They had to take care of their builders first. I hate delays. May 12 – The lumber man said that I could qualify for discounts as soon as I bought at least $250,000 worth of materials. I told him that was discrimination. He agreed. He also would not guarantee any prices because lumber prices were fluctuating almost daily. Told him that I wouldn’t stand for that kind of treatment and would shop around. Missed two days off work getting bids. Returned to original lumberman and signed up. He said due to back-logs it would take 5 weeks to deliver. I told him that was a hell of a way to run a business. May 15 – When the framing carpenter told me his price, I told him to go to hell. Told him there were good doctors not making his kind of money and that there were plenty others where he came from. May 24 – Hired original framer. June 2 – Foundation men showed. Had a fistfight with the foreman who called me an idiot. He said that builders order their own blocks and I told him ho should have brought his own. He beat me half to death. Missed 3 days of work due to stitches and bruises. Had to re-schedule everything. Those subs are mean. June 11 – Lumber finally came. Called framing carpenter and he said he had to frame a house for one of his builders first. It would be about 3 weeks. I kicked my dog for the first time. July 12- Most of the lumber was stolen. Insurance company was very cooperative. Lumber man said it would take about 4 weeks to replace items. Decided not to tell the carpenter for fear he would take another job. I’m sick. August 13 – Lumber delivered. Called carpenter and he said the timing was not so good. He would start in four days. One day dely because his daughter was getting married. August 17 – Awful tired. Slept in my car on the lot for four nights protecting the lumber. My boss said I didn’t look too good. He hoped I would shape-up my work. August 18 - Carpenter showed. I almost went berserk when he pointed out that I needed a tempbox from the power company or he couldn’t run his equipment. He said I’d have to pay him as long as it took to get one or he’d have to go to another project. I mumbled, yes, I’d pay. How was I supposed to know about tempboxes? Missed more work getting it scheduled. Decided it’s not fun to build a house. October 3 – Structure looks beautiful. At least it will be closed of for oncoming winter. Neighbor told me the house looked off-center on the lot. I told him to mind his own business and to get off my property. October 6 – Roofer fell off house today and was injured. More delays. My wife just keeps nagging. Told her to leave me alone and that I never lover her anyway. October 12 – Moved family to a motel. New owners just moved into our house. Thought it would be done by now. October 14 – Noticed red tag on my house. The Building Commissioner explained that the framer had not built according to the code and some small details would have to be corrected. I told him I was “big” in the party and I wouldn’t stand for this and neither would my friends in high places. He urged me to continue my political involvement and to make the corrections or no more construction. October 14 – Had some terse word for carpenter, but didn’t know what to tell him to correct. Told him to work it out with the inspector. Felt like a fool. October 23 – Scheduled plumbing, cabinets, wiring, fireplace man and heat man- all of them at the same time. I just didn’t care anymore. November 16 – They all showed up on the same day and there was total chaos. I didn’t care! Miss work again. November 17 – O.S.H.A. inspector closed down the project. Cited 21 safety hazards. Told him someone was going to pay “big” for this because I’ve got strong political connections. My doctor told me I now have high blood pressure. November 22 – All safety requirements met. Work is now in progress and all going well. Scheduled drywall company. I’m drinking too much now, I know it. Missed 3 more days of work. December 4 – Drywall men asked me why I didn’t insulate the house. To save face, I told him he showed up on the wrong date. He was very disgusted. The insulation company said it would be at least 2 weeks due to backlog of orders. I threatened him with physical harm and then I relented and begged. December 5 – Received certified letter informing me that the foundation man was suing me and received two irate calls from subs I hadn’t had time to pay. Told the boss to “get off my case” that same day. December 6 – Discovered that vandals had broken all the windows in the house. The insurance people said they would pay, but they’d rather drop my program. I broke down and cried. December 9 - Started going to an analyst. He advised that I needed to be better organized. Told him the only way his fee could be any higher is for him to become a carpenter. December 10 - Painter splashed paint all over the woodwork and carpet. I smiled at him and told him that I’d see to it he never got another job. I keep a flask in my glove compartment now to ward off the cold chills of winter. December 25 – Told the family the reason there was no gift exchange this year because I had a sizeable overrun on the house. I promised next year would be better. My wife mumbled something about ignoring her advice in getting a builder in the first place. I retorted that if she was so smart why did she even stay married to me? December 26 – My wife sued me for divorce today. Said she wouldn’t live any longer with a man of my temperament and drinking habits. Said she was going to sue for the “House” and that she wanted it furnished. I headed for the glove compartment. December 28 – Showed up at work with awful headache. Boss told me that I should begin the New Year by utilizing my talents elsewhere. Said he’d give me a good recommendation as a builder. Smart aleck. - And they told me I couldn’t build my own house!
*God Ryan, I can barely keep from soiling myself that was so funny; I knew I'd read it before, but after thinking about the story below, it's even funnier. Reminds me of a time when I and two of my helpers whored ourselves out for a weekend to help a "friend of a friend" who was doing his own house. First off, the guy was doing everything on the cheap; he saved about $200 on floor framing lumber by going a size smaller and not going with TJI's (around here, 2x10's really suck); so he spent about three weeks putting the deck on. I didn't have the heart to tell him about blocking, bridging, culling, and crowning, so I just rolled over that buckled floor. He's too cheap to buy airnails, so here we sat, hand nailing this long wall for 15 minutes instead of airring it off in about three (big cost savings there, huh?). Then we get that one up, and despite the gaps underneath (becasue the wall is square, the floor isn't), he says he has to run to Home Depot to get the rest of the header material. That's on the other side of town; my lumberyard is 5 minutes away; but he can't believe those "theiving bastards" wanted a whole $50 more for the lumber than HD, so off he goes. So we sit. And wait. Oh, and he didn't have any other plate material or studs, either; he had to pick those up, and it was, of course, near a holiday weekend. I could tell you about the trusses...but let's leave that story for another day.
*Best story of own home building was from a carpentry instructor I had. Basically, had to stop working on his own home full time, to start paying the construction loan back. Then, barely beating the loan officers time limits for the construction period. He said thay involved convincing the inspectors that it really was suitable for occupation. He was glad he did it that way.....but said he'd never do it again. He'd consider it if he had two or three crews working under him, so he could keep cash flowing, and steal away the extra labor when needed. He finished the story by telling us he moved in over 5 years before......and was still trying to get the upstairs ready for the trim work! Keep in mind, at the time, he was a GC, with a crew of 4 or 5 guys, and booked solid. If it's tough under those circumstances......Jeff
*Thank you,Ryan C., I too can't stop laughing! I am building my own home right now,and can see this happening. Thank goodness we were a little more prepared than this fellow. As a jack of all trades (master of none) I can truly say that there is nothing more rewarding than building your own home. There is also nothing more expensive, frustrating, time consuming, or humbling. You will find out daily how bad your designer was(you will be too cheap to hire an architect) and you will constantly be forced to make split second decesions that will affect many aspects in the future of the project. You can forget about sleep, you will curse the weather, your subs, and your suppliers. Your wife will begin to think that you don't want to be at home with her ever, as you will never see the light of day at your current residence. If you have a nine to five job, I would not consider it. And most importantly, you had better have a pile of money to start. You will have to pay subs and suppliers when they finish or when the monthly bill comes due. The bank won't just give you money every time you turn around. Don't misunderstand........I'm in the middle of it right now and loving every minute but we took the time to do alot of research, talk to a lot of people, and save a lot of money. My wife is very understanding and desperate to get out of our current home this is a big bonus. You would not beleive the number of divorces behind the home building process. We have also been lucky in the most important part of the process so far...hiring good subs . You can't do it all. you will have to hire subs for a lot of the process. Spend the time and the money for good ones. This is the biggest investment/expense you will endeavor upon do not enter into it lightly. But don't be too intimidated its done all the time. good luck and enjoy!
*Hey, pursue your dreams!that's what I'm doing, I totally designed the house myself, drew all the plans and have done all research, so my house is completely different from everyone elses which was exactly what I wanted something totally unconventional and interesting. Ever been in an airplane over a large city like Dallas or Miami? every neighborhood looks the same full of cookie-cutter houses, ugh! Well, I started in June and I'll probably be done in 2012. Just kidding, but I'm doing what I had dreamed about for 3 years, now "building my own house" means different things to different people, me I have done all the work myself except for the sheetrock and some friends helping stand the walls up. Some people simply work as GC's which is fine but doesn't give you that I done it feeling. (some call that crazy, what do they know!?)Anyway I'm having a blast, I should be done in about two months. I worked for the first 3 months, but finally I quit and now we depend on my wife to pay the bills, not a bad deal huh? My only advice would be to have some help around, many days I've climbed up and down scaffolding 50 times to trim out soffits or frame the cornices because I'm always by myself.
*Been there, done that. Serious comments for Johnnie, and total agreement with Ryan's #9.Wife and I built 5300 ft sq house 100% ourselves from drawings to built up roof when the kids were 5- 7 YO, even put in 500 ft or road. b Wife's 100% agreement a must on first house. Like billy, probably one of the more satisfying undertakings.Only regrets were not watching out for the one falling tree (2 weeks in hospital) and a stiffer arm with the chain saw (150 stitches.
*Johnnie, it can be done but I'd suggest you do your homework first. To that end I'd suggest you follow the progress of several other houses that are being built daily to see what happens. Get referrals for subs from people you trust. For example the lumber yard will know good framers, good framers will know good foundation men etc. Good painters will know good drywallers and finish carpenters etc. It's very time consuming for my clients (I'm a builder) to make the choices they need to make. Don't underestimate the time involved or cost. Besides you'll need to do all this in addition to keeping your job and family happy. I've made some expensive mistakes learning the business, can you afford to do the same? Are you "handy" and already do-it-yourself around your existing house? Then the big question. Why do you want to do it yourself. If it's a design motive,, you can easily do that yourself and leave the headaches to the pro's. Keep in mind this is possibly the largest investment of time and money in your life! Good luck!
*Yup, sure. Building a house is pretty easy. Foundation, floor, walls, roof. Hang some drywall, paint a little. Seen all the HomeTime episodes. I'll be really cautious, do all my homework, and it'll be fine. By the way, what's a soil bearing test, and how come I bang my head on the floor when I walk down my stairs?? Anyways, I gotta go now. Gonna redo the brakes on my car. Never done them before, but I watched a guy do it once and it looked real easy. What could go wrong?
*I work in the capacity of GC for a developer (I'm responsible for the cookie cutter houses), and I don't think I'd ever want to build my own home, especially if I had another job full time. I've framed, roofed, drywalled, the works, but it's just so time consuming. All I can picture is my neglected daughter and my boxer looking all sad because no one takes him for walks anymore. If you're wealthy enough that you can take this on full time and not a single father with a dog, I'd say go ahead and live your dream. Otherwise, go ahead and live your dream vicariously.
*Been there, done that. Built the house we are innow while building houses for others. Took me 9months to complete what normally would havetaken about six.I would finish my work day (framing, trimming,siding), load up the tools and head to my con-struction project and work till night fall.Wife and kids would meet me there with dinneror we would fire up the smokey joe and burnsome burgers or dogs.my family and I also had to live with my parentsfor five months till the house was finished.We put the house we where living in on the market when the foundation was finished thinkingit would take a few months to sell and we'd befarther along on the new house. Wrong! It sold in4 days! I love my parents dearly but I wouldn'twant to do that again.I can't imagine someone not in the trades putting themselves through that and still having a joband, or marriage.Mike Merisko
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I been thinking the past six months of having the house built. Well, I want to build it but the wife, friends, family, employer keep telling me I,m crazy and just have it built. So to keep them happy I check into it. Notice that basically under 2000 sq feet, everybody building the same house, same floor plan, same roof. I never noticed till I saw four in a row on a single road. High class neigborhood too. It seems like they build them in a yard using same plans then truck out to site and finish. Only differents is color of brick. So would this be consider house building or assembly work?
Every builder I talk too would not even look at my plans but try to steer me onto their product. My question is.
Is this the norm?