Building your own home

[Salty]

Anyone ever done this?

[Longhorned]

No, but I did do my own open heart surgery. I sawed through my chest and ran a bypass, which got kind of tricky while having to view it all backwards while standing in front of the mirror over the bathroom sink. I had a foot up and resting way up on a towel bar while I balanced on one leg, the whole time while my unemployed brother was yelling through the door because he had to take a crap. Some parts of it didn't turn out like I'd planned, but the main thing was to skip out on the insurance deductible. Building my own home is definitely next.

[Salty]

No, but I did do my own open heart surgery. I sawed through my chest and ran a bypass, which got kind of tricky while having to view it all backwards while standing in front of the mirror over the bathroom sink. I had a foot up and resting way up on a towel bar while I balanced on one leg, the whole time while my unemployed brother was yelling through the door because he had to take a crap. Some parts of it didn't turn out like I'd planned, but the main thing was to skip out on the insurance deductible. Building my own home is definitely next.

Fascinating.

[Puerco]

Anyone ever done this?

Nope.

[Salty]

I inherited a few acres in Sonoita and Vail. I'm considering building homes on both sites.

Just wondering if anyone had any experiences they would be willing to share or advice.

[Longhorned]

Are you at least thinking about hiring somebody to manage all the contractors and subcontractors? In my experience even for individual projects, getting a bid from contractors is nearly impossible, and sometimes I have to give up and hire the guy who gave me a single bid. Once hired, he takes the down payment, and then proceeds to issue a chain of excuses that extends into the cold season, at which point he declares that the project will have to begin in the spring. "But you'll be at the top of my list then!" I can't imagine that going on for simultaneous projects, where the next stage of construction depends on their completion.

[UAEebs86]

I inherited a few acres in Sonoita and Vail. I'm considering building homes on both sites.

Just wondering if anyone had any experiences they would be willing to share or advice.

Talk to some firemen. A lot of them help each other build their own homes on their off days.

[Merkin]

Build it yourself, or hire people to build it for you?

I have known several people who have had homes built, and they all say it's not worth the hassle.

What Longhorned said is very true. Extremely difficult working with general contractors and the sub contractors, especially with the economy rebounding.

[azgreg]

Look into some prefab homes.

[UAdevil]

My grandfather built 3 homes all by himself back in the day. 2 in Phoenix and one north of Payson. Created a nice little retirement nest egg when he sold them all when he retired in the early 80s.

[Longhorned]

I have known several people who have had homes built, and they all say it's not worth the hassle.

With so many things in life, I'm finding that when I do anything myself other than make my own steak, it's a big hassle and it costs me more money. The pros are more efficient, and they get volume discounts.

[Bear Down Vegas]

My ex Father in Law (that's kind of a weird relationship I know) built a 1,200 sq ft cabin in Utah all by himself (Occasionally hiring an extra pair of hands but very rarely.) It took him 3 years. He's a lifetime carpenter so he got off on it but it drove his family nuts. I kinda got a kick out of the occasional pictures - just because I got to look at them and appreciate that it was something I would never have to do.

[Merkin]

Look into some prefab homes.

This is exactly what I would do. Get the water, sewer and electrical all setup, get a slab built, and drop a prefab on it.

Prefabs are actually pretty nice now.

[azgreg]

I've got 1 1/4 acres outside of Show Low towards St. Johns and I plan on putting a prefab on it with a well, septic system, and solar.

[Merkin]

I've got 1 1/4 acres outside of Show Low towards St. Johns and I plan on putting a prefab on it with a well, septic system, and solar.

Dude, you are my hero!

I would want to get off the grid if even remotely possible.

Of course that would mean massive battery packs too, and/or a generator.

[Salty]

Are you at least thinking about hiring somebody to manage all the contractors and subcontractors? In my experience even for individual projects, getting a bid from contractors is nearly impossible, and sometimes I have to give up and hire the guy who gave me a single bid. Once hired, he takes the down payment, and then proceeds to issue a chain of excuses that extends into the cold season, at which point he declares that the project will have to begin in the spring. "But you'll be at the top of my list then!" I can't imagine that going on for simultaneous projects, where the next stage of construction depends on their completion.

I was considering contracting the foundation out. I simply cannot do the foundation alone or with my limited skill set.

Other than that, I am capable of doing everything on my own or with the help of my Dad. I've built a house before, when I was a kid, and I've got a fair amount of experience in the field. I'm not professionally trained though.

I don't have kids and I'm not married so I figure that now would be a good time to start a project like this. If I were to do this, I would probably rent the properties out and eventually sell them.

Merk, speaking of living off the grid... I've been very strongly considering building a "tiny house" as well.

http://tinyhousebuild.com

I think the tiny house idea would really work well for me. It's basically just a customized RV, but it would have all the room that I would need. The best part is that there are options to make one of these be completely off the grid with solar power, self-composting plumbing, a water tank, and propane.

[the real dill]

A buddy of mine put one of these on his ranch and it came out nice. Nothing like the ones in the link, but just a place to crash after a day of hunting. Strongest house you'll ever find.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/kristinchirico/ ... containers

[Merkin]

I think the tiny house idea would really work well for me. It's basically just a customized RV, but it would have all the room that I would need. The best part is that there are options to make one of these be completely off the grid with solar power, self-composting plumbing, a water tank, and propane.

One of my neighbors had one of those tiny houses on his property when he let some college student from his church stay in it. The student built it himself, pretty impressive on an old semi trailer.

I'm not a fan of self composting toilets, but do like the septic tank that Greg is putting in.

I have also see propane toilets, but not a fan either.

Just get that shit away from me!

[Jefe]

From the ground up no, but my parents had their home exterior completely re-done and had a 1500sq ft 4 car garage added on to the property. They had gotten several estimates from general contractors to do the entire project and we wound up using 2 different businesses to do the whole thing for 40% less than the general contractors wanted. Didnt put any plumbing in though which saved a bunch of money(county wanted $9k for the permit to add plumbing). That was 8 years ago...wow time flies. The guy that did the concrete, structure, roof, and interior build-outs is still in business if you need a referral