DIY House Build.. Fantasy?

[baconschteam]

Where to start..

My wife and I want to live in this cute little walkable town where the houses are too expensive for us (cheapest houses are around $500k and ugly). It is the only town near where I work and near family that feels like a place we could enjoy settling into for a long time (it is walkable, limited in size by geography yet large enough to have counter-culture). There is a small, narrow residential lot with a teardown house (more like a single-wide manufactured home) that I am aware of and I have a fantasy of saying FU to the local market and building my own skinny two-story house using as much of my own labor as possible. The plan would be to build something narrow (15' or less) and efficient, something like this https://markstewart.com/house-plans/skinny-house-plans/holland/, but even smaller, maybe 1400 sq ft. I could design it myself in CAD, but I'm aware I still will need an architect to make legit plans (so maybe I should just find an existing drawing that works?). The home would basically be like a container home without the limitations of a container.

My completely imaginary budget includes getting the lot for around $250k, hiring help to remove the trailer that's on the land, hiring a contractor to lay a foundation, and building as much of the rest of it as I can with the help of friends, for no more than $400k total ($150k total for the demo and build). A close friend of mine is a house builder and GC whom I can pay to lend a hand and give advice. I have not built a house before. Is my budget a total joke? I know that I am probably a bit off, but how do I actually figure out how off I am? I'm just trying to find a creative way to break into this market that I can't afford, and I also want to learn how to build a house. DW and I plan on having child/children in 2-3 years and I don't foresee having the energy to take on something so ambitious after that.

I haven't researched financing a whole lot for this but the plan would be to get a mortgage for the lot and pay for the build out of pocket. Could I use a FHA loan?

[SmashYourSmartPhone]

It's far from impossible, and, in fact, used to be how a lot of homes were built.

Yet, how "generally handy" are you?  Are you practical, skilled in reasonable tool use, understand the basics of electricity (to be able to understand NEC for wire sizing guides and such), etc?

If you've worked on your own stuff plenty, have helped with framing and roofing at times, have done electrical work, and have done some plumbing, it's no big deal to do your own house build, just on a vastly larger scale.

If you've done none of that, there's a significant learning curve, and much of it can't easily be learned on YouTube - you can certainly get an overview of the project, but the details are something that you simply have to do yourself to learn.  So there will be a quality gradient as you get better at things.  That drives some people nuts.  Others are better at accepting it.

No idea about loans for that sort of situation.  Most banks will throw you out on your ear because you want to do "something outside the normal."

Depending on the lot, why not just throw a better manufactured on it?

[baconschteam]

I forget to mention - yes, I am generally handy, I am a sculptor and a machinist. A have framed out and drywalled walls before. I have a basic understanding of electrical stuff. And we are based in NJ if that is relevant.

Why not just put in a new manufactured home? I feel like that wouldn’t be as great an investment. I feel like that would not appreciate as much value as a custom build. Also, I want to maximize the space of the specific lot.

[BlueHouse]

How about a 3d printed house? 

And may I ask why you want a narrow house?  Is it due to the lot you're looking at? 

[baconschteam]

How about a 3d printed house? 

And may I ask why you want a narrow house?  Is it due to the lot you're looking at? 

The lot is 22’x118’

[Paper Chaser]

How much time are you willing to devote to this?
I'm 11 months into a pretty extensive remodel on a 1500sqft house in a LCOL. I've been working mostly evenings/weekends and I've got a few more months to go before it's done at current pacing.

Tasks hired out:
Exterior door/window replacement ($15k)
Crawlspace perimeter drain/waterproofing ($7500)
Plumbing ($3500)
Masonry repair ($3500)
Drywall finishing in about half of the house ($3500)

I paid to have critical work done in a timely manner (getting the house weather tight ASAP, making sure the plumbing was properly done, etc). The rest has been all DIY, and probably totals up to another $50k thus far (Cabinets, appliances, flooring, insulation/framing, lighting/electrical upgrades, paint, etc) but I still have a few thousand more for countertops, interior doors/trim, a deck, and replacement roof. May end up closer to $75-80k DIY stuff when it's done. That's using mid-grade stuff in a house that already existed.

I think building new could bring some of my costs down (new windows are cheaper than replacement, etc) but you'd also have a ton more material, planning/permitting costs to offset any cost per job advantages. I'm not in tune with material/labor pricing in NJ, but I'm guessing that your budget is probably going to need to increase a fair bit.

I also think that if you're doing all of it yourself on top of normal job/family stuff then getting it finished within your 3 year timeline is fairly ambitious. I typically get a couple of evenings and 1-3 days per week on site and I'm still looking at ~16-18 months from start to finish thanks to various delays and other stuff in the rest of my life needing to be prioritized here and there.

[Paper Chaser]

First things first, you need to know what can legally be built on that lot.
Then, you should look for plans. Even if you combine things from different plans it can be useful to understand material lists/pricing.

[baconschteam]

First things first, you need to know what can legally be built on that lot.
Then, you should look for plans. Even if you combine things from different plans it can be useful to understand material lists/pricing.

I've looked at the town zoning ordinances and what's there already is in violation. However, looking around, many of the houses seem to be in violation, and it would be very difficult to build a house on such a small lot that met the requirements (5' side yards from a 22' wide lot?). I imagine there must be a way to ask for an exception from certain rules.

[FINate]

First things first, you need to know what can legally be built on that lot.
Then, you should look for plans. Even if you combine things from different plans it can be useful to understand material lists/pricing.

I've looked at the town zoning ordinances and what's there already is in violation. However, looking around, many of the houses seem to be in violation, and it would be very difficult to build a house on such a small lot that met the requirements (5' side yards from a 22' wide lot?). I imagine there must be a way to ask for an exception from certain rules.

These are not in violation if they were built/placed before zoning changed. My city recently updated zoning to allow for higher density, with the understanding that many of our most desirable historic neighborhoods could not be built under the more restrictive low-density codes from the mid 20th century.

What you're looking to obtain is usually called a zoning variance. It requires planning department and/or city council approval. It may involve other public hearings, and one disgruntled neighbor has the potential to stall the project for years. In some cities this may be a relatively minor thing, whereas in others it can be nearly impossible. If the lot you're looking at seems "cheap" it may be because everyone knows it's going to be very difficult and expensive to build.

If getting a variance is difficult in your city, and if the structure on the lot is a proper house with a foundation (i.e. not a mobile home), then you may be able to essentially rebuild while calling it a remodel. Basically, this involves tearing down most of the house while leaving one wall standing. Then rebuilding around the old wall. After the "remodel" is complete, pull a separate permit to replace the old wall. But you need to know what you can get away with in your specific city.

IMO, take your GC friend out for some beer/coffee and have a long conversation with him. He should know your local market, what the permitting and zoning variance process is like. Ballpark some estimates.

[Askel]

$400k and a shit ton of work just to save $100k?  I don't care how ugly the other houses are, if they keep me and my shit warm and dry, buying one of those is a way better deal in my book.   

But while a $150k build is certainly doable, I get the feeling that the quality of materials and finishes needed to meet that budget will look way out of character in a neighborhood where the lots go for $250k.

Somebody already mentioned manufactured homes, I would take a good hard look at your options there first.       

[lthenderson]

I am generally handy, I am a sculptor and a machinist. A have framed out and drywalled walls before.

In the context of 40 years ago, you most likely would be able to build a nice house to live in. But in the context of modern era houses, I'm not sure you have the qualifications to even attempt it based on the above. There are so many things that have become highly specialized in building a modern home and to learn all that would take years for any one person, much less the actual time spent doing the labor of building a house. I do a lot of home construction and I find even the most knowledgeable people struggle in the details of just ordering the necessary materials to put the typical roof on the house or to figure out the soffit intersection between a gable end and the rest of the house. That is one of hundreds of areas in a house that require specific knowledge and experience to build. All these things take a lot of time and experience to learn that the average person holding down a full time job doesn't have.

There are also lots of things that many never think about such as where are you going to get materials and how are you going to get them to your site? If you are ordering them from the local LoNards Depot and having them delivered, you will experience lots of lead times and delivery fees that add lots of time and money to your overall budget. What are you going to do with the waste that comes with every house build? If you hire out portions, can you find contractors willing to do it on short notice? Anymore, contractors are so busy, I find even small jobs need to be scheduled a year in advance to get on their schedule.  The list goes on and on which is why you always read about people going over budget in building houses.

My vote, find a house that meets most of your needs and remodel it to suit all of your needs. You will probably save money in the long run and you will certainly end up with years of your life that you can spend doing other things than building or learning about building a house.

[SmashYourSmartPhone]

These are not in violation if they were built/placed before zoning changed. My city recently updated zoning to allow for higher density, with the understanding that many of our most desirable historic neighborhoods could not be built under the more restrictive low-density codes from the mid 20th century.

Yes, I know people who did some major rework to their house, and ended up more or less having to move the house half a foot from the previous location (the foundation they were intending to keep was apparently in very poor condition and had to be redone, which triggered having to meet new setbacks).

Step 1 for this site, before anything else, is finding out if you can legally build anything on it.  That sort of skinny property is always a problem, and if planning and zoning says "No way, no how!" - no point wasting more time on it.

Why not just put in a new manufactured home? I feel like that wouldn’t be as great an investment. I feel like that would not appreciate as much value as a custom build. Also, I want to maximize the space of the specific lot.

A house isn't (shouldn't be...) an "investment."  It's "a place to live."  And as much as I've been informed repeatedly over the years that "manufactured homes go down in value," the county certainly doesn't seem to believe that's a thing, given our tax bill... my house is a manufactured, on a foundation, but still "legally a trailer," and that sure doesn't seem to mean anything with regards to value.

But look into single wides.  A 70-80' long single wide may get you a lot of what you want, for rather less time and effort than building, and then you have a place to live while building an outbuilding out back for more space.

$400k and a shit ton of work just to save $100k?  I don't care how ugly the other houses are, if they keep me and my shit warm and dry, buying one of those is a way better deal in my book.

There are two types of people in this sort of problem: Those, like you, who seem to view "Ugh, it's totally not worth the work to save a mere $100k," and those who, like the OP, view it more as "You mean I get to build a house and save $100k in the deal?  Sign me up!"

I've learned over the years that the two will never find common ground on things like this.

In the context of 40 years ago, you most likely would be able to build a nice house to live in. But in the context of modern era houses, I'm not sure you have the qualifications to even attempt it based on the above.

Ah, yes.  Homes.  So complex, you couldn't possibly do it yourself, you'd best hire the experts to do all the fiddly little fjords and stuff!  Despite it being the default throughout human history.  Build a 40 year old home design that meets modern code.  Problem solved.

I do a lot of home construction...

No particular offense aimed at you, but I find it amazing just how many people in an industry go out of their way to convince everyone else that their industry is so insanely complex that nobody else could possibly manage to achieve that which they get paid very well for.  Every "solar professional" out there seems to believe that solar is so hard, so complex, that their $4/W is a bargain (or $6/W for ground mount, because they don't want to).  Meanwhile, I know more than a few people who've built their own for $1/W or $1.50/W, depending on the system style.

But I also know more than a few people who have built their own homes, often with some pretty esoteric features like massive thermal heat storage under the house.  Yes, they're older homes, but "building your own home" is far from impossible.

Unless, in this particular case, that lot width and modern setbacks prohibit it.

[baconschteam]

$400k and a shit ton of work just to save $100k?  I don't care how ugly the other houses are, if they keep me and my shit warm and dry, buying one of those is a way better deal in my book.   

But while a $150k build is certainly doable, I get the feeling that the quality of materials and finishes needed to meet that budget will look way out of character in a neighborhood where the lots go for $250k.

Somebody already mentioned manufactured homes, I would take a good hard look at your options there first.       

By "ugly" what I really meant was over a century old and needs a bunch of work. It's a city with lots of historic buildings. But, point taken. Maybe I should just keep hunting for a deal on something that isn't a total gut job/rebuild. Or move to a different state.

[baconschteam]

These are not in violation if they were built/placed before zoning changed. My city recently updated zoning to allow for higher density, with the understanding that many of our most desirable historic neighborhoods could not be built under the more restrictive low-density codes from the mid 20th century.

Yes, I know people who did some major rework to their house, and ended up more or less having to move the house half a foot from the previous location (the foundation they were intending to keep was apparently in very poor condition and had to be redone, which triggered having to meet new setbacks).

Step 1 for this site, before anything else, is finding out if you can legally build anything on it.  That sort of skinny property is always a problem, and if planning and zoning says "No way, no how!" - no point wasting more time on it.

Why not just put in a new manufactured home? I feel like that wouldn’t be as great an investment. I feel like that would not appreciate as much value as a custom build. Also, I want to maximize the space of the specific lot.

A house isn't (shouldn't be...) an "investment."  It's "a place to live."  And as much as I've been informed repeatedly over the years that "manufactured homes go down in value," the county certainly doesn't seem to believe that's a thing, given our tax bill... my house is a manufactured, on a foundation, but still "legally a trailer," and that sure doesn't seem to mean anything with regards to value.

But look into single wides.  A 70-80' long single wide may get you a lot of what you want, for rather less time and effort than building, and then you have a place to live while building an outbuilding out back for more space.

$400k and a shit ton of work just to save $100k?  I don't care how ugly the other houses are, if they keep me and my shit warm and dry, buying one of those is a way better deal in my book.

There are two types of people in this sort of problem: Those, like you, who seem to view "Ugh, it's totally not worth the work to save a mere $100k," and those who, like the OP, view it more as "You mean I get to build a house and save $100k in the deal?  Sign me up!"

I've learned over the years that the two will never find common ground on things like this.

In the context of 40 years ago, you most likely would be able to build a nice house to live in. But in the context of modern era houses, I'm not sure you have the qualifications to even attempt it based on the above.

Ah, yes.  Homes.  So complex, you couldn't possibly do it yourself, you'd best hire the experts to do all the fiddly little fjords and stuff!  Despite it being the default throughout human history.  Build a 40 year old home design that meets modern code.  Problem solved.

I do a lot of home construction...

No particular offense aimed at you, but I find it amazing just how many people in an industry go out of their way to convince everyone else that their industry is so insanely complex that nobody else could possibly manage to achieve that which they get paid very well for.  Every "solar professional" out there seems to believe that solar is so hard, so complex, that their $4/W is a bargain (or $6/W for ground mount, because they don't want to).  Meanwhile, I know more than a few people who've built their own for $1/W or $1.50/W, depending on the system style.

But I also know more than a few people who have built their own homes, often with some pretty esoteric features like massive thermal heat storage under the house.  Yes, they're older homes, but "building your own home" is far from impossible.

Unless, in this particular case, that lot width and modern setbacks prohibit it.

Yeah, the prospect of building a custom house for my wife and I and future family sounds like an incredibly fun and satisfying challenge, however difficult. I'm really just trying to figure out if I'm totally out of the ballpark on how much I will spend. The way I look at it, even if I end up spending $450k (i.e. go overbudget) and a year or two of hard labor, while I could have just bought a house for $500k, there is so much value to me to having the exact house that we want, knowing exactly how every inch of it is built/functions, knowing that there is not some 100 year old aging pipe in the wall somewhere on the top floor, and to learning all of the skills that I will learn in the process of building it. Education is necessarily painful/expensive, and I'm prepared for a bit of that.

Also FYI, I am totally planning on having a completely South-facing roof full of DIY solar.

I will contact the city and assess how partial they are to zoning variances.

[Dicey]

Everyone needs to have dreams. The fun is in the planning. Why not?

[Askel]

There are two types of people in this sort of problem: Those, like you, who seem to view "Ugh, it's totally not worth the work to save a mere $100k," and those who, like the OP, view it more as "You mean I get to build a house and save $100k in the deal?  Sign me up!"

I've learned over the years that the two will never find common ground on things like this.

True, but I'm actually in the latter category myself (currently ripping off a wing of my house to rebuild it better this summer).  But the numbers the OP is throwing around make it seem like not very much fun to save that kind of money.  Kinda depends on where you are financially I guess. 

Driving my tractor through the east wing of my cheap, weird circle house hidden back in the woods to build something in it's place that may or may not be any better == a fine summer's entertainment.   

Knocking down an existing house on a quarter million dollar sliver of dirt with god, the building inspector, and all the neighbors looking on while I bumble around playing contractor sounds like a rather stressful experience.   

[Askel]

Yeah, the prospect of building a custom house for my wife and I and future family sounds like an incredibly fun and satisfying challenge, however difficult. I'm really just trying to figure out if I'm totally out of the ballpark on how much I will spend. The way I look at it, even if I end up spending $450k (i.e. go overbudget) and a year or two of hard labor, while I could have just bought a house for $500k, there is so much value to me to having the exact house that we want, knowing exactly how every inch of it is built/functions, knowing that there is not some 100 year old aging pipe in the wall somewhere on the top floor, and to learning all of the skills that I will learn in the process of building it. Education is necessarily painful/expensive, and I'm prepared for a bit of that.

Also FYI, I am totally planning on having a completely South-facing roof full of DIY solar.

I will contact the city and assess how partial they are to zoning variances.

I think your fears of older homes are maybe a bit overblown, lots of stuff can and will go wrong on a new build as well. Especially anything done by a first time DIY duffer, but hey- at least you know who to blame. ;D 

As for whether the budget is reasonable, only way to find out is to start pricing things out.  You can certainly build something that you can live in for $150k.  Whether it's something that you like or not is up to you.   

[baconschteam]

Knocking down an existing house on a quarter million dollar sliver of dirt with god, the building inspector, and all the neighbors looking on while I bumble around playing contractor sounds like a rather stressful experience.

True..

[lthenderson]

No particular offense aimed at you, but I find it amazing just how many people in an industry go out of their way to convince everyone else that their industry is so insanely complex that nobody else could possibly manage to achieve that which they get paid very well for.  Every "solar professional" out there seems to believe that solar is so hard, so complex, that their $4/W is a bargain (or $6/W for ground mount, because they don't want to).  Meanwhile, I know more than a few people who've built their own for $1/W or $1.50/W, depending on the system style.

But I also know more than a few people who have built their own homes, often with some pretty esoteric features like massive thermal heat storage under the house.  Yes, they're older homes, but "building your own home" is far from impossible.

Unless, in this particular case, that lot width and modern setbacks prohibit it.

I wasn't insinuating building a home was complex. Nearly every task is a basic one and most capable people can complete them. What I was trying to get across is the amount of time needed to gain the knowledge to complete something right the first and only time you might ever do it. Using your example of the solar system. It is very simple consisting of installing some premade panels and connecting the wires up correctly to batteries. Anyone could possibly do that with enough knowledge. But how much research went into that before the decision was ever made to purchase them? How much time was spent watching how to videos and reading websites that show someone how to set up their own solar panel grid.  I know I probably would have spent weeks researching brands, sizes, stats, watching installation videos etc. That is one part of literally many hundreds of decisions that need to be researched, made and accomplished on a job sight when building your first and only home. Multiply hundreds by 2 or 3 weeks each and you get years! Not doing the research means you will likely make mistakes that could have repercussions such as not flashing a window right, not using the right mortar for your brick work, not sizing wiring correctly, etc. Professionals learned all of this over years of apprenticeship and practice which is why they get paid good money to build houses. It isn't for their skills at driving a nail or cutting a board to length, but more for their knowledge.

I'm all for DIY and though I haven't built an entire house from the ground up, short of what one might call a couple tiny homes or cabins, I have always dreamed of doing so one day. But as experienced as I am, I know how much I don't know and how much time it would take for me to learn that on the fly as I was building my own home.  That was the point I was trying to make. I was in no way trying to drum up business by insinuating that it was too complex for the OP or most others people to do.

[sonofsven]

Where to start..

My wife and I want to live in this cute little walkable town where the houses are too expensive for us (cheapest houses are around $500k and ugly). It is the only town near where I work and near family that feels like a place we could enjoy settling into for a long time (it is walkable, limited in size by geography yet large enough to have counter-culture). There is a small, narrow residential lot with a teardown house (more like a single-wide manufactured home) that I am aware of and I have a fantasy of saying FU to the local market and building my own skinny two-story house using as much of my own labor as possible. The plan would be to build something narrow (15' or less) and efficient, something like this https://markstewart.com/house-plans/skinny-house-plans/holland/, but even smaller, maybe 1400 sq ft. I could design it myself in CAD, but I'm aware I still will need an architect to make legit plans (so maybe I should just find an existing drawing that works?). The home would basically be like a container home without the limitations of a container.



My completely imaginary budget includes getting the lot for around $250k, hiring help to remove the trailer that's on the land, hiring a contractor to lay a foundation, and building as much of the rest of it as I can with the help of friends, for no more than $400k total ($150k total for the demo and build). A close friend of mine is a house builder and GC whom I can pay to lend a hand and give advice. I have not built a house before. Is my budget a total joke? I know that I am probably a bit off, but how do I actually figure out how off I am? I'm just trying to find a creative way to break into this market that I can't afford, and I also want to learn how to build a house. DW and I plan on having child/children in 2-3 years and I don't foresee having the energy to take on something so ambitious after that.

I haven't researched financing a whole lot for this but the plan would be to get a mortgage for the lot and pay for the build out of pocket. Could I use a FHA loan?

First of all, it's generally difficult to get a loan on bare land.
Do you have any construction experience at all? Sure, building a house is not rocket science, but it's a lot more complicated than some on this thread will have you believe. I've built numerous houses. The first step is to talk to the land use/zoning department to see what and where you can build, then the building department looks at your plans.
It is easier to buy off the shelf plans, many of them will have the engineering included. There are a lot of factors in modern construction the lay person will not be familiar with.
For example, air sealing and more insulation to create more efficient homes has led to the "need" for air exchange systems; earthquake and wind awareness has led to the use of thousands of dollars in specific metal brackets that must be precisely installed, etc.
The building inspectors are going to be looking at your project through a microscope as well, because they know you don't really know what you're doing (no offense) and they are liable if they sign off on sub par construction.
I think your budget is woefully low. Could a motivated person build a livable structure with what's left after having the mobile home demo'ed AND paying the concrete contractor? Maybe, but I don't think you could even buy the materials realistically. So you're talking used materials, which create a lot more work, and increase the time frame needed.
And that's just the building of the shell, doing all the electrical, plumbing, heating, kitchen, etc is the more expensive part of the build.
Double your budget to $300k (which is still low!) and you might have a chance.

[baconschteam]

First of all, it's generally difficult to get a loan on bare land.
Do you have any construction experience at all? Sure, building a house is not rocket science, but it's a lot more complicated than some on this thread will have you believe. I've built numerous houses. The first step is to talk to the land use/zoning department to see what and where you can build, then the building department looks at your plans.
It is easier to buy off the shelf plans, many of them will have the engineering included. There are a lot of factors in modern construction the lay person will not be familiar with.
For example, air sealing and more insulation to create more efficient homes has led to the "need" for air exchange systems; earthquake and wind awareness has led to the use of thousands of dollars in specific metal brackets that must be precisely installed, etc.
The building inspectors are going to be looking at your project through a microscope as well, because they know you don't really know what you're doing (no offense) and they are liable if they sign off on sub par construction.
I think your budget is woefully low. Could a motivated person build a livable structure with what's left after having the mobile home demo'ed AND paying the concrete contractor? Maybe, but I don't think you could even buy the materials realistically. So you're talking used materials, which create a lot more work, and increase the time frame needed.
And that's just the building of the shell, doing all the electrical, plumbing, heating, kitchen, etc is the more expensive part of the build.
Double your budget to $300k (which is still low!) and you might have a chance.

But look how simple this design is! I don't think the building inspectors will look twice.

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At this point I'm pretty convinced I'll just keep my eye out for a fixer upper.

[nedwin]

Menards sells plans and material packages for homes, not quite "kits" as everything needs to be cut and assembled.  A 1440 sf model sells for $119,000, but does not include labor, foundation, steel (if necessary), paint, electrical, hvac, plumbing or delivery.  A 1250 sf 2bed/2bath model is about $72,000.

https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/books-building-plans/home-plans/shop-all-home-projects/29412-goodman-home-material-list/29412/p-1524465112678-c-9919.htm
https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/books-building-plans/home-plans/shop-all-home-projects/29361-giovanni-home-material-list/29361/p-1534141691726-c-9919.htm

This gives you at least a starting point for the cost of materials.  This does not include any fees the municipality may charge, such as development, water/sewer tap, or permit fees.  New construction and energy codes can be complicated and are more expensive to meet than previous codes, but result in homes with lower energy costs.  Also the narrow lot you are looking at may drive some material choices such as fiber cement siding and metal clad windows for fire resistance in case the neighboring house burns.  If you're OK with the small house above and no garage, you might be able to do the build for $200k-$250k if you do everything but foundation.  But I think Sven is more realistic at $300,000+.

[Askel]

But look how simple this design is! I don't think the building inspectors will look twice.

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l______l___l______l

At this point I'm pretty convinced I'll just keep my eye out for a fixer upper.

HEY! Where did you get a copy of my summer addition project blueprints?!?!   

I'd heed sonofsven's advice. He's been very helpful with all my home remodel questions and not been wrong yet. 


Although we're doing the fixer upper thing and half the time I secretly hope whatever I'm doing causes some catastrophic collapse of the house.  That way we can just start over and build a new, normal house that isn't full of surprises.   

[Sibley]

No particular offense aimed at you, but I find it amazing just how many people in an industry go out of their way to convince everyone else that their industry is so insanely complex that nobody else could possibly manage to achieve that which they get paid very well for.  Every "solar professional" out there seems to believe that solar is so hard, so complex, that their $4/W is a bargain (or $6/W for ground mount, because they don't want to).  Meanwhile, I know more than a few people who've built their own for $1/W or $1.50/W, depending on the system style.

But I also know more than a few people who have built their own homes, often with some pretty esoteric features like massive thermal heat storage under the house.  Yes, they're older homes, but "building your own home" is far from impossible.

Unless, in this particular case, that lot width and modern setbacks prohibit it.

I wasn't insinuating building a home was complex. Nearly every task is a basic one and most capable people can complete them. What I was trying to get across is the amount of time needed to gain the knowledge to complete something right the first and only time you might ever do it. Using your example of the solar system. It is very simple consisting of installing some premade panels and connecting the wires up correctly to batteries. Anyone could possibly do that with enough knowledge. But how much research went into that before the decision was ever made to purchase them? How much time was spent watching how to videos and reading websites that show someone how to set up their own solar panel grid.  I know I probably would have spent weeks researching brands, sizes, stats, watching installation videos etc. That is one part of literally many hundreds of decisions that need to be researched, made and accomplished on a job sight when building your first and only home. Multiply hundreds by 2 or 3 weeks each and you get years! Not doing the research means you will likely make mistakes that could have repercussions such as not flashing a window right, not using the right mortar for your brick work, not sizing wiring correctly, etc. Professionals learned all of this over years of apprenticeship and practice which is why they get paid good money to build houses. It isn't for their skills at driving a nail or cutting a board to length, but more for their knowledge.

I'm all for DIY and though I haven't built an entire house from the ground up, short of what one might call a couple tiny homes or cabins, I have always dreamed of doing so one day. But as experienced as I am, I know how much I don't know and how much time it would take for me to learn that on the fly as I was building my own home.  That was the point I was trying to make. I was in no way trying to drum up business by insinuating that it was too complex for the OP or most others people to do.

As an example: I need to acquire and install window well covers on my parent's house. There are 6 window wells. 4 of them are the same size and shape, the other 2 are a different shape and are also slightly different sizes from each other. This is easy, yes?

So, here's my process thus far:
-measure window wells
-research covers online, looking for appropriate sizes and shapes without spending a fortune.
-Select covers to buy.
-Research how to install the covers. Note that it's a brick house, so I have to figure out best practice for drilling into a brick wall, what drill bit to use to do so, if I can use my drill or if I need a hammer drill, then what fasteners are used, and what sizes everything needs to be.
-Purchase covers, drill bits, fasteners, and if necessary acquire the appropriate tool.
-Pick a day to do this, preferably on a day when my dad is otherwise occupied.
-Clean out the wells and otherwise prep for covers.
-Actually install the covers, which is going to involve drilling into the brick wall.

So, that "easy" job has a lot of steps. I know enough to know what the steps are, but not enough to cut out all the research. Actually, the reason I know enough to know the steps is because I've done some research.

Building an entire house is going to be exponentially more.

[couponvan]

I love the narrow house idea.  I have a lot I am planning on doing something very similar on, but around 1,400 sq feet and 2 bedrooms. I worry about the potential expense to hire it out.  I worry more about the time for me to achieve it myself.

[Dancin'Dog]

I started building our house about 25 years ago.  It's still not quite finished...  LOL

[NaN]

Your lot reminds me of this narrow home spite story. Maybe you can copy the design?

Building a new house can go terribly wrong, as I just read about this disaster. This was by a supposed "expert" builder.

[CatamaranSailor]

Late to the party...

I was my own General Contractor and built my own home. It's absolutely doable. I've posted on this topic before.

Financing is difficult to find, but not impossible and yes you can get a loan as a first time owner builder.

https://www.ownerbuilderloans.com/

You save the majority of your money managing the construction process. General contractors rarely swing hammers...they manage the subs and keep the budget on track and that's what you would be doing.

If there are things you can do yourself, you can save more. At the very minimum you can paint and do your own landscaping.

I actually made the mistake of doing too much myself...taking weeks to do something a sub contractor could have done in a day.

The process is time consuming and frustrating but well worth it. PM me if you have specific questions.

Cheers.

There is nothing magical about construction, whether new or old.

[mistymoney]

How about a 3d printed house? 

And may I ask why you want a narrow house?  Is it due to the lot you're looking at? 

The lot is 22’x118’

what, if any, is the zoning offset requirement?

[baconschteam]

what, if any, is the zoning offset requirement?

There's a 5' side yard requirement that all of the other houses in the area do not seem to abide by. Is that what you're asking?

[joenorm]

I built my own home right before the pandemic.

1450sqft for under $200K including permitting, design, site work, etc. That number would probably be $300K now or even $350

This is in a high cost of living area but also rural, so the permitting process wasn't too bad. I know some cities/towns can make things very difficult.

I think the key to building affordably is mostly the design of the building. My footprint is a rectangle. Limit corners and things like dormers or anything that complicates the build. Fortunately simplicity is even in style these days.

You cannot just manage(be the GC) it to save money, you have to take on the work, too. I had my hands in just about every aspect. Foundation, framing, electrical, roof, PV array, flooring, countertops, etc. It's the ONLY way to save a HUGE amount of money. The same house today built by a GC that subs everything would approach 1 million dollars.

I also built before kids. I have one now and there would be absolutely no way to do the same thing again. Absolutely no way. Commit to a full year of relentless work and you can absolutely do it.

[ixtap]

Have you considered a kit house? The architectural work and even some of the sourcing are already done, cutting down costs, but there is plenty of room for customization if that is important to you.

[walkingmiller]

I really want the answer to this question to be, "Of course! Go for it!" My parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents built most of their houses. Most of them were teachers and had zero professional construction experience. But, they also had passed-down knowledge and multiple generations of help that made it possible. When my wife and I bought an old house that probably should have been torn down to rehab, we thought we would have a decent bit of that help, too. But, we closed on the house on May 2020, right as the pandemic was starting. So, we mostly had to do it ourselves, and it was definitely a struggle, even though I had a decent bit of experience in framing, plumbing, and electrical. Of course, we now have a ton of equity in a house, but that equity was definitely hard-won (the jury is still out on whether it was worth it).

Everyone has given great advice, but in case it is helpful, here is how I would approach this decision:
- Do you have a decent bit of extra cash if things go sideways, or if you just decide to hire out the rest of the work? If so, this can relieve a lot of the stress. I imagine some people on here would have a decent idea for how to plan for overage.
- Are you okay with it taking 2x the amount of time you estimate it will take? Professionals have a hard time sticking to a timeline (often for good reasons), so you need to go into it knowing you may have to live in your rental an extra 6 months.
- How is your relationship with your spouse? Have you dealt with many difficult situations in the past? Clearly you don't need to answer this here, but I have a few friends where at least one of them claims a similar project "broke" their marriage. Now they are dealing with divorce and having to sell their "dream house" that they poured blood, sweat, and tears into. The other friends are still married, but it took a huge toll on their relationship. My wife and I survived our massive project, but it put a lot of strain on our relationship. That being said, we also learned a lot about each other through working on it, even though we had already been married for 15 years. Our son (now 6) is also very, very good at hammering nails and doing his own "construction" projects. 
- How flexible is your job? I have a very flexible job with a ton of vacation, but it was still a hard pill to swallow when I had to give up most of my vacation days and weekends to work on the house. Plus, I personally had a hard time getting off work, eating a dinner on the go, and spending 2-3 hours afterwards doing the work. We also had a 2 year old when we started the project, so that made spending time working on the house extra difficult. Along those lines, don't underestimate the amount of time it will take to "get back into a project" if you are only working on it during nights and weekends, particularly if you happen to be living in the house (since you have to put away your tools every night).

All that being said, the draw of building my own house is still strong. Heck, even doing another renovation project is tempting. I really do enjoy the work, but the stress it created in my family's life was pretty significant. We are now talking about moving and a condo or renting looks very appealing.

I think building a house would be a perfect retirement project, particularly if it is a vacation home. My company offers 3-month sabbaticals, and I am very tempted to try a simple cabin build in the mountains during that time (I haven't told my wife that yet).

Have you considered buying a small plot of land outside the city limits to build a house (counties often have more lenient code requirements than cities)? Depending on where you are, this might open up some options if you really want to DIY it.

[Rightflyer]

I started building our house about 25 years ago.  It's still not quite finished...  LOL

We've self-built houses and reno'd houses... none of them got completely finished until we sold!

[AMandM]

Wanting to get this done before having kids is wise, but that means you have a pretty hard deadline. As a reality check on how renovation/building work expands beyond your initial time and/or money estimates, I would recommend reading through Dicey's excellent thread. Her husband is a contractor, I believe, and the two of them have a lot of experience.

[Greystache]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpFbPOFEUag

You might consider a barndominium. Basically a foundation and a steel building and you can do the interior work yourself. Not sure if you could get permits for such a building in a city.

[Kapyarn]

Seems to be a bit of an old thread but yes, $150k was fantasy for a 1400 sq ft house.

We have built roughly the same size house doing every bit of the work, no contractors and the materials alone have been over $200k.  I do not know if the big builders get massive discounts but for the little Home Depot guy, things are just expensive.  Arc-fault/ground fault breakers, which code requires almost everywhere now are $60 each...a decade ago you could use normal $6 breakers.  Don't get me started on copper wire prices.  Lumber has come back down but for awhile you were paying $60 to $100 for a sheet of plywood and $9 for a 2x6.  Just got back from getting 4 more boxes of drywall mud, $15 each.  This is just mud to finish off seams, then you need PVA then paint.   You don't even want to ask how much paint is nowadays.

$150k.  heh heh.