What DIY skills give you the most bang for your time/investment?

[Arktinkerer]

As the title says!

I would put cooking as number one for just about everyone.  After that? 

Being able to research either online or at the library on how to do things for yourself.  Yeah kind of a cheat but knowledge is king.

Painting interior/exterior (and doing proper prep work!) is a big one.  Not a day to day thing but most people wind up painting at some point in their lives.

Whats on your list and why?

[Erica/NWEdible]

I'd put cooking and finding answers to questions as basic life skills - totally critical, yeah. I'd say in our experience, plumbing pays a lot in "Nega-bucks." We've had to replace pumps and various plumbing parts of appliances and the savings of DIY'ing vs. hiring a professional is pretty huge.

[vhalros]

There's a lot of little cooking skills that have a big pay off; learning how to properly use a chefs knife makes chopping things three or four times as fast, and isn't even that hard. Since cooking is easier, you cook more often, likely improving your health as well as your wealth.

Doing my own bicycle maintenance has saved some money, but probably doesn't actually save more than maybe $100-$200/year for me at most. For simple things it is also dramatically faster than bringing it to the shop (which might leave you with out a bike for several days or even a week in the bust season).

[johnny847]

Managing my own investments will easily save me tens of thousands of dollars, if not a hundred thousand or two, over my lifetime.

Of course I don't think that's the kind of skill you meant OP ;)


Cooking is a big one. Saves you money but more importantly, is healthier.

Doing your own home repairs is probably another. I've never owned a house so I've never had to do this, but I watched my dad do tons of them and he always figured it out. He even ripped out a wall and redid the master bathroom all by himself.
He is an electrical engineer. So not directly applicable to any of this stuff, but the engineering mindset probably makes him a bit more prepared for this than the average person. But in reality I think it's more about the mindset of "I can do this, I just need to learn." He bought several books and watched Youtube videos to do all the repairs.

[waffle]

Basic Carpentry, electrical and plumbing skills. If you hire out to replace a faucet or light switch then you just wasted a ton of money. I'm in the process of totally renovating my house a little bit at a time, so I've learned a ton of great skills. One that I'm looking forward to is tiling. It seems like an easy enough skill to learn that I will use fairly regularly.

[AZDude]

Electrical skills. Basic plumbing is something you can do with just the "I'm not a dumbass" skill. Electrical work, though, gets more complicated, IMO. Example, when we bought our first home, it had tons of stuff wrong with it. I did lots of work myself. Fixed the outside gate, fixed the roof, replaced non-working ceiling fans, replaced faucets in the bathtub, kitchen, and shower. However, one thing that defeated me... there were floodlights in the backyard. Only some of them would turn on. I spent a couple of days trying to fix them so all the lights turned on, but no dice.

[kiwidollabill]

Painting: A skill almost anyone can learn to get a job that is 90% perfect (most ppl wouldnt notice the extra 10%).  It can be a big cost to homeowners (at least round here) due to the time commitments required for a job.

Basic Carpentry: If you are like me, there are always projects to do round the house.  A decent set of tools and the knowledge to 'measure twice, cut once" will go a long way.  This goes hand in hand with general home repairs.

Managing investments (as discussed): Thousand of dollars to be saved here.

Car maintainance: Knowing where/how to source parts and do servicing will save 50-75% of ongoing costs

[Rural]

Building. This one got us probably the biggest all-in-one win in the form of a place to live, and if you can build a house, you can fix all the parts.


Car repair. Has allowed us both (together and separately) a lifetime of cheapass cars without repair bills other than parts.


Food skills - growing, hunting, foraging, preserving, and cooking.


Sewing is still useful, but not that big a return on investment anymore because of the wide availability of thrift stores and the general wastefulness of the American consumer.


And finally, investing, the skill which lets us have the others as  "fun" instead of dire necessity.

[PMG]

I enjoy the general "not a dumb ass" skill mentioned earlier.

Basic coding and web development.  I am not proficient and I don't enjoy it, but having some rough knowledge of how it works and a little experience with it has opened doors professionally. I call it DIY since the field has been so self taught and everyone has a website...

Sewing has huge return for me.  A decent kit and scissors for $10 costs less than 1 hemming at the taylors.  I go far beyond basic. Could talk about it all day.  Won't.  The habit pays for itself for me, supplies me in gifts, clothes me and gives me a little fun money on top of that.

I wish gardening had big returns.  I've tried four or five years, but this is the first year I've gotten close to breaking even. I'm no where near recouping what I spent previous years, never mind all of the time invested.  Ah well, it was at least active time.

[zolotiyeruki]

I'd say first and foremost is "A willingness to learn, and a willingness to work," along with "how to read a manual or search for a youtube video."

My parents are not much of DIYers, while I am.  They never really taught me things like how to fix a toilet or change the oil or anything like that growing up (they did PLENTY of other stuff though!).  It was only after I graduated from college and lived in the same neighborhood as my much more DIYer brother that I started tackling things like car repair.

In terms of specific skills, I'd say...
--car repair
--painting and simple drywall repair, especially if you have kids
--how to clean your house from top to bottom
--basic plumbing and electrical. (i.e. how to replace a light switch or outlet, how to fix or replace a toilet or sink fixture)

[Rural]

Sewing has huge return for me.  A decent kit and scissors for $10 costs less than 1 hemming at the taylors.  I go far beyond basic. Could talk about it all day.  Won't.  The habit pays for itself for me, supplies me in gifts, clothes me and gives me a little fun money on top of that.

Hmm. I wasn't considering just hemming to be actually sewing, so I think we're in some agreement here. Minor repairs and alterations have big payoffs (I assume; I've never been to a tailor so I don't know the prices). Making clothes doesn't have the payoff it used to because of increased costs of fabrics and increased availability of used clothing.

[Chris22]

Basic Carpentry, electrical and plumbing skills. If you hire out to replace a faucet or light switch then you just wasted a ton of money. I'm in the process of totally renovating my house a little bit at a time, so I've learned a ton of great skills. One that I'm looking forward to is tiling. It seems like an easy enough skill to learn that I will use fairly regularly.

This. 

Electrical work especially, TONS of money for something that's very, very simple if you just slow down and think about what you're doing, and turn the breaker off.

I'm weird though, I'll do 98% of the work on my house, but I won't paint anything that has to look good (I'll paint a garage or a shed or something like that.)  I just don't have the patience or steady hand to do it right.  I'm probably the only guy in the world who will frame up a wall, wire in the switches, sheet rock it, tape it, mudd it, sand it...and then pay someone else to paint it. 

[FIRE me]

As the title says!

I would put cooking as number one for just about everyone.  After that? 

Being able to research either online or at the library on how to do things for yourself.  Yeah kind of a cheat but knowledge is king.

Painting interior/exterior (and doing proper prep work!) is a big one.  Not a day to day thing but most people wind up painting at some point in their lives.

Whats on your list and why?

Lots of great positive suggestions in this thread already. So I'll try to add some negative know how.

There is a great home inspection company in Minnesota. They post a photo a day to Facebook of the things they find wrong. The large majority of problems they find is due to incompetent DIY, most of the rest is due to lack of maintenance.

Their Facebook page is 100% public, no need to log in or have a Facebook account to see their inspection photos.

If your DIY tends tends look like the photos, you should either hire a professional, or learn some more before you try again.

Also, I find the photos damned amusing.

https://www.facebook.com/MinnesotaHomeInspections/photos_stream

[Goldielocks]

Small appliance repair lets us buy used but excellent quality appliances and keep them running. DH has the know how but it looked easy most times. especially with YouTube now.

For me it is how to snake a drain. No plumbers will be paid for maintenance in this house!

[Arktinkerer]

Small appliance repair lets us buy used but excellent quality appliances and keep them running. DH has the know how but it looked easy most times. especially with YouTube now.

For me it is how to snake a drain. No plumbers will be paid for maintenance in this house!

One of the things I learned about house/vehicle/, appliance repairs is that I can screw up, sometimes several times, and still come out ahead of calling a repairman. Broke a toilet once trying to repair part of it.  I was younger and my mother got angry with me about it.  Years later I realized I could have broken that toilet, gone out and bought a new one, installed it, and still been ahead of a service call from a plumber.

[TheBuddha]

Counting cards

[ShoulderThingThatGoesUp]

As the title says!

I would put cooking as number one for just about everyone.  After that? 

Being able to research either online or at the library on how to do things for yourself.  Yeah kind of a cheat but knowledge is king.

Painting interior/exterior (and doing proper prep work!) is a big one.  Not a day to day thing but most people wind up painting at some point in their lives.

Whats on your list and why?

Lots of great positive suggestions in this thread already. So I'll try to add some negative know how.

There is a great home inspection company in Minnesota. They post a photo a day to Facebook of the things they find wrong. The large majority of problems they find is due to incompetent DIY, most of the rest is due to lack of maintenance.

Their Facebook page is 100% public, no need to log in or have a Facebook account to see their inspection photos.

If your DIY tends tends look like the photos, you should either hire a professional, or learn some more before you try again.

Also, I find the photos damned amusing.

https://www.facebook.com/MinnesotaHomeInspections/photos_stream

This is amazing.

[the_fella]

It's maybe not what OP had in mind, but I feel training my dog definitely fits here. A trainer would charge a couple wheelbarrows of cash to train my little guy. I do it myself (probably slower), and save quite a bit. He knows most of the "basic" commands, and I'm currently working with him on his pulling (he pulls against a leash like he's being paid for it, literally to the point of choking himself). He has improved dramatically in this regard since I first got him. I also taught him to shake hands. Haha. As for resources, I really like Ian Dunbar's stuff. He's a British veterinarian and dog trainer. Reddit also has a dog training community.

I also do most of my own car repair, except for oil changes. I can almost always find a coupon for Car-X so that it ends up being cheaper than doing it myself. I also recently discovered that you can use the metal cleaner "Brasso" to clean foggy plastic headlights. Often, I buy my parts on ebay using an ebay gift card that I purchased at Kroger. That way, I get (double!!) fuel points for buying parts I would've bought anyway.

Computer repair! This one has saved me a ton of money. A technician has never touched any of my computers (I have a desktop and laptop, both Dells). I'm very good with computers and have no issue whatsoever repairing them. My CMOS battery recently died (the battery that allows the BIOS information to save, and powers the internal clock) and I replaced it myself. I've also had other hardware (and software) issues that I have troubleshooted myself and solved, typically for nothing. My laptop was starting to get hot enough to burn me, so I disassembled it completely, and discovered that there was a wall of dust between the heatsink and fan. I removed this, and it did help quite a bit with the temperature. However, I still need to apply some thermal paste to the CPU and GPU. It's slightly related, but I have an "old" iPod video (5.5 generation, I believe). It stopped turning on. When I tried, the hard drive would just click repeatedly until it shut off on its own. This ran the battery down. I took it to the Apple Store and one of the "geniuses" (I assume they use the term ironically), after just a visual inspection without hooking it up to a computer, told me, "It's broken. Buy a new one." I lol'd and left. I use Linux, so at first I wasn't able to install iTunes to fix it. Finally, I figured out that I can install Windows via virtual box and install iTunes in that. So I did. I was able to restore the iPod, which fixed its "clicking" and not turning on problem. However, the battery was still dead and would no longer hold a charge. I bought a new battery on ebay for $1.99 and installed it myself. My iPod is good as new.

[music lover]

I can do almost anything house related and have saved 10's of thousands over the years. I have:

- built 3 decks
- built a large double garage
- designed and built a sunroom
- built a fence
- shingled the house and garage
- gutted my kitchen to the studs and did everything except build the cabinets
- done drywall and mudding
- framing
- electrical
- removed a load bearing wall
- installed hardwood flooring
- replaced all the windows and doors (interior and exterior)
- etc...

[johnny847]

Computer repair! This one has saved me a ton of money. A technician has never touched any of my computers (I have a desktop and laptop, both Dells). I'm very good with computers and have no issue whatsoever repairing them. My CMOS battery recently died (the battery that allows the BIOS information to save, and powers the internal clock) and I replaced it myself. I've also had other hardware (and software) issues that I have troubleshooted myself and solved, typically for nothing. My laptop was starting to get hot enough to burn me, so I disassembled it completely, and discovered that there was a wall of dust between the heatsink and fan. I removed this, and it did help quite a bit with the temperature. However, I still need to apply some thermal paste to the CPU and GPU. It's slightly related, but I have an "old" iPod video (5.5 generation, I believe). It stopped turning on. When I tried, the hard drive would just click repeatedly until it shut off on its own. This ran the battery down. I took it to the Apple Store and one of the "geniuses" (I assume they use the term ironically), after just a visual inspection without hooking it up to a computer, told me, "It's broken. Buy a new one." I lol'd and left. I use Linux, so at first I wasn't able to install iTunes to fix it. Finally, I figured out that I can install Windows via virtual box and install iTunes in that. So I did. I was able to restore the iPod, which fixed its "clicking" and not turning on problem. However, the battery was still dead and would no longer hold a charge. I bought a new battery on ebay for $1.99 and installed it myself. My iPod is good as new.

Oh yea this is so natural to me it totally didn't occur to me as a DIY skill. Fixing computers (hardware and software) is really not that hard, it just requires you to look stuff up and watch some videos.
Building a computer is pretty easy too.

[Arktinkerer]

I can do almost anything house related and have saved 10's of thousands over the years. I have:

- built 3 decks
- built a large double garage
- designed and built a sunroom
- built a fence
- shingled the house and garage
- gutted my kitchen to the studs and did everything except build the cabinets
- done drywall and mudding
- framing
- electrical
- removed a load bearing wall
- installed hardwood flooring
- replaced all the windows and doors (interior and exterior)
- etc...

Read a book on building your own house.  Wish I could remember the title. The author devoted a chapter to the financials, including taxes, of doing it yourself.  Big impact!  So much so that many people (he said men but it was an older book!) would be better off to take a year off from working to do their own labor in building a house.

[Ozstache]

Mine are:
- Home handyman for pretty much anything, unless grossly unsafe
- Car/motorbike maintainer and basic repairer
- Travel agent
- Financial adviser

On the other hand, although I have quite good computer skills (hardware and software) that are in high demand by family and friends, they would have to be the most thankless of things I do for other people.

[the_fella]

I can do almost anything house related and have saved 10's of thousands over the years. I have:

- built 3 decks
- built a large double garage
- designed and built a sunroom
- built a fence
- shingled the house and garage
- gutted my kitchen to the studs and did everything except build the cabinets
- done drywall and mudding
- framing
- electrical
- removed a load bearing wall
- installed hardwood flooring
- replaced all the windows and doors (interior and exterior)
- etc...

Read a book on building your own house.  Wish I could remember the title. The author devoted a chapter to the financials, including taxes, of doing it yourself.  Big impact!  So much so that many people (he said men but it was an older book!) would be better off to take a year off from working to do their own labor in building a house.

Yep! And fixing stuff comes rather naturally to me. In general, I can look at something and easily see how it goes together.

[Arktinkerer]

On the other hand, although I have quite good computer skills (hardware and software) that are in high demand by family and friends, they would have to be the most thankless of things I do for other people.

Never thought of it as a DIY skill but learning to say no gracefully (or keep my mouth shut about how easy it is to repair something!) is a good skill to have after you learn some of the others!

[sleepyguy]

Not in any order,

- Basic cooking
- Basic home handy work (build a deck, replace door, roof repairs, flooring, wiring, etc)
- investment knowledge (reading and learning of what and how to invest)
- Computer stuff (I do for a living so it's easy)

Things I need to improve BIG TIME

- Car maintenance (I suck)

[Ozstache]

On the other hand, although I have quite good computer skills (hardware and software) that are in high demand by family and friends, they would have to be the most thankless of things I do for other people.

Never thought of it as a DIY skill but learning to say no gracefully (or keep my mouth shut about how easy it is to repair something!) is a good skill to have after you learn some of the others!

Agreed, but once your computer abilities are known by them through what they see of you working on your own stuff it's pretty hard to deny you know what your are doing. At least when I was working with the military, I would change jobs and hence work mates every few years and I soon learned not to let my Excel ninja skills out of the bag, lest I become the office spreadsheet maker/fixer!

[shelivesthedream]

I can do almost anything house related and have saved 10's of thousands over the years. I have:

- built 3 decks
- built a large double garage
- designed and built a sunroom
- built a fence
- shingled the house and garage
- gutted my kitchen to the studs and did everything except build the cabinets
- done drywall and mudding
- framing
- electrical
- removed a load bearing wall
- installed hardwood flooring
- replaced all the windows and doors (interior and exterior)
- etc...

Read a book on building your own house.  Wish I could remember the title. The author devoted a chapter to the financials, including taxes, of doing it yourself.  Big impact!  So much so that many people (he said men but it was an older book!) would be better off to take a year off from working to do their own labor in building a house.

I'd LOVE to know what this book is called.

One small thing which hasn't been mentioned is first aid/home health care. I can do basic stuff like bandaging up at ankle or cleaning a wound which saves a time-sucking trip to the GP or minor injuries. I also have a good sense of when to wait it out and when to panic, assisted by some sceptical internet searching.

[poorboyrichman]

Growing your own vegetables from seed gives you the highest return on investment possible.

Turn waste into resource.

e.g. food waste can be composted, discarded pepper/chili/tomato seeds, or anything that you can imagine can be grown in simple veg patch and replace [most of] your food budget.

More ideas here:
http://www.cheapvegetablegardener.com/most-profitable-plants-in-your/

[Melody]

Tax planning... But I got a head start in that as I used to be a tax agent :-) but I am really surprised how many people don't spend a few hours learning to use e-tax (free software) and lodging themselves when they only have one job and no investments when accountants charge about $150 to do this. Sewing (mending rather than making new stuff), pays three times over... You don't have to replace the item but it also keeps you out of the mall where impulse purchases are made and saves the time spent tracking down a prefect replacment. Basic car care ... Knowing the basics keeps you from running to the mechanic for every little noise.  Cycling  and cooking... Goes without saying.  Many of the "home" ones don't really help renters as much... Incontinence do these myself but have friends who do: Homebrew and Still (especially in Australia where beer is $40+ a case). Being able to service musical instruments and amps. Setting up custom rollerskates and servicing skates.

[Arktinkerer]

Tax planning... But I got a head start in that as I used to be a tax agent :-) but I am really surprised how many people don't spend a few hours learning to use e-tax (free software) and lodging themselves when they only have one job and no investments when accountants charge about $150 to do this.

Ohh!  Thank you!  Big one I left off my list!  I forget how many hours I spend reading about taxes for retirement planning, real estate, self employment.  I hate that spending so much time on how I move money around is as big, or bigger, than making money in determining what I can keep from my labors.  But that is the way the game is played.  And its never over is it.  The government keeps changing the rules so you have to stay up on this stuff every year.  Finally hired an accountant a few years back.  First one was not as good as I was.  Second one was better--did some things in a way I didn't like but showed me that was how it should be done.  Finally getting to the stage where I realize no matter what you do it's wrong--just make it less wrong, and that at some point it's not worth digging for one more receipt!

[Melody]

Ha ha yeah. I am surprised at how often the advice dished out by tax agents is just plain wrong orvis reasonable but doesn't optimise the situation. And understanding taxes is so key to investing well. If you make tax ineffective choices you have to have much higher returns to get the same returns as a tax efficient investor.

[MissStache]

Of my personal skills, I'd say gardening and canning/preserving are the ones that serve me the best.  It is healthy, cheap, good exercise, and delicious. 

I WISH I knew basic automotive stuff, not because I want to do the work, but so I don't feel like an idiot when I have to get repairs done on it.  And as far as things that save me aggravation, I wish I knew more about computers.  Cars and computers are both expensive to get fixed.

[Jeremy E.]

Mustachianism
Frugalism
Minimalism
Credit Card Hacking
Car Maintenance and Repair
Interview Skills (to get better jobs)
Knowing how and when to ask for a raise
Construction Skills

[the_fella]

Of my personal skills, I'd say gardening and canning/preserving are the ones that serve me the best.  It is healthy, cheap, good exercise, and delicious. 

I WISH I knew basic automotive stuff, not because I want to do the work, but so I don't feel like an idiot when I have to get repairs done on it.  And as far as things that save me aggravation, I wish I knew more about computers.  Cars and computers are both expensive to get fixed.

I'd recommend Eric the Car Guy's YouTube channel. He's a real mechanic, and does (rather lengthy) repair videos. Some of them may be beyond your level, but you may find others interesting. Scotty Kilmer is another one who does similar videos, but his are very simplistic and very very short.

[MissStache]

Of my personal skills, I'd say gardening and canning/preserving are the ones that serve me the best.  It is healthy, cheap, good exercise, and delicious. 

I WISH I knew basic automotive stuff, not because I want to do the work, but so I don't feel like an idiot when I have to get repairs done on it.  And as far as things that save me aggravation, I wish I knew more about computers.  Cars and computers are both expensive to get fixed.

I'd recommend Eric the Car Guy's YouTube channel. He's a real mechanic, and does (rather lengthy) repair videos. Some of them may be beyond your level, but you may find others interesting. Scotty Kilmer is another one who does similar videos, but his are very simplistic and very very short.

Thanks!  That a great suggestion.  I'm bookmarking both of them right now!

[shelivesthedream]

I can do almost anything house related and have saved 10's of thousands over the years. I have:

- built 3 decks
- built a large double garage
- designed and built a sunroom
- built a fence
- shingled the house and garage
- gutted my kitchen to the studs and did everything except build the cabinets
- done drywall and mudding
- framing
- electrical
- removed a load bearing wall
- installed hardwood flooring
- replaced all the windows and doors (interior and exterior)
- etc...

Read a book on building your own house.  Wish I could remember the title. The author devoted a chapter to the financials, including taxes, of doing it yourself.  Big impact!  So much so that many people (he said men but it was an older book!) would be better off to take a year off from working to do their own labor in building a house.

OK, my best guess is this one: http://www.amazon.com/Build-Concise-Successfully-Subcontracting-Building/dp/0971195447

[Jeremy E.]

Libraries have tons of books on building houses.

[forummm]

I can do almost anything house related and have saved 10's of thousands over the years. I have:

- built 3 decks
- built a large double garage
- designed and built a sunroom
- built a fence
- shingled the house and garage
- gutted my kitchen to the studs and did everything except build the cabinets
- done drywall and mudding
- framing
- electrical
- removed a load bearing wall
- installed hardwood flooring
- replaced all the windows and doors (interior and exterior)
- etc...

Read a book on building your own house.  Wish I could remember the title. The author devoted a chapter to the financials, including taxes, of doing it yourself.  Big impact!  So much so that many people (he said men but it was an older book!) would be better off to take a year off from working to do their own labor in building a house.

OK, my best guess is this one: http://www.amazon.com/Build-Concise-Successfully-Subcontracting-Building/dp/0971195447

Caution: Building your own house is even harder than it sounds. It'll take at least twice as long as estimated and cost more and be a big headache. As with most things, it's easier to let someone do all that hard work and depreciate it for you before you buy it.

[forummm]

Lots of great positive suggestions in this thread already. So I'll try to add some negative know how.

There is a great home inspection company in Minnesota. They post a photo a day to Facebook of the things they find wrong. The large majority of problems they find is due to incompetent DIY, most of the rest is due to lack of maintenance.

Their Facebook page is 100% public, no need to log in or have a Facebook account to see their inspection photos.

If your DIY tends tends look like the photos, you should either hire a professional, or learn some more before you try again.

Also, I find the photos damned amusing.

https://www.facebook.com/MinnesotaHomeInspections/photos_stream

These are hysterical!

[MoonShadow]

Electrical skills. Basic plumbing is something you can do with just the "I'm not a dumbass" skill. Electrical work, though, gets more complicated, IMO. Example, when we bought our first home, it had tons of stuff wrong with it. I did lots of work myself. Fixed the outside gate, fixed the roof, replaced non-working ceiling fans, replaced faucets in the bathtub, kitchen, and shower. However, one thing that defeated me... there were floodlights in the backyard. Only some of them would turn on. I spent a couple of days trying to fix them so all the lights turned on, but no dice.

+1  I'm an electrician by trade.   I've made over $100K for many years now.  If you call an electrician to find out why your lights are off, he is likely to walk down into your basement, find the circut breaker that tripped, play on his cell phone for 10 minutes, reset the breaker and then charge you for an hour at $50+.  If it's me you called, I might charge you for a new breaker too.  The only catch is that you actually have to respect the power, because it can, indeed, kill you; but it's not magic, and it's not unpredictable.

[Rural]

I can do almost anything house related and have saved 10's of thousands over the years. I have:

- built 3 decks
- built a large double garage
- designed and built a sunroom
- built a fence
- shingled the house and garage
- gutted my kitchen to the studs and did everything except build the cabinets
- done drywall and mudding
- framing
- electrical
- removed a load bearing wall
- installed hardwood flooring
- replaced all the windows and doors (interior and exterior)
- etc...

Read a book on building your own house.  Wish I could remember the title. The author devoted a chapter to the financials, including taxes, of doing it yourself.  Big impact!  So much so that many people (he said men but it was an older book!) would be better off to take a year off from working to do their own labor in building a house.

OK, my best guess is this one: http://www.amazon.com/Build-Concise-Successfully-Subcontracting-Building/dp/0971195447

Caution: Building your own house is even harder than it sounds. It'll take at least twice as long as estimated and cost more and be a big headache. As with most things, it's easier to let someone do all that hard work and depreciate it for you before you buy it.

I agree with your first two sentences (bold) 100%. I'm not sure how the third sentence, or rather what I think it implies, follows. Maybe I misread and you aren't implying that because it's easier to hire it out, one should not build a house?

[kendallf]

Edited to answer the OP's question: I have done most of the construction trades as DIY efforts on my own houses.  All pay very well.  I think the current winner might be my recent metal roof job.  I paid about $4k in materials, I did most of the work solo in about two weeks with one weekend of help doing the actual panel placement, and local estimates were ~$20k!  That's a lot of ROI..

Caution: Building your own house is even harder than it sounds. It'll take at least twice as long as estimated and cost more and be a big headache. As with most things, it's easier to let someone do all that hard work and depreciate it for you before you buy it.

I agree with your first two sentences (bold) 100%. I'm not sure how the third sentence, or rather what I think it implies, follows. Maybe I misread and you aren't implying that because it's easier to hire it out, one should not build a house?

I think there's a local market caution here.  In some areas of the country currently, houses are selling for much lower prices/sq. ft. than you could reasonably expect to build a new house for, even doing the labor yourself.  My local area (Jacksonville, FL) is one.  The DIY money here is in buying houses very cheaply that need renovation, and doing that work yourself.  I paid $34/sq. ft. for my current house.  You can't approach that for a new build, even a DIY new build.

I don't think these low prices are sustainable in the long run, of course.  If demand exceeds supply, existing house prices will rise closer to parity.

One caveat that I think applies to you, based on what I remember of your prior posts on your house: if you're willing to live non-traditionally (trailer, unfinished house, relatives) while building slowly and looking for deals, you can do very well.  This goes double for rural builds that are non-traditional (isn't your house earth sheltered?).  I have 9.5 acres out in the country, and I may very well build a small house to my own (weird) specs out there someday.

[horsepoor]

Tiling is a great return, far as I can tell based on what others say they've gotten as quotes for say, a basic tiled tub surround.  Using discounted tile, I did an awesome cabinet height backsplash in our kitchen with nice accent tile for $100 all in.

Hoof trimming is a good one for me.  If I had a professional do it, it would be $100 every 5 weeks for two horses, but I trim them more like every two weeks, spending about 45 minutes each time.  I'd have to be there assisting the trimmer anyway, so paying for the service wouldn't really save time, and their hooves stay in better condition because I trim them more frequently.

Making fermented foods.  A jar of Bubby's pickles or sauerkraut is like $7, but I can make a giant jar out of garden veggies and a couple cents' worth of salt.

Other DIY  cooking/kitchen tasks probably  save a  lot  off lot of money but not on a per hour basis.

[Melody]

Hair dying. Especially more complex stuff like foils and root jobs. Could be worth $100 every 6 weeks and has a negative time cost as you can clean your house while waiting for the chemicals to process whereas you can't do anything but read magazines at the salon. Most beauty diy fits in this bucket (waxing etc) although I suppose if I was really mustachian I would avoid vanity altogether.

[shelivesthedream]

All women's haircare, actually! My mother pays £50 a go for her haircuts. I stand in front of the bathroom mirror with a comb, scissors and thinning scissors til it looks good. I have short hair so, similar to hoof trimming, this actually makes it look better as I can do it more often and do interim touch-ups. It's something that is so simple and obvious I am surprised hairdressers stay in business. I'm still working up to persuading my husband to DIY but his only cost £10 a go (for essentially the same haircut as I would pay £30 for) so I'm willing to wait it out.

[Melody]

I pay $60 for my cuts but they last 12 weeks and are really good so i can tolerate it. Everything else is diy though...

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[Arktinkerer]

I think there's a local market caution here.  In some areas of the country currently, houses are selling for much lower prices/sq. ft. than you could reasonably expect to build a new house for, even doing the labor yourself.  My local area (Jacksonville, FL) is one.  The DIY money here is in buying houses very cheaply that need renovation, and doing that work yourself.  I paid $34/sq. ft. for my current house.  You can't approach that for a new build, even a DIY new build.

I don't think these low prices are sustainable in the long run, of course.  If demand exceeds supply, existing house prices will rise closer to parity.

One caveat that I think applies to you, based on what I remember of your prior posts on your house: if you're willing to live non-traditionally (trailer, unfinished house, relatives) while building slowly and looking for deals, you can do very well.  This goes double for rural builds that are non-traditional (isn't your house earth sheltered?).  I have 9.5 acres out in the country, and I may very well build a small house to my own (weird) specs out there someday.

I certainly agree with this.  Starting with a structure, even one that needs a lot of work, gives one a place to store the materials and a way to concentrate on one thing or area at a time.  For proof of the cost difference look at what coverage your insurance company requires for a replacement policy.  The difference is so high I'm tempted to go without insurance on some of my rentals now that they are paid off!

[the_fella]

All women's haircare, actually! My mother pays £50 a go for her haircuts. I stand in front of the bathroom mirror with a comb, scissors and thinning scissors til it looks good. I have short hair so, similar to hoof trimming, this actually makes it look better as I can do it more often and do interim touch-ups. It's something that is so simple and obvious I am surprised hairdressers stay in business. I'm still working up to persuading my husband to DIY but his only cost £10 a go (for essentially the same haircut as I would pay £30 for) so I'm willing to wait it out.

I guess this is where there's an advantage in being a balding man. Haha. I cut my hair myself with clippers and a #4 (0.5 inch) guard. I just do it when it starts to look a little long. I'm hoping the balding will come through for me and this problem will solve itself (that's my kind of problem). ;)

[shelivesthedream]

All women's haircare, actually! My mother pays £50 a go for her haircuts. I stand in front of the bathroom mirror with a comb, scissors and thinning scissors til it looks good. I have short hair so, similar to hoof trimming, this actually makes it look better as I can do it more often and do interim touch-ups. It's something that is so simple and obvious I am surprised hairdressers stay in business. I'm still working up to persuading my husband to DIY but his only cost £10 a go (for essentially the same haircut as I would pay £30 for) so I'm willing to wait it out.

I guess this is where there's an advantage in being a balding man. Haha. I cut my hair myself with clippers and a #4 (0.5 inch) guard. I just do it when it starts to look a little long. I'm hoping the balding will come through for me and this problem will solve itself (that's my kind of problem). ;)

I tried clippers but found them really hard to use. Maybe it's that my hair is a bit long for them, but it was something about working out which way was up when my hands were round the back of my head! I find just scissors works much better for me, though it probably does take longer. Literally no one noticed when I started DIYing, though, and I've been waiting months to do a 'big reveal' on my friends if the topic comes up, but it never has! I'm sure they'd be really shocked! (And srsly, hair grows back. How badly can you mess it up?)

[Rural]

Edited to answer the OP's question: I have done most of the construction trades as DIY efforts on my own houses.  All pay very well.  I think the current winner might be my recent metal roof job.  I paid about $4k in materials, I did most of the work solo in about two weeks with one weekend of help doing the actual panel placement, and local estimates were ~$20k!  That's a lot of ROI..

Caution: Building your own house is even harder than it sounds. It'll take at least twice as long as estimated and cost more and be a big headache. As with most things, it's easier to let someone do all that hard work and depreciate it for you before you buy it.

I agree with your first two sentences (bold) 100%. I'm not sure how the third sentence, or rather what I think it implies, follows. Maybe I misread and you aren't implying that because it's easier to hire it out, one should not build a house?

I think there's a local market caution here.  In some areas of the country currently, houses are selling for much lower prices/sq. ft. than you could reasonably expect to build a new house for, even doing the labor yourself.  My local area (Jacksonville, FL) is one.  The DIY money here is in buying houses very cheaply that need renovation, and doing that work yourself.  I paid $34/sq. ft. for my current house.  You can't approach that for a new build, even a DIY new build.

I don't think these low prices are sustainable in the long run, of course.  If demand exceeds supply, existing house prices will rise closer to parity.

One caveat that I think applies to you, based on what I remember of your prior posts on your house: if you're willing to live non-traditionally (trailer, unfinished house, relatives) while building slowly and looking for deals, you can do very well.  This goes double for rural builds that are non-traditional (isn't your house earth sheltered?).  I have 9.5 acres out in the country, and I may very well build a small house to my own (weird) specs out there someday.

Your memeory's right on all counts there (assuming one considers a trailer nontraditional). We could have bought a house for less, but we couldn't have bought this much land with any house on it, even in terrible shape, for less. I didn't realize prices were so low relative to building costs in some places - I don't think that's typical, is it?


However, for what it's worth, we came in just under $40 a sqft including buying almost 20 acres.


 

I think there's a local market caution here.  In some areas of the country currently, houses are selling for much lower prices/sq. ft. than you could reasonably expect to build a new house for, even doing the labor yourself.  My local area (Jacksonville, FL) is one.  The DIY money here is in buying houses very cheaply that need renovation, and doing that work yourself.  I paid $34/sq. ft. for my current house.  You can't approach that for a new build, even a DIY new build.

I certainly agree with this.  Starting with a structure, even one that needs a lot of work, gives one a place to store the materials and a way to concentrate on one thing or area at a time.  For proof of the cost difference look at what coverage your insurance company requires for a replacement policy.  The difference is so high I'm tempted to go without insurance on some of my rentals now that they are paid off!

[/size]

Having a structure mattered, but it may matter less that it's the structure that will eventually be a house. For us, the storage area was a pole barn that we put up a year before starting the house build, and it mADE a ton of difference. Also being on he property so he could do a little at a time, but again, we did that in an old mobile home, not the eventual house. So I suppose it all depends.[/size][/font]