Posted: 3/12/2004 10:50:22 AM EDT
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Surely a few of you guys have. I'm not looking for step by step instructions or anything. Basically anything you did wrong or wished you would have done differently. Me and the SO (or is it CO?  ) are giving it some pretty serious discussion, and it's come to the point where we are starting to sketch out what we want in a house and all that stuff. I know there's gotta be a million things you can do wrong when building/designing a house and I'm hoping some of you can share your tales, so I don't make the same mistakes!  Thanks guys |
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I built my own house. Here are a few pitfalls. 1a. Hire an architect, or at least buy a set of plans from one. 1b. Study these plans for about a weekbefore you start anything. There are mistakes in them. This is the time to find them. This is also the time to make changes. 1c. Once you have a set of plans stick to them. Don't go changing stuff halfway through. 2. This is a big project. You can wrap up big numbers fast. 3a. Don't think you can do it all. There are times when you will need to hire a tradesman. 3b. If you don't currently work in the construction trades, you have a real education coming. 3c. Never ever, pay a contractor a cent before the job is completed. If he can't make it through the whole job without money, you hired the wrong guy. Never ever pay a contractor until he is completely done and you are completely satisfied. Never let them tell you that they will come back tomorrow and finish, but we need paid now. 4. Expect to spend all of your time and all of your money for the next several years on this project. You will get sick of it. 5. Do not move in to the house until you are completely finished with it. If you do, you will regret it, because it makes it 10 times harder to finish. 6. Don't expect your friends to help you out, more than once. 7. Don't try to build in an area where you have to deal with building inspectors. They will never sign off on the job, and will run you around the pole forever. 8. If this is your first time building a house, KISS. Thats keep it small. 9. Buy the best materials you can afford. Don't be afraid to ask for a discount. Remember you are a contractor. 10. Have fun, this is probably the biggest undertaking of your life. |
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I had maj remodeling don on my house. Double check everything in the prints. Measure your stuff and make sure it fits where you want it I caught a bunch of mistakes by the architect. One I didn't was he didn't give enough room foor the waher, dryer and folding door. Had to redo a wall after everything is done. Run wires (TV, Phone, Cable, Speakers, Cat4) to every room. As things are built look at the plans again to see if it is what you really wanted. Once the kitchen floor was roughed in I strated drawing everything and had my wife stand in it. She changed her mind on how she wanted it after doing that. |
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I built (am still working on it) our house, and agree with all of the above posts, heartily. If you are capable of doing the majority of the work you will save substantial money. You will also have no free time for the next couple years. In some regions it is not even legal for you to do a lot of types of work as a non-liscensed peon. If you live in a non-socialist area you may be just fine. One thing that I like is having control of the quality of labor and materials going into your home. Around here at least, good sober contractors seem to be few and far between. It can be a very rewarding experience. Good luck! |
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1a. Hire an architect, or at least buy a set of plans from one. 1b. Study these plans for about a weekbefore you start anything. There are mistakes in them. This is the time to find them. This is also the time to make changes. 1c. Once you have a set of plans stick to them. Don't go changing stuff halfway through. 2. This is a big project. You can wrap up big numbers fast. 3a. Don't think you can do it all. There are times when you will need to hire a tradesman. 3b. If you don't currently work in the construction trades, you have a real education coming. 3c. Never ever, pay a contractor a cent before the job is completed. If he can't make it through the whole job without money, you hired the wrong guy. Never ever pay a contractor until he is completely done and you are completely satisfied. Never let them tell you that they will come back tomorrow and finish, but we need paid now. 4. Expect to spend all of your time and all of your money for the next several years on this project. You will get sick of it. 5. Do not move in to the house until you are completely finished with it. If you do, you will regret it, because it makes it 10 times harder to finish. 6. Don't expect your friends to help you out, more than once. 7. Don't try to build in an area where you have to deal with building inspectors. They will never sign off on the job, and will run you around the pole forever. 8. If this is your first time building a house, KISS. Thats keep it small. 9. Buy the best materials you can afford. Don't be afraid to ask for a discount. Remember you are a contractor. 10. Have fun, this is probably the biggest undertaking of your life. What 338winmag said!!!!!! I'm doing this now and and no truer words were ever spoke!!!!! |
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I built my own, but since I finished it 54 years ago, most of what I learned probably won't help you. It took me, with very little help and with no power tools, about three years of nights and weekends to finish my ~1,000 sq foot house. The biggest mistake I made was skimping on the door widths. My doors aren't wide enough to get many newer pieces of furniture and TV's through. I've taken the window out of my den more times than I care to remember to get things in and out. Also, make sure when you look at the drawings that you can get things in and out of rooms around corners. I've seen even new houses that were designed by an architect that had corners near doorways that made it impossible to get larger furniture in and out. My boss's brand-new $400k house has a bedroom that he can't get a dresser or his large bookshelves into because of a bad corner in the hallway beside the doorway.z |
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I GC'd (general contracted) and did most of the work on my own house. It was the best thing I ever did (besides getting married, of course), but I hope I never have to do it again. I think most of the good points have been made - read them again! It can be done, and it can save you a lot of $ (25% is not unheard of). This will either allow you to buy a house beyond your means or have a house with a lower mortgage than you would have had otherwise. I built a 5K sq. ft. custom on a decent amount of wooded land near a major interstate and expansion effort. When completed I had an immediate equity of $200K, which has risen since then. I think one key point is to focus on things you only get to do once (structure, exterior, electrical, etc.) and spend your money and attention there. Let the other things you can do later (carpet, countertops, landscaping, etc.) be the things to go cheap on. This may be obvious, but I'm amazed at the number of people who do otherwise. Do whatever your PE/structural engineer tells you - if not more. As redneck as it sounds, I lived in a mobile home on the property while the house was built. I saved money on rent/mortgage, I caught at least 3 people trying to steal materials and was always onsite when a subcontractor showed up (which was whenever they damn well felt like it). At least consider how close you are to the building site. You need to spend a lot of time onsite to make it work. I would not do it again now that I have kids. Yes, it's rough on a marriage (kind of like going to college, having kids, losing a job, etc.). As far as your original question - no regrets on my part. I'm glad I did it and recommend it to others. Make an estimate on how much time you think it will take and double it (EASILY). It's a lot of hard work, but nothing good comes easy. Black Fox |