HOMEBUILDING: “What’s the best way to learn all about building a house myself?”

Video Watch Time = 1 3/4 minutes

Question: “How can I learn to build my own house? I’ve got a piece of land, but no experience with a project as large as a house. Is building my own place a crazy idea? Will I save money?”

Answer: I know from experience that it’s entirely possible for an inexperienced person to build their own house because I did it. It’s going to take a while, and you’ll need to learn the details as you go, but it’s not only possible but deeply satisfying. That’s the house I built for my family in 1989 above. That was the summer I framed the place, mostly by myself, never having built a house before. By June of 1991 we were living in it and have been ever since. Total out of pocket expenses for the completed 2800 square foot place was $75,000 for materials and a little machine time to dig the basement hole. That’s the completed house below, with stonework done with free limestone I gathered by hand from around our place. It’s actually easier now to learn how to do it than now, thanks to the internet. You can find and study every aspect of house construction online, from foundations to roofing to wiring and plumbing.

One of the sources of information I used back in the 1980s and 90s is still excellent today. The Taunton Press publishes excellent homebuilding books on homebuilding. They’re aimed at professionals, but anyone can benefit from their books. They make the best, most wide-ranging collection of homebuilding information anywhere.

As homebuilding costs rise, and fewer people seem to be able to find contractors who can take on more work, the do-it-yourself owner-builder experience makes more and more sense. Mary and I had never built a house before, but we managed to pull it off. Many other people could do the same. Houses are not complicated, just big. The concepts involved in construction or mostly quite simple for anyone willing to take the time to learn.

I did have one big advantage that didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, but I see now that it was. I was 26 years old the year I framed my place, and my building schedule involved working six days a week, 12 hours a day from May until October, then moving back to the city for the winter while I lived rent-free with my grandfather earning as much money as I could., then back to Manitoulin to spend it all. I lived a very simple life, eating basic but healthy foods that cost $50 per week, with no kids to take care of and support, and no recreational activities. This might sound burdensome but it wasn’t at all. Building the house was my main focus and I look back fondly on the routine. But this focus would have been much harder to achieve if I was older and had more responsibility on my shoulders.

Watch the video below to learn more. I made it a while ago, but the ideas are still completely current. And you can check out Taunton’s homebuilding resources here.