For those who built their own home

[hoops902]

Seems like several people on here have built their own homes. For anyone who did it without using a traditional builder with pre-made plans...what were the first steps you took? If we build, we're probably going to be the ones designing it. Around here, that's probably do-able without getting any kind of real blueprints from an architect (when we added on to our current house, I basically just had to draw a rectangle on a sheet of paper, label the outer walls with dimensions, and that's it...which makes it even more scary given it seems like the local authorities will definitely permit me to build a death trap if I so choose).

I don't mind going through an architect...but they cost money.  What I'm trying to avoid is getting real plans drawn up in order to take them to subs, then realizing the house I designed is way out of budget and now I've wasted money on an architect for a house I'm never going to build (because if something resembling this house isn't feasible, we probably wouldn't build, we'd just buy something else).  We're nowhere near being ready to actually do this yet, just trying to figure out the A-B-C steps to getting started (we don't even have the land yet). 

I've got some CAD experience, I've churned out some homemade "plans" before that people then took to their builder who reviewed them, made changes, and built (floor plans, elevation/profiles, foundation/structural, etc).  I could do the same here just to get estimates, but we live in a rural area and likely the estimates will be bloated (both with the builder profits, but also likely a premium for the travel involved for this location to build).   By the time we build, I'll probably have priced out all the materials and all that, I'm more worried about having some big issue that I simply hadn't considered given I'm not an architect nor a structural engineer.  Drawing up plans for someone else to take to a builder who is ultimately responsible is a big difference than someone simply building from my plans (and the potential bodily injury to follow if there are any errors and my wife finds out). 

The people I've drawn up plans for previously seemed to indicate that the first multiple meetings with builders were just the builder trying to talk them into using one of their pre-made plans.  I'm trying not to waste my time with that (and frankly, I don't love the idea of wasting someone else's time that I know I'm not going to hire).  Given that we're so early in the process, anyone with experience have tips on the next step (specifically, very early steps to even make sure that our vision is within our budget).  Online estimation sites seem to be all over the place.

[mroped]

We are still working on ours. My wife and I came up with the plan that we then took to the architect who basicaly put it on paper and drew the cross sections and details. I did that mostly because what we are building is no traditional for this area.
If you have CAD experience that is very helpful but sometimes the program gets into too many details and depending on how much of a stickler for the plan the inspector is, it might cause trouble.
Id suggest a Soft Plan if you will be using a computer to draw it because it allows you for changes without any complaints from anybody.

You can be your own Generl Contractor and just sub to contractors thus eliminating a good chunk of expenses. GCs charge hefty percentages just for shuffling papers.

Start with having a percolating test if you don't have access to sewer.
Driveway permit is next then you take the two permits and the plans and aply for a building permit.
Once you have that, get an excavator and a mason lined up and then the rest of it follows.

Ofcourse, the arrangements with excavator, Mason, carpenter and so on need to be made in advance. 

[hoops902]

Nov 21, 2016 8:49:10 GMT -5 mroped said:

We are still working on ours. My wife and I came up with the plan that we then took to the architect who basicaly put it on paper and drew the cross sections and details. I did that mostly because what we are building is no traditional for this area.
If you have CAD experience that is very helpful but sometimes the program gets into too many details and depending on how much of a stickler for the plan the inspector is, it might cause trouble.
Id suggest a Soft Plan if you will be using a computer to draw it because it allows you for changes without any complaints from anybody.

You can be your own Generl Contractor and just sub to contractors thus eliminating a good chunk of expenses. GCs charge hefty percentages just for shuffling papers.

Start with having a percolating test if you don't have access to sewer.
Driveway permit is next then you take the two permits and the plans and aply for a building permit.
Once you have that, get an excavator and a mason lined up and then the rest of it follows.

Ofcourse, the arrangements with excavator, Mason, carpenter and so on need to be made in advance. 

I'm not too worried about the inspector, I fully expect that for the permit itself, they basically just want to know how big the house will be in order to charge me properly for the permit. The inspectors themselves are kind of a joke, it's a private company that the city contracts with, they don't really do much to earn their money.   

I'm actually far less worried about the construction itself overall.

How did you guys go from "I think I want to build a house" to "we're definitely building this house we've conceptualized"? Did you just know the house you wanted was within budget so that wasn't a concern? I'm more stuck on the idea that the house we think we want seems like it's within budget...but we don't really know.   I'm still kind of working through the decision of whether we truly want to build a new home at all, or just find something that we like less but which we know the cost and buy existing. Did you guys do anything prior to going to the architect to estimate costs and make a decision on whether to proceed?  I can ballpark most of the trades...but my ballparks are wide and not that helpful in making a full decision when the top end of the ballparks probably result in a different decision than the middle/low ballparks.

[Gardening Grandma]

We designed and built our own home.
After buying the lot we contacted several builders. We eliminated those who would only build from their own premade plans and found one who had plans, but was willing to work with us to build a custom home.
They had an in-house designer we worked with. We had an idea of what we wanted.  They had one plan that was roughly what we wanted, but there were several structural changes we wanted.
We'd meet with the designer and talk. A few days later she'd send us a proposed drawing.  We'd work with it then go back and talk to her some more.
This process went on for several months until we had a plan we felt we'd be happy with.

Then they gave us a bid to build the house. There was no additional charge for her services.

We've lived here 10 years now.  There are a few things we'd have done differently, but they are minor. We have a house that works for us and we still love it.

[hoops902]

Nov 21, 2016 9:24:02 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

We designed and built our own home.
After buying the lot we contacted several builders. We eliminated those who would only build from their own premade plans and found one who had plans, but was willing to work with us to build a custom home.
They had an in-house designer we worked with. We had an idea of what we wanted.  They had one plan that was roughly what we wanted, but there were several structural changes we wanted.
We'd meet with the designer and talk. A few days later she'd send us a proposed drawing.  We'd work with it then go back and talk to her some more.
This process went on for several months until we had a plan we felt we'd be happy with.

Then they gave us a bid to build the house. There was no additional charge for her services.

We've lived here 10 years now.  There are a few things we'd have done differently, but they are minor. We have a house that works for us and we still love it.

So to back up a bit, you bought a lot then contacted builders. How did you get to your decision to buy a lot in the first place? I assume at the point you bought the lot, you had a pretty firm decision that you were definitely going to build. Did you just already know you were going to build SOMETHING and were prepared to scale back if what you got for bids was outside the budget? 

[mroped]

Does the house you live in now satisfy your needs? 
If it does then you don't need to build a new one!
That's how you figure out if you wanna build or not.
First step would be ofcourse buying a piece of land and then the rest.

[hoops902]

Nov 21, 2016 11:01:57 GMT -5 mroped said:

Does the house you live in now satisfy your needs? 
If it does then you don't need to build a new one!
That's how you figure out if you wanna build or not.
First step would be ofcourse buying a piece of land and then the rest.

We're almost definitely moving, the real decision is whether we're going to buy or build. It's actually a 3-alternative decision...buy, buy and renovate, build. It's primarily a financial decision (though buy and renovate may be more lifestyle as my wife isn't keen on a BIG renovation while we live there). 

Once you knew you didn't want your current home, did you just know you were going to build SOMETHING?  Was building and not buying more financial, lack of inventory, just wanted to build?

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

We are in the early stages of exploring the idea of buying some land in Maine and building our "rest of our life" home there.

We are strongly considering that route because we have been unable to find something pre-built in our desired area that matches our "vision" for what we need and want going forward.  Of course, we are still shepherding our college-age sons toward adulthood, so we have several years before we get serious about it.  With that extended timeline, we are leaving open the possibility that something "perfect" might come on the market in the meantime, but we aren't counting on it.  

[Gardening Grandma]

So to back up a bit, you bought a lot then contacted builders. How did you get to your decision to buy a lot in the first place?

It was a process.  We were looking for a house in a certain area.  We could not find a house that filled our requirements that was within our budget.  So we then decided to build.


I assume at the point you bought the lot, you had a pretty firm decision that you were definitely going to build.

Yes.  See above

Did you just already know you were going to build SOMETHING and were prepared to scale back if what you got for bids was outside the budget?

When we decided to build, the plan was to figure out the cost and then scale back if necessary.  (There is a pretty wide range in cost for the same house depending on your choice of finishing materials (slate roof or standard, carpet or hardwood, vinyl or tile, formica or granite, etc, etc etc.

Turns out it wasn't necessary - we spent $$ on things that could not be easily changed later (electrical wiring) and went cheap on those that could (light fixtures).  Had I known then what I know now, we'd have stretched the budget a bit for more upgrades, but I'm OK.
We were actually pretty lucky in timing, but that was dumb luck... 

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Thinking more on your question, I realize we are driven more by wanting to live in a specific area than by the idea of wanting to build a house.  There are features of the land that we want more than house features.  We are open to renovating a house to fit our wants and needs IF the lot meets our criteria.  However, we are not finding suitable pre-built houses on suitable lots in that area, so will probably buy the PERFECT piece of land and then build there.

[mroped]

We wanted specific things in our house and buying and remodeling was an option but what was for sale in the area we wanted wasn't fitting our needs/wants.

You can budget all you want for the build, you'll still be over budget!
You our just get excited like that!

The "plan" to build was in the works for years. It started with the fact that I have to drive every day east to work. That's where most of my work is. West almost never!
Then we realized that the few friends that we have are also concentrated in the area that we were looking at. Next was that kids' friends were mostly there too not to mention proximity to three-four colleges.
In short, this was a well reasoned decision.

We love our current home, we practically rebuilt it, we raised our kids in it but was always a bit small for us and the area sucks from all aspects.
The only plus is that we can do prety much whatever we want on the property and nobody gives it a second look.

[Gardening Grandma]

Nov 21, 2016 12:41:12 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

Thinking more on your question, I realize we are driven more by wanting to live in a specific area than by the idea of wanting to build a house.  There are features of the land that we want more than house features.  We are open to renovating a house to fit our wants and needs IF the lot meets our criteria.  However, we are not finding suitable pre-built houses on suitable lots in that area, so will probably buy the PERFECT piece of land and then build there.

This was us. We really had no desire to build. Too many unknowns.

What I learned is that you take the estimated cost and add 25 to 40% to estimate the final cost.
Then you take the estimated time to build and add 50%.

Of course the lot is a big factor.  We built on a hillside in an earthquake zone.  That added to the time & expense of getting a permit.  It also added to the cost of the excavation & foundation.

[Bob Ross]

If I ever built my own home, I'd do all sorts of cool stuff like put a urinal in the living room.

Bro-five!