Being involved in a project such as building your own home is no mean feat. You’ll get tremendous satisfaction from watching it all come together right before your eyes. The sense of accomplishment is overwhelming and all the time and hard work you’ll invest is rewarding in itself. Yet, keep in mind that you’ll be taking on great responsibility, and might need some help even if you consider yourself an experienced do-it-yourselfer.
Careful planning is imperative. You can’t just play it by ear and spontaneously call a subcontractor if you come across something that’s beyond your skill set. In order to ensure that everything goes smoothly, take the whole project scope into consideration, be objective about your abilities, inform yourself about all the necessary permits and the like. In other words, you need to familiarise yourself thoroughly with the entire process.
At this point, it is crucial that you know exactly what you can do by yourself, and what you’ll need a subcontractor for. However, if you can’t resist the urge to do most of the work yourself, there are ways to expand your understanding of building and construction that will impart you with the knowledge and skills to do much more than you originally thought possible. By enrolling in an online course you will be able to verse yourself in all the aspects of the build, involving the planning, managing, supervising and completing of the same. Find a course that is flexible so you can take it all in at your own pace. Being handy will not suffice here – you’ll also need to familiarise yourself with building codes and standards, preparing contracts, estimating costs and managing both medium rise construction projects as well as subcontractors. Not only will you receive a high-quality education, but you’ll also become a licensed builder.
Once you feel confident enough, start with the building site. Property boundaries of the chosen location need to be based on original plot drawings. There might be some alterations involved to manage the water flow across the site. You’ll definitely need a roll-off dumpster to dispose of refuse. If you need temporary utilities from the power company, make sure they are hooked up by a professional electrician.
Now when the prep work is done, everything’s set for excavation and installations of foundations. After this, there’s really no point in not finishing the whole house, since it comprises most of your overall building costs and leaving it at that would be a complete waste of money. If it’ll make you feel more at ease, this can be done by an excavation contractor and a foundation specialist.
A slab-type foundation will require you to give a call to plumbers and electricians so they can lay down the pipes and electrical lines that are to be covered in concrete. Then, it’s time to pour the concrete. If you have plans for a garage or a basement, it would be a good idea to factor that in as well. Bringing a contractor back for another pour can cost quite a bit.
This is the point at which you’ll start to recognize the silhouette of your dream home. Lumber framework will be put up for the walls, floors and ceilings, followed by sheathing, siding and roofing installations. You may find it surprising, but all this work happens extremely swiftly. In just a couple of weeks, you’ll be able to see some tangible proof of your labor. Even if you hire a trained professional, you’ll still be able to lend a hand with carpentry work. In fact, many homeowners do, especially with laying the floorboards or hanging wallboard.
If your vision includes a chimney, a mason could apply brick or stone veneer over a concrete block base previously laid by the foundation contractor. Electricians and plumbers arrive to do work concerning electrical circuits and plumbing pipes. This is so much easier without having the wall, ceiling and flooring surfaces set in place. These contractors will return after a while to complete final connections.
After this, inspections are in order. If you are the contractor, this is going to be your responsibility. Arrange for the permits and inspect the elements so that you can move on to insulation. Installing insulation in the walls and the attic yourself will save you a considerable amount of money.
As wall and ceiling surfaces have now been installed, your interior begins to take shape. This is when your DIY skills may really come in handy. First, hang your drywall throughout the house. Tape the seams, mud them with joint compound and sand-finish them. You’ll also need to prime all walls and ceilings, which is usually done quickly with some spraying equipment. Install crown and trim moldings as well as door and window casings. Now it is safe to hang all the kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
Time to paint the walls and ceilings and install the countertops. Electrical and plumbing fixtures are completed and now you can add the finishing touches by laying down floor surfaces of your choice. There’s not much more left to do, but before you go any further, take some time to clean up the place. A little bit of exterior landscaping, and you’re done! You have monitored and inspected the work after each phase, but a final walk-through can’t hurt. Final inspections, on the other hand, should be done by permitting agencies.
The home before you is your own masterpiece and proof of all the effort and time you invested. All that’s left is to enjoy it to the fullest.
