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House Building on your own
For The Do-It-Yourself Home Building Advocate
It is beyond the scope of this site to instruct anyone in one or more of the trades involved in house building. If you desire to know more about the trades, (which certainly can help in managing contractors) there are many good books available on home building. It is always comforting to know what the trades are doing and why, especially when they are doing it on your new home!
One of the most comprehensive I have seen is; How to Design & Build Your Own House by Lupe DiDonno & Phyllis Sperling, Random House, ISBN 0-394-75200-7. It includes many detailed drawings and instructions on each of the homebuilding trades.
To order from amazon.com click the link below:
Two other very good books on house building are also available from
amazon.com.
To order from amazon.com, just click on the pictures below:
If you are sub-contracting the entire house building project to individual trades, you probably do not need to check this page. Being your own general contractor when building a home is a big job in itself. If, however, you want to perform some parts of the house building yourself, you will need to have some home building skill in those areas. You must also be handy with tools, and you must have the tools and equipment. It can be quite expensive to equip yourself to build a home. If you were to tackle a big portion of the house building project, such as carpentry, you would also need at least a small crew. If you have some friends who have offered to help you build your home, here are some points to consider;
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The food and refreshments you must provide can add up to a hefty sum. |
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You will need to equip yourself for house building, which can be very expensive. |
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Your friends may or may not show up on a regular basis. |
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Will your homeowners insurance cover them in case of injury? |
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The quality of their work may leave something to be desired. |
For the reasons above, I would not recommend that you do the actual house building yourself unless you are already involved in one of the trades.
Materials needed for your house building.
In general, the major materials usually needed for a 2000 square foot house are as follows;
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13,000 board feet of framing lumber |
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6,200 square feet of sheathing |
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110 yards of concrete |
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2,300 square feet of exterior siding or brick |
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30 squares of shingles |
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3,000 square feet of insulation |
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6,000 square feet of drywall |
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800 linear feet of trim lumber |
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120 linear feet of metal duct |
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2,000 square feet of carpet, tile or hardwood |
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21 windows |
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3 exterior doors |
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15 cabinets and vanities |
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22 interior doors |
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1 patio door |
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2 garage doors |
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1 fireplace |
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3 toilets |
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2 tubs or showers |
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4 bathroom sinks |
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1 kitchen sink |
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washer and dryer |
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range with hood, refrigerator, dishwasher and garbage disposal |
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home furnace and air conditioning units |
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20 electrical fixtures |
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plumbing lines and electrical conduit, valves, switches, outlets etc. |
This list is by no means complete as many incidental items will be needed in your home.
