Building a home for little $$$$

[handydude]

I wanted to interject a thought here. Even though I have been striving to save as much money as I can on this build, I never go with anything substandard. The old saying applies here: If you don't have time to do it right the first time, how will you find time to do it over? It has cost me time to make sure that I have good materials so that My home will be as good as if a builder built it from new.

Plumbing: PLEASE! Go with pex plumbing. I did and am so glad I did. PVC can freeze and will bust. If pex freezes, it wont bust. The connections are more expensive, but in the end, it is more than worth it. If you go to pex, you can pick up a pex tool at Lowes for 29.00 that will squeeze the crimps on the pex rings. Always get the crimp on Valves, also. They make some that just push on and are supposed to work, But I used three and had bad luck so I went with the crimp on ones and fixed the drip.

Framing: When I started the framing, I built one wall at a time and after building the three outside walls, I had my son and daughter help me stand them up and get them level and square. If you have kids, INVOLVE THEM!!! even if it is just hold something up, it will give them a sense of accomplishment and the have more pride and can say: Look at what I helped Build!!! Make it a family affair, you wont regret it.

Trusses: I had several people say: Just put up rafters, you dont need trusses. HOOEY!!!!
I was able to buy 24' trusses for 41.00 each and I had to pick them up at the factory. You cannot build them for that and they were exactly the same. This is where I would buy them instead of trying to build them. Two people can set trusses up on top of the walls and then the same two can set them up.

 

[FarmerDenise]

Great thread!
And I second the part about getting the kids to help. We had to help build our family home. Sometimes we hated it, but most times we made it fun. And we have always felt a great sense of pride in the accompishment of building our own home! And we have wonderful stories to laugh about with our kids at family gatherings.

 

[handydude]

With getting the kids to help, they are involved in the process of picking out the colors of everything from the colors of their rooms to the tile in the bathrooms to the color of the kitchen sink. Also, it give them an idea of what they want in a home after they enter the real world on their own. I see it as a learning opportunity as well as some of the best family time you can get. Usually after an evening of work, we will go to the local convenience store and chow down on some ice cream treats AS A FAMILY. . It has already had an affect on my 17 year old son to the effect that he already knows what kind of home he wants when he is ready and he knows that dad will be there to help.

 

[handydude]

Another thing I need to make note of and could be a big difference in the cost of your project. GAS!!! As I was planning, I made a master list of things that i knew that I would need. I live 65 miles from the closest Lowe's or Home Depot, so running to get one connection or a box of screws was out of the question. When I knew I was going to the City anyway, I would start searching Craigslist for items that I needed and try to make a deal for something on my list. I would also try to get some of the things on my list during the trip. I spent a considerable amount of time at Lowe's with my "list" writing down the price, item stock number and location(if possible) so that if my dad or my friend went and i needed an item or two, I would ask them if they would pick it or them up. I would give them the info and they didn't mind doing it IF if didn't take very long. Armed with the info, they saved me a lot of trips and money for gas. I also sold my 1997 Chevy 1500 extended cab 4x4 truck and bought a 1995 Nissan ext cab 2wd. I get 12 mpg more and less maintenence costs. I cant haul as much weight, but if I have to haul a bigger item, I will just go with my dad and take his Dodge 1 ton Diesel. I just kick in for some fuel and everyone is happy.

 

[handydude]

When you plan a new house or a remodel, take the time to consider a backup generator. I decided that I wanted to install one and then started to search for one in the open market. OMG! The cheapest one that I could find that would carry the load for my house was 10K !!!! I knew that there was an alternative, and I finally found it. govliquidation.com : I found by looking and doing my homework on military gensets that I could get one and make it work. I kept watching and finally found one in Oklahoma City at Tinker AFB that was coming up for auction. It stated that it ran and it was rated at 20K watts. I went up and inspected it the best that I could and when it came up for sale, i bought it. Before I bought it, I asked around and found a guy on Craigslist(I love that site) that knew how to work on military gensets. He informed me on this particular set and that he would be happy to get it running. I actually bought three in the "lot" and gave 485.00 for the three and had to go to OKC and get them. I took them to him and it cost me 350.00 for him to get two running and one had a bad motor, so that one was used for parts. I sold the one I didn't use for more than I had in all of them and my fuel. I purchased a transfer switch and after installation, I had a total of 385.00 invested(that takes into consideration my profit from the sale). I poured a concrete pad for it (done during the slab construction)and have installed a small building over it and soundproofed it with excess insulation. I took the time and searched until I found a diesel genset as they are a lot easier to maintain. I have it set up to start once a week on saturday morning at 10am and run for 30 minutes. This keeps the batteries charged and I know that I can depend on it when I need it. I installed a 100 gallon fuel tank so it will last as long as I need it. A couple of years ago we lost power here for almost a week after a bad ice storm. With my house having central heat and air, it gives a lot of security knowing that if we lose power in the winter, we will stay warm. I want to eventually install solar panels for heating purposes, and have installed the entry ports just for that option, if I so choose to go ahead with it.