What a ride

I have wanted to build my own house my whole life.  Many ladies dream of their weddings from the time they are little girls.  I dreamed of building my own house for as long as I can remember.

I'm not like a lot of you out there.  I don't desire to live in the city, or the suburbs, or really around very many people at all.  Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm anti-social... I just want my backyard to be private.

Also, I'm the kind of guy who likes to build instead of buy.  There's something innate to me that seems to keep me from liking the things that are just a tiny bit off of where I want them.  I understand the business reasons for buying... I understand why people do it.  I just have a problem overlooking something that is not just right.  I realize that it will still happen if I build my own, but if something is going to be wrong, I want it to be my fault instead of someone elses.

As the tag line says, I'm just an average guy.  While I grew up with a little knowledge on how to do plumbing, electrical, and so on, I am by no means a professional or even all that good at it.  One of the things amateurs need to learn when trying to do the work of tradesmen is, their work is not easy.  It will take you some time to figure out what to do in a lot of situations, which means you will sit on the floor with a huge mess around you at some point in your project and wonder why on earth you thought you could do that.

The idea to put this in blog form is, I am learning a TON as I go along.  Even though I have lots of help from people who have built their own houses before, they did so more than 20 years ago and, well, it's a different world since then.  From the length of time it takes to pull a building permit to what you need for a bank and the order you need it in, lets just say there are a lot of surprises and setbacks that, if you aren't prepared for, will stretch the time you need.

Basically what I'm trying to say is, building your own home isn't going to save you much overall.  You will save money, that's for sure as long as you don't have to redo things many times, but you will trade your time for that money.  If your job is hourly and you work a lot, I suggest paying professionals to get it done as fast as possible.  The longer you wait the more money you spend on a property you aren't living in.

I am in the fortunate situation of living in a home that is paid for.  It allows me to be a bit more deliberate in making decisions and it gives me a little more time to do things.

That said, neither I, nor my family want to live here anymore so the pressure is still on.  Hopefully the pressure of work and the house doesn't prevent me from posting here regularly in the hopes it may help someone else have a smoother ride.

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