Should you try to build you home with your labor?

Having been through this there are the things that you need to think about before committing to build your own house.  As we discussed previously, it is going to take a lot of time.  If you plan to do the labor yourself, it is going to take a lot of time.

It took me working every spare minute, vacations, weekend, etc for nearly 18 months.  I know one guy that spent 4 years building his house (and ended up divorced!)  That is a major factor in doing this.

Your family needs to support you. If your spouse (and kids) are not 100% in favor of building it yourself, there is going to be trouble. 

You and your family can forget almost all social life, vacation, entertainment or disposable income for the duration of the build.  If you have kids in school, their activities may be more important to you than building a home.  You won’t have but one chance to watch your kids grow up so maybe the house will have to wait. On the other hand, now would be a good time to get your teenagers away from their phones and video games and teach them skills that will help them later in life.  

Depending on where you live now in relation to where you are building, the commute may be a factor. The ideal situation (which was mine) is to live in a mobile home or RV on the building site, but most neighborhoods make this impossible.

Weather is going to be a factor. I took a weeks vacation to prepare the foundation. After 3 days of digging trenches for beams, a record rainfall caved them all in and I had to start over. It is going to be hard to go and work on the house when it is hot, cold, raining or windy. (try handling 4 by 8 sheets of plywood in a 15 MPH wind)

Your day job will be a huge factor.  If you work by the hour, you will have to choose between overtime and working on the house. Sometimes you will need the OT money to spend on the house and sometimes getting something done on the house will be more important. If you are salaried, you may have to put in long hours without a choice, but sometimes you can deal with house issues at the office.  If you have a job that requires long hours and weekends, building your own home may not be practical.  Hopefully, you are making enough to buy the home you need.

You will need physical stamina to do this. You don’t have to be buff, but you need to be able to climb ladders, lift boards and swing that hammer.  Of course, after you finish the framing you will probably be in the best shape of your life.

Am I trying to discourage you?  Of course not!  

You will discover a huge amount of satisfaction in this. It may be the greatest thing you have ever done.  As the walls go up and you set rafters and trusses, the visible progress will amaze you and make you feel like a winner.  Your kids will be proud of you and their work too. They will tell their friends “We’re building a house.”  Your friends and neighbors will be fascinated as well and you will get people to offer to help.  People like to see a visible accomplishment. So people will want to help to learn and that’s great too.  I think you will find the hiatus in your social life will be overcome by the accomplishment.

You don’t have to forsake all your social life either.  Like in the old days, a barn raising was a social occasion. People would come to help, to visit, to eat and to socialize. Have a barbeque, tell people to come in their everyday clothes and put them to work.  Then you all can sit around the fire in the evening, have a few adult beverages and talk about what you got done.   Invite your extended family for a long weekend. Work during the day and visit in the evening. 
An added social benefit to this is to find out who your real friends are. You will be surprised; the neighbor woman that always seem so stand-offish will be cutting boards and your lazy cousin will be sweating and swinging a hammer.   The guys from your bowling team you thought would help you a lot will be nowhere around.  People that would not do this for pay will work for free beer or food and satisfaction.

Labor will not be the only factor from other people. It will be hard to stay dedicated and motivated to stay focus on the building long term.  People will be awed are what you have tackled and will praise and encourage you.  One of my friend that had been helping came over one freezing evening after we had most of the framing done. I was tired and cold and didn’t plan to do anything, but Randy said, “Come on, let’s install windows.” His motivation was enough for us to install 13 windows that night in spite of the weather.

I’ve given you a lot to think about. Only you and your family can decide if you want to do this and are able to do it.  If you think doing your own labor is too much the next post will go into being your own contractor.

As always, let me know what you think. Send in some ways to stay motivated while building. How do you juggle work, kids and working on your house?  How do you get friends to help you?