Building a House

[mountainman]

In process of buying land on which to erect a house. Am, of course, expecting unforeseen issues, expenses, and red tape.

Have other board members, perhaps, been through this??

[fast4522]

Hiring the right construction manager instead of trying to do it yourself could make a huge difference.

[davew]

I suggest you contact county planning/permitting department to see if it is possible before closing on land, unless you are willing to occasionally camp on it.

acres required, ability to drill well, types of septic allowed, roof size and impervious driveway, ...


some areas have consultants just to go through all the processes before you even can break ground


if you have a builder you are interested in, they may be able to help

[mountainman]

Hiring the right construction manager instead of trying to do it yourself could make a huge difference.

yes,,,was thinking that..

[mountainman]

I suggest you contact county planning/permitting department to see if it is possible before closing on land, unless you are willing to occasionally camp on it.

acres required, ability to drill well, types of septic allowed, roof size and impervious driveway, ...


some areas have consultants just to go through all the processes before you even can break ground


if you have a builder you are interested in, they may be able to help

The lot I have in mind is already set up with water, sewage, electricity, etc.

Concerning permits, I am planning to hire a local attorney well-versed in these matters.....

[chrisl]

Many years ago in Washington state. I built a home, and when I was in the clearing process, I had to get approved every tree I fell to build the house. What a nightmare. If there is a certain species and age of a tree, they can deem it does not come down. Move your house.

[Actor]

In process of buying land on which to erect a house. Am, of course, expecting unforeseen issues, expenses, and red tape.

Have other board members, perhaps, been through this??I did it myself. I got permits for electrical and structure from city engineers. Things went well until, with the project almost finished, I discovered that I needed a permit for plumbing from the health department. They did not issue permits for DIY plumbing and insisted I had hire a pro. I went all the way through "plumbers" in the yellow pages. Not one wanted to get involved in "new installation." I had to hire a company from out of town. Plumbing turned out to be the biggest cost of the project.

Of course zoning, permits, etc. vary widely from state to state, county to county, city to city. Your milage will probably differ.

[jay68802]

Hiring the right construction manager instead of trying to do it yourself could make a huge difference.

Bingo.

Talk to a few of them before you buy the lot, they will be able to answer a lot of questions. This will probably be very cheap or free.

[lamboguy]

i would check out the legalities of the property before i do any with the land. make sure that there are no easements and liens on the property, also check to see if you need to go in front of a conservation committee. you also need to know how much frontage you need to build your home. if there is no city sewage, you have to know where you can build the septic system and the drain going to the system.depending on the regulations, your home might need a basement, it it doesn't you can build on a slab.

those are the major things to do. from there you will probably need an architect to make the plans for your home.the architect usually will go in front of the zoning board with the plans on the home to get the approvals needed,. after that you can go to the building department for a permit to build.

from there depending on the amount of time you have, you might want to hire a contractor to build the home. they generally will cost you 26% more than if you built it yourself with your own subcontractors.

there are some contractors that will handle the whole process right from the start. it all comes down to your budget. when you have to buy materials, you should get a discount. the builder might charge you the full retail and pocket the discount. Home Depot, Lowes and all lumber yards have a contractors discount and a retail price. depending on how nice a place you want to build, it costs between $200-$500 or more per foot to build the home.

good luck and happiness with your new home.

[Frost king]

In process of buying land on which to erect a house. Am, of course, expecting unforeseen issues, expenses, and red tape.

Have other board members, perhaps, been through this??

If you have never fought with your wife, you will now. Good Luck.

[Ocala Mike]

Just getting a manufactured home on property I already owned in Florida was daunting. Permits up the wazoo, scheduling issues, and finally finding out the land was not porous enough to support a septic system.

Had to bring in many loads of sand to build a septic mound at no small expense. Looks nice today, though, like a natural berm.

[Red Knave]

If you have never fought with your wife, you will now. Good Luck.
I can echo this.

Also the 2 other rules of construction are that it will take longer and cost more.
Just be prepared.

[stuball]

I have built 2 house myself over the years. first one in 1979 rules were very easy second house in 2003 built both houses within 3 months.. second time was much harder.. had a list from building inspector of 9 things to fix before he allowed me to move in.. the worst was that 1 of the 2 bathrooms had to have doorways wide enough for wheelchair access and 2 of 3 bedrooms same thing.
they had approved the house plans before building and did not tell me that till I was ready to move in had to redo the doors to the fed requirements.. carpets were already in.. he said I could appeal but it would take some time to complete the process.. I was able to strip a 2 by 4 from the non support side of the door frames to comply but it was a pain.. so make your doors all big enough for disability requirements.. I told all the people I hired that if they saw anything wrong to talk to me about it right away that they were the experts.. that helped alot with a couple of small changes.. both of which were improvements after they were done. very stressful but I was much younger then. We love where we have lived for all these years.. I just lost my wife 3 weeks ago to Stage 4 Lung Cancer... I did home hospice till she passed and she loved her home and wanted to stay here. I loved her with all my heart and though it was hard I would do it no other way. I have say you and your partner have to be flexible and not stubborn (same thing)

Stuball:rolleyes:

[lamboguy]

i used to put wind corners along the frame of the houses that i built to re-inforce the frame. i got that from a building inspector that demanded it. he told me that he had seen homes tear apart in big winds. it is not expensive to do and it doesn't take that much time to put them in.

[lamboguy]

I have built 2 house myself over the years. first one in 1979 rules were very easy second house in 2003 built both houses within 3 months.. second time was much harder.. had a list from building inspector of 9 things to fix before he allowed me to move in.. the worst was that 1 of the 2 bathrooms had to have doorways wide enough for wheelchair access and 2 of 3 bedrooms same thing.
they had approved the house plans before building and did not tell me that till I was ready to move in had to redo the doors to the fed requirements.. carpets were already in.. he said I could appeal but it would take some time to complete the process.. I was able to strip a 2 by 4 from the non support side of the door frames to comply but it was a pain.. so make your doors all big enough for disability requirements.. I told all the people I hired that if they saw anything wrong to talk to me about it right away that they were the experts.. that helped alot with a couple of small changes.. both of which were improvements after they were done. very stressful but I was much younger then. We love where we have lived for all these years.. I just lost my wife 3 weeks ago to Stage 4 Lung Cancer... I did home hospice till she passed and she loved her home and wanted to stay here. I loved her with all my heart and though it was hard I would do it no other way. I have say you and your partner have to be flexible and not stubborn (same thing)

Stuball:rolleyes:
i am real sorry to hear about your loss.

all around great advice from you. that must have been a real pain in the neck to widen the doorways, but you got your occupancy permit, so all is well.

[FakeNameChanged]

I have built 2 house myself over the years. first one in 1979 rules were very easy second house in 2003 built both houses within 3 months.. second time was much harder.. had a list from building inspector of 9 things to fix before he allowed me to move in.. the worst was that 1 of the 2 bathrooms had to have doorways wide enough for wheelchair access and 2 of 3 bedrooms same thing.
they had approved the house plans before building and did not tell me that till I was ready to move in had to redo the doors to the fed requirements.. carpets were already in.. he said I could appeal but it would take some time to complete the process.. I was able to strip a 2 by 4 from the non support side of the door frames to comply but it was a pain.. so make your doors all big enough for disability requirements.. I told all the people I hired that if they saw anything wrong to talk to me about it right away that they were the experts.. that helped alot with a couple of small changes.. both of which were improvements after they were done. very stressful but I was much younger then. We love where we have lived for all these years.. I just lost my wife 3 weeks ago to Stage 4 Lung Cancer... I did home hospice till she passed and she loved her home and wanted to stay here. I loved her with all my heart and though it was hard I would do it no other way. I have say you and your partner have to be flexible and not stubborn (same thing)

Stuball:rolleyes:

Stuball, sorry for your loss.

[tucker6]

I have built 2 house myself over the years. first one in 1979 rules were very easy second house in 2003 built both houses within 3 months.. second time was much harder.. had a list from building inspector of 9 things to fix before he allowed me to move in.. the worst was that 1 of the 2 bathrooms had to have doorways wide enough for wheelchair access and 2 of 3 bedrooms same thing.
they had approved the house plans before building and did not tell me that till I was ready to move in had to redo the doors to the fed requirements.. carpets were already in.. he said I could appeal but it would take some time to complete the process.. I was able to strip a 2 by 4 from the non support side of the door frames to comply but it was a pain.. so make your doors all big enough for disability requirements.. I told all the people I hired that if they saw anything wrong to talk to me about it right away that they were the experts.. that helped alot with a couple of small changes.. both of which were improvements after they were done. very stressful but I was much younger then. We love where we have lived for all these years.. I just lost my wife 3 weeks ago to Stage 4 Lung Cancer... I did home hospice till she passed and she loved her home and wanted to stay here. I loved her with all my heart and though it was hard I would do it no other way. I have say you and your partner have to be flexible and not stubborn (same thing)

Stuball:rolleyes:
Very sorry for your loss Stuball. I lost my first wife to stage 4 lung cancer as well. A gut punch beyond words. Took me a couple months for the fog to clear. Hang in there and stay active with family and friends. That's important mentally.

[JustRalph]

In process of buying land on which to erect a house. Am, of course, expecting unforeseen issues, expenses, and red tape.

Have other board members, perhaps, been through this??

On the “land buying”. Dont underestimate the value of a good realtor with experience in the area the land is in. Your buying, the realtor is paid by the seller. Find a good one.

Don’t forget mineral rights etc. if it’s in a residential neighborhood make sure you know setback lines and easement lines.

A good realtor can answer 90% of the questions and suggestions you will see in this thread.

Before You decide on a builder, go look at houses They have done in the last 2-5 years. Concentrate on the ones 2+ years old. It takes time for stuff to show up. They love to show brand new houses, but it takes time for roof leaks and drywall settling to occur.

Do a google search on your builder prospect. Look for people who may have posted about them. Google crawls most websites and finds stuff.

Ask the builder if they are an LLC-Incorporated or whatever. Builders love to go bankrupt and start all over again. Ask who owns them. Get full names, google the full names and check the BBB profile. You should be able to check with the attorney general on the owners full name and what other companies they have owned. Many states do this online.

On the building part, don’t skip talking to prior customers. Good builders will not have a problem with it. Bad guys will.

On the build site. Never show up and bitch at the actual guys swinging hammers. Those guys have a million ways to get back at you five years after you move in.

On home inspection, make sure your inspector scopes the Hvac vents (trash somehow finds its way into vents) and pressure tests the vent runs and temp tests the a/c at the farthest vent from the blower.

If you can afford it, put in extra tonnage on the a/c. When it’s ten years old and running at 80-90% efficiency it will still be adequate. Hopefully.

Just my .02

[mountainman]

On the “land buying”. Dont underestimate the value of a good realtor with experience in the area the land is in. Your buying, the realtor is paid by the seller. Find a good one.

Don’t forget mineral rights etc. if it’s in a residential neighborhood make sure you know setback lines and easement lines.

A good realtor can answer 90% of the questions and suggestions you will see in this thread.

Before You decide on a builder, go look at houses They have done in the last 2-5 years. Concentrate on the ones 2+ years old. It takes time for stuff to show up. They love to show brand new houses, but it takes time for roof leaks and drywall settling to occur.

Do a google search on your builder prospect. Look for people who may have posted about them. Google crawls most websites and finds stuff.

Ask the builder if they are an LLC-Incorporated or whatever. Builders love to go bankrupt and start all over again. Ask who owns them. Get full names, google the full names and check the BBB profile. You should be able to check with the attorney general on the owners full name and what other companies they have owned. Many states do this online.

On the building part, don’t skip talking to prior customers. Good builders will not have a problem with it. Bad guys will.

On the build site. Never show up and bitch at the actual guys swinging hammers. Those guys have a million ways to get back at you five years after you move in.

On home inspection, make sure your inspector scopes the Hvac vents (trash somehow finds its way into vents) and pressure tests the vent runs and temp tests the a/c at the farthest vent from the blower.

If you can afford it, put in extra tonnage on the a/c. When it’s ten years old and running at 80-90% efficiency it will still be adequate. Hopefully.

Just my .02

tx, ralph..very helpful......

[PaceAdvantage]

I just lost my wife 3 weeks ago to Stage 4 Lung Cancer... I did home hospice till she passed and she loved her home and wanted to stay here. I loved her with all my heart and though it was hard I would do it no other way. I have say you and your partner have to be flexible and not stubborn (same thing)

Stuball:rolleyes:So sorry to read of your loss stuball.

[mountainman]

I have built 2 house myself over the years. first one in 1979 rules were very easy second house in 2003 built both houses within 3 months.. second time was much harder.. had a list from building inspector of 9 things to fix before he allowed me to move in.. the worst was that 1 of the 2 bathrooms had to have doorways wide enough for wheelchair access and 2 of 3 bedrooms same thing.
they had approved the house plans before building and did not tell me that till I was ready to move in had to redo the doors to the fed requirements.. carpets were already in.. he said I could appeal but it would take some time to complete the process.. I was able to strip a 2 by 4 from the non support side of the door frames to comply but it was a pain.. so make your doors all big enough for disability requirements.. I told all the people I hired that if they saw anything wrong to talk to me about it right away that they were the experts.. that helped alot with a couple of small changes.. both of which were improvements after they were done. very stressful but I was much younger then. We love where we have lived for all these years.. I just lost my wife 3 weeks ago to Stage 4 Lung Cancer... I did home hospice till she passed and she loved her home and wanted to stay here. I loved her with all my heart and though it was hard I would do it no other way. I have say you and your partner have to be flexible and not stubborn (same thing)

Stuball:rolleyes:

instructive, sir..tx very much for taking the time..may happy memories of your beloved wife soften your grief, at least a little.....

usually, i can apply searing, even obsessive, focus to things I undertake, but my son is mildly autistic, and having a forever home constructed for him has the potential to compromise me on an emotional level.. BIG potential..plus, i plan to fund the whole project with cash, and deducting that amount from shane's future inheritance was a tuff call

[mountainman]

btw..i am looking at blueprints pegged at 1700 sq feet, or so (3 bedrooms, two baths..etc)..does that size sound appropriate for me, shane, and his mom???

initially, i was shooting for 2,000 sq feet, but my sister said that's just too much house for 3 people..