How to Build Your Home with Your Own Ingenuity and Hard Work

The joy of home ownership cannot be overstated. Pioneers had to not only build their own homes, but they also had to secure their own raw materials. There were no home centers back then that offered lumber, myriad power tools and prefabricated home-building supplies. Access to the materials and tools to build your home is easier today, but you still need to put in your own ingenuity and sweat equity if you are going to do it yourself.

Shared Work Home Building

If you have skills in putting up drywall, laying tile, and installing doors and cabinets, then there is no reason to pay someone else to do it. You can save thousands of dollars doing the work you are comfortable with in your home construction project. If you cannot do masonry work or the infrastructure of wiring and plumbing, then let the professionals handle that. When planning your home, do the parts you can do and outsource the rest. Typically, DIY homeowners who plan to put in sweat equity let the pros build the shell and handle any construction that requires expensive specialized tools.

DIY Cleanup

Every hour a contracted worker is at your house costs you. If you make arrangements with your contractors to take responsibility for all the cleanup, then you can save more money in your home construction costs. Some companies, like Jetwave Industrial Equipment, know that construction of infrastructure can be messy. A heavy duty Shop Vac and pressure washer will help with cleanup chores. Framing contractors are not neat as neat as finish contractors are. The shell of your home is exposed to the elements before the roof is put on, and dirt, mud, construction trash, and sawdust will be everywhere – inside and out. If you need to clean concrete or masonry, a professional pressure washer will be more useful.

Calculate the Hours

Certain mortgage lenders will permit some homeowner sweat equity to be involved with the new home construction. However, you need to calculate the costs carefully. If tiling a bathroom floor would cost $1,500 if done by a professional, you need to calculate how much it costs you to do it. You are likely going to be slower than a professional, so consider any work you are doing in light of holding up other workers from completing a job. Also, consider you investment in time, tools and materials. How much do you make per hour at your job? Will the net savings be significant enough to make it worth you doing the work yourself? Think it through for all of your sweat equity home building contributions.

Source Closeout and Open-Box Materials

If you can live with a closeout batch of carpeting or tile, you can save a considerable amount of money. Home centers often sell off remaining inventory of products they are not going to carry any longer. The cost can be less than half of similar products. There is nothing wrong with the products. They are just in limited supply, and no new quantities can be ordered. Home centers receive quite a bit of returns of products that have been opened. They can be anything from bathroom fixtures to lighting products. These items are usually sold at an extreme discount. If you are familiar with the products and see that all the parts are there, it can save you a lot of money in home construction.
You do not have to rely on your contractor to source the materials that will go into your home construction, but you do need to make sure the materials are available when they are needed. You do not want to have to pay a day of labor for your hardwood flooring installers because you did not pick up the supplies in time. Also, make sure all the supplies needed for a job are present. You do not want to have work delayed because there were no shims available for the door installation project.