Building a House: Should you do it yourself?

Building a house: Should you do it yourself?

Thinking about building a new home? Thinking about doing it yourself? It might sound easy. Visit the do-it-yourself section in a bookstore, watch a home builders show on TV, stop in to your local Home Depot, and you might seriously think, “I can do this!” Think again before you act. Most laypeople, however knowledgeable about design or skilled in carpentry, don’t know what they don’t know.

You may not be prepared for everything you don’t know about building permits, lenders, securing subcontractors, getting needed materials delivered, and more, not to mention the huge amount of time involved to make it all happen.

Among the biggest risks of doing it yourself is Murphy’s Law of Home Building, which, like every Murphy’s Law, prescribes that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. And when it does, you’re on the hook for it. By contrast, if you hire a professional builder to construct your house and an unforeseen problem occurs, it is the builder’s responsibility to solve the problem. With few exceptions, the cost will be absorbed by the builder.

Finally, the  best sub-contractors like to work for professional builders, not do-it-yourselfers. The prospect for repeat work motivates the subs to do the best job possible. When you’re building a home by yourself, the electrician, plumber and roofer all know they will probably never see you again — and their quality of service may reflect that.

No book can teach you how to be an expert plumber or electrician. It takes years of experience to be a good builder — you can’t just substitute a 250-page book or a two-hour videotape for this level of expertise. While building a home may not look that complicated, you also have to navigate a minefield of regulations, building code requirements and other laws. The bottom line: Leave the work to the professionals.

This Homebuyers Tip was based on and excerpted from:
Your New House, by Alan and Denise Fields, Windsor Peak Press, 1994.
ISBN# 0-9626556-2-7

LINKS:
www.nahb.com