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Ask HN: Have you built a house?

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Re: Ask HN: Have you built a house?

#91

Post by [deleted] »

karl11 wrote: post #45
koliber wrote: post #6

I've built a house, in the sense that I was working as the general contractor and hiring out crews and tradespeople to do the actual work. My involvement differed anywhere between hire-a-crew and pay them when they are done down to doing certain things myself 100%. A few takeaways: - Things seem simple from the outside, before you do them for the first time. They are in actuality quite complicated. Even something as…

+1 to everything here, and want to emphasize permitting/zoning since it's buried in the bullet list. For example, even if you have the knowledge and skill to do your own plumbing, in most places you cannot just do your own plumbing (legally). I am building a house for the first time (hired a GC, but making the infinite number of decisions involved and writing the checks) - I went in knowing it would be more work and…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Have you built a house?

#92

Post by m-i-l »

My parents built a house. They got help digging the foundations (which required heavy machinery given it was built on rock) but did everything else themselves. A couple of tips:

- They bought a pretty run down shell as their first project to learn about bricklaying, roofing, electrics, plumbing etc. before buying the land for the new build.

- For the new build, they got an architect to review their designs pretty thoroughly, given the country's strict building regulations.

Also, don't underestimate the enormity of the undertaking. It took them 9 years to complete the build, working most evenings and weekends after work.

Re: Ask HN: Have you built a house?

#93

Post by legohead »

Nelkins wrote: post #18

I have no affiliation with this YouTube channel, but here's a guy who does an entire in-depth series on how to build a house from scratch[0], from surveying the land, to getting permits, to pouring the foundation, and so on. Good way to spend a few hours on a weekend. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn4L_aJ1rV4&list=PLRZePj70B4...

Was going to link this same channel. Unfortunately they've barely started on the project. But the amount of knowledge he shares should be enough to cause anyone to think twice about jumping into something like this...

Re: Ask HN: Have you built a house?

#94

Post by funwie »

Get some experience.

Find small construction sides where you can work as an amateur. Small sides so that you can grasp most of the pieces and how they fit together.

Understand a house plan.

Learn to read building plans and how they translate to a physical structure. The tools and materials used.

Get the tools for the job.

You can not build a solid house in first attempt so Practice. Practice. Practice. Play with the tools, know what fits where, why, and how. Get a sense of how all pieces fit together to form a house and build your confidence.

I recommend you get some bricks and and practice building small structures. No cement. You can use mud so it’s essier to breakdown and start over.

Launch your project when you feel confident you have the skills to see it through.

Re: Ask HN: Have you built a house?

#97

Post by mauvehaus »

semi-extrinsic wrote: post #85
libria wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you spout that last paragraph off the top of your head? That is a staggering bullet list that I suspect has several layers of unwritten sub-bullets. I have a whole new respect for home builders.

It's really crazy how much there is that you don't think about up front if you've never built a house. My first build (this summer) was a playhouse for the kids, 8 square meters single story. I built it mostly like you would a real house, omitting a few details (like insulation between inner and outer walls, since it's not heated anyway). I ended up with a budget overrun of 40% and spent close to twice the number of…

I just finished pressure-washing and painting a deck for some friends. Simple, right?

I estimated 20 hours, with another 4-8 of uncertainty. The job took 43 hours. So >100% overrun on my best-case estimate, >50% over my worst-case. If you don't have experience, it isn't just estimating the time that's hard, it's hard to estimate the uncertainty too. And I'd done a couple of decks before, just never any with as much railing or a second story.

I nth everybody else's suggestion to take on a couple simpler projects first. If you've never painted, paint something non-trivial. Then build a playhouse.

Re: Ask HN: Have you built a house?

#99

Post by mauvehaus »

ghaff wrote: post #52
koliber wrote: post #6

I've built a house, in the sense that I was working as the general contractor and hiring out crews and tradespeople to do the actual work. My involvement differed anywhere between hire-a-crew and pay them when they are done down to doing certain things myself 100%. A few takeaways: - Things seem simple from the outside, before you do them for the first time. They are in actuality quite complicated. Even something as…

>Even something as straightforward as painting a wall will be hard when you are doing it for the first time. Painting is one of the things I do myself, in part because it's something I do often enough that I more or less know the various gotchas, techniques, etc. It's also the case that, when redoing areas that were already painted which is most of what I do these days, I can take some very timesaving shortcuts that…

I've never hired anybody to do interior paint, so I'm wondering: do pros ever actually tape a ceiling border? I've always just cut in by hand. I've found that it's usually high enough that any minor imperfections aren't noticeable.

The last time I did a wall or ceiling, the crown molding had been painted so many times, it would have been nigh impossible to tape it and get a satisfactory result. But I've been living in old places.

Are you in a newer place with fewer uneven spots to tape around?

Re: Ask HN: Have you built a house?

#100

Post by arbitrary_name »

oneshot908 wrote: post #46

In 2007, I had an architect design the outside both for aesthetics and to smooth negotiating with the Santa Cruz mafia planning department, but his floor plans were abysmal, and I would have hated life, stubbing my toes daily. So I took over that task, drove my girlfriend at the time absolutely nuts iterating over it, then one day showed her something she said was bleeping perfect. We built that plan relying on a nei…

The FLOPhouse!
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