There's a couple in Alaska who have been building a house and vlog their experience: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChhBsM9K_Bc9a_YTK7UUlnQ
How to build a house alone [video]
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Re: How to build a house alone [video]
#62It looks like the entire thing is made of chipboard and planks of wood? Is it a temporary building? How long does that last?
No, it's just how houses are build in the US.
Re: How to build a house alone [video]
#63I'm a former General Contractor. (Actually still a contractor, but inactive status.)
This is very possible.
Do it when you are young though. Don't wait.
Start learning now.
If serious, and have the time, land, and funds for materials, go out and buy pretty much every book related to building Taunton Publising offers.
Start with Working Along. A Taunton book with tips on Working Alone.
Learn Electrical Residential wiring early on. (I have found most DIY'er have a terrible understanding of Electrical Theory, Layout of branch, home-run circuits, and all the NEC codes. It's not that difficult.
Learn about Plumbing/HVAC. You will be suprised it's not that difficult. (Radiant heating is not that complicated.)
My biggest regret is not building a house completely in my thirties. I was basically a Contractor Handyman, and never build a house from scratch.
And to be honest, even though I have accumulated the knowledge to do the job now; I'm just not physically what I was in my twenties, plus I'm filled with neurotic anxiety.
It's ironic, when I was in my twenties/thirties, I didn't have all the knowledge to build a large house. Now I have the knowledge, I question my physical abilities. And I'm scared of risk more than ever. In so many ways, I have given up. If I had a kid, our first project would be building him/her a house.
That's why I say do it young. What makes it really feasible these days are the quality of the info out there.
To the poor kids out there--really try to build that house early on. You won't regret it. It's better than any stock portfolio.
Re: How to build a house alone [video]
#64what could possibly go wrong....
Re: How to build a house alone [video]
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
Primitive Technology is an awesome channel, one of the marvels of youtube. To anybody who decides to follow his videos: please do not skip reading the description of the videos. He's not just making some primitive-looking stuff with crap he finds about, he actually often tries to replicate what actual primitive peoples did, and explains the historical period and some other details. There are those other channels that…
And don't forget to turn on captions, as his commentary is there.
I've learned about this a while ago (also via a comment), but, I've never turned it on; I like just watching it silently and going "Aaaah he's making an !".
Re: How to build a house alone [video]
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm a fan of building, a fan of Portugal and a fan of portuguese literature (I plan to learn european portuguese), so you have one person interested here. I'd appreciate English subs though.
Yes, EN subs is a must have, I'm sure my brother is capable of that. Good luck with learning Portuguese. Just like French, you'll need some perseverance in the beginning. ;)
Fun (to me, at least) and perhaps tangentially related -
I spent A LOT of time in Vigo, Spain (Well, Vigo, Galicia, as the locals would say) a few years ago - my employer had a major delivery at one of the shipyards, and I volunteered to stay until we had it all sorted. Turned out to take way longer than expected.
I started picking up quite a lot of what I assumed to be Spanish (this being Spain an'all) from being around the locals - and was able to make myself understood, too, after a fashion.
Much to my surprise, I later found when trying out my recently-acquired Spanish skills in Madrid that I was mostly met with blank stares.
In Lisbon, though, my mix of rudimentary Portuguese (picked up in Brazil and Mozambique) and the 'Spanish' I'd picked up in Vigo was well understood.
And thus I found out that Galego was a distinct language, significantly more related to Portuguese than to Spanish.
Re: How to build a house alone [video]
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is this difference mainly caused by weather conditions or is it a cultural or economical consequence?
The price of timber in Europe is way higher. I'm always amazed when watching US woodworking channels on Youtube how cheaply they get their materials, especially two-by-fours. This is causing another interesting difference, in Europe most of the simpler furniture is made of laminated particle boards (IKEA style), while my impression is that in US plywood is more common. In Europe plywood is fairly expensive, which mad…
I've yet to find proper wood in e.g. DIY stores over here, is that the reason? I should probably look for a proper wood store though.
Re: How to build a house alone [video]
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Primitive Technology is an awesome channel, one of the marvels of youtube. To anybody who decides to follow his videos: please do not skip reading the description of the videos. He's not just making some primitive-looking stuff with crap he finds about, he actually often tries to replicate what actual primitive peoples did, and explains the historical period and some other details. There are those other channels that…
And don't forget to turn on captions, as his commentary is there.
This reminds me a little of the surprise it was when I found that xkcd has mouseover comments that can be ridiculously funny.
Re: How to build a house alone [video]
#69It looks like the entire thing is made of chipboard and planks of wood? Is it a temporary building? How long does that last?
This is how Americans build houses. And they sell them more expensively than the massive houses we build in Europe.
Re: How to build a house alone [video]
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, EN subs is a must have, I'm sure my brother is capable of that. Good luck with learning Portuguese. Just like French, you'll need some perseverance in the beginning. ;)
Fun (to me, at least) and perhaps tangentially related - I spent A LOT of time in Vigo, Spain (Well, Vigo, Galicia, as the locals would say) a few years ago - my employer had a major delivery at one of the shipyards, and I volunteered to stay until we had it all sorted. Turned out to take way longer than expected. I started picking up quite a lot of what I assumed to be Spanish (this being Spain an'all) from being ar…
Quite right; in fact, before independence Portugal was a county (as in, ruled by a count) of the Kingdom of Galicia, which has been a territory since the Roman times (called Gallaecia then).
Of course, the county was just the northern tip of what is Portugal today, before the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconquista