How to build a house alone [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: How to build a house alone [video]

#161

Post by saalweachter » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 2:03 PM UTC

Ftuuky wrote: post #37

My father rebuilt a 16th century house by himself on Saturdays. He used electricity and the house has modern features such as piped water and internet but no modern materials were used (concrete, aluminium, steel, etc.), only "old" granite and wood. It took him almost a decade but he builds houses for a living so it's not exactly a hobby despite the fact that he considered it as such. Do you think people would like t…

I mean, the short answer is, does it matter? If you enjoy making the videos, and you aren't spending much time or money making them (beyond the time and money you're spending on the original activity you are recording, that you'd spend anyway), does it matter much if your audience is 10 weirdos around the world or an adoring mass of thousands?

Re: How to build a house alone [video]

#162

Post by MajorSauce » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 2:04 PM UTC

dqpb wrote: post #128

kafquaesque wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cool to see this! Most people will never build their own home these days (even with the cost savings).

If the economy is working properly there shouldn't be cost savings by doing it yourself. That's the whole point of division of labor.

This is irrelevant since he provides labor/services by himself.

You are telling me that if economy is properly working, a mother should not cut the daughter's hair since it should not be cost saving ?

I'm sorry if I misunderstood your point.

Re: How to build a house alone [video]

#163

Post by walshemj » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 2:04 PM UTC

icebraining wrote: post #53

kafquaesque wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cool to see this! Most people will never build their own home these days (even with the cost savings).

A problem is that you can't get a mortgage to build it yourself. Being cheaper in the end doesn't help you if you don't have the money right now.

You cant get a mortgage for self build in the USA? - its a definite market in the UK and you can save quite a bit.

Re: How to build a house alone [video]

#164

Post by linsomniac » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 2:05 PM UTC

mrleiter wrote: post #16

Back in the 50s, my great grandfather built the house where my mother and my grandmother grew up in all by himself. It took him 6 years, but he had no help. He started digging into the ground with a shovel. He was a carpenter and bricklayer and used his spare time and skill to do it. This house is still standing and my grandmother still lives in it. This is him with his wife, my great grandmother: https://i.imgur.com…

That's awesome! My grandfather was in construction and built the house my mom grew up in, starting with plans sketched on a napkin. I regret not spending time with him in his shop when we still had him with us, now that I'm doing all sorts of remodeling on my own house. But, to be honest, the PTSD from WW II left me afraid of him. "Don't disturb grandpa when he's sleeping or he might think you're an enemy and kill you." RIP Bob.

Re: How to build a house alone [video]

#165

Post by kafquaesque » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 2:07 PM UTC

toomanybeersies wrote: post #126

kafquaesque wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cool to see this! Most people will never build their own home these days (even with the cost savings).

My father's hobby is property investment. Well, it's a bit more than a hobby, he owns around 10 houses. He does as much work as possible himself, or when I was living at home, by getting me to do it for free (well, I get inheritance one day). The amount of money he's managed to save by doing his own work is staggering. We saved at least $10,000 by building a retaining wall ourselves. We mixed up over 6 tonnes of conc…

Your father sounds kind of like some of my family. You can rent the equipment to dig the holes if he ever wants to learn how to do that. If you are the general contractor you can save whatever their markup is (at least twenty years ago).

Re: How to build a house alone [video]

#166

Post by walshemj » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 2:09 PM UTC

SmellyGeekBoy wrote: post #110

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'm not sure where "over here" refers to but here in the UK "wood yards" are fairly common, especially in more rural areas and are typically much cheaper than DIY places. Often they'll even cut it to size and deliver as well!

Proper high quality wood is a bit nich area my first job had its own stock of hardwoods used for building hydrodynamic models - which where works of art in there own right.

Re: How to build a house alone [video]

#167

Post by kafquaesque » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 2:14 PM UTC

dennyis wrote: post #148

toomanybeersies wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My father's hobby is property investment. Well, it's a bit more than a hobby, he owns around 10 houses. He does as much work as possible himself, or when I was living at home, by getting me to do it for free (well, I get inheritance one day). The amount of money he's managed to save by doing his own work is staggering. We saved at least $10,000 by building a retaining wall ourselves. We mixed up over 6 tonnes of conc…

A good friend of mine owns around 50 houses and apartments, and does 95% of the work himself. He is super smart and impressive, however he is his own limiting factor in his growth. He literally can’t keep up with the work and refuses good deals. Learning to lead others effectively is key to growth in real estate investing and it’s a hurdle many unintentionally self limit their growth.

This is not just an issue in real-estate investing. This sounds like it is a general principle that can be applied across-the-board. A lot of small business owners/franchisees fail because they don’t know how to create processes and delegate. A good book on this is The E-myth Revisted.

Re: How to build a house alone [video]

#168

Post by gkya » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 2:14 PM UTC

Bromskloss wrote: post #59

underko wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And don't forget to turn on captions, as his commentary is there.

It seems like some YouTube videos have captions on by default. Maybe he should turn that on.

Curiously I don't see any captions since some time, even though I haven't touched any settings anywhere.

Re: How to build a house alone [video]

#169

Post by kafquaesque » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 2:15 PM UTC

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #87

icebraining wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A problem is that you can't get a mortgage to build it yourself. Being cheaper in the end doesn't help you if you don't have the money right now.

As I think about it (not in depth, though), does it matter? If you're building it yourself, you can't go that fast. The amount of building materials you can buy each month with what would amount to a mortgage+taxes+insurance payment each month would be just about what you could use up. So it would probably work out OK.

My father did as much overtime as he could to save up money when we were building.

Re: How to build a house alone [video]

#170

Post by gkya » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 2:20 PM UTC

Ftuuky wrote: post #51

gkya wrote: post #46

Earlier 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. ;)

Thanks! Is there a YT channel or blog etc. where we can follow to be notified if that project becomes real?

I already know italian, and I'm slowly starting to learn french, so I guess that will help w/ portuguese. I can already understand bits and pieces when I read, but listening, I have no chance.