Is it realistic to build a house by yourself off-grid? (Mesa: wood floors, fit in)

[fengxg]

I saw this guy building his own house near highway 40 Ash Fork near the lot I bought. I have a lot of respect to him. Is it realistic for a novice to build your own house? How should I start?

[gemstone1]

From an amateur's standpoint.....Start at the library....read. After that, decide what type of structure you want, what will work for your location and county building codes. Conventional, earth berm/underground, straw bale, post and beam ? Read some more on your chosen structural style. Visit construction sites, take pictures, ask questions. Decide what you are willing to contract out...solar installation, concrete, etc. Approach the guy you saw, ask questions, ask to help, learn while helping.
Accept the fact that you will make mistakes, your approach should be to do things correctly, but also know how to mitigate and lessen the impact of any mistakes.
Everything starts with the correct building site, a good plan and a good foundation.

Good Luck
Gemstone

[housecatsitter]

Absolutely realistic! And very cool! But it will take a lot of energy and fortitude. Definitely start with researching, reading books, articles on the Internet, and asking lots of people lots of questions. There are some ingenious examples of homes people have built that are very sustainable - net zero or better (either using no grid electricity or returning electricity to the grid).

I work in the architecture field, so I know for sure, one thing you will have to do at some point is work with the local building officials, so at some (early) point you should check in with the town/city hall building department. The building codes are important because you could build something, and if you don't have sign-off from the local building official, they could tell you to take it down! That would suck. Anyway, if the codes get too overwhelming, save yourself time and headache and call up a reputable architect or builder and pay them to help you. You can come up with plans first on your own and ask them to review them for you.

You can get house plans online, and in some cases those companies that sell them can tailor the plan you select to fit your local code. What they might not be able to do is tell you how to fit off-grid technologies into your house. That's where your research becomes important.

Hope this is helpful, and I say, go for it! It could be very exciting and wonderful.
Good luck!

[CheyDee]

There is a husband/wife couple, (Lisa & Mike), who built their own home off the grid in TN from scratch. Lisa shared their experiences with a narrative & pictures, as they went along. It's a fascinating thread to read, (albeit long). You can find the thread here.

I would suggest reading the above to start. It may shed light on some of the work you would have cut out for you, as well as some of the things that could go wrong, (even with careful planning). I think it really helps to have pictures to go along with everything, which was so generously shared here on C-D.

[Steve Pickering]

I have. It's not for everyone.

[RichCapeCod]

Keep in mind, when building something "off the grid" that securing your tools and building materials from others can be quite a chore.

[fengxg]

Originally Posted by RichCapeCod

Keep in mind, when building something "off the grid" that securing your tools and building materials from others can be quite a chore.

I know what you mean. I don't know why some people can live with themselves by making profit out of others loss. What a better world it will be without those "pesty" human beings. LOL.

[fengxg]

Originally Posted by CheyDee

There is a husband/wife couple, (Lisa & Mike), who built their own home off the grid in TN from scratch. Lisa shared their experiences with a narrative & pictures, as they went along. It's a fascinating thread to read, (albeit long). You can find the thread here.

I would suggest reading the above to start. It may shed light on some of the work you would have cut out for you, as well as some of the things that could go wrong, (even with careful planning). I think it really helps to have pictures to go along with everything, which was so generously shared here on C-D.

Fantastic thread! Thanks!

[maverick974]

I've never "built" a house but I have taken them down to the studs in the walls and floors and just started over and I have no doubt, I could build a house from scratch by myself. It's a daunting task for sure. One thing that always helped me was to break things down to the smallest elements. I can't look at the property and say "I'm going to build a house". WAY too much for me. I have to look at it and say "I'm going to build this one wall TODAY." That's the only thing I can do to not be overwhelmed by EVERYTHING that needs to be done.
I've added rooms on a house, I've done pretty much anything that can be done to a house other than starting from scratch and from my limited experience, it's doable and even enjoyable if you have the time, the money, the tools and the knowledge available to you and the internet takes care of the last part.
I rebuilt my last home in Oregon and I did it entirely by myself. For a lot of reasons, I had no help whatsoever and I got it done and I'm the better for it. There is something about building (or in this case, rebuilding) a house so my daughter has a respectable home to grow up in. You can't buy that feeling.
I was quite often, concerned about doing things I've never done before. The first time I did a roof, the first time I did drywall, electrical, insulation, plumbing. As it turns out, most of the stuff you do on a house is pretty straightforward and somewhat easy to understand.
We learn by doing far better than we learn from books.
The first house I did in Oregon, I gutted it down to the studs. I even ripped out all the plumbing and a good part of the electrical and started over. New electrical, plumbing, insulation, new sub-floors, new drywall, texture, paint, wood floors, cabinets and countertops, all new windows, etc. I did that because I couldn't afford to have someone else do it so I figured it out and as it turns out, I did it right.
I now live in east Mesa. I got a house that needed work. Real Estate people will always tell you that you'll NEVER find the perfect house. Well, I did. It had everything, and I mean EVERYTHING I wanted in a house and I got it very cheap because it needed work. Guess what? I can now do all the work myself. I don't have to hire guys to do the work for me because I can do it better and cheaper.
So, do your research, have you're ducks in a row and be prepared for a long term project.
You'll get some appreciation of how something is made and you have a great deal of personal satisfaction that you are creating something that hopefully will outlast you. It's a great feeling.
There I go with a LOOOONG response again. Gotta stop doing that. lol.
My point is that it is doable by the average guy. If you want to do it and can commit to a long term project, then there isn't anything stopping you from getting it done.
Let us know what happens.

[trumpethim]

I've remodeled houses for a living, and if you've got a little building savvy, and common sense, you can do it. Pay attention to the building codes. For a new build, you'll have to have plans turned in to the city/county, pay for a permit, and if you get those plans from a good source, the planning department will make you aware of anything that you missed in planning. There are a lot of things to consider on a new build, like set-backs, sewer/septic placement, electrical placement (if you use their power), stud sizes, rafter requirements, drywall thicknesses for certain areas, etc.

You can also go online to 'SKETCHUP'. They have a program that you can download. It's a 3-d setup, and you can lay out your house and play with dimensions and things, so you get a very good idea where you want rooms placed before you finalize plans on drawings. You can build a whole house, then tear out what you don't like, then rebuild, until you get your desired house. It even allows for different elevations. Being in 3-d, its just like a model, and with Sketchup, you can swing the model around to see all views, even above and below. I've used it to re-do whole houses, moving walls, and seeing if different ideas will fit in the structure that you are trying to make better. It's much cheaper...$0.00!.. than building and finding out something didn't quite fit. This program allows you to scale things as small as 1/16 inch, so you'll have an exact view on things. They even have models of furniture so you can plan room sizes and see how everything fits.

But like everyone else says, do as much planning as possible. It will save you time AND money.