I don’t disagree that true skill is rare, but building a small, plain house like the one in the OP does not really make any great carpentering demands. It’s basically a fairly crude box; you don’t need any real skill to build it. If you’re the kind of person who by nature is careful and attentive to detail, an hour’s worth of instruction will give you basically all you need to know to build it. I think in this case it’s more important to start with thousands of dollars’ worth of tools and no skill than it is to start with skill and no tools.
I could build a decent house overall - plumbing, flooring, drywall, painting, you name it.
With just one tiny exception…
It would have no lights or power whatsoever. Cause what I know about electricity you could fit into a peanut.
I worked in construction several years so I know I couldn’t do it all, even with Mig doing the hardest stuff. The electricity and plumbing neither of us will touch (wouldn’t have a home without them either!).
I would love to try though.
I could build a house good enough for my needs and within code allowances…mostly.
I do know that electrical codes is the U.S. are pretty standardized and that as long as you follow a few basic but utterly critical rules, you’ll come out OK. A little research, and hiring a proper electrician to get the power from the meter to the breaker box and I’ll get it.
One other thing. I can do drywall but I will not do it. End of that particular discussion.
No. I framed houses for a summer in my youth (I hated it!) but I wouldn’t know what to do much past that. And I am doubtful I would do very well at that part now.
Yeah. I designed and built the two story addition to our house. Including moving the mechanical and well equipment and washer dryer into the new room. There was a LOT of plumbing involved. Had to also run a new line out to the septic tank.
Did all the framing, roofing, siding etc.
Also installed and plumbed all the in floor heat.
I did not do the power. The meter had to be moved. Twice. Once to get it out of the way, and then back. Plus the breaker box got relocated.
Nor did I do the flat work, but I did rent a mini-track hoe and did the excavation for it.
So, yeah. For the most part I can build a house.
Building a little house like the one in the links would be do-able, and maybe fun. Building something much bigger and more complex would be do-able and not fun.
A multi-room house would take me 5 years to complete. All the info is on the internet, but learning each skill and researching every special need and discovering the “tricks of the trade” is incredibly time-consuming.
My list of “partial credits” includes:
design/build a gazebo-playhouse, design/build a very fancy paver walkway with concrete bedding, design/build a medium-complex deck, install new electric circuits, re-sheath half the house and install vinyl siding, frame and install a big bay window.
Each project took months to finish.
I could build a house, including all of the electrical once it’s connected to the meter, and the plumbing, provided there’s no type of gas going to the house. While I can do the welding such a job requires, I won’t.
If I pull in my family to help, we could have it done in a week, tops. Provided that all the materials were already there, and the code inspectors didn’t give us hassle. The last time we did it, we built a 2 story 3 bed, 3 bath house in under 2 weeks, just working afternoons and weekends. That’s not counting the finished basement and attic.
No, I could not build that. I got claustrophobia when he went up to the bedroom. I had a one story play house that big as a kid. I like his idea of smaller homes but he has taken it to an extreme. No piped in water? What does the toilet go to? A bucket?
I do think we can save more by living in a smaller home but it should have enough space to move around in and have the basics. I wouldn’t mind 900 sq feet but 100 is just too confining. Most Mobile homes are around 900 square feet.
Interesting video.