Do I need a general contractor to build a house?

[52wej]

Well I am a member of the DIY club. My wife and I built our home over 40 years ago and did all the work except for grading, well and septic. We actually sawed the beams for a modified post and beam house. One thing we learned is that if you want to do something you can do it with enough work and study. It took 2 1/2 years and all of our spare time, but it belonged to us when we moved in and not the bank. It passed all inspections with no problems. But we made sure to exceed the code in all we did.. Saved a lot of hassles.

Could I do it today? No because I do not have a contractor's or plumber's or electrician's license. And to me that stinks. I understand why the codes are written and respect the safety concerns that drive them. Sadly many do not. And I also have seen a lot of shoddy workmanship, that met codes but created numerous problems later on. Let me also add that I have hired good contractors whose workmanship is something to be proud of.

Just my two cents. W. Jones

 

[m1garand762]

Even if you hire a gc anyone with common sense would be on the job daily to inspect and criticize the work. I work in the trades and most people show up once or twice and get a poor product as a result. When I built my house I refused 3 loads of lumber and the carpenters tried to sneak some bad lumber in. I told him to remove it he said no I said your fired and had another carpenter in 2 hours. Even with a gc you are the boss and need to take ownership and be there every day

 

[PILOON]

While never a General Contractor I've DIY'd a number of homes.

A good neighbor hired me to represent him during the build of his new home.
Essentially I was the owner's representative.

Fortunately he had made good choices and mostly it went very well.
I did from time to time have them re do or change a few minor things.
Was a nice project and pleasant experience.

I'd do that again.

 

[YanmarFever]

My lovely wife and I built two beautiful homes in the past, we were our own general contractors.
We saved over 30 grand alone on the first one and everything was great, we used red oak for all the cabinets and trim work. We built the second one the same way and it turned out even better than the first one.
Yes, it took 2 years to build, but there was no bank or general contractors involved..

 

[Redneck in training]

I was my own GC when we built our last house. Since I didn't have a track record the bank demanded high downpayment close to 50%. We run out of money to finish the house. The bank inspected the work done and lent us whatever we needed without much hustle. When my wife was trying to get us the initial construction loan the big banks looked at her like she was a leper. But the local small town banks are more entrepreneurial and lent us the money. Later on when we added another building (shop) we had no issue to get a loan using another small bank. The VP of the bank hopped in his car and drove to see our place and saw nicely landscaped property. We got the loan next day with very reasonable interest rate.

 

[rScotty]

I was my own GC when we built our last house. Since I didn't have a track record the bank demanded high downpayment close to 50%. We run out of money to finish the house. The bank inspected the work done and lent us whatever we needed without much hustle. When my wife was trying to get us the initial construction loan the big banks looked at her like she was a leper. But the local small town banks are more entrepreneurial and lent us the money. Later on when we added another building (shop) we had no issue to get a loan using another small bank. The VP of the bank hopped in his car and drove to see our place and saw nicely landscaped property. We got the loan next day with very reasonable interest rate.

I sure do like to hear stories like that. Lots of them nowdays. There was a time when it was pretty much impossible for young people to get loans for education or houses. What a waste of time and resources that was.

 

[SandburRanch]

There's a world of difference whether your bank balance has cash available or applying for a loan . Time is usually considered when borrowing from a lender . If you're the GC can you coordinate the project to satisfy the lender or are you willing to pay the penalty(s)

 

[jk96]

Hey, you got the fireplace on the wrong side!

Love our two sided fireplace. No need to bring wood into the house. Load and clean from the outside. No mess inside.

 

[check]

Love our two sided fireplace. No need to bring wood into the house. Load and clean from the outside. No mess inside.

I’m jealous. That would be so cool to have!

 

[check]

Even if you hire a gc anyone with common sense would be on the job daily to inspect and criticize the work. I work in the trades and most people show up once or twice and get a poor product as a result. When I built my house I refused 3 loads of lumber and the carpenters tried to sneak some bad lumber in. I told him to remove it he said no I said your fired and had another carpenter in 2 hours. Even with a gc you are the boss and need to take ownership and be there every day

That is what my wife tells me all the time! If I’m not there, sure as heck they will screw it up. In fact, the only person I would trust to build me a house or whatever with no screw ups is my own father. He was an absolute genius carpenter, and people who hired his company that he worked for very frequently insisted that they would not hire the company unless my father did the job. The sad part, very sad, was when finally he got too old to do stuff anymore, although he still climbed up onto the roof of my cottage to help with the siding. My friend, who was basically in charge of the job, turned around and found my father standing there getting ready to do something and he said “John what are you doing up here?“ My father said without any hesitation “I may be old but I’m not dead!“

He is gone now. Miss him a lot.