You really cannot learn to GC from a book. Right now, you don't know what you don't know. And it will bite you. Numerous times. You have to be OK with the additional time and expense that it will cost you in order to self GC.

Here is a link that might be useful: What Your Contractor Can't Tell You.

Yes, you can learn to GC from a book. Thousands have done it before. Of course you don't know what you don't know....nobody does.

So, what magical book would you suggest to tell someone everything that they'll need to know in order to supervise people that know more than they do?

Like how to schedule the subs, and how to have backups for that? How to decide the right course of action when the plumber and the electrician have to cut the framing and want to point the finger at the framer for putting wood in the way of their pipes and wires? Who's right? And how to achieve quality control over a process that you are completely unknowledgeable about? If someone doesn't even know the nailing schedule for framing a wall, how are they going to know if the framer they hired was blowing smoke during the interview and doing a hack job? If they don't understand the nuances of a drainage plane and proper flashing for penetrations, how are they going to even know it's being done incorrectly? Sure, if they have a couple of years to research all of that, and spend a summer building a barn themselves, they'll then be better prepared. But if a book can teach you everything, just what is that book?

I think it's true for pretty much anything you can learn. Reading a book isn't going to teach you as much as experience will. But trying to learn without reading makes learning that much more difficult.

There's no need to bash someone for wanting a book to assist them in the learning process.

I don't know of any good books for guidance but I can tell you that we just recently completed our build as owner/builders. Being your own GC is not easy and is very time consuming. It takes a lot of research and a lot of time on site but if it helps you afford your dream home I would highly recommend it. Before you hire anyone, research the heck out of that particular job and then ask a ton of questions to the sub about materials to be used, how it is be done, time it will take, etc, etc. Just try to be well informed before you talk to them so you at least have an idea of what questions to ask. Always be very specific and assume nothing. I actually think it is better to be an owner/builder so that you know exactly what you're getting instead of just dropping by every now and then to make sure it looks ok. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or barn building enthusiast to build a house.

We are in the throes of GCing our first build. It is so time-consuming, but definitely doable. Sure, I've had a lot of stress that I wouldn't have had if we had hired a turnkey builder, but it's helping us to afford what we really want. I spend a LOT of time over there. It's 11 AM and I've already been out twice this morning. I am making 2-3 trips some days, but fortunately we currently live about 12 minutes away from our building site. It helps that I am home full time. My husband works a lot, but he is still able to help with phone calls and such.

I'm not sure how much of owner building experience is area specific, but it's very common in this area. The subs are very used to working with OBs. We lucked out with our framer as he helped us coordinate a lot of the stuff on the front end for no additional cost over his framing charge. We also have a lot of recommendations from people who recently GC'd their own homes so it helps to know who to use and who not to use. Having said that, we have had a not-so-great experience with our plumber. You will definitely encounter things that have to be changed or modified. You'll need to be able to make decisions on the fly. I think the biggest thing you'll need to do is be able to forecast how each step affects the next. It's definitely not impossible if you have time to invest in it and research everything. Ask around for recommendations on subs and see their work. Good subs will give you references also. Like JDez, I actually prefer the control it gives me.

Building Your Own Home For Dummies- link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Building Your Own Home For Dummies

I will second the book Hollysprings mentioned. Its very good and thorough. I bought it when we were thinking about being our GC.

We will hire a GC though because it will be easier with the bank, and even though I believe I could do it I would rather not have to have all of that stress. We also live in a farm community and the farmers come first coming up to and during Spring and Fall so I know if I GCd we would have to wait in line. Not an option.

I posted the same request a few weeks ago and got several good suggestions. Search my name for the post.

One of the best suggestions was the web site www.buildingscience.com. It is not GC specific but has lots of great information.

Also this site is a great resource. I have gone through all 60 plus pages of postings and read the titles I was interested in. It took a few days but there was lots of good information there.

Ditto to what aleleux said. Except I was at our building site 4 or 5 times a day some of the time. And I was never without my cell phone. I was on call 24/7 for months. During the final weeks of the project I was out cleaning the job site at 2 am. I started the fire in the wood stove and got the house warmed up - this was in the middle of winter and we didnt have the furnace installed. I finished work right before the crews arrived at 7 am.

Yes. You can build your own house. It isnt easy and not for everyone, but you can do it.

This post was edited by gladys1924 on Fri, Jan 30, 15 at 13:51

I'm also a first time OB. At first it was exciting. Now it sucks :-P We expect to be finished in about 8 weeks, so it will take us right around 1 year from breaking ground to moving in.

We've had a few issues along the way, and while I hate building, I do *love* the house. I'll be so ready to get out of my crappy rental duplex, and back to having a normal life.

If anyone tells you that you can OB your house without it taking over your life, they are lying. I am self employed, so I have good flexibility in my job, but I basically have ceased doing everything in my life besides working and building a house. Sure, I could try to be more balanced.... if I wanted to wait ANOTHER year to move in, but I kind of look at this time like a doctor doing their residency.... focus, do the work, get through it and keep the end in sight.

I believe if you believe in your capability, you seriously can do anything. If you have a low stress tolerance it may not be the best option but if you can.. do it! Just because it is not mainstream doesn’t mean it can’t be done. I wish you all the best of luck in the adventure you seek to take!

I bought this book a few years before we started our build. I read it and then really never referred to it again. However, I think it will give you a good understanding of what you are getting yourself into:

https://www.amazon.com/Owner-Builder-Book-Save-Construction-Custom/dp/1932272046/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524516171&sr=8-1&keywords=owner+builder+book

We are about 98% done with our house. It took my DH and I (we are both retired) 9 months of 6-7 ten hour days a week to get it built. We did about 50% of the work ourselves. We both are very knowledgeable of construction. I worked for a GC for 10 years and he has worked at various trades for 40 years, 20 as a licensed glazing contractor. Everyone in my family is some type of contractor. But, even with all this experience and available know-how it wasn't easy. The majority of our stress was finding qualified subs who would show up and work.

Someone posted a few weeks ago about how she built her 3,800 sq ft house in 4 months and didn't have any major problems and it was a wonderful experience. She is the definite exception to the rule.

If you really want to build your own house, you can do it. Just realize it will be very stressful, you will need to be a quick decision-maker, and it will take up a huge amount of your time. I think if you are prepared for all of this, you will do fine :-)

By this time the OP may have written a book on the topic.