I'm planning to build most of our next house, and I've done a lot of research. People do it all the time, but you either need a lot of skills, or have the right kind of aptitude to learn them- quickly!

As for how long- I read that the average house takes about 3000 man (or woman) hours- and that's for professionals. Considering a 40 hour work week, that would be a year and a half for one person. With two people working full-time on a modest house, you might get it all done in a year- weather permitting. In Ontario, I'm thinking weather may be a real hindrance. I'm taking a year off to build a 1200 sq ft house with a very simple plan, and very basic level of finish. I'll hire out the site work, excavation, septic, and foundation at the very least. There are examples of people building houses in a matter of months, but they built small, simple, and worked VERY hard (or had a lot of help).

Some other caveats- You'll need cash to build with and live on. In today's mortgage market, no one will touch a DIY project. In some areas, the local building department seems to think that homeowners should not be trusted to build their own house, and may make it difficult, if not downright impossible. I have no idea what you may experience where you want to build. Who will keep the income stream and insurance coverage while the house is being built? In my case, my wife will keep her job, and the health insurance, while I build the house.

What you should do now is search some sites where people are doing this, and do LOTS of research. Set your sights very low if you want to keep it on time and on budget. You'll need to learn building codes inside and out. I've spent the last 4 years becoming an expert on building, energy efficiency, building codes, and designing an appropriate house.

As for living- a used camper can be had very reasonably, at least here in FL. People are practically giving the older ones away, as they can't afford the fuel, and many campgrounds don't allow older rigs (I don't know why?) But for temporary living, it could be just the ticket, and with a little luck, you may get most of your money back by selling it when you are done. Again- check with your local zoning department to make sure you can legally camp on your land. I have no idea how you're going to stay warm during a Canadian winter in one, though.

Check out countryplans.com forum, and greenbuildingtalk.com forum for info. Countryplans is an excellent site with a lot of helpful, like-minded folks. They sell modest house plans very reasonably.

I have built two homes.

The first was built on weekends with the help of my parents. It was a small home and the inside finishing took a couple of years as money came available. I spent all week preparing and learning what I needed to get the work done on the weekend.

The second home I built with my husband. Again small home/ We had the house built to close in. Foundation, walls, roof and windows and doors. We finished the rest on weekends. Took at least another year and 1/2.

You should try building a garage with a bathroom in it first. If you can get that done over a summer then you should be able to handle a house build.

It is do-able but the first thing you should know is that it will test your marriage more than you will believe, even more if it interferes with your ability to make an income and get the bills paid.

I was single during the first build and I had to stop work and live in a barely finished home for over 6 months while I got over the burnout phase.

We designed and built two DIY houses. The second one was complex and took us 5 years to build. We originally took a loan on our first house and used the money to pay for the second.(Probably Couldn't get away with that now. This enabled us to pay for well, septic framing etc.

we are now living in our new house. Down stairs is mostly done but upstairs still needs to be Spackled and painted, Master bath installed. Money is an issue.

Be sure you are ready for the immense stress it can put on your relationship. Having a contractor build it is stressful enough, DIY Is even more stressful IMO. We have been married 38 years and its amazing we are still married after this project. LOL

"Be sure you are ready for the immense stress it can put on your relationship. Having a contractor build it is stressful enough, DIY Is even more stressful IMO. We have been married 38 years and its amazing we are still married after this project. LOL"

Thats exactly right. Me and my then fianc�e worked together to put a second bathroom in my first home. Boy thats a quick test on how you will do in a marriage. Luckily we made it to marriage and built our home together.

I've built most of the bits and pieces of homes but never all at once. After eight months supervising and "gofering" a new build, I'm exhausted. Building an entire home from scratch without past experience in four months? Don't order the housewarming gifts just yet!

There are all kinds of quickie courses on aspects of construction at community colleges, high schools etc. I'd suggest trying some.

My husband grew up around construction and taught drafting and shop for a while. We had a house burn down in the 70s just as we reached the end of a long remodel. DH and some shop boys rebuilt the house, and it took almost a year. We used contractors for several things, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, flooring. It was a trying time.

Later, after working overseas for a number of years, we decided to build a home to return to. We spent all of two summers and then about six more months after we returned to finish, again using contractors for electrical, plumbing, HVAC and most of the flooring. We sold that house and have done several more, some with fewer contractors. I would say the best we've ever done is six months for a 2000 sq.ft. home, site work to move-in. That is the home where we are now, so it was backed by the most experience.

It is an interesting challenge and parts are fun, but there is immense stress. Even after several homes, it is difficult to communicate just how you want something to the person doing it. Even if they perceive a mistake, there is not much joy in fixing something when so much else to do lies ahead.

I liked the suggestion to build a garage and bath.

Thanks for the feedback and great suggestions. It's nice to know there's people out there who have done it, and lived to tell the tale. I had already thought of building a barn or garage first. I guess adding a bathroom would be an even better preview.
I didn't explain myself too well. I didn't mean we would be done in four months, that's probably the longest length of time we could do without my husband's income and give us a good start on the house.
Gargoyle, I'll be checking out those websites. Thank you.

We are doing it right now. Started pretty much a year ago and plan on a three year build. It's going really well but time flies by, it's just unreal. Basement is done (all DIY, including building (not just erecting) concrete forms, pouring 12 ft tall walls by ourselves and a slab over metal deck/open web steel joists) and we'll finish the structure this year followed by interior build out in year three. I actually totally love building - it's very interesting and rewarding seeing how something as substantial as a house becomes reality because of your own labor.

I would not do it if I needed financing because of the additional stress - We pay for it from savings, income and we already own the lot free and clear.

It's a hobby and consumes all of our time outside my full time job.

I can see how it could be an immense strain on a relationship but for us it's working out well so far because I hope we got into this project with realistic expectations.

Wow! I'm impressed jrldh. We were thinking of getting the foundation done for us and then start DIY from there, now I feel like a slacker. Where are you living while you build? Do you plan to wait until everything is done before moving in? Thanks for the encouragement.

Besides the tons of research you'll need just for the physical aspects, get to know your local areas requirements concerning permitting, engineering requirements, inspection schedules, etc. Find out the steps involved on what you'll need and how to proceed in getting started. Get to know the building process and how it runs in your area, not generalizing or assuming by what you hear from others. It got us in trouble, (assuming on my part ), not finding out how things go in the county of our build. I assumed things were the same in the county we currently reside in and found out the hard way there are differences. A Worthy states, take classes, order books, research and do your homework to the point where you are so tired of researching you cant wait to break out the tools, but dont break them out until you are certain that you are ready. Even at that, there are many hurdles and variables such as delivery conflicts, weather, order mishaps, etc that all go with building a home. You can learn to deal with those situations as it goes along.

"4 months off work to build it"

lol. i have built several homes. it takes me a year to do if you do everything except concrete yourself.

much better option is to hire someone to put up your enclosed shell. then finish it.

I'm living in an apartment close to the construction site. I will move in as soon as I can get the certificate of occupancy.

My Husband and I are coming up to our second year into our self-build in May. However a good nine months of that was eaten up by a diagnoses of cancer. He fought it hard and is super healthy now!
We are living in my home (in town) while we build on his land in the country. It's a 15 min commute. We also have our camper on the land we use for a nice break/lunch/naps (haha).
He has built things since he was young helping his father. Before we were married I successfully insulated and drywalled my garage by myself, so I think I am a handy woman. He has all the tools we need and then some. Only on a couple of occassions we rented equipment such as a ditch witch attachment for our skid-steer and a zoom boom lift for the trusses.
It is a long process especially since we both have full-time jobs. But we are enjoying it none the less.

Oh I forgot to mention what stage we are at. The house is at lock-up stage. Which is what we got it to before we got bank money. Plumbing/electrical/HVAC rough-ins will be getting finished soon. We just got our basement poured so we can't wait to start framing that. Now that the weather is nice again we can get going on the exterior finishing too. Wow there is so much to be done yet, but one day at a time! Live, laugh and love lots!