Building a new house

[Kingcha]

I finally got my mill ready for the season the other day but I am in the process of starting a house.   So milling ins on the back burner.

It's been almost 20 years since I built last and oh boy has it changed.    If the requirement to build a 1120 sq. ft. house in Michigan are an indication of the state of the country, We are in sad shape.     I consider myself a smart guy but they are making it almost impossible for a homeowner to build there own home.      I have in the past build 2 homes, nice solidly built homes.   But the requirements are nuts.

I am not actually doing much of the work on this house, I had planned on doing the insulation and most of the finish work but do to the regulations in the Energy Code I don't dare do the insulation so I have to hire that out.  That really doesn't bother me to much(as I wait for the bids)

The problem is I did not know about some of this and I am waiting for a (ResCheck) to make sure my house meets the Energy Code before I can even submit my building plans.   I am told I'll be lucky to get my permit within 2 weeks after that.   My problem is my Excavator/concrete guy can get in May but will be getting busy by June.   I wish I had know(my fault), I have everything else done.       I am going to make some call tomorrow and see if I can get a rush on the Rescheck so I can get my permit in by Friday.     
In 20 years at this rate I see more homeless people sadly
ok I think my rant is over

Matt

[Larry]

No wonder NW Arkansas is one of the fastest growing area's in the nation.  Surplus of jobs, good schools, low cost of living, and NO BUILDING PERMITS REQUIRED other than a septic/plumbing permit outside of the cities.

Home of the free....at least for a while.

[thecfarm]

Depends on what town,city you are in here in Maine. I had a guy that built my house,no inspection at all. I did need a permit,was $25 years ago. Now they do it by the square foot. Someone complained that a shed permit cost as much as a 4 bedroom house did. I know the contractor that built my house said in the town in came from an inspector would come by each day to check on him.

[Joe Hillmann]

It is the same way here in Wisconsin.  It used to be if you had a few thousand dollars and a place to build you could build a place to live and add on to it/finish it as you had more money or the family grew.  All the new building codes makes that nearly impossible to do any more.  Now people are getting around it by living in a camper or trailer house.  After a few years they put on an addition, a few years latter they do another then they frame around the trailer from the ground and put a second roof over it then eventually tare the original trailer out. 

Or build a pole shed with a door large enough to get a camper in.  Eventually the camper ends up parked in the shed permanently and the shed becomes the living area of the camper.

[Just Me]

 You are not telling me anything new, I am a licenced builder in Michigan. Every time I pull a permit there is some new requirement, that of course comes with a fee. A lot of the new codes will be catastrophic for the well being of the house because the lobbyists writing the code do not understand how moisture travels through a house, or just do not care.

I would recommend that you buy Joseph Listerbureks "Building in Northern Climates" as a reference and study it BEFORE you get the project underway. We are in one of the worst areas in the country for the kind of weather that can destroy a house from within.

On my own house I refused to do some of the things that code required, and I got away with it because at that time we had an inspector that was reasonable, a retired builder, and agreed with what I was saying. If I had built in Emmet county I would have had to sue the building code department to do as I want with my own house. And I would, because some of the codes are just stupid!

[Kbeitz]

I built my home years ago... I had to get a permit but there was no inspections.
I would hate someone telling me how to build my home. Just ain't right.

[Kingcha]

Well I got my application filed yesterday, all went smooth and now I just wait.    In the meantime I learned I have to get a driveway permit, AGAIN.    I got one 15+ years ago when I built my pole barn and I had thought that was good.    Nope, Road Commission wants a money too.   So I am told every time you get a building permit you have to get a ok from the road commission even on existing driveways.   Glad its only $40.      But I have to say it sorta feels like I'm dealing with the Mob.   

I am told 1-2 weeks for approval.        In the mean time I guess I will have to look up that book

Matt

[scgargoyle]

I just finished our place a year or so ago. I figured that between IRC, NEC, and plumbing codes, there's about 2000 pages of code stuff to figure out. I had no prior building experience, but muddled through OK. Luckily, the inspectors aren't very stringent here, and if you're nice to them, they'll even tell you what they specifically look for. I built everything way past code anyway, since I'm the one living here.

[wildtmpckjzg]

I finally got my mill ready for the season the other day but I am in the process of starting a house.   So milling ins on the back burner.

It's been almost 20 years since I built last and oh boy has it changed.    If the requirement to build a 1120 sq. ft. house in Michigan are an indication of the state of the country, We are in sad shape.     I consider myself a smart guy but they are making it almost impossible for a homeowner to build there own home.      I have in the past build 2 homes, nice solidly built homes.   But the requirements are nuts.

I am not actually doing much of the work on this house, I had planned on doing the insulation and most of the finish work but do to the regulations in the Energy Code I don't dare do the insulation so I have to hire that out.  That really doesn't bother me to much(as I wait for the bids)

The problem is I did not know about some of this and I am waiting for a (ResCheck) to make sure my house meets the Energy Code before I can even submit my building plans.   I am told I'll be lucky to get my permit within 2 weeks after that.   My problem is my Excavator/concrete guy can get in May but will be getting busy by June.   I wish I had know(my fault), I have everything else done.       I am going to make some call tomorrow and see if I can get a rush on the Rescheck so I can get my permit in by Friday.    
In 20 years at this rate I see more homeless people sadly
ok I think my rant is over

Matt
also check out this homes for sale in new bern

Looking at building a house. We already do everything ourselves on the farm, not sure why this should be any different. There are a lot of costs involved with building using a contractor that may not be necessary when doing in yourself, such as the New Home Warranty, not to mention profit margin and management fees, travel time is baked in to costs one way or another.

Can probably do this without borrowed money, there is no practical way the house could ever be sold outside of the family. We self insure most things, including our current home and rental home.

Very familiar with using code books, do all my own wiring, plumbing, gas fitting constructing, around the farm, sometimes I even follow the rules.

Given that, can it be done (done properly to code) without having certified tradespeople do every job, without inspection of every step. Without cost of construction insurance or new home warranty. Just get the permit from the county and start building, acting as prime contractor, hiring contractors if required. Is it legal to wire your own home anymore if you're not an electrician?

Not a lot of places to ask this question without stepping on toes, so I'll try here. This was very common when my parents built their home, I get the impression it is unheard of now.

[Don P]

Castle law still applies most places. you do need to pull the permits and get inspected at the proper ponts in most places, basically, if you are about to conceal something, there is probably an inspection needed. For instance, dig the footing trenches to depth, install the steel, call for inspection before placing concrete. Electrical I've seen go both ways, sometimes they have a short test to see if you know enough to wire. It's not that building ones own home is unheard of, physical work is unheard of. Most people aren't bright or motivated enough to put something over their head if its raining.

[hedgerow]

In my area code wise you could still build your own house. You can still pull what they call home owner permits. You will have to take a short electric test. Building in town or a acreage or a farm has some different rules. Have helped with some self builds over the years and if you have the skill level and the inspectors see you do its not bad at all. The folks I knew that did it had a contractor do the basement. Trying to do your own basement walls, can be a little tricky. One guy did use the foam blocks years ago and poured his own. It worked out fine. If you have the time and skill go for it. Have been in on moving a couple old farm houses to new farms and when that was said and done most said they should have just built a new house.  

[PoginyHill]

And some people wonder why "affordable housing" is harder to come by. But that's a topic for another thread.

[Tom King]

A good bit over half the cost of a house is labor.  Back when I built new spec houses, I could build one for a little less than half of what I could sell it for.  That was doing everything myself with two unskilled laborers.

[SawyerTed]

In 1988 I was the contractor for my own home.  Some parts I did, some parts I subbed.  At 26 with a new baby girl, a new job and building a new house, I’m not quite sure how I did it all.

The basement was dug on Oct. 31, 1988, we moved in May 19. 1989.  There were lots of late nights and very long two day weekends in that time. 

With codes and inspectors like they are now, I’m not sure I could do it today.  Recently I’ve had a couple of projects that required permits and inspections.  Let’s say the inspectors and I had our rounds.  When they knew I had read and understood the code they have been a bit more accommodating.  

One inspection recently I wasn’t able to be present so my wife was there.  The inspector wanted GFCI protection at the outlet, I had GFCI protection for the circuit at the breaker.  He never checked the breaker and failed the inspection.  Needless to say we had a “come to Jesus meeting” when I called for a re-inspection.  They saw it my way!   I was protecting more than the code required.  The inspectors were pretty grumpy even though I tried to be as businesslike as possible.  

If even half the inspections require that kind of adversarial relationship, no wonder the inspectors live in different counties!  

[Don P]

I'm down to the short rows, I aspire to barns and outbuildings.

[WhitePineJunky]

Heard a new one today, my barns and sheds burnt down, of which I had power running to one of them, new building code wants a 12x16 shed on a “foundation” now

Just keeps piling up

[caveman]

Posts: 7140 Age: 74 Location: NW Arkansas Gender: Re: Building a new house « Reply #1 on: April 26, 2017, 09:17:21 PM » QuoteAdd Multi Quote No wonder NW Arkansas is one of the fastest growing area's in the nation.

It likely won't be too long before all of the folks moving in from other places will start bringing their rules, laws and expectations with them.  I've seen it happen here my whole life.  The thing that gets me is that the city and county commissioners all the way up to our governor encourage folks to move here.  The things that I appreciate are often no longer available or excessively regulated due to the drastic increase in population because of transplants.

I remember Jmoore and I going to the beach on Anna Maria Island as young teenagers, wading out finding sand dollars and throwing them towards an empty beach.  About that time, there was a nationwide commercial advertising the gulf beaches in that area.  The main line of the commercial was, "Manatee County, our little secret".  I knew then, over 40 years ago, that it would not be our little secret for long.  Property values have skyrocketed, services have skyrocketed, there are permits and inspections required for just about everything.  

Ironically, my oldest daughter and SIL mentioned that our whole clan should move to Arkansas after returning from vacation recently.   

[Larry]

Yes, Walmart, the Walton Family Foundation, Tyson, and a couple others are very generous corporate citizens.  We have many amenities much bigger cities can only dream about.  Every day its something new...yesterday it was announced two pro soccer teams along with a new stadium will be here next year.   Growth seems almost out of control due to the inflow.  Downside right now is increasing traffic and tax.  So far not much change in building regulations outside of the city limits.