The Cellar - View Single Post

Griff · 08-27-2003, 07:56 AM

You're right about never really being done warch, we still have an unfinished basement, a sun room to build out front, a screened porch out back, and my home power generation fantasy to fulfill. Every new copy of Fine Homebuilders has something of interest in it. We were trying to decide between two subdued milk paint colors in our cabinet doors, until a bright blue showed up in FH in cherry cabinets very similar to my design. Its a neat problem using color to delineate space instead of walls.

Building a house has been in my subconscious since my teens. I always read Mother Earth News although back then my place would have been more remote, a much more extreme task. Pete and I often talked about building a little farm when we were dating which is cool because we know we're both on board with this thing. The thing that pushed me was probably being home with the babies as an at-home Dad. We've got that cultural barrier that taking care of kids isn't supposed to be enough and at the end of the day I needed something to do to blow off steam. We were in a log cabin, which was losing value a a pretty good clip. It was in a dark wet location and was of poor construction, in short it was going to rot into the ground. Building my own place became an economic imperative, it answered the question how can I improve our economic status without working outside the home. The answer was building our own place without a morgage.

I'd done some electrical wiring in the past but almost every other task was learned on the job and from books. The smartest move we made was taking the Shelter Institutes home building class in June of 1997 which broke the huge process down into smaller doable tasks. They gave us the confidence to do it. People keep telling me they couldn't do it but I'm not so sure about that. I started as a wood butcher during the rough construction and have improved as the work gets fussier. I'm even a little embarassed at some of my early work but I'm covering it up.

It was easier as a team effort, Petes work has financed the whole thing and its gotten easier over time as my wood shop is more capable than it was and the jobs are less money intensive. I keep reading about single folks and divorced Moms doing it and the key is using the resources available in your community. Nothing brings people together like helping to house another. I just got to help another guy raise his barn frame a couple weeks ago, its a great way to meet or renew aquaintances.

One huge thing that nobody seems to mention about building a house is the importance of finding property in a township which isn't overly concerned with the permitting process. In many places around the country and owner-builder could never get his own design past the regulators or build as an amatuer over an extended period of time. In my township I called my supervisor and he sent me a permit, done. Don't get me started on PA's septic laws though.

08-27-2003, 07:56 AM	#15
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	You're right about never really being done warch, we still have an unfinished basement, a sun room to build out front, a screened porch out back, and my home power generation fantasy to fulfill. Every new copy of Fine Homebuilders has something of interest in it. We were trying to decide between two subdued milk paint colors in our cabinet doors, until a bright blue showed up in FH in cherry cabinets very similar to my design. Its a neat problem using color to delineate space instead of walls. Building a house has been in my subconscious since my teens. I always read Mother Earth News although back then my place would have been more remote, a much more extreme task. Pete and I often talked about building a little farm when we were dating which is cool because we know we're both on board with this thing. The thing that pushed me was probably being home with the babies as an at-home Dad. We've got that cultural barrier that taking care of kids isn't supposed to be enough and at the end of the day I needed something to do to blow off steam. We were in a log cabin, which was losing value a a pretty good clip. It was in a dark wet location and was of poor construction, in short it was going to rot into the ground. Building my own place became an economic imperative, it answered the question how can I improve our economic status without working outside the home. The answer was building our own place without a morgage. I'd done some electrical wiring in the past but almost every other task was learned on the job and from books. The smartest move we made was taking the Shelter Institutes home building class in June of 1997 which broke the huge process down into smaller doable tasks. They gave us the confidence to do it. People keep telling me they couldn't do it but I'm not so sure about that. I started as a wood butcher during the rough construction and have improved as the work gets fussier. I'm even a little embarassed at some of my early work but I'm covering it up. It was easier as a team effort, Petes work has financed the whole thing and its gotten easier over time as my wood shop is more capable than it was and the jobs are less money intensive. I keep reading about single folks and divorced Moms doing it and the key is using the resources available in your community. Nothing brings people together like helping to house another. I just got to help another guy raise his barn frame a couple weeks ago, its a great way to meet or renew aquaintances. One huge thing that nobody seems to mention about building a house is the importance of finding property in a township which isn't overly concerned with the permitting process. In many places around the country and owner-builder could never get his own design past the regulators or build as an amatuer over an extended period of time. In my township I called my supervisor and he sent me a permit, done. Don't get me started on PA's septic laws though. Last edited by Griff; 08-27-2003 at 08:02 AM.