Guide to building a new house

[Tapper]

Being my own GC is sorta a consideration. I would at least want someone to help me with that. I’ve built storage sheds and did some minor remodeling work, but this is a bigger beast than my experience.  I can and will want to do some of the work myself (nothing structural, just like run the wire to the outlets, make my own kitchen cabinets, and leaving as much unfinished as allowed and still get a certificate of occupancy, painting - I’ll get to the rest later).
Installing grab bars and such in bathrooms etc will be part of the plan anyway, but good points on things above and making sure ‘mistakes’ aren’t buried behind drywall etc.
Thanks!

As someone who built houses for a living at one point in my life (now retired) building storage sheds and minor remodeling falls far short of the knowledge it takes to build a house, no matter what the size. If you want to do some of the work yourself, so be it. I would recommend that you find a good architect and that architect can find you a very good builder. Ask lots of questions of both the architect you choose and the builder he/she recommends. When you choose a builder, make sure he/she understands what your requirements are, AND put them in writing in the form of a contract. Outline and delineate what he/she is expected to do and what you plan to do. AND make sure that a firm completion date is included. It is also wise to offer a small bonus if the house is completed ahead of time, if you are comfortable with this option. 

Whatever you do, DO NOT attempt to build a house from a long distance away. A friend just did this (400 miles away) and after well over a year later it's still not complete. His house sold and he and his wife have moved to the new location and are having to rent (at their own expense) a town house until the house is completed - date still to be determined. 

A good and responsible builder will easily earn his/her fee. There are literally hundreds of phone calls necessary to build a house, which takes time, patience and experience. Call at least several references and get very good or excellent recommendations before making a decision. Just as important, go out and look at homes he/she has built or have under construction. Honesty, competency and excellent communications skills are what you're after. My wife the attorney has reminded me more than once that "a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client." I've seen this happen with some who've tried to build their own home with no or  limited experience. Not saying it is applicable in your case, but something to consider.

Good luck,

Doug

[alexh1]

I was considering going down this route, mostly so I could build an oversize garage on the house as a shop to do all the finish work but the wife put the kibosh on that. It's probably the worst possible time to build a house anyhow and who knows when it will get better. I was looking at properties online and saw a few where there was a half built house and the realtor says "finish building this house" - yeah right.

The site buldingadvisor.com has loads of great info and the guy is not even trying to sell anything.

I also bought a couple of great books, Wiring a House (Rex Caldwell) and Plumbing a House (Peter Hemp).

[Turner52]

In my opinion you should hire a good builder and just stay ouy of the way I can understand your wanting to do some of the work youself, but unless you are aa profesional at thisyou will probably underestimate the time you need to do certin things and this will goof up the timeline No offense intended but with the housing and the labor shortage you do not want to get put to the back of the line.