I did everything DIY except gas, some electrical and the concrete flatwork pour & power trowel. This is for a 2250sf two story concrete house (not wood frame) plus basement.

Building isn't that complicated but most tasks require more than one person and the fewer people, the (much !!!) longer it will take. In my case we are two and work on the weekends, during vacation and at night. Three years non stop.

I would do it again that way because it's my hobby (I like doing it a lot), it allows pay as you go, which unshackles me from a bank and I have a lot of freedom to do what I want (no allowance BS or change orders or ridiculous markups). And DIY means I know exactly how it is built.

What tools you you own? The tools and experience level using those tools is what is usually the DIYers downfall. It's slower going, and if you have to spend money on tools and messed up stock learning how to use those tools, then you haven't saved any money at all.

On the other hand, if you own 4 cordless drills, 2 corded, 2 belt sanders, a jigsaw, a chop saw, a sliding compound miter saw, a table saw, 2 multi tools, 3 sawzalls, 2 tile saws, 5 levels, 2 planers, a 220 volt air compressor and air tools, and scaffolding and a drywall lift, then you might be prepared to DIY a lot of those jobs on your list. (And room to store it all and the space to use it.)

Yeah, I own and can use all of the above. And about the only thing I'd consider DIYing on an actual home build (if any type of schedule was involved) would be the insulation and painting and landscaping. And only the insulation is it was the encapsulated fiberglass. That gets itchy enough. I've done blower fiberglass and that will never happen again, even for money paid to me twice what it would cost someone hired to do it. I find painting soothing if someone else has done the cut in, so I'd need a helper with good knees and would have to drag out the scaffolding for some of it. Even for the landscaping, I'd hire a lot of the grunt work out and just point where I wanted holes dug. 50 something is too old to be down on my hands and knees as much as I used to do when gardening. Cleanup is a pay the kids type thing. It's mindless and boring and a good place for them to get started in learning home maintenance. For installing decorative electrical stuff, that's usually factored into the bid because you can't get the permit closed out without that happening and no electrician worth his salt wants to wait on a homeowner to do that before he gets paid.

I'd come nearer doing the actual framing work than I would some of the finish work. I could cherry pick the lumber, and be as finicky as possible. It's that framing behind the walls that has so much effect on how that drywall and paint will go, and that's typically slapped together on a production schedule rather than taking a craftsman's time to make sure each element is right.

Now, in my 20's and 30's, I would have done the ceramic, wood, and almost anything except the drywall. Drywall is something that it almost never pays to DIY. Pros can do it much faster, smoother, and with far less dust.

My dad built our house so we did a lot of DIY on our house, including the following:

Helping pour concrete
Helping to frame
putting in windows
caulking all seams
Chief garbage haulers
Site clean-up
Wall insulation
Blow in attic insulation
baseboard and door trim
priming and painting

We do know how to drywall, but did hire someone to do that for us. My husband is very picky about finishes (he refinishes classic cars) and I did not want to ever hear about who did what seam :) The drywallers were able to complete the house in 10 days and it would have probably taken us 2 months (it was also nice to have forced time away from the house). Some of the best money we spent on the house and probably saved our marriage :)

Thanks for the tips and anecdotes, Live_Wire, jrldh and tkfinn!

I appreciate hearing what has gone well for you and what was a headache. In our case, doing some jobs DIY is not a choice at this point with my DH's unexpected regular job situation. In answer to your question, Live_Wire, we own some tools, will rent some and can borrow some from my BIL who built his own house.

As per helpers, we have two teenage sons, one of whom is very keen laborer and the other is a part-time student so will need to help hang drywall if he wants room and board to continue to be free.

Are there any other jobs others have done and would or would not do again? Any words or wisdom.

Carol

Don't attempt to lay hardwood flooring or sand and finish it unless you have done it for a living.

The same goes for roofing and brickwork.

My neighbor in Vermont where there were no codes at the time wired his whole house and proudly showed me his main panel. I asked why he had switched black for white and he said it didn't make any difference. That might be a job for a pro too. You don't know what you don't know.

The biggest problem with doing work on your own house is never having it finished. Eventually repairs and maintenance get in the way of finishing.

Thanks for your input Renovator8!

DH is the process of taking an intense course on renovation skills (covering drywall, hardwood flooring, trim, ceramics, finish electrical and finish plumbing and the course is primarily a hands on course run by a local college). He is very careful, hardworking guy. It won't be perfect, and it will be very slow, but we don't have a bank deadline as it is a cash build. The hardwood we will be using is pre-finished. No plans to do electrical rough in (just install some electrical fixtures and switch plates). The brickwork and roofing is done and he wouldn't have tackled those for sure.

In our case it is not a matter of if we should do DIY, but which jobs would be best for DIY. As stated above, DH's job situation has necessitated a deviation from our building plans (which were initially to hire subs for all jobs but painting). Now DH has lots more time, but money is much tighter on one salary.

P.S. Renovator, our stone steps were delivered today (not installed yet). So glad you suggested stone steps rather than poured concrete steps. The steps are gorgeous!

Carol

Well done Carol!

I'm doing almost all of the work on our new house, except concrete and the roofing on the high part ( I suffer from vertigo). Amongst DIY'ers, the number one thing they say to hire out is drywall. I'm not to that point yet, but I'll probably at least try to do my own. I will probably hire out the attic insulation, depending upon the quotes I get. I've been told that the cost will be about the same. My house is ICF, so the walls are already insulated, including the basement.

I'm a tool maker by trade, so I am very meticulous and have better than average skills. I also had almost all of the tools I needed except nail guns. The work I see 'professionals' do around here makes me glad I'm doing my own work.

Designing and building my own house is a lifelong dream, so the time and cost aren't really a factor for me. As a plus, I've lost 40 lbs., and am in really good shape for my age!

definitely hire out the drywalling because it takes practice to get it right
That and tiling are skills you won't have time to acquire.

All this is DIY ....
baseboards, window casing and crown molding (especially if you go "Craftsman" style because it's all straight cuts)
priming and painting (unless you have a really high stairwell)
installing hardwood floor (especially if it's pre-finished)
landscaping afterwards
final clean-up of construction site
installing sinks, toilets and faucets
installing fixtures and light switches (not wiring ... just hooking up the fixtures)

Flgargoyle

Good for you building it all. How long has it taken you so far? Thanks for your info.

Lazygardens,

I appreciate the list of jobs that you think are reasonable if you have time to DIY!Thanks for the warning on the drywall and tiling A few others have warned against drywall above. We have been told to get a professional look to use fiberglass mesh tape, not the regular tape. If the mudding/taping part of the job is too hard to get right he could always hire that part out and just hang it. He starts working with drywall at the trade course later this week, so we will see how that goes. Luckily we have 8 foot ceilings throughout the house (standard here in Canada) so that will make drywalling/painting easier.

Carol

Personally, even with reasonable experience, I'd stay clear of mudding and taping (because it's slow and tedious and boring and unenjoyable...apologies to those who do this for a living, gawd bless your souls), and I truly believe the casings/mouldings is best left to an experienced finish carpenter (they can turn even the most cockeyed rooms looking even). These things make the house look finished and professional, while bad seams and poor moulding joints just look cheap.

I can honestly say that framing is far easier then precisely cutting mouldings ; )

I've DIY'd everything in my build thus far except pumping the concrete out of the truck and lifting the 32' long beams onto the 2nd floor. It can all be done, it's a question of how the end results is and how much headache you're willing to put in. There's also a couple moments when it nearly all went south and became a very expensive fix (like almost bursting a pilaster during pour...).

Without a doubt, I think laying tile floors, hanging doors, painting, RTA cabinetry, hanging towel bars, installing door locks and handles...closet shelving...things that take time but aren't crazy difficult are perfectly reasonable! Staining doors, stair treads, floors.

Have a go at it!

On the calendar, I'm about 15 months in, but I took the winter off, had to finish the barn, and had several delays waiting on the few things that the contractor did. The weather has been unbelievably bad, raining all the time. I realistically have about 10 months in the actual build, and am just about done with rough electric and plumbing, so I'm almost at the drywall phase.

Working alone is very slow. It takes more than twice as long as having two people, since there's so much 'travel time' up and down the ladder, etc. Sheathing the roof, I had to push a sheet of sheathing up the ladder (60+ lbs.), carry it up the roof, and nail it in place. With a strong young helper, we could have sheathed the entire roof in one day. It took me almost 5 days. It doesn't help that I'll soon be 60 years old.

I also would avoid taping and mudding. We tackled that once in the garage (because it was the garage we thought eh, give it a whirl and see once). Needless to say when we finished our basement we hired it out, lol!

We have successfully (IMO) tackled, tile floor, tile backsplash, priming, painting, hardwood flooring (not site finished), hanging fixtures, knobs and all that jazz. For the build we will likely set cabinets and possibly hang doors as well.

DH can do some electrical but we will be hiring that out as well as plumbing. With a full time job and living in a rental we don't want to extend the build any further than we have to. Fall = ramp up of school and sports and church programs, so time will be a hot commodity!

There are many things that I think can be done DIY. Give it a go and see what you are comfortable with. If you get started and feel you are over your head you can always call a contractor at that point.

Good luck!

" If you get started and feel you are over your head you can always call a contractor at that point."

Which can be difficult because there are contractors who won't touch a DIY project.

Thank you everybody for your tips and info. Much appreciated!

Awnmyown,

Thanks for your encouragement and warnings about the boredom of taping drywall and difficulties involved in trim work. I think he will have a go at both of these in say a walk-in closet or such less noticeable spot and see how it turns out. He actually was very skilled at the trim work before, but on a much smaller scale. Good idea about the closet organizers and staining (e.g. staining the steps needs to be done) and door locks/handles, etc. There are lots of little jobs that are not too difficult for a handy person with some extra time available. Good for you to have built so much yourself. We have been GCing our build since the beginning and that has been lots of stress too (we are part way through plumbing and electrical rough-in and have the outside all cladded). Subs have done all the work thus far.

Flgargoyle,

It is amazing that you have done all that work on your own!! It certainly sounds like a labour of love. Too bad about the weather delays. Our two oldest kids are teen boys and one is a very keen labourer (he had volunteered for Habitat for Humanity). The other has some experience with electrical so may help install fixtures and has time to spare to assist with hanging the drywall.

Autumn,

Glad to hear from another DIY type who is also combining that task with raising a family (we have four kids). Looks like you will have plenty on your plate! Good to hear you have had good success with lots of DIY jobs. I will pass along your warnings about the taping to DH. Like you, we are wanting to give it a go before hiring out the mudding.

Jrldh,

We will keep your warnings in mind. We have a sub contractor who may be willing to be paid on an hourly basis to supervise DH's work. He has already tentatively agreed to this as we have given him lots of business. He lives close by so would schedule the paid supervision meetings to suit him.

Carol

Things I didn't DIY:

Excavation, concrete work, framing, exterior siding, shingles and trim-- because we needed the house done this decade. We primed and painted a first coat on all sides of everything before ti went up, the painters did a finish coat.

Blueboard and plaster-- takes more skill than I will ever acquire; hard heavy work

plumbing, electrical, HVAC-- not allowed to in this state

Insulation-- too much equipment for the spray foam, the rest was cheap

Things I did or am doing:

Site finished hardwood flooring-- I wanted multi-species pictureframe borders and some inlay work that flooring guys seem to regard as either precious or impossible

All interior priming and painting

All interior trim-- I want natural cherry, you'd think I was asking for the Versailles Palace from the price estimates

Kitchen cabinets-- We bought a used kitchen from someone who apparently never cooked, the cabinets were pretty much like new. I had to build a couple matching cabinets to fill in odd spots and do a fair amount of trimming and fitting to get everything to match, but the price was less than 10% of new.

Tile work-- had a pro do the rooms we needed before moving in, DIY the rest

Landscaping

rwiegand,

LOL about the Versailles Palace. Good on you for doing that many jobs and for finding that outstanding deal on the kitchen. I was surprised you are not aloud to do electrical. Can't you install the fixtures at the finish electrical stage?

Thanks for your input and humour!

Carol