Do you want the road less travelled by? When it comes to building a house, there are no shortcuts, but these days, you can play around with it and let your imagination and hard work flow. If you want your home construction to be more personal and intimate, why not consider building the house yourself? You may think that it is impossible, but in reality, it is not.
In Australia, more and more homeowners are becoming interested in building their own houses without the help of general contractors and other homebuilding professionals. How? Through kit homes. The concept of these homes is that it lets you build your own home in your own pace. You can order the materials part by part – you move on to another phase once finishing the previous one. Generally, it is like building your own home part by part. With the help of your trusted tradesmen, you can finish your project in six months to a year, depending on how fast the construction pace is and how large the house is.
Simply put, building kit homes is no longer a farfetched idea these days because there are companies that specifically help owner-builders. These companies supply them with the materials they need and provide guidance as well. Usually, these companies sell materials and supplies to the owner builders and once a particular phase is done, they will provide the next needed supplies. However, don’t be under the impression that it will be an easy task because it will not be. The supply companies will be there, but all other aspects of the construction will be your responsibility. Hence, if you think you cannot dedicate hours and hours of the day to the project, don’t even bother starting it because you may just end up not completing it, resulting in wasted time and money.
The thing is, building your own home requires skills and experience. If you have zero experience in construction, you will surely have a hard time finishing the project. It would be better to hire a general contractor or construction company to do it for you. Additionally, it is about project management. Since you will not hire a contractor, you will be the ones to contact and coordinate with subcontractors, set the construction schedule, and take care of the legalities of the construction. If you don’t have the patience when it comes to project management, you will have a hard time completing your house on time. Furthermore, it is common for an owner-builder to spend at least six months (full time) finishing their homes.
Now, if you are not certain whether or not you can dedicate so much time to the project, it would be better to leave it to the hands of professionals. However, if you are confident that you can balance your time, then this will be a no issue to you. Remember that if other enthusiasts like collectors and hobbyists can spend years and years of their time just to finish a project, you can do it as well – it all boils down to the level of dedication you are willing to devote. Let’s say you have the experience in construction and project management, and willing to devote months to the project, the next thing you need to think about is the tradesmen you will hire and work with. Since you cannot finish the project all by yourself, you need to hire tradesmen who you can trust. It is important that you only hire people who are skilled and experienced in working with owner builders so you don’t have to worry about their work. Remember that there will be tradies who will try to rip you off, so it is best that you become very careful with the people you will hire.