How to Build a House

Building a house is not as difficult as it may seem as long as these key steps are followed. However, a lot of hard work and forethought is required, which will be rewarded upon completion of your creation. Before you start, understand that scheduling can vary based on weather, subcontractors, inspections and material delivery.

Things You'll Need

• Patience
• Camera to capture the progress of this project from start to finish
• Established contractor and subcontractors with proper insurance policies and licenses
• Large bottle of ibuprofen or alternative headache relief medication
• Reputable architect
• City regulations in regards to permits and codes

Instructions

1. Pick the lot that will fit the home of your desire. Keep in mind trees, property setbacks, topography and accessibility of the lot and the type of utilities provided to surrounding properties.

2. Meet with architects and engineers to help you design and draw engineered plans for the house.

3. Obtain soil reports to provide to the engineers prior to the design of the engineered foundation plans.

4. See the architect to obtain final plans. It might be necessary to meet with the architect several times to make sure all changes are made for the final plan stage.

5. Submit plans to at least 3 different contractors to obtain good solid bids for the building process. Once bids are received check with the Better Business Bureau, which can warn you as to possible previous complaints issued. Ask the contractor to provide at least 3 recent references on projects they have completed.

6. Present final structural and architectural plans to the city for the permitting process.

7. Start building your house!

Tips & Warnings

• It is important to ensure, where applicable, that all permits are received prior to the beginning of the project.

• The lowest bid is not always the best bid to take. Remember the phrase "you get what you pay for."

• Accepting the midrange bid is usually the safest choice.

• More time will be spent on planning and designing than actually building the house.

• The average person would have difficulty building a house without the help of a professional or previous experience.