A huge challenge awaits you. Perhaps the biggest adventure of your life. You are preparing to build your own home and you've chosen a stick-built home kit to do it. Congratulations!
I chose the word "adventure" because that's what it's going to be. A lot of twists and turns will dot your journey. You're in for a great ride. Keep your eyes open and be ready for surprises and you'll enjoy it as the experience that you always hoped home building would be.
Stick-Built Kit Home Building - The Owner-Builder's Choice
I like the kit home choice for heavily involved Owner Builders. Whether you're physically involved with personal labor or limiting yourself to significant hands-on management, kit (or packaged) homes provide a lot of benefits.
So you know what to expect, I'll outline the building process for you.
Let's break it down into phases. We'll assume that you've already done the preparations to get to the point of building your home. What now?
PHASE ONE: Site Prep & Foundation Building
Before your kit arrives, you have a lot of work to do. In this initial building phase, you'll direct excavators, foundation contractors, plumbers, electricians and maybe well drillers. Build the foundation to very exacting specifications so that the wall sections of your kit home fit perfectly.
Trenching for power and sewer lines, or digging for septic tanks and leach lines, and coordination with foundation contractors are all accomplished in this early phase.
PHASE TWO: Deliveries, Framing & Mechanical Rough-ins
During phase one, you must schedule and coordinate the delivery of your kit home materials package. It's best to take delivery in phase two. Otherwise, the materials will just be in the way and may need to be moved. You don't want to have to do that.
You and your framing crew will first complete the sub-floor system. Sub-floor work includes rough-in plumbing, heating-air, and electrical. Then it's time to erect the home's framing and roof rafters. Most kit home companies provide panelized framing walls and roof trusses to make this process go relatively quickly. You'll enjoy the visual progress.
PHASE THREE: Mechanicals & Completing the Shell
Once the framing is inspected, your next job is to close in the home. This will involve installing windows and doors, a lot of plumbing and electrical work, insulating and hanging drywall.
Exterior finish will include the roof, siding and trim work. From the outside, your home will appear to be almost finished but inside you're really just beginning. The house can now be "locked up" and safe.
PHASE FOUR: Interior Trim & Finish Work
Phase four is where you really make it your home. All the doors are hung, cabinets, vanities, countertops and appliances are installed, trim is mounted, tubs, sinks, toilets and tubs are placed. Much of the painting happens now.
You'll really feel like you're making progress in this phase but it will take time. Floor coverings like carpet, tile, linoleum, and wood will make it feel like home but you must exercise patience. Never try to move in during this phase ... even if your bathroom and kitchen are functional.
PHASE FIVE: The "Punch Lists"
What is a "punch list"? Well, it's all the "little things" that need to be done before the home is 100% complete.
It's time consuming things like; the remaining bathroom mirror to hang, the trim and shelving in the closets, the second coat of paint, the shelving in the laundry and pantry, adding the missing doorknobs, replacing a faulty hose-bib, building stoops and porches, staining trim, fixing leaks, fixing electrical boxes that are shorting out ... the list can be long.
My advice is to complete items on these lists before you move in! You often can get a Certificate of Occupancy before these things are completed but they will end up not getting done and become a sore spot for you if you don't complete them first.
Are You Ready?
Your kit home package has saved you a lot of shopping, organizing, decision-making, and delivery problems. And it has streamlined and reduced the framing labor and costs. Yet the process of building remains the same.
You should expect your home building project to take you 6 to 9 months. You will be directing traffic, getting your hands dirty, solving problems, re-tracing steps, experiencing delays, and replacing workers from time to time.
Yet, despite all the unforeseen, it should be the time of your life and worth every moment! Each phase brings new joys and gets you closer to your ultimate success. In the end, you'll have the home of your dreams.
By all means ... prepare well, learn all you can, and jump in with both feet!
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