Wow! There is so much information here. Where oh where do I start?
My wife and I are in our early forties with three daughters (15 y/o twins an an 11 y/o) and starting to think about a "bucket" house. We are looking at land and we both like the 20x34' plan with a basement foundation. Neither of us have any idea where to start though.
Any best starting places on the forums?
Thanks,
JB
w* ,JB
Personally, I would settle in with your beverage of choice and hit the Owner Builder Projects: http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?board=6.0
and read about what others are doing and how they started.
w* ... and depending on how comfy you are around forums there might be items of interest in the Forum news board.
http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?board=7.0 (http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?board=7.0)
I appreciate the advice. I have been finding and sending links to my wife of stuff I find on the forums. I just wasn't sure if there was a "best" place to start or not.
Thanks again,
Joel
Try and find projects in the same state as you. They should be closer to conforming to the local laws and location specific necessities.
A good investment is also to buy a basic illustrated book on framing. $20 or so, like the one listed on the home page, is the best start for new builders. There are a lot of hard lessons learned just from looking at pictures on the internet without an explanation into the why and how things are done.
Before building a house, start with a small shed if you can. You will get down many of the basics and make mistakes on a much smaller and cheaper scale.
What is a "bucket" house?
I'm guessing it's the house he wants before he "kicks the bucket." But I could be wrong...
Quote from: Erin on November 02, 2011, 09:21:03 AM
I'm guessing it's the house he wants before he "kicks the bucket." But I could be wrong...
Yep. :)
Read the thread here "Logistics of living on-site". My teenagers & wife helped to build our cabin, but they didn't like roughing it during the build. It takes some effort to keep a family motivated to build a cabin. Mix it up with work and play.
I have not looked at all the recommendations. I started with a search using "20x34" and got some good articles. For some reason, a lot of the photos do not show and some links go to "Forbidden 403" sites. No big deal - I'm not complaining. :)
One thing I have thought about is that as my wife and I get older, will we be able to navigate stairs? I remember watching my grandmother holding onto any hand-hold to get up the three or four steps to her 1950's house. Problem is, I want to have enough room for family to come over and stay. Yeah, I know, I'm planning waaaay into the future, but, if I can help it, whatever we build will be our *last* house. All of that said, I found this post:
http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=258.msg1364#msg1364
I still want to build (or at least be a major player in the building) it myself. I'm still looking... ;)
JB