How You Can Build New Skills and a Home
Building your own home can seem like a daunting prospect. If you aren’t particularly skilled when it comes to being practical, then it might seem like an impossible dream. Lack of skills aside, there are a lot of benefits to building your own home. Not only do you end up with a property that is uniquely tailored to your needs, but you can also get your dream home for substantially less than simply buying an already-built property. It might seem intimidating, but the rewards are certainly worth learning a few new skills. You will need to plan carefully, be meticulous in your non-profit organization, and do plenty of prep before you even pick up a tool. Here are some useful tips for those thinking about learning new skills and building their own home.
Why Build a Home?
Thousands of people every year build their own homes, and it’s not just millionaires and billionaires who can afford this luxury. There is no average type of person when it comes to home-making. Young couples who are looking for a cost-effective way to get on the housing ladder are just as likely to build their first home as retirees thinking of cheap ways to downsize. There are even DIYers who have homes for enjoyment! Self-builds can be fun and liberating, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a total novice or a DIY expert. If you take the time to learn some necessary skills, you get to:
- Take control: Houses built by developers can be very disappointing. They are often characterless, and of such average build that they barely meet the necessary building regulations. Commissioning your design means that you get to have total control over your finished home. You can ignore the commercial pressures that big developers are limited by. By self-building, you can build a home that perfectly suits your lifestyle, your future, and your ambitions. It’s unlikely that you will be able to do every stage of the build yourself, but by using expert advice, you get to have the final say no matter whether you’re talking to architectural designers, plumbers, or interior decorators.
- Budget: It can be much more affordable to build a home than just buying one on the market. That’s in part down to having control over the design, but it’s also because you are not thinking of profitability in the same way that a developer will be. By not having to make decisions based on a profit margin, you get to make the decisions that matter.
Learning the Skills
The important thing to remember is that you do not need to do everything yourself. From building a brick wall, installing scaffolding, electrical work, and plumbing essentials, that would mean having to learn a massive amount of new skills. However, by breaking down your needs, and identifying where you’re going to need professionals, you might cut your learning down by a vast amount. There are courses available around the world that are dedicated to teaching you how to build a home from scratch to completion. While these courses will vary in what they teach, you can expect to cover things like:
- Building floors and walls
- Understanding layouts and the possible advantages of layout decisions
- Insulation and cladding your walls
- How to use a variety of essential tools
- Learning about different roof types and how to build a variety of roof shapes
- Window installation and how to make practical decisions about the best windows
- Basic electrical skills
- Basic plumbing skills
These courses will be run by people who have already built homes. They will also tend to have specialists in for additional classes, with electricians and plumbers usually the most common. While courses will vary depending on where you live and the available resources, you can expect to find that they will last from a few days to several months. Prices will vary depending on what you want to learn.
Learning Online
You might find that there is no such course anywhere near you, but you don’t have to resign yourself to a bland developer home just yet. There are a huge number of online courses that can take you very far along the self-build process. If you do decide to go down this route, try to ensure that you select a course that is being run as close as possible geographically. Try not to sign up for a home-building course in another country! Building laws and regulations are going to differ from country to country, and even state by state. Make sure that you don’t encounter any issues with your self-build and local laws by double-checking what is and isn’t allowed on your plot.
Lack of Home-Building Courses
If you don’t trust the online courses, and there are no dedicated home-building groups near you, there are still ways to achieve your goals. Look at some guides about the requirements, and head to your local community center and community colleges. They will often have classes that are not designed specifically for housebuilders but can be very useful. Basic plumbing and construction classes will only be of benefit if you’re going it alone without the aid of a formal teaching structure.
Getting Involved
One of the best things about deciding to build your own home is that you get to have total control over how much involvement you want to have. You could let the professionals do the hard work while you stick to making final decisions. This will end up costing you more, as those professionals won’t do the work for free.
The more that you get involved, the lower your costs will be.
If you can help speed up the construction by doing some heavy lifting or help with laying the foundations, then your bank balance will breathe a sigh of relief. Whether you’re sticking to being a project manager or you decide to get your hands dirty, the fact that you get to decide on your level of involvement is one of the major advantages of building your own home.
If you have the skills or the time to learn those skills, then building your own home might be easier than you think. Never start work on a new build without knowing exactly what the plan is. The more that you work on your plan, the easier it will be to get the home you’ve always dreamed of.
