If you have done any research at all on building your own home you have likely learned just how important researching really is. In my personal opinion, the learning and planning stage is 10 x’s more crucial than the actual building part. If you learn, research, and plan well enough, the build itself will just be the party at the end where you get to meet interesting people and see your dream home coming together before your eyes.
Most websites don’t stress the planning and researching stage as much as I do. I think that’s because so many of them are written by people who have built a house before or are in the construction business and the time they spend planning for a house is far less than what you and I need to be spending.
I also know that the amount of planning and researching you do will directly effect how much money you end up saving. Do general contractors care about saving money? Not usually, because they are not the one paying for the house. They build the house for you and then tell you how much it costs. It’s not worth their time to comparison shop because it doesn’t help them earn any more than they would have.
So today I wanted to pull together a list of some of the online resources I used while researching, learning, and planning our owner build. Online is great because it’s instant, free, and you can find almost any piece of information you need in written, picture, audio, and/or video form. I did the bulk of my research online and by calling people. Talking to people was by far the best way for me to learn, but that isn’t always an option so online was my #2. I also read a lot of books, but only one is worth mentioning.
I hope by now you have all heard how highly I think of The Owner Builder Book by Mark A Smith. In case you haven’t, buy the book now. I’m not kidding. It’s a great read, totally understandable for us “non construction folk”, and was the only hard copy book that I couldn’t live without during the year leading up to our build. I actually ended up having to buy it from the library because I rented it out too many times and had racked up more then I care to admit in late fees.
If you buy it on amazon by CLICKING HERE, you will have a wonderful present sitting on your porch in just a few days and you don’t even have to drive to the store. If you only take one piece of advice from my website let it be buying this book. You won’t regret it.
Now on to the online resources.
- Newly Woodwards
This website has a lot of great information, but honestly I mostly use it for encouragement and inspiration. Kim and her adorable little family built their own home pretty much by themselves. She doesn’t detail out the steps so much, but there is a lot of great info there to read through. Mostly I just love reading about other people who succeeded on their house building journey. It really keeps me motivated and optimistic, as it’s easy to get bogged down by all the people who think you are crazy for building your own home.
I linked to the page that shows what they spent on their house, but if you have time check out the rest of her blog.
2. Accidental Hippies
I never dove completely into this website, but it’s worth checking out because she has a ton of great articles. The reason I just skipped around here is because Emily and her family are building a completely different style of home than we did. Their home is an off grid cordwood house. Totally awesome, but not super comparable to the information I needed. It did make me want to be a little more green though!
Even if you aren’t dreaming of an off grid cabin, check her blog out real quick for plenty of other great articles.
3. The Owner Builder Book website
Along with the book I mentioned earlier, Mark A Smith also has a website. Though I don’t feel it is as easy to follow and understand as his book, it has a lot of extra information on it. My favorite thing to do on his website is to read other peoples stories, tips, and advice. Something about a good success story just really gets me motivated all over again!
He also has forums, articles, and other cd programs and books on the website.
https://www.ownerbuilderbook.com/
4. Build Your Own Home
I discovered this site near the very end of my planning stage so I didn’t use it as much as I would have. It is set up in a way that is very easy to find your way around the site. He has it broken up into steps and categories and it has a lot of great information.
http://www.build-yourown-home.com/
5. Build Your Own House by Carl Heldmann
Okay I saved this one for last because it is probably my favorite website and the one I used the most. This one is written by a guy who is in the construction field. I usually don’t like that because it makes it difficult for me to keep up with their jargon, but that is not the case with Carl. His website is set up in a way that is very easy to navigate. I really like how he often uses questions as his categories or subtitles, and they are often questions that I am asking myself.
I used this website a TON while researching. In fact I bet I read it all the way through three times.
https://www.byoh.com/
I am assuming you have spent at least a little time looking for online resources yourself. I would love it if you would share what websites or online resources you have found useful. Leave a comment with any good ones!
~Farmer’s Wife
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Craig Pierce says
I have been a contractor for many years and still enjoy reading your posts and information. You are an inspiration to all. Anyone can do anything they want in this life if they just try. In this era, of computers with the vast amount of knowledge available, there is no reason why anyone can not do virtually anything. You are 100% correct saying that research and going back to the basics are the best tried and true ways to do things. If you know the basics, when you get into trouble you can always resort back to the basics. Again I love your posts.
farmerswife@therealfarmhouse.com says
What a nice thing to say Craig! Thank you so much for making my day a super happy one.
Kim says
I can’t tell you how surprised and encouraged I am to see you list NewlyWoodwards as one of your resources. I wish your blog would have been around when we were in our planning stages. At least to connect and really feel like someone else was going through it, too. So all that to say, thank you. I love following along with your journey and love how open and honest you are about the ups and downs. I’m also totally impressed by how well you document the steps it takes. There are so many of them and it’s overwhelming enough just to do them. Not to even consider writing about them.
We also really liked the Owner-Builder book. A copy is still in our bookshelf – you know, in case we need to build again. 😂
I’m loving that there are more online resources than ever about owner-builds. Frankly, we got so many wide eyes when we told people we were building ourselves. Especially contractors. Going to the home show was almost comical.
farmerswife@therealfarmhouse.com says
Ha yeah I know what you are talking about. Everyone thinks you are crazy for doing it on your own!
Thanks for the comment Kim. I really do love your website. I keep going back to re read and study the things you have done also. Thanks a bunch.
Jenny says
You have done an amazing job with this site! I can’t believe you manage 4 littles, build a house & still have time to share such awesome details. It gives me the encouragement I am needing! We sold everything 6 months ago & moved our family of four into our r.v. so we could make this dream happen! I am feeling very unprepared! Thank you for all the resources! I feel paralyzed not knowing where to start. You have given me direction of where to start!
farmerswife@therealfarmhouse.com says
I am so glad to hear that Jenny. Good luck!
April says
I love your website! Thank you for all the amazing resources to help! We are in the beginning planning stage, so I am researching everything and trying to organize before we start talking with the bank and kit company we’re planning to use. One of the most helpful thinks I’ve come across is the podcast is Build Your House Yourself University or byhyu. She is also an owner builder and speaks about various topics, I love that I can listen to her podcast and do dishes etc. I think you should know about each other 🙂 thanks again!!
farmerswife@therealfarmhouse.com says
Thanks April!