Re: GBlist: First Time home builder

[Sacie H Lambertson <dlambert@grasshoppernet.com>]

At 04:37 AM 29-01-01 EST, you wrote:
>Hi everyone,
>I was wondering if anyone knew what types of costs, permits, etc... are 
>involved in building a house.

Greg, the cost for building a house is going to vary a huge amount
depending on where you are.  What you might do for starters is to get a
book from your local library to see what elements are involved---you have
the main ones--then go to your local building inspector's office to check
out fees; they might at the same time give you some idea of local costs as
well.  Go to your best local lumber yard (s) and ask the people who deal
with the contractors for the names of the top builders in your area and
also which of these might be amenable to answering your questions and then,
based on your reading, organize these logically and plan to take as little
of the contractor's time as possible.  The other idea would be to find some
other DIYers and talk to them.
	First thing will be the permits and those fees are set, usually based on
size of the project.  All the rest follows, also based on so many
variables, [the cost of which is mostly size related], that generalizations
from around the country will not be realistic.  Do a lot of reading and
you'll understand these variables a lot better.  You obviously will have to
have some plan in mind before you can talk to others about what you want to
do and I'm sure you have that.
	This may seem overwhelming at first, but it is quite possible for you to
build a house yourself if you have a whole lot of time, patience and do a
lot of homework.  At the least you can become well informed and that will
help you watch over the building done by others for you.			Sacie Lambertson
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