5 Reasons Why You Should Build Your Own House

Ever since I Found ROK, I took a greater interest in aspects of my life to challenge my greater limits. Twenty one and still living with my dad, I’ve been looking at buying a house for some time. After a couple houses purchases didn’t come through I started brainstorming building options.

I’ve done renovation work with my dad but nothing this scale. After pondering and running numbers, I recalled a masculine affirmation. If it scares you, do it, so I ordered house blueprints that night. If you stop reading here, the biggest takeaway is not to stress the details. Action with a unfamiliar task yields experience, and details will keep guessing at the start line. Get in the habit of throwing yourself in unusual experiences.

1. It establishes credit-ability

Growing up, my father was the definition of a blue-collar guy. He worked extremely hard and labored to get what he wanted, eventually building his own business with his hands rather than the mind. I went on to a university and pursued my own forms of business. The biggest realization that hit me getting out of school was enough of talk without action. This is the real world now, you can only deliver. Putting your hand to the plow is way you create your momentum. With momentum comes success. With success comes ambition. Simply attempting what you talk about lets people respect and value the person you are.

2. It’s a lot cheaper

Here a contractor’s percentage of the cost of having him build the house: 25% cost of land, 25% building materials, 25% labor, 25% builders profit/overhead.

In my instance, I got the land for pennies and therefore only paid 25% for materials.  When you build new, you wipe most repair bills out of the budget. Everything is brand new; plumbing, electrical, roof, doors, windows, you name it. Suffer now for decades of peace of mind. Furnace or AC have an issue ten years from now? Even they have ten year warranties. Walls and insulation are now made a lot better for energy conservation. This makes your utility bills a lot lower, probably 30-70% cheaper than a house of fifty years or older.

You could even budget a simple estimate to frame the structure, roof it, and house wrap. The stage materials bill on my house would be about 20k. This would give you a project you could finish at any time, therefore finish the house out of pocket over the years. Leading to the best aspect of the project, NO MORTGAGE.

3. It’s a masculine challenge

At one point in everyone’s life, they looked at floor plans or day dreamed about a certain house. Everyone shares this fantasy, and therefore sees you as greater value for accomplishing on of their own dreams. The biggest thing I took out of this project was to test your limits.

Your capable of much more than you can comprehend. I did this for the challenge, and the hands-on experience for my field. When I started, I never framed new construction, finished concrete, installed HVAC, etc.  With these beginner aspects, you must understand you will error on the project. However, the errors in my house give me a sense of pride, rather than pain. There’s a lot of things you must do incorrectly to learn how to make it right, and construction is one. You will have more knowledge in two months of swinging hammers, than you could get as two years in management.

4. It checks your ego

The biggest reaction I get among my peers at management is a “Why?” The mindset of many educated professionals is entitlement and superiority. However larger than that is their affirmation of “I’m above that”. Hanging drywall? Plumbing in a crawlspace? What is wrong with you?

I decided that the path to protect my ego doesn’t lead to my goals. I did this not to prove to anyone, but myself. For example, I took note of a skilled contractor during college. This man built his business out of the ashes. He did more in five years than most do in a lifetime. The main reason I learned was he didn’t obtain an ego. That ego would have told him to sit out nasty and hard jobs. However, he told me if he didn’t take those jobs, he wouldn’t have had near the experience or opportunities. The same exact lesson I learned.

So now when my coworkers drive by building site they smile with envy, instead of doubt. I learned to listen to myself, and base my actions off that.

5. It challenges your mindset

In the first awakening I experienced growing up in my teens, I gained confidence steadily without making progress with girls. This came from my struggles and work. I experienced issues and conflicts most teenagers don’t encounter.  Through a lot of failure and uncomfortable situations, I became a new person. It one thing to learn how to solve a problem from someone telling you; solving it yourself, however, is a serious confidence boost.

Even if you have never picked up a hammer, you are still more than capable. When you approach this with a “No matter what, I’ll handle it” attitude, the house is just a set of simple goals. Once this is done, you don’t see hands on tasks the same. Oil pan leaking on the car, I’ll fix it in an hour. Want a picnic table in the backyard? Weekend project is an overstatement. Shingles blew off last night, please…. you put the other 98% on. Upon completion, your mindset forms a default setting of “I GOT THIS”.

No worries, in so many ways. Besides stated above there is a lot more peace of mind that molds into confidence. A lot of simple minded people set goals like (lose 2 lbs., get a new car, get a raise). Anytime you fall short in an aspect of your life, you can sit at your kitchen table, looking at the hardwood floor job that came out great. Shifting your eyes to the vaulted ceiling that was a challenge to frame and drywall. Then you watch as your wife does dishes, and drains the sink. The sink that you put in along with all the plumbing. All the sudden you realize this opposition doesn’t stand a chance. You erected your own home with your own hands. This new hurdle is nothing more than a grain of sand on a very large beach.

Conclusion

You’re going to spend at least eight hours a day wherever you live. Why not make that environment yourself the way you want? It took a lot of hurdles and hardships to get that career, dream girl, car…etc. Your home should be no different. The only thing you should fear is the possibly of not giving it a shot.

Read Next: 7 Reasons Why Buying A House Is A Terrible Idea

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