Building your own home a ‘daunting’ task

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By Alma Gaul | Friday, April 25, 2008 2:12 PM CDT | () comments

When someone says they built their own home, that usually doesn’t mean they did everything hands-on from the ground up.

For Bob Anderson, featured in the adjoining story, it meant that he drew up the design and plans, personally performed much of the carpentry, such as framing, and acted as his own general contractor.

Being a “general” meant coordinating the jobs a homeowner cannot do, such as digging the foundation because he doesn’t own an excavator, or is not permitted to do, such as installing the plumbing and electrical systems.

All of that can be a daunting task for people who are not builders by trade, even if they are handy with a hammer.

People try it in hopes of saving money, but it doesn’t always work that way, said Larry Rauch, a construction technician for the City of Davenport building inspections department.

“If they know what they’re doing and everything goes smoothly, they will (save money),” he said. “But if they have to back up and do over, they won’t.” Some people get finished and say they’ll “never, ever do it again.”

Rauch said it is not uncommon for people building new homes in Davenport to act as their own general contractor, but the total comes to less than 10 percent.

In Bettendorf, the number is even lower. “I might have had three non-contractors build in Bettendorf in 11 years,” said Bill Connors, the community development director and chief building official. “We just don’t see that a lot.”

In Davenport, contractors who build for a living must pass a competency test; people who build their own homes are exempt from that requirement. (Regulations vary by city; if you are interested in building, consult your own city’s building department.)

To get started in Davenport, one needs a set of professionally prepared building plans. That usually means they are done by a draftsman at a lumber yard, although you could hire an architect or professional engineer, Rauch said.

Anderson took his plans to a lumber yard where he was charged according to the size of his home.

The professional will check to make sure the plans have accurate dimensions, that the design will carry the load of the building from the foundation to the roof, that all of the roof lines meet where they should and that the stair openings are correct, among other considerations.

In applying for a general contractor’s permit, you will be asked to name all of your subcontractors. In Davenport, plumbing, electrical and heating/air conditioning systems must be installed by licensed and bonded contractors, so you need to line those people up ahead of time. (These are not jobs you can do yourself in new construction.)

One also must produce a legal description of the lot on which you want to build. Anderson bought within a newly developed subdivision, so that was not a problem, but if you are building on an in-fill lot, you may need to hire a surveyor, Rauch said.

Another stipulation is that your plans comply with federal energy requirements; the government provides an Internet checklist that will show whether you meet them, Rauch said.

Under new stormwater management initiatives, builders also must prepare an erosion-control plan. “I give them a packet with eight pages of instructions,” he said. One requirement is the laying of a gravel access path to the site “so the trucks don’t track mud to the street,” he added.

The Davenport Public Works Department has a file of handouts covering various aspects of homebuilding, “and we hand them out all day long,” he said. The handouts cover such topics as egress, smoke detection and stairway geometry.

The general contractor also needs to arrange the footing, framing and final inspections of the home. Arranging inspections of the mechanical systems is the responsibility of the subcontractors. All told, a home will have at least 13 inspections, usually more.

One also needs to buy the permits, which generally run about $1,500, Rauch said.

“We tell people being a general contractor is a full-time endeavor and it will take at least nine months,” he said. “It gets daunting.”

And frustration can lead to short tempers. “You have to be a certain type of person,” he said.

Alma Gaul can be contacted at (563) 383-2324 or agaul@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.

MOST COMMON DOWNFALLS

Incomplete plans

— Larry Rauch, City of Davenport

Coordinating all of the subcontractors. “What the first one does, the second one is predicated on, and if one person doesn’t show up, you have to start all over.”

— Bill Connors, City of Bettendorf