Can you and another person build a single family home using supplies purchased from Home Depot?

Question

Using ONLY supplies from Home Depot or Lowe's, is it realistic, or even possible for two people, using only their hands, a truck, and a floor plan, to construct an entire house by themselves? If so, what will the cost be compared to buying the house already made?

Answer 1

When my husband and I moved into our house 8 years ago, it was less than 900 square feet. We added a 12' x 22' addition entirely by ourselves about 6 years ago. My husband dug the footers with a shovel while I hauled 2 tons of Quikrete from his truck one 80 lb bag at a time. The only thing we had anyone else do was install the carpet. One year ago, we added 12' x 24' to the two bedrooms on the end. We did pay someone to pour the footer this time (we had the money for that this time around), but could feasibly have done it ourselves. We had three friends over who helped us put up the roof trusses because they're huge, although we did put up several of them ourselves.

Altogether, the two additions took approximately 18 months including all the trim and finish work. Excepting the concrete work on the second addition, we either had everything given to us by very generous friends (concrete blocks, which you can buy at Lowe's), scavenged (we used lumber from old barns to make the trim in both rooms), or bought at Lowe's.

It will probably be MUCH cheaper to do yourself. The second addition was priced to us by a contractor at $255,000. We paid $25,000, and that includes paying someone else to do that concrete work. Doing that ourselves would have saved us quite a bit of money, but taken a lot more time.

And if that isn't enough for you, neither of us is in construction professionally. My husband is a prison guard and I'm a school teacher. To top it off, I'm 4'11", so don't think you have to have big burly people to do it!

Answer 2

Well the answerer is yes you can BUT some of the product that you will get at these types of stores might not be the best made. You can run into that any where. I work remodeling old house's, schools and just about any other type of building you can turn part or all into an apartment for a guy that only buys from Home Depot and Lowe's. Home depot in my area seems to be just a step ahead of Lowe's in some departments. but your question states both and my answerer is if your willing to do it you can and if you are not sure about doing a trade ( craft) that it takes to do a complete job they will have a book there to help explain that part of it. Good luck. It will be fun to look back at your accomplishment.

Answer 3

You probably could, but I wouldn't recommed it. I am in the process of building my house. We are digging our foundation in about a month. Right now we are getting the cost estimates on EVERYTHING for our construction loan, so we've been shopping around. There are a lot of things that are cheaper at Home Depot, but there are also a lot of things that are "cheap." I would recommend doing a little research and shopping around. It's worth the time. My husband and my father-in-law are building my house. We are saving ourselves about $60,000 in labor costs doing it this way. Also, you will need more than just your hands, a truck and a floor plan. If you are not experienced in that area I would stongly suggest having a contractor build your house, you will be paying for a lot of costly mistakes and a poorly built house otherwise.

Answer 4

Sure you can. They have all the materials necessary. Concrete would be cheaper if bought from a ready-mix plant though. You would find more of a carpet selection at a flooring showroom also. The bottom line though, is you could do it all from Home Depot.

Asking about cost is silly. How fancy are your finishes? What is the size of the house? You see what I mean. The ratio of labor to material cost is about 60%, so the house would be about 60% less expensive if you did not pay any labor costs.

This bring another thing to mind, if you have anyone help you, you should have workmen's compensation insurance in case he gets hurt. Even if it is a family member you should have this insurance.

Answer 5

Think about it this way. Are you a plumber? Are you an electrician? Are you a mason? Are you a carpenter? Are you a cabinet maker? Are you a finish carpenter? Are you a roofer? Are you a heating/cooling technician? Are you a carpet installer? Can you operate a backhoe, and if you figured it out , do you know the fist thing about pouring a concrete foundation? Pouring proper footings? Pouring a concrete wall? The list is endless. Even if you managed to get all this done yourself, would your work pass the necessary inspections that are needed for occupancy?
I suppose my answer would have to be yes its possible , almost anything is possible, IF you are able to do all the jobs that I mentioned above with average competency. Otherwise forgo the ulcers, headaches and high blood pressure and let the pros handle it.

Answer 6

Back Door Man - The Doors Kitchen Person - The Associates Fly On The Wall - XTC (well, no point in it being too clean) Let There Be More Light - Pink Floyd Across The Kitchen Table - Pale Fountains Living On The Ceiling - Blancmange Single Bed - Fox Throw in a few Inspiral Carpets and you're sorted. And outside: Garden - The Groundhogs just avoid: Burning Down The House - Talking Heads

Answer 7

I built a house by myself with a little help from my wife. Did everything but the concrete and mason work. It took 4-1/2 years. House is about 3500 sq, ft. I purchased materials wherever I could get a good price, many things purchased on the internet. I estimate it cost me about 40%-45% of a contract built house. I was a home builder by trade and did this when I retired.
If you choose to do this, check what things you may not be allowed to do in your area ie.. plumbing, heating,electrical.
If you have to finance, better check if your financial institution will back you with this process.

Answer 8

yes it is possible. In some areas of the country especially hurricane Katrina areas Home Depot has house kits for sale that comes with everything, even the kitchen sink, and you just follow the directions like putting together boxed furniture only on a larger scale. There are also plans out there just for this type of project. - good luck -kellie

Answer 9

Theoretically, yes. Realistically, doubtful. When you consider all the different skills needed to build a home from scratch, it would be a daunting task. Even rural areas now have building codes that you must follow. Because you asked, I assume you have little or no building skills necessary for this project. Site selection, excavation, foundation, rough plumbing, Framing, Electrical, Roofing, Insulation, siding Drywall installation, doors and windows, trim work, cabinets, counter tops. It's all available at most big box building stores. It would be months, maybe years to complete the task unless you have skills necessary. While it's cheaper to build it yourself if you have the skills, you would do well to have some building experience before attempting this..

Answer 10

Yep, you sure can! People do it everyday. The only thing you can't get at the Home Depot is the concrete for your footers. That is unless you're planning on bagging the whole thing. And something tells me, you're not. The only money, that you'll really save is on labor. Do your self a favor and get a home builders guide. It'll give you tips and sample plans for your house, if you have no experience.