Building mortgage free

[KakarotMF]

(I don't think I've posted this in the non-members forums yet.)

While we are graduates of the class, we decided our first home will be a stick built house. We do, however, plan to build it mortgage free and mostly on the weekends, as LHBA suggests. While our website won't document the next Log Home of the Month, it will hopefully show that a home (whether it's logs, stone, adobe, thatch, or 2x4's) can be built without a mortgage and while carrying a full-time job.

Hope you enjoy the site!

[tatermates]

Mark, great idea and good website....you do realize of course, that you have to be a little on the anal retentive side to be as copious as you seem to be with your monetary detail:lol: :lol:

That aside.....good luck and thanks for the insight to construction costs. I built houses in Orlando a few years ago and the price of everything seems to have at least doubled since then.

roger

[gabriel_h]

Hey Mark,
I just joined and this is only my second post, so I'm sorry if this sounds ignorant, but this is all new to me. On your site you mention that it was your first time driving a bulldozer and that it's different from drving a "skid-steer ". Do you need a special license or experience to rent and drive one, or do you think that anyone can drive a bulldozer? I've driven tracked APC's in the Army, but they practically drive themselves and I get the impression that running a bulldozer is a lot more involved.

Sweet website, by the way - it's great to see someone building mortgage-free and documenting it as well as you do. I'm looking for land in the Piedmont-triad area, and I plan on building mortgage-free myself - somewhere between or around Greensboro and Winston. Right now my plan is to buy the land first, then a "pre-loved" trailer, and then begin accumulating the building materials that I need.

[KakarotMF]

Tatermates,

I take that as a complement! Of course, I'm only A.R. over things I care about :)

Gabriel,

You don't need any license here. Since there was no buildings for me to hit, there is no real concern. After 1-2 hrs (at MOST) you will get the hang of it. That gives you 6 hrs to finish in under 1 rental day. If you're not sure what size/type of machine to use, you can call a Landscaper/Grading contractor and ask for a bid. Ask plenty of questions while he's looking over your site (type/size of machine, how long, etc). Unless this is the initial clearing, make sure to stake out the corners of the home and anything else important (well, shed, pool, garage, etc). While a transem is nice, you can get by with a string and some in-line levels to get a rough idea of how much you need to undercut/backfill.

My local rental place will drop it off Friday. That gives me Saturday AND Sunday to get my 8 hrs in, as they pick up Monday morning! I didn't bother trying to refill the desiel, as that takes a LOT of 5 gal tanks!

I've been meaning to look for some surveying books for some "additional reading". I've worked a laser and regular transem, but I'm ignorant on the markings they put on the stakes. Now that I'm done w/ the Little House series, I can get to that task.