Eagle’s Nest DIY Home Building
Do It Yourself Home Building or DIY Home Building is the oldest home building technique in the world.
Consider the early American prairie soddy, the Mongolian yurt, the Indian teepee, the log cabin or the Neanderthal “lean to” and the Eskimo igloo.
These DIY houses, though primitive, offered mobility and shelter from benign to harsh weather conditions.
Utilizing local material and personal labor, called today, “sweat equity”, these hardy pioneers of DIY home building received the benefits of cheap housing, without which, life was at best miserable, at worst unattainable.
As time progressed from raw shelter to a house and then a home, DIY home building specialists or subcontractors evolved from DIY home building foundation contractors to DIY house building framers, plumbers, electricians, etc.
From these ancient roots evolved the more sophisticated DIY home building aficionado of modern society, whose desire was not only shelter or a house but a home. This was the nucleus of the family symbolizing its continuity and its cohesive integrity.
Today’s DIY houses are generally constructed with better quality than tract homes, in which costs are minimized to just “meet code”.
In DIY home building the will and desire of the owner builder is a reflection of a DIY dream home driven concept from which pride of ownership compels the creation of a home with superior structural integrity not just to “meet code”.
What characteristics differentiate the DIY home building personality from the more traditional homebuyer?
They are men and women who still possess the American entrepreneurial spirit. They are generally, of a conservative economic nature. They are dreamers with a goal and a specific “view” of their future.
DIY houses are not defined by size, location or any particular style, because they reflect a specific need, dream or requirement of the DIY home building personality.
One might believe that it is only the dream that motivates the DIY home building person.
Certainly the dream is the catalyst but it, in itself, is not sufficient to produce a national industry of DIY houses that exceeds tens of billions per year.
So what are the mitigating factors that ultimately provide the fuel for such a large national industry, called by many names; owner builder, DIY home building or custom home building?
The most important factor is saving money. In general, and historically DIY houses cost 18 – 28% less than a similar home sold at local market pricing.
Simply stated, similar DIY houses, in a neighborhood of $200,000 homes would cost about $160,000 to complete, saving the DIY home builder, $40,000…a handsome return.
Following closely in importance, is the requirement of a person in his DIY home building endeavor to construct a specific home that suits their specific needs on a specific site or lot that meets their requirements.
So you can understand that in DIY building, the DIY houses are driven by dreams and very specific needs of home style, location and the desire to save big dollars.