DIY Network

WEB-EXTRA: Advice on Time-Commitment from Our Do-It-Yourself Contractors From "Be Your Own Contractor: Vacation Homes" episode DBCV-108

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Following below are quotes from several of our do-it-yourselfers regarding the time commitment needed to be your own contractor

Dome house. Sedona, AZ.

Mississippi delta house.

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Advice from Our Do-It-Yourselfers About "The Time It Takes"

Rick Goldstein
Dome Home
Sedona, Arizona

"There are, during construction and before construction, so many sacrifices that are involved in putting together something like this. It took up tremendous amounts of time and money and energy -- just the thought that went into every single decision that had to be made. It really was the dominating force for two years. So you really have to put everything else in your life in sort of second position. I think if you do that going in, if you're really clear on the priority of the house, it's fairly easy to proceed."

Homeowner Don Helgoth

P.J. Helgoth
Log Home
Westcliffe, CO

"The biggest challenge of this project was the time commitment. We'd work a five-day work week and then know you're not going to get much of a relaxing weekend, and you have a two and a half hour drive here, a two and a half drive home. You don’t get the time to really relax and wind down from a work week. There is always something to be done on the project. So the time commitment was immense."

Meri Tenhet

Meri Tenhet
Elevated Home
Sherard, MS

"Keeping on top of things meant staying on site most of the time. A lot of times it took most of my day out here because I had never done this before. Therefore I was learning as we went along. Even though [the subcontractors] were skilled professionals, we still had a lot of, you know, back and forth as to what I wanted done and what they were used to doing -- if it was something different. It was a pain, every day. I mean life gets in the way and, by the time I came out here dealt with a problem or just checked on things, it might have been three or four hours out of my day. It was a big part of my life, and it took its toll for a while, but it's all been very much worth it."

Rick Zeibarth
Timber Frame Home on an Island
Put-In-Bay, Ohio

"It took the better part of a year to complete this project And in my job of flying around the country, I couldn't be on site for a great deal of this project. The one technology that enabled me to do this project and stay on top of things was cell technology. I have a cell phone with me 24-seven, and the contractors kept in constant contact. But that means it's a 24-seven project when you're acting as your own contractor."

Paul Bergeron
Timber Frame Home
Fallen Leaf Lake, CA

"I think most people could probably be their own general contractor. I think most people could if they're willing to segregate and set out a certain amount of time. And you have to be willing to give it, say, 15 to 20 hours a week. If you don't have that time, I don't think you should bother taking this on."

Jeff Shelden
Mountain Retreat
Judith Mountains, MT

"If a person's going to take on the job of being their own contractor for something like this or something bigger, or even something smaller, I would just say be prepared for the time it's going to take you to do it. That's what general contractors get paid for, and you're not paying them for that, so you're spending the time they'd take. And,if you were paying them for that, they'd be billing you for ten, maybe twenty percent of the construction price. They don't get that money for nothing. Be prepared to be there when you need to be there."

RESOURCES :

Investing in a Vacation Home for Pleasure and Profit
Author: James H. Boykin
Order this book from Amazon.com
Publisher: South-Western Educational Pub (2005)
ISBN: 0324314116

How a Second Home Can Be Your Best Investment: New, Tax-Free Methods for Using a Vacation Home for Recreation, Retirement and Investment
Authors: Tom Kelly, John Tuccillo
Order this book from Amazon.com
Publisher: McGraw-Hill (2004)
ISBN: 0071429700