We began by laying the trusses upside down between the wall frames. My son would lift them, I'd grab

Picture this: You, sipping lemonade, relaxing in the living room of the home you built yourself. It's taken the better part of three years, but you own the house free and clear. No mortgage company has their hands on your home.
Sound impossible? Are you convinced you haven't got the talent budget car rental chicago to build your own home? I'm here to remove those misconceptions. You can achieve your dream of home ownership by building it yourself. I did. Hundreds of other people I know have done the same thing. They directed their ambition and took charge of their lives and destiny.
Consider this: A residential mortgage will amount to as much as three times the purchase price of a house over the life of the payment schedule. A $100,000 budget car rental chicago house would cost more than $314,000 at 10 percent interest amortized over 30 years. The monthly mortgage payment can amount to as much as half your regular income. What would you do with an extra $873 every month? Another important reason for building your own home is the family. Building your family home will bring a family closer together in ways you wouldn't dream possible. The greatest reward is each family member recognizes their contribution budget car rental chicago made a difference, providing self-esteem that will last a lifetime.
I can practically hear your reaction now: I can't possibly build a home. I know some carpentry, but I know nothing about   electrical or plumbing or roofing. To these concerns, I would say: Reach inside yourself for the strength budget car rental chicago that will sustain the pursuit of your objective and go for it. My family and I did, and here's how:
In 1992 I unexpectedly lost my job and nearly lost my home to a mortgage company. My wife, Cyndi, and I agreed we never wanted even to approach that fate again. We resolved to build a home, paycheck by paycheck, without a mortgage. If we could live on the property, we could spend the equivalent of a mortgage payment on building materials each month. We explained the decision budget car rental chicago to our two children budget car rental chicago and sought their commitment, as well. At the time our son, Darius, was 10, and our daughter, Cassandra, was only 7. I remember her big, round eyes looking up, asking if she would have her own bedroom.
The whole family began the project with enthusiasm. My wife knew construction was in my soul, and even though she felt overwhelmed by the project, she expressed excitement budget car rental chicago and optimism. This early commitment was essential budget car rental chicago to the success of the project. My son always echoed our motivation when, for instance, we'd pass up first-run movies or dinner budget car rental chicago in a nice restaurant. "We need to save money for building materials; let's wait till we're finished building," he'd say. Big words and big concepts for a preteen, and his focus on our goal kept us inspired.
Within a year we left our home in Mesa, Arizona, for Tucson, Arizona, where I had found a job. We temporarily lived in a friend's mobile home while we shopped for property and used the time to discuss our future home's layout and design. We picked everyone's brains for design ideas, kept notes and later sifted through those ideas for those that fell outside the bounds of rea son or practicality. For example, each of the children wanted a really big room - larger than our planned living room - but we con vinced them more modest rooms would work as well. Cyndi wanted a sewing room in an attic, but I knew that I couldn't build that without some professional help, so that idea had to go. Cyndi did insist the kids have their own bathrooms, and that plan did make the final cut. Now that they're teen-agers, we especially appreciate this luxury. I remember drawing the plan using a piece of finished budget car rental chicago plywood as my drafting table. I drew most of the floor plan while watching Super Bowl XXVII, sitting on the floor, since we'd packed our furniture in a cargo container. I finished the plans over the next week. By then we'd found an acre site with utilities. The price was right and the land was just what we wanted.
People who achieve success in such a project share some common traits. Attitude toward your project is the most important. Keep your eyes on the prize. Share your vision with family members and keep them motivated. Here are some other suggestions from one who's been there:
1. Be Considerate. This means to everyone - your family first. Be considerate to your boss for paying you so you can do this project; your neighbors for enduring it; your helpers, salesmen, building inspectors and everyone you meet. The Golden Rule works as well now as it did in kindergarten. Being considerate budget car rental chicago means avoiding actions that adversely affect others.
2. Be Patient. budget car rental chicago Your project may take several years. Do not grow weary or impatient. Be the tortoise, not the hare. You'll win by being persistent. Maintain morale. Get some rest away from your project when you need to.
3. Be Careful. The cost of your project should not be an injury. Keep a clean project site. Maintain safety rules. Be methodical in your actions. Look before budget car rental chicago you leap. Watch one another. And parents, above all, watch your children.
5. Be open to new ideas concepts and ways of doing things. Listen to the advice of others in a position to know. Accept setbacks and respond with renewed optimism. Remember character building budget car rental chicago is like house building: It's supposed to be tough, otherwise everyone would do it.
We bought a travel trailer and moved it to our property. Our first step was to get a building permit for the home, which made it possible to bring electricity budget car rental chicago to our site. We submitted plans, paid fees and got our building permit. We had saved enough money the first month to purchase the land, get the permit and install a septic tank, giving us all the comforts of home. We moved there in March 1993, and our young family had a home for the next few years. We outgrew the trailer quickly, so I added a porch that covered the outdoor washing machine. The next month's funds paid to excavate the basement. I had experience surveying and laid out the foundation with my family's help in holding the elevation rod.
Two months later, we were able to buy the concrete needed for the foundation and slab. I paid for 25 cubic yards of concrete and a day's labor for eight concrete finishers, and we had a slab. We waited two more months, saving enough to purchase 1,500 concrete blocks for the basement walls. I traded an older car we had for a day of work from 10 masons. With my son's help, I mixed and poured grout into the cavities of the block walls, waterproofed then backfilled around the basement.
By late July, four months after we started, the trailer seemed to be getting smaller every day. Though our spirits were high, nerves were growing raw in such close quarters. We knew that finishing the house would mean living through winter in a rick poorly insulated travel trailer. About this time, I read an article touting the value of a backyard gazebo. I realized I could use the gazebo structure as the basis for an enclosed, insulated room, which would make a more suitable home for our family during construction. I could build the structure quickly and we could use it for something else after our home was built. I drew up the plans and got a permit. A friend who was helping pour the foundation made an offhand remark that this design looked like one his cousin built in Mexico, except that his was two stories tall. Then it hit me. Cyndi and I could have some privacy with a small bedroom above the main floor. The foundation was large enough for two stories, so I revised the plan to include a 17x10-foot bedroom.
I bought a wall-mounted heat pump for $5 at a garage sale, and we moved in just after Thanksgiving. We built the floor framing over the basement, installed floor decking and covered it with a large blue tarp. Then we moved our entire life's collection of material wealth into the basement. It had been more than a year since we'd seen some of our belongings. It had been difficult for our kids to do without their toys and special keepsakes, and reveling in our rediscovered possessions felt a bit like Christmas.
In the coming months we continued framing the walls for the main floor. I had some tools but needed to buy an air compressor and used table saw. I built a worktable out of scrap material and let both our children budget car rental chicago participate in its construction. budget car rental chicago My son was almost 13 by now, and capable of significant work. My daughter helped as she could: picking up nails, carrying tools and, most important, bringing us lunch. I discovered allowing them to participate in the work gave them a true sense of ownership: Not only was it their home, they were helping build it.
Well into our second year of construction, I found a truss company that had built 20 trusses 6 inches too long for another project. But they were exactly right for my home. I made a deal and got the trusses at a considerable bargain, budget car rental chicago an acquisition that accelerated the building project.
Throughout the entire building process, our project attracted considerable attention from neighbors and friends, so we had enough volunteer help to do the heavy lifting when we needed such assistance. But my son and I erected all the trusses. And it was here we had a close call.
We began by laying the trusses upside down between the wall frames. My son would lift them, I'd grab them and connect to the previous truss with a temporary scaffold connection. budget car rental chicago One day I lost control of a truss, and it swung like a pendulum right toward my son. He fell to the floor, averting a serious accident. I thanked God he was OK and vowed to make the project more safety conscious thereafter.
The process of building our home had some unexpected benefits, as well. One Saturday I had begun to install roof decking and looked up to see my neighbor, Dan Beckel, walking over with a tool belt around his waist. He said, "Good morning." budget car rental chicago Then he began installing the decking with me. I feel truly blessed to have Dan as my friend and neighbor. My project initially was meant to provide a home for my family, which it