Build a shed first. There are lots of free designs online. Choose one with a window so you’ll know how to frame openings and fit windows and doors. Put the type of siding you’d want for the house on it.

Then build a detached garage, get experience with pouring a slab, attaching walls to a foundation, trusses, more practice with exterior doors and windows, insulation, wiring. If you’re really feeling confident you could put a half bath in it to practice plumbing.

You should be ready for the house at this point. You’ll either love it or hate it so much you’ll just hire someone to do it for you. Having a shed and garage on site is a big plus for building a house since it gives you a warm dry place to work and store your tools. I’ve known people who built their garage first so they could live out of it while building the house, only works if you’re a bachelor though.

For TV viewing, try to watch the "fixing the stuff that went wrong" style TV/YouTube shows, where a builder is going around going, "Oh god, you can't do that that way, do that this way".

Part of learning is learning from mistakes -- you learn which parts of the "correct" way to do something are essential, and you learn why the correct way is correct, when the incorrect way fails. Ideally, that's the part you want to outsource as much as possible; if you were working with an experienced builder, they'd be correcting you constantly to keep the mistakes from affecting the build, but hopefully YouTube can at least show you the big "don't"s.

Pro-tip: most fasteners (nails and screws) are not "structural"; they hold wood in place, but they don't support weight. That's why eg windows are framed the way they are, instead of just nailing a 2x4 between two others; it allows each piece of wood to be supported directly by another.

> Pro-tip: most fasteners (nails and screws) are not "structural"; they hold wood in place, but they don't support weight. That's why eg windows are framed the way they are, instead of just nailing a 2x4 between two others; it allows each piece of wood to be supported directly by another.

Very good tip. So very often I see decks (for example) built improperly, relying on non structural fasteners to hold it all together. This kind of stuff tends to fail in a number of years. I've seen a few collapsed porch roofs for the same reasons. Make sure your fasteners are rated for how they're used. A general rule of thumb is that wood sits on wood, not attached to the side.

whats your best youtube channel recommendations for "stuff went wrong" style construction learning

Matt Risinger on youtube has some good ones. Most of his videos also have comparisons of construction methods, too. New vs. old, expensive vs. cheap. Other videos have some 'best practices'.

Here's one about corners some contractors often cut: 10 DUMB (and Common) Building Practices https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuUxUt6MwIU

Here's another about his regrets about how he remodeled his own house: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HYROAFgp7Y

I don't have a good playlist or show to link off-hand, but here's a wonderful video about someone finding terrible things in their old house: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v33Gb2xPhU

In general you want "fixing old houses" videos that focus more on the tear down and guts and less on the "look how pretty my house looks at the end" before & afters.

I found this book to be extremely insightful on the process and pitfalls. Communication in writing and being specific about grading specs for various finishes was one of my big takeaways. There's a lot more to it though. Having an architect act as an independent PM may be a good idea too if you forgoe a GC.

That said, I didn't follow through yet and haven't built anything myself. Even if you do use a GC it's still a great read.

https://www.buildwise.org/review-what-your-contractor-cant-t...

Edit: I did get as far as talking to my go-to mortgage banker about construction financing, and learned that self-GC'd projects are pretty much not finance-able through traditional paths. Many of these projects end up unfinished, with the GC-owner running out of money. And with no certificate of occupancy they can't be easily sold or refinanced.

Having an architect can be helpful but it can also be significantly more expensive and if there is a problem, then you are likely to be pulled into the argument anyway.

Definitely communication, good diagrams, developing a good rappour with the contractor and not being overly tight or strict with them otherwise you can build resentment. For example, don't withhold all of their expected money because of a single piece of dodgy drywall, give them most or all of the money and make sure they make-good first thing next week.

Spend 3 months watching YouTube, you'll probably learn more tips than many contractors know. Then 3 months practicing small mock-ups - building forms, frames, stairs, windows, roofs, installing insulation, vapor barriers, sheeting, drywall. A fancy shed isn't a bad place to start.

Plan on hiring a plumber, electrician, and HVAC specialist. Probably another 3-6 months to figure out all the paperwork.

The channel "Essential Craftsman" is finishing building a spec house. It's an American-style house, with timber framing. The host, Scott Wadsworth, knows a lot about contracting, and gives a lot of details and advice.

The playlist currently has 126 videos. It's here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGCC-_Cuhhw&list=PLRZePj70B4...

My impression after watching most of it: It might be "easy" to build your own house once you are an experienced contractor. If that's not you, then it's going to be a second job, or even a third job (building and learning). You will need to hire and manage subcontractors - the kind of job the contractor does. If you like that sort of thing and that's how you want to spend your time, go for it. I personally think that my time would be better spent finding a better job in tech and getting a promotion, so I can hire a professional to do all that.

As a former builder and current handyman (now cloud architect) I can wholeheartedly recommend this channel. That guy knows his stuff. My only warning is that he's a perfectionist and purest. If you do things his way without any experience it will take you 10x as long.

Is he really though? His non-spec-house videos talk about allowable tolerances and he free hands beveled cuts on a Skilsaw. Granted, those free hand cuts look better than my 90deg ones done with a saw guide but still, would a "perfectionist" do that? I'm specifically thinking of that weird looking shed video.

I think he only really goes over the top with concrete.

Framing he's not too bad but I was cringing watching him perfect the sill anchor bolt placement on the spec house.

His finish work is finicky. I'm thinking of those craftsman columns on the spec house. Most people would just caulk and be happy with it.

For framing I love Larry Haun's videos and technique. There's nothing like watching a master just blaze through a project and make it look dead easy, while also explaining it simply. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh6cMQnWGwA&list=PLv8J8XldbK...

> 3 months practicing small mock-ups

Each mock-up slightly bigger than the last, until one day...

If you make each mock-up twice as big you'll spend at most double the amount.

Modern Practical Joinery, by George Ellis (circa 1910).

Neither modern, nor practical, but it has excellent drawings on how to build everything in a house out of wood and nails.

Decades of FPL.gov data on lumber species pretty much agree with his assessments from the 19th century as well.

My father mostly built the house I grew up in. He was mechanically inclined and a skilled woodworker but had no construction experience. So he took a series of residential construction courses at the local community college.

https://success.cabrillo.edu/Student/Courses/Search?subjects...

I really liked Canada mortgage and housing corporation abridged building code: https://chbanl.ca/wp-content/uploads/CMHC-Canadian-Wood-Fram...