You could have been anywhere in the world right now, but you’re here with me so lets make it count.
This article will illustrate how to build your own house… This will be the cheap and easy method to build a small. So don’t expect all of the frills and pomp of the million dollar Instagram houses you have been seeing or the well polished homes of Zillow. I don’t even want you to think of the spectacular tiny homes of Pinterest.
For this article we will focus on the bare bones essentials of building a house, not the particulars as I will go through all of those another time.
So shall we commence?
The Basics
To start things off you will need simple tools. This will be the barebones essentials so update your tools as you see fit but our goal will be too keep the cuts at a minimum and explain and describe things in a manner that anyone with dreams of building their own house can do so by starting small.
List Of Tools Need
Hammer (Nail Gun)- To insert nails in the lumber for a stable structure
Hand Saw (Circular Saw)- To cut dimensional lumber
Shovel Spade head- For Digging
Measuring tape 25ft- For measuring things
Shovel Standard head- For Moving dirt
Mallet-To beat things into shape when necessary and apply shims to level windows and doors)
Level (3 feet or more)-To make sure floors and or ceiling are level
Small Level- to make sure windows and doors are level
Nails/Screws- To add structural integrity to lumber pieces or affix plywood to dimensional lumber, Windows to the house frame etc.
Work Gloves- To protect those digits
Drill/Driver and assorted Bits related to screws you are using (torx, phillips,flat etc)- to easily insert screws into lumber
Bucket- for mixing cement and or holding on to nails, screws etc
Metal Tamper- For tamping gravel to make a stable base
Borrow anything you can to lower the cost except the nails and screws as you wont be able to give those back.
You will also need somewhere to build your house, but i figure that goes without saying. Please keep in mind this is the bare minimum if you follow what I tell, if you deviate from the plan you will need more.
Where to Start
The foundation. The single most important part of you build. You can do this a few different ways at relatively low cost but for the cheap and easy method we will be using ground contact Railroad timbers as they are the cheapest.
These are made to last a lifetime and like the same suggest used to tie together railroad tracks. They are the wood pieces lined up keep the metal rail structurally sound. You should know all ground contact and pressure treated lumber has a chemical cocktail that makes it far more toxic than standard lumber that is why they last so long so be sure to use gloves when handling it.
You will set these on a base of shale or some other crushed stone available to you 1/2″-3/4″ to give it a stable base.
The Method
The Railroad ties will be set parallel from each other in a line extending the length of the home. You will need at least 2 railroad tie lines and depending on the width of the home that number will increase. For simplicity and price we will be focusing on a small house roughly 320 square feet. Enough room to live a little but not big enough to increase the price dramatically in materials or increase the difficulty level.
As with most things a smaller house would be easier and less expensive but who wants to live in a 100 sq. foot hell box lol.
You will dig a hole roughly double the width of your railroad tie 1 foot deep and roughly 16 feet long. Be sure that the ground you are building on is relatively level (under 6 inches difference in height from one side to the other) and keep the line your making as straight as possible. After digging 2 more of these 16 foot long holes one roughly 7and a half feet from the first and another roughly 7.5 feet from that one.
This would make 3 long holes total. You will fill the these holes with gravel and use your hand tamper to tamp the gravel down over and over, adding more gravel when needed, until the gravel filled hole is level with the remainder of the landscape.
The gravel will allow drainage and keep your railroad ties relatively dry, allowing them to remain stable for years to come.
Leveling your structure
Now we need to get the dimensional lumber. For the floor joist you will be using 2x8x16’s. That means theoretically they are 2 inches wide, 8 inches tall and 16 feet long. In actuality they are typically 1.5 inches wide 7.25 inches tall and 16’1″ long . This is important because we wont be cutting the dimensional lumber when we can help it so your house will be 16″1′ long. You will also be getting 2x4s at one point but in 92 5/8 length (this is for finishing purposes in regards to drywall inside of the house) however, our only focus is the exterior build at the moment.
You will place your railroad ties on the gravel bed you made. For the moment you will leave the 2 outside rows alone focusing on the middle row. Use your level down the length of the 16 foot making sure the ties are level with one another. If not you may have to dig and remove gravel until you get that bubble of the level directly in the center.
Once you have the middle ties level you will place the railroad ties on ether the right or the left side of the middle row, not both. Be sure to measure the distance from the middle row to the outside row and make sure it is 7’6″ exactly at for the length of the railroad tie row. Then using your dimensional lumber (2x8x16) and level you will make sure the outside row is level with the middle one. Do this by placing the the lumber in position so it overhangs the middle row and end row equally, then place your level on top of the 2×8 in the space between the two rail road tie rows. Once you go up and down the length of both rows making sure the outside row is level with the middle row you will then remove the dimensional lumber and take your level to the outside row and make sure the length of the row is level down its length just to double check.
I know this may sound complicated but the goal is to make sure both lengths of railroad ties are level for the the 16 feet length. You will rinse and repeat with the last row, placing the dimensional lumber over both of the level rows and using that as your guide to measure the third.
This may take quite a bit of time and frustration to get right but as i said before it is the most important aspect of the build. So be sure to take your time and do it right.
How to Build Your Own House: Recap
So far we have discussed a basic list of tools and the simple skills needed to build your own house, simplifying complicated task wherever possible so anyone could accomplish this goal.
Remember that the foundation is key, even for a quick and cheap build. You have to assure you start with a stable and level base before moving forward and that includes the drainage with the gravel. As I discussed above there are other methods to building a foundation but none as quick , stable and low priced as railroad ties.
Should I continue with the series going through every aspect of building a cheap house quick? Let me know in the comments below.
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