Building a house step by step

Check with your local building codes office, they'll give you a checklist of what you need to do and what needs to be inspected and when. You actually should get one when you get the building permit.

When you get the land perked they'll give you a septic permit...for a small fee. Before you can get temp power you'll need to get the building permit, fee dependent on size of the house. Water, if you're going city water, can be gotten at any time without a permit...again for a much larger fee.

 

Actually you need to know wehre your septic is going to be and the well site basically first. In my county the well must be at least 150' away from the septic. No sense is clearing a bulding site then finding out the water well will be 500 ft from the house and nothing perks at the cleared site for a septic. House site really depends on water and septic location unless you want to spend a tone of $$ trenching water and septic lines to your chosen house site. My county guy perked 4 different sites that I had picked out for house and I chose the one with the best well site closest to the house site.

 

I think it was a back issue of COUNTRYSIDE that had an article about some folks that built a steel framed house (with metal on the outside too) and were living in it, had it fixed up like a conventional house inside. Does anyone remember what issue that was in????

 

Look in the library or book store for Ken Kern's Owner Built Home. Its a classic. I don't know if will answer all your questions.

 

While you are at the Library look for some books by Charles or Chuck Wing. He wrote a number of excellent owner build books. Also you might enjoy a book by Tracy Kidder called House. Its a sort of diary about the design and building of his house. an excellent winter read.