Then you need to draw up plans, and choose your materials. We wanted to do ICF (Insulated Concrete Form) because Joseph's brother had built a house with them, and they were highly recommended. We chose Logix brand ICF blocks...there are several different brands, but there was a distributor nearby, so we chose these.
The construction itself was very do-it-yourself friendly...the blocks are kind of like giant Legos. The tricky part is fitting in the window and door openings. And of course making everything straight and level.
We kept it simple and made the plans for our house just one big two-story rectangle.
Just keep stacking the blocks until you get to the desired height... then pour the concrete in between the foam blocks...
We then put in the upstairs floor. Next we covered it all up with a big tarp and took a much needed break until the next spring when we put the second floor walls up and did the second and last concrete pour. (It is possible to do this all in a much shorter amount of time, just not for us).
After that last pouring of concrete, we put on the roof and installed windows, doors, etc.
Hmmm...this all makes it sound so easy...and quick. I guess it should be, but it's NOT. This "project" has consumed our lives for almost 3 years. The house is far from being finished, but it is comfortable and functional. If I could do it all over again, I am not sure we would try to build our own home. Actually, I am sure that we would NOT try to build our own home. But, since we can't do it all over again, I am very satisfied and quite happy with the results. I really do love our house...and if you have decided to build your own home, I would highly recommend using ICF.
