I'm an Architect and a Journeyman Carpenter, and I keep telling people BUILD IT YOURSELF. Materials is about 20% of the cost of a house, the rest is labor. RUclips is your virtually loaded with DIY tutorials done by contractors and skill craftsmen if you do a little searching, just like cooking.
Incorrect. The only person who really needs to be licensed is the code enforcers. Those who are in trade is there as an extension of code. As the original poster stated. Building material is 20% of the cost and 80% is the labor required to get the build done correctly the first time and pass code inspection.
I agree with you. Where I live, I can even do the licensed trades like plumbing and electric on my own house (not anyone else's). There is a local vocational school that has evening classes in construction basics. It is a great idea because the cost of housing rising so fast and the quality of the builds so low.
Doing something such as this by one’s self is rather unusual. Having said that, I’ve lived in Alaska for 40 years and this is pretty close to what I did. Working in a remote area, by yourself, having a goal and achieving is very gratifying. When you’re done and look at what you did and get that great feeling of accomplishment and sort of chuckle at everyone who were doubters. We built a 1500 sq.ft. addition onto a 900 sq.ft. house, including trusses, concrete, windows and doors for about 15K. Labor adds up quickly.
Wow, so nice to see detailed videos for Swedish building standard. Much appreciated, since most of the content on youtube is from US and not so applicable in Europe. Looking forward to it!
This is absolutely awesome in my opinion. Now if they taught everyone in schools how to build homes we’d all be able to do it and live our lives without massive mortgages. This video is very inspiring, too bad I don’t have the know how….
Same, if you have a neighbor in construction, you can speak to him and I'm sure he'd help with your first job and from there you'll learn how to do it without paying an arm and a leg.
They used to have woodworking classes in high school, where my brother built a home with his class and other classes. Today, they worry you remove yourself from being a cog in their machine. Exit the system and live. Screw them. peace and love
Rightttttt! Nothing to it. A few permits- every step of the way- not to mention the months you are not producing income on a PAYING job. Might want to do a REAL cost analysis before you jump in.
I think my favorite feature of this is the tacked-on scaffolding on the walls. In all my years it has never crossed my mind to do that, and it is SO obviously a quick and easy solution to a constant problem.
It's the safest and most efficient way to work. I did the same when I built my 24x30 shop. Put up the 4 walls then built full deck scaffolding all around to get the second floor, roof, siding, etc done. The day it took to build was well worth the effort.
In Ireland we call a one and a half storey house a dormer bungalow. This is a great video. I love the hammer band. I never heard of it but I want to do it in my upcoming garden room
Man I'm a carpenter with 35 years on the tools well done. I couldn't build that for myself here in Australia with the price of the materials. I work alone 90% of the time, your build methods make sound practical & logical sense to me I can work around most problems alone the only drawback is I find myself traveling around the job site twice as much to accomplice the same thing as compared to having a labour to help that's ok. But after a long day I hate packing up the tools by myself it seems to take forever. Its horses for courses.
@@NoName-qv8ko Lol I had to do some conversions to figure out what that meant. A 20 foot long 2x4. As of October 2024, a 16 foot 2x4 is 10 bucks Canadian. We are a "metric" Country mm Metres Km litres but construction is still done in Imperial 2x4 2x6 2x8 lumber in 8 10 12 16 foot lengths. Sheet ply is 1/4 1/2 3/4 inch in 4x8 foot sheets etc. Probably due to our proximity to the USA which is 10x our population and "it was always measured that way in construction" so why re-invent the wheel kind of thinking.
i learned so much from these videos. thank you! there is a lot i can copy in my own build and when i do, i'd like to buy you a bottle of something expensive because i think you have saved me a ton of money.
A person with this much foresight could accomplish other astonishing things with just a little more help. Imagine 3 people working together using this style. Wow. Very impressive solo work.
Fantastic! I build solo quite often. It requires some imagination from time to time in order to accomplish some things that would normally take two or even three people. I honestly enjoy it most of the time.
very impressive. truly. you are like me, always having to work alone. my kids are grown, in their late 20s, and have lives. ill study the technique, im making a barn. It doesnt have to be as good, just sturdy to hold my tractor. I cleared all my land. Now I have acres for a vinyard and tree farm ill plant and maintain by myself. Im 57, a weightlifter, but not as limber or young as you. I'll just do my best. Wonderful video, inspirational.
I have many times regretted that I didn't learn a trade when I was younger. Watching this video at the same time as I'm "framing" my own house in Sketchup Free has been a huge learning experience for me. Thanks for taking the effort to share your experience as a craftsman as well as tricks of the trade! It's really invaluable information for people who are interested in learning a trade. You are building almost identical to how it's done in Norway. I haven't seen the hammer band used before, but it makes sense from an engineering standpoint. I believe a double top sill plate is the standard in Norway, but then again I'm not an expert.
Man, that was really impressive getting those trusses up. Just curious why do didn't throw down some plywood on your joists to move around easier and safer though.
Recien encontre tu video...y me suscribi de inmediato. Eres un genio al construir solo esa casa, y hasta con subterraneo, increible. Te veo desde el sur de Chile.
Extraordinary building process! You have very rare type of polished skills...The only thing I don’t accept is that you "feel safe" - don’t feel, make it.
I work by myself for the most part. I have noticed several different building methods from what we have here in the states. Our OSB is rated for a certain number of days of complete submersion. The stuff they are using for floors now days is rated very high. I remember when osb first came out. They put so much glue in it you could leave a house with it sheathed on the floor, outside walls and roof for a year and you couldn’t tell it had ever gotten wet. I like working on a deck not on floor joists. I like the trusses you built. I have worked mostly cabinets and trim. It is easy to tell you have done a lot of framing.
Right on man, I built a 20x16 garage on my own last year. First time building something of that size and it took me about 4 months. But hey, only one way to learn and earn experience.
I flip houses and primary work by myself. I like not being disappointed if someone doesn’t show up or shows up but doesn’t work hard. I also enjoy figuring out how to get things done alone. With that said you did an amazing job👍
Great job doing & more importantly explaining the “how & the “why”. Thank you for making it look so easy. It must feel like that for a newbie to feel confident & a knock or two later “really” get it. But the great thing is to get people to move out of inertia & you had done it successfully to say the least. 😊
Just came across your channel. Great video! I'm a young architect from Latvia and many times I feel like I lack understanding of how to actually build what I'm drawing. Your explanations are really helpful and I see how I can improve my drawings so they are better for builders to work with.
You are absolutely right to understand that you must have a communication with the builders, together we can do wonders. good luck and make sure to be there with the builders :)
(Not trying to pick on you) IMO, an architect that's never built anything is like a swimming instructor who's never jumped in a lake. One can read books, have someone demonstrate, watch videos, get classroom lessons from a professor, still = zero experience.
Since I posted this video, the most common question has been why I didn't build the floor before erecting the walls and why we don't stabilize the frame with sheet material., which is completely understandable. There are several reasons, 1: I build by myself and it goes slower than a whole team, if I lay the floor before there is a big chance that the weather will change, the floor, and especially the insulation will be ruined by rain. 2: with a floor, I cannot raise the trusses with the technique I show. 3: climate... in Sweden, the weather changes all the time, if I lay a floor at this stage, there is a big risk that it will start to rain. I'm not so worried about the floor board but the insulation below which is thick and almost impossible to dry out in cold climates. I can cover in between but it's too complicated. The carpenters who have taught me baled on the joists all the time, and that's how I got my technique. Many also wonder why we don't stabilize the frame with sheet material. We do that afterwards. When the walls are erected, they are temporarily stabilized with tie rods. We will later replace them with another wall that is cross-insulated and where all electricity and water are installed. don't worry, the walls are closer to 30cm or 12 inches when finished, don't think many houses have walls as thick as us up north. I sometimes mention that I want the house to be able to breathe, this is not entirely true, but I mix two methods where the house is tight on the inside but open diffused on the outside. According to new research, a house should be airtight. I agree to a certain extent. I have chosen to mix methods by sealing the house from the inside with joint foam and a vapor barrier that is close to 100% tight, but everything outside of that I want to be able to breathe, so to speak. The idea is that the house will not become leaky, but if moisture penetrates, I want it to find its way out. I believe in mixing the methods as completely tight houses do not work here, I have seen it myself with my own eyes. This is a tough debate where both sides have a point. This is my opinion so make your own decision or pick a side
OMG, not safe, one wrong move and you can break your neck or your ribs or something. Man throw some plywoodd sheets down and then remove them at the end of you think it is going to rain. Also you should know that screws are not very strong like nails. Nails will bend while screws will crack and break easily.
Nah, this is how im used to do it. And about nails... modern screws are actually stronger that nails and i only need half as many. I know it's a hot topic, but Europe has come far when it comes to screws.
@@kierandoherty1600 Yes exactly, it's there for a couple of different reasons. To help with the weight of the trusses, To create a beam over windows and to stabilize the wall.
I have watched dozens of house buildings related videos, yours is by far the best. The video editing, the clear description, and the building methods. Especially, the truss setup section, which was a very clever way. I was a building contractor 20 years ago so I built many projects all by myself after retirement, my latest project was installing solar panels system all by myself. You have outdone me by miles. I am going to watch all of your videos. Thanks for sharing.
Hello from Canada Thank-you for sharing your amazing skills!! My husband has been a construction carpenter for 40 years and has built 4 houses using standard Canadian building methods since retiring from construction 11 years ago. His dream is to build a house on his own and you're energy efficient building methods are inspiring! He was wondering if you would consider letting in permanent bracing (1x4 or 2x4) into the exterior walls as well as the hammerband prior to standing them up? The permanent let in bracing would offer additional lateral support until the interior osb sheathing would be applied. We're also looking forward to your next house build!!
Very cool. I also have built plenty mostly on my own. That first truss though not shown on the video I bet was the hardest. Very dangerous work at every move a slip and that's the end of the day. I wish I could go to Sweden someday and see how different you guys build compared to Colorado, USA. Props to real work. Framing houses is no joke, yet one of the most satisfying parts of construction.
yes, the first truss requires some extra work to fasten, so it doesn't tip over. This method is most likely not accepted on a construction site today and if i would see my son do this by him self i would ground him for a year :) 20 years ago this was how we did it, however things has changed. Same goes, it would be interesting to your country to see how you guys build stuff. We build the same things but in different ways.
To a beginner like me this is intimidating. Thank you for sharing, I'll bookmark this video since I wanted to know how challenging framing a house alone could be.
haha, funny you say that because that's exactly what happened. The neighbors above have their house as a summer house, they came last week to look after it. They stood in my parking lot and stared with the grocery bags still in hand for ten minutes before they came and knocked on the door. The frame goes always quick so that is a quite common reaction
@@mindsparx1 that's really funny, I've had simular happen where an old house was transported away and we had fully framed and external finished a far larger house The neighbors weren't impressed when the returned home from their 2 month holiday to find they had lost their very nice view of a lake and mountains due to the new house being 2 levels and tall stud
I'm saving to build my own house, also primarily by myself. I'm planning to use ICF forms. They are extremely easy to work with by yourself. Just need a little extra help on pour day. A pump truck and an extra person could be enough.
I built a 12ft wide shed by myself and raised the trusses myself. Lazily i built the trusses with 2x4 but with the wood sideways, so i had 4 inches to attach my sheeting from above, not in an area with any snow load to consider.
Great work!!! Can definitely appreciate working solo. 💪 My biggest concern with doing it this way is floor decking and not running it under the wall system. Seems like it just creates more work 🙄
There's a lot about this that creates more work lol. This place is FAR from framed, and there is a whole lot of little extra steps now to forget or neglect, things he "will do later" are all adding up every other minute lol
I have built several buildings and had to use prefab trusses. I did build the trusses once but the inspector wanted them certified by an engineer? My trusses were sronger than the ones you purchase from a builder supply house? I stood them up by myself I used a different method than you used. I call it the swing method, where you mount the trusses on the plates as you did and then swing them up rather than useing a rope. I do like your method. I can see where it might be just as easy as my method?
Please show how you secure the flooring at the two ends as you have covered up the end joists with wall plates. Also do you solid block under the outside edges of the flooring because they do not land on the rim joist? I guess you will show us later how you put stairs up to the second level as I am guessing you have 24 inches between trusses. I think building your own trusses saved a bundle.
There is a joist on the short sides to support the chipboard floor. On the long side I have no support as the insulation is to be cross-insulated, which means that there is a horizontal 2-by-4 on the high edge all the way, that joist is screwed into the floor and acts as support from above instead of having the support between the floor rules, a bit difficult to explain but I'll show later, you save some time and money on it. I will put more joists upstairs CC60, but the stairs will go up between 120 cm as you mention. I'll build the stairs in place later and it's quite fun. Have done it loads of times.
Nice work. Same thing here in Canada, it's rare to get a stretch long enough where it won't rain, so each step needs to be planned in a way that if it rains it won't ruin anything. Trying to navigate days off and weather can be a pain. Can end up with weeks without being able to do anything.
I know you don't want your subfloor wet, but I used to frame in Seattle - famous for rain - and that was never an issue. Faster and safer with a subfloor and it'll dry out. (In Idaho they frame with snow on the subfloor.) And while the wall is on the deck you can square it, add the exterior sheathing and then raise it. It'll stay square and you don't need the temporary 45's. An added benefit is no one is on a ladder with a sheet of plywood or OSB trying to attach it vertically. Maybe no big deal on the ground floor, but much safer and faster on the next floor up. If you really, really don't want to fasten the subfloor before the walls, at least put a couple down loose to work on. Just my 2 cents.
PNW here too. Yea these euro builders are pretty different lol. No reason not to put the subfloor down. They dont use our materials either ie zip sheeting spray foam glues etc. I prefer our way for sure. We build in freezing rains, snow etc. Gotta blow torch the ice off the subfloor or top plates for trusses. Stick frames are meant to get and dry out. Technology nowadays for stick framing has come a long ways the last few decades
I live and frame in North Idaho, and I can confirm we be doin crazy ass shit in the rain, snow, and ice lol. I'd rather pay a 2nd person $20/hr just to move material and help me raise shit, don't gotta even wear bags just bring me lumber lol worth the cash for the added speed and safety.
Yes, that is how I framed our house in 1977. The installed subfloor is a good working surface, By attaching the sheathing to the exterior wall sections before tilting them into place, the house is soon closed in, I bought pre-made trusses to speed up the process of framing the roof. I enjoyed watching this video,
that actually helped allot. i have been thinking about building my own house, but was struggling to figure out how to build/ place my own roof. i eventually would have figure it out, but probably after many man many hours of frustration and getting... well lets just stop there haha. thanks for the video. super helpful!
That’s excellent work! Very resourceful. I am building an oval pole barn (10 posts) greenhouse with a 32ft and 26ft diameter span at the longest and shortest points. I will put a 3 ply girder truss and will hang the remaining 8 primary rafters from the peak of the girder truss. Still have to figure out a couple brackets that will accommodate 4 rafters on each side of the girder truss and how I’m going to get the girder trusses up by myself. Total of over 600lbs but you’ve got me thinking. Hopefully goes as smoothly for me! Thanks for the inspiration!
Built my house by myself. Mostly in the winter from10 below to 20 below zero F. After enough experience of doing everything by yourself you can get a lot more done than having most people "helping." And most people would never think of making a long wall in sections as they learn only one way everything is to be done and can't think of another.
Very interesting - thanks. I worked on framing crews here in the States and the work was brutal. I'm curious as to how you headered the basement doorway because it appears as if only a 2'x spans the doorway. Also, almost all of my tools are cordless now, which saves a lot of time.
It is brilliant to build the deck prior to the house. Having a flat, clean and draining platform to work off of must help immensely. If you plan to build one anyway, why not start with it?
Super impressed, but you are correct in saying how dangerous it can be. The biggest safety issue was you walking on the joists without a floor. Additionally, you joined the wall studs to the plate directly, whereas most builders would lay down their floor BEFORE they attached the studs. One other safety issue would be (if it were me) to wear a helmet, especially as you put in the trusses.
Yes, exactly, it's easy when you know. If you're not a builder, you usually don't know that there is a standard. if you know the method, you save a lot of time and money. Might be good to know :)
@@meandnature6452 The frame is cheaper than you think, this is where the companies make money. The house is 90 square meters and 6.50m high. 220x45 C24 stud is around 8Eur meter and 170x45 C24 is around 6Eur meter for now, use to be half of that.
@@mindsparx1 A 2x4 costs 4 euro per meter so i guess same price. I think its quite pricy compared to what it was. The frame should be the cheap part on s house
. Am about to start to build mine one and am looking for moee details like how did you attach the wood to the blocks and much details which you show but far.. t. You did a awesome job
@@morrisl7 I believe our notion was to just put some kind of workable deck on. Sheets of plywood or planks just for safety.. Move em when or if they get in the way of the truss operation.
Studs are much bigger than traditional ones of 90x35mm. Reinforced with the hammer strings at the top ( like lintels) - haven't seen that before, for added strength. His trusses are using bigger timber pieces, snow load - must meet building code there. Enjoyed watching, the guy is very efficient & a monster, building on his own.
I learned a lot from your video. 1. Building the scaffolding on side the house using the wall is genius. 2. Building the porch first so you have a clean and level place to work from. Genius. 3. Lifting the rafters up by yourself. Genius. 4. Lifting them all up before you run out of room.......and then pushing them out to the end as you go...and walking on them at the same time....genius. 5. Waiting until you have a roof on before you put the floor down (so it does not get wet). Genius. ....... and all of this was on the first video. Can not wait to watch the other ones. Keep up the great work. Question? Why did you extend the rafters? Where I live......we build them to lenght.........cut to the correct angle....and then install.....it is all one piece of wood......yet it looks like you built them short.......to only come back and add on to them.......I realize that part of the house is just for the over hang........ but was this to keep the cost down?
Absolutely love it. I have done construction my whole life(57) So i I have built everything thing for 200 room hotels(frame to finish) in side of concrete honey comb in Hawaii too a tiny to shead in Illinois. FCUK the nay sayers. By the way it does NOT look all that dangerous to me😊❤👍❤👍❤👍😊
What excellent craftsmanship. Thanks for sharing. I hope these videos help with cost. I must remain humble since I cannot build such things, but it's ok to dream. I am working on my first tiny house. :).
Is there any specific reason you opted for a rim joist on that crawlspace pony wall instead of lapping the floor joists and using roll blocks? I’ve been framing for 15 years, and it seems to me that doing it this way it could allow for your floor joists to twist overtime. Also, when platform, framing, Which is the method of subfloor you opted for, floor sheeting, is supposed to go on before your exterior walls. Rain isn’t the end of the world. I’ve been framing my whole career out here in the Pacific Northwest.
Fascinated in how you lifted the trusses! I recall building a large timber frames school in NZ and I was the Project Manager. I had the boys make up a small section of the wall framing [200 x 50 timber, studs and dwangs] and was surprised to have one of the crew ask me back out onto site to "see" the wall. Well, the small section of wall was laying flat on the floor [should mention that the stud height was 3.2 m]. They then asked me to lift it. Shit, was it heavy! I think about 8 of us struggled and managed to get it lifted and into place. After that, I had a small HIAB on site for lifting all the wall framing!
I've been trying to figure out how I will do the the roof of the garage I plan on building for 3 years now. I know I'm gonna have to do it by myself, thank you. I'll be working from the ground though and with a much easier pitch so I'm sure I can do this
I once watched a video of a building inspector that showed the strength of nail vs screws. Screws are brittle and can fracture during expansion and contraction of a building. He used screws to temporarily hold something place but final assembly was always with nails. Might even be code in some places. Not so where you live?
I designed & built a 24’W x 40’L x 16’H non permanent garage 100% myself at 24 years old. I built 4 smaller 12’x20’ sheds and basically tied them together into a single structure. I made the floors strong enough to park cars on too. Cost me $8500 USD for materials… Insurance would only pay for $30k & estimates were well over that. I pocketed about $22k building it myself.🎉🎉🎉
@1:30, not capital layer, capillary layer, a weap layer so the wood doesn't touch the cement. Roofing felt works! Our US building code is the floor joists are connected to the rim, and the rim should be connected to the sill plate with an L bracket, and the sill plate connected to the cement wall with anchors (preferrable J bolts anchored 6" in the cement"). The rim joist is then connected to the wall stud with metal straps, and the wall stud connected to the truss with a hurricane clip, finally the truss is top strapped. The effect is a giant connection loop from the foundation, up the wall to the roof and back down the opposite wall. Time will tell how the house holds up to hurricane winds... Very innovative way of doing the trusses. I prefer to shear the walls before doing the roof, this gives the walls more stability.
In the usa we have building codes and the inspectors don't like it if you do anything different than everyone else does. My experience in Sacramento is they are not very informed or well trained. They wrongly questioned lots of my techniques, even though my building plans were approved.
Incredibly nice work my friend !!!!! Hats off to you and all your hard work I do hope you got to relax for a while and enjoy the fruits of your labor but somthing tells me a guy like yourself jumped right on to the next project and started building
Ingenius. I love learning about and using leverage. I'm amazed that the lumber only cost 6300. Do you go straight to a Miller or just a regular lumber yard?
Kind of recognized the trees and stuff. What really have you away was the narrative voice saying "Hammarband" instead of top plate lol. I always prefer the US way though laying down a subfloor first. Hate stepping around on the floor beams.
I'm an Architect and a Journeyman Carpenter, and I keep telling people BUILD IT YOURSELF. Materials is about 20% of the cost of a house, the rest is labor. RUclips is your virtually loaded with DIY tutorials done by contractors and skill craftsmen if you do a little searching, just like cooking.
I think the problem is legality? You need to be licensed
Incorrect. The only person who really needs to be licensed is the code enforcers. Those who are in trade is there as an extension of code. As the original poster stated. Building material is 20% of the cost and 80% is the labor required to get the build done correctly the first time and pass code inspection.
I agree with you. Where I live, I can even do the licensed trades like plumbing and electric on my own house (not anyone else's). There is a local vocational school that has evening classes in construction basics. It is a great idea because the cost of housing rising so fast and the quality of the builds so low.
I’ve often dreamed about building my own house. 100% done by myself. But life gets in the way. Maybe one day.
Also the spiritual aspect of it. It must feel great to sleep in a home you built yourself.
Doing something such as this by one’s self is rather unusual. Having said that, I’ve lived in Alaska for 40 years and this is pretty close to what I did. Working in a remote area, by yourself, having a goal and achieving is very gratifying. When you’re done and look at what you did and get that great feeling of accomplishment and sort of chuckle at everyone who were doubters.
We built a 1500 sq.ft. addition onto a 900 sq.ft. house, including trusses, concrete, windows and doors for about 15K. Labor adds up quickly.
Very nice, I'm 60 years old and if I hold out, I'm going to attempt this next year. and the Lord willing
Well, I'm close to 50, there are only 10 years between us, you can do it :)
well, how did it go?
@@MelodicDeathMetal haha
Did you make a house?
Lord, willing and the river don’t rise.
Wow, so nice to see detailed videos for Swedish building standard. Much appreciated, since most of the content on youtube is from US and not so applicable in Europe. Looking forward to it!
Thank you very much for the super thanks, much appreciated and the money goes directly in to the house.
Ah that explains my confusion. Lot of things there that my jurisdiction (Canada) would never permit. Cool to see how other countries build houses.
This is absolutely awesome in my opinion. Now if they taught everyone in schools how to build homes we’d all be able to do it and live our lives without massive mortgages. This video is very inspiring, too bad I don’t have the know how….
Then they would just make wood cost more...... just like they do with oil.
Absolutely agree with you, now they teach academics that no one will ever need and important things are left out.
Same, if you have a neighbor in construction, you can speak to him and I'm sure he'd help with your first job and from there you'll learn how to do it without paying an arm and a leg.
They used to have woodworking classes in high school, where my brother built a home with his class and other classes. Today, they worry you remove yourself from being a cog in their machine. Exit the system and live. Screw them. peace and love
we have youtube now, endless education for free!
This is so awesome. Love it. We should all try to avoid getting a mortgage and build our own houses.
Rightttttt! Nothing to it. A few permits- every step of the way- not to mention the months you are not producing income on a PAYING job. Might want to do a REAL cost analysis before you jump in.
This is by far the most efficient building process I have ever seen. This craftsman is second to none.. thanks for sharing your work with us:
I think he has the full cut list before doing any cut. That way he doesnt have to design on the go and this shaves a lot of time off
this was actually pretty inefficient lol.
@@mawfbooph1138 no its not
@@Coicker12 I frame for a living, yes it is.
@@mawfbooph1138 you must frame in a third world country because that is bass ackwards as hell.
I think my favorite feature of this is the tacked-on scaffolding on the walls. In all my years it has never crossed my mind to do that, and it is SO obviously a quick and easy solution to a constant problem.
Scaffold is a carpenters best friend. Inside and out. Very simple and fast.
yeah I discovered it when I was renovating my house totally by myself.
It's the safest and most efficient way to work. I did the same when I built my 24x30 shop. Put up the 4 walls then built full deck scaffolding all around to get the second floor, roof, siding, etc done. The day it took to build was well worth the effort.
Larry Haun just smiled
i live in the U.S. and have Zero carpentry skills, but this video is awesome and proves I could build for cheap if I tackle the issue
Very inspirational to see it done so well and with impeccable craftsmanship. “No cutting corners…”
"by a man who just saved a lot of money"... Love it!!!
I wish you can build my house in DC
It looks like all your boards are crowned correctly. It's an important step worth mentioning. Awesome build.
Well, as long as we have YOUR approval, everything is cake!
In Ireland we call a one and a half storey house a dormer bungalow. This is a great video. I love the hammer band. I never heard of it but I want to do it in my upcoming garden room
Man I'm a carpenter with 35 years on the tools well done. I couldn't build that for myself here in Australia with the price of the materials. I work alone 90% of the time, your build methods make sound practical & logical sense to me I can work around most problems alone the only drawback is I find myself traveling around the job site twice as much to accomplice the same thing as compared to having a labour to help that's ok. But after a long day I hate packing up the tools by myself it seems to take forever. Its horses for courses.
I like to have a second person just for moral support. I'm always more energetic and focused when I have a helper, and I'm not feeling overwhelmed.
how much do you think the materials would cost in Aus out of curiousity?
@@Grunklowe Put it this way a T2 90X45 cost about $37 per 6 m length.
@@NoName-qv8ko Lol I had to do some conversions to figure out what that meant. A 20 foot long 2x4. As of October 2024, a 16 foot 2x4 is 10 bucks Canadian. We are a "metric" Country mm Metres Km litres but construction is still done in Imperial 2x4 2x6 2x8 lumber in 8 10 12 16 foot lengths. Sheet ply is 1/4 1/2 3/4 inch in 4x8 foot sheets etc.
Probably due to our proximity to the USA which is 10x our population and "it was always measured that way in construction" so why re-invent the wheel kind of thinking.
i learned so much from these videos. thank you! there is a lot i can copy in my own build and when i do, i'd like to buy you a bottle of something expensive because i think you have saved me a ton of money.
Wow, you didn't have to do that, so nice of you. I will have a glass with you later today :)
The way you moved those last 6-7 trusses along was pretty awesome.
A person with this much foresight could accomplish other astonishing things with just a little more help. Imagine 3 people working together using this style. Wow. Very impressive solo work.
Fantastic! I build solo quite often. It requires some imagination from time to time in order to accomplish some things that would normally take two or even three people. I honestly enjoy it most of the time.
Agree, it's nice to only have yourself to keep track of
very impressive. truly. you are like me, always having to work alone. my kids are grown, in their late 20s, and have lives. ill study the technique, im making a barn. It doesnt have to be as good, just sturdy to hold my tractor. I cleared all my land. Now I have acres for a vinyard and tree farm ill plant and maintain by myself. Im 57, a weightlifter, but not as limber or young as you. I'll just do my best. Wonderful video, inspirational.
I have many times regretted that I didn't learn a trade when I was younger. Watching this video at the same time as I'm "framing" my own house in Sketchup Free has been a huge learning experience for me. Thanks for taking the effort to share your experience as a craftsman as well as tricks of the trade! It's really invaluable information for people who are interested in learning a trade. You are building almost identical to how it's done in Norway. I haven't seen the hammer band used before, but it makes sense from an engineering standpoint. I believe a double top sill plate is the standard in Norway, but then again I'm not an expert.
wow what a fantastic idea, to reframe it on sketchup, do you have a video on youtube? of something similar?
Man, that was really impressive getting those trusses up. Just curious why do didn't throw down some plywood on your joists to move around easier and safer though.
Recien encontre tu video...y me suscribi de inmediato. Eres un genio al construir solo esa casa, y hasta con subterraneo, increible. Te veo desde el sur de Chile.
thank you, Gracias :)
Extraordinary building process! You have very rare type of polished skills...The only thing I don’t accept is that you "feel safe" - don’t feel, make it.
I work by myself for the most part. I have noticed several different building methods from what we have here in the states. Our OSB is rated for a certain number of days of complete submersion. The stuff they are using for floors now days is rated very high. I remember when osb first came out. They put so much glue in it you could leave a house with it sheathed on the floor, outside walls and roof for a year and you couldn’t tell it had ever gotten wet. I like working on a deck not on floor joists. I like the trusses you built. I have worked mostly cabinets and trim. It is easy to tell you have done a lot of framing.
Building yourself is a joy after you have had employees :)
@@mindsparx1 I was a foreman in a shop of 8 employees. I love working by myself.
Great Job. Its very inspiring to see that there are still men like you with the energy and talent to do this. God Bless
Right on man, I built a 20x16 garage on my own last year. First time building something of that size and it took me about 4 months. But hey, only one way to learn and earn experience.
Thanks!
Thank you very much!
I flip houses and primary work by myself. I like not being disappointed if someone doesn’t show up or shows up but doesn’t work hard. I also enjoy figuring out how to get things done alone. With that said you did an amazing job👍
Great job doing & more importantly explaining the “how & the “why”. Thank you for making it look so easy. It must feel like that for a newbie to feel confident & a knock or two later “really” get it. But the great thing is to get people to move out of inertia & you had done it successfully to say the least. 😊
Just came across your channel. Great video! I'm a young architect from Latvia and many times I feel like I lack understanding of how to actually build what I'm drawing. Your explanations are really helpful and I see how I can improve my drawings so they are better for builders to work with.
You are absolutely right to understand that you must have a communication with the builders, together we can do wonders. good luck and make sure to be there with the builders :)
(Not trying to pick on you) IMO, an architect that's never built anything is like a swimming instructor who's never jumped in a lake.
One can read books, have someone demonstrate, watch videos, get classroom lessons from a professor, still = zero experience.
As a student, I found that volunteering with Habitat for Humanity was useful for building experience.
I know it's at a distance, but that's some pretty nice looking lumber. The results look great. Congrats.
Since I posted this video, the most common question has been why I didn't build the floor before erecting the walls and why we don't stabilize the frame with sheet material., which is completely understandable. There are several reasons,
1: I build by myself and it goes slower than a whole team, if I lay the floor before there is a big chance that the weather will change, the floor, and especially the insulation will be ruined by rain.
2: with a floor, I cannot raise the trusses with the technique I show.
3: climate... in Sweden, the weather changes all the time, if I lay a floor at this stage, there is a big risk that it will start to rain. I'm not so worried about the floor board but the insulation below which is thick and almost impossible to dry out in cold climates. I can cover in between but it's too complicated. The carpenters who have taught me baled on the joists all the time, and that's how I got my technique.
Many also wonder why we don't stabilize the frame with sheet material. We do that afterwards. When the walls are erected, they are temporarily stabilized with tie rods. We will later replace them with another wall that is cross-insulated and where all electricity and water are installed. don't worry, the walls are closer to 30cm or 12 inches when finished, don't think many houses have walls as thick as us up north.
I sometimes mention that I want the house to be able to breathe, this is not entirely true, but I mix two methods where the house is tight on the inside but open diffused on the outside. According to new research, a house should be airtight. I agree to a certain extent. I have chosen to mix methods by sealing the house from the inside with joint foam and a vapor barrier that is close to 100% tight, but everything outside of that I want to be able to breathe, so to speak. The idea is that the house will not become leaky, but if moisture penetrates, I want it to find its way out. I believe in mixing the methods as completely tight houses do not work here, I have seen it myself with my own eyes. This is a tough debate where both sides have a point. This is my opinion so make your own decision or pick a side
THANK YOU ! That WAS my first question. Answer makes perfect sense.
OMG, not safe, one wrong move and you can break your neck or your ribs or something. Man throw some plywoodd sheets down and then remove them at the end of you think it is going to rain.
Also you should know that screws are not very strong like nails. Nails will bend while screws will crack and break easily.
Nah, this is how im used to do it. And about nails... modern screws are actually stronger that nails and i only need half as many. I know it's a hot topic, but Europe has come far when it comes to screws.
The ''hammerband'' probably adds a lot of rigidity before sheathing?
@@kierandoherty1600 Yes exactly, it's there for a couple of different reasons. To help with the weight of the trusses, To create a beam over windows and to stabilize the wall.
I would love to have you come over to the US and have you build my house. I love your work and how you explain what you are doing.
I have watched dozens of house buildings related videos, yours is by far the best. The video editing, the clear description, and the building methods. Especially, the truss setup section, which was a very clever way. I was a building contractor 20 years ago so I built many projects all by myself after retirement, my latest project was installing solar panels system all by myself. You have outdone me by miles. I am going to watch all of your videos. Thanks for sharing.
Hello from Canada
Thank-you for sharing your amazing skills!! My husband has been a construction carpenter for 40 years and has built 4 houses using standard Canadian building methods since retiring from construction 11 years ago. His dream is to build a house on his own and you're energy efficient building methods are inspiring! He was wondering if you would consider letting in permanent bracing (1x4 or 2x4) into the exterior walls as well as the hammerband prior to standing them up? The permanent let in bracing would offer additional lateral support until the interior osb sheathing would be applied. We're also looking forward to your next house build!!
Hi, Scandies build so different from the US and Canada so i would not be a good source for tips :)
Very cool. I also have built plenty mostly on my own. That first truss though not shown on the video I bet was the hardest. Very dangerous work at every move a slip and that's the end of the day. I wish I could go to Sweden someday and see how different you guys build compared to Colorado, USA. Props to real work. Framing houses is no joke, yet one of the most satisfying parts of construction.
yes, the first truss requires some extra work to fasten, so it doesn't tip over. This method is most likely not accepted on a construction site today and if i would see my son do this by him self i would ground him for a year :) 20 years ago this was how we did it, however things has changed. Same goes, it would be interesting to your country to see how you guys build stuff. We build the same things but in different ways.
I always enjoy the framing the most. Everything else is more like work.
To a beginner like me this is intimidating. Thank you for sharing, I'll bookmark this video since I wanted to know how challenging framing a house alone could be.
Imagine going on holiday for a month and come back to a house fully built and you've got new neighbors
haha, funny you say that because that's exactly what happened. The neighbors above have their house as a summer house, they came last week to look after it. They stood in my parking lot and stared with the grocery bags still in hand for ten minutes before they came and knocked on the door. The frame goes always quick so that is a quite common reaction
@@mindsparx1 that's really funny, I've had simular happen where an old house was transported away and we had fully framed and external finished a far larger house
The neighbors weren't impressed when the returned home from their 2 month holiday to find they had lost their very nice view of a lake and mountains due to the new house being 2 levels and tall stud
@@John.strong 😱it's the kind of thing neighbors strangle each other over
I'm 66 and the most time I've ever had off was 2 weeks when my daughter was born.
Yeah…imagine going on holiday for a month…would be nice haha
I'm saving to build my own house, also primarily by myself. I'm planning to use ICF forms.
They are extremely easy to work with by yourself. Just need a little extra help on pour day. A pump truck and an extra person could be enough.
Great job brother...have done construction for a long time, can’t say I could or would frame a house alone. Props!
I built a 12ft wide shed by myself and raised the trusses myself. Lazily i built the trusses with 2x4 but with the wood sideways, so i had 4 inches to attach my sheeting from above, not in an area with any snow load to consider.
Great work!!! Can definitely appreciate working solo. 💪 My biggest concern with doing it this way is floor decking and not running it under the wall system. Seems like it just creates more work 🙄
There's a lot about this that creates more work lol. This place is FAR from framed, and there is a whole lot of little extra steps now to forget or neglect, things he "will do later" are all adding up every other minute lol
I have built several buildings and had to use prefab trusses. I did build the trusses once but the inspector wanted them certified by an engineer? My trusses were sronger than the ones you purchase from a builder supply house? I stood them up by myself I used a different method than you used. I call it the swing method, where you mount the trusses on the plates as you did and then swing them up rather than useing a rope. I do like your method. I can see where it might be just as easy as my method?
Please show how you secure the flooring at the two ends as you have covered up the end joists with wall plates. Also do you solid block under the outside edges of the flooring because they do not land on the rim joist? I guess you will show us later how you put stairs up to the second level as I am guessing you have 24 inches between trusses. I think building your own trusses saved a bundle.
There is a joist on the short sides to support the chipboard floor. On the long side I have no support as the insulation is to be cross-insulated, which means that there is a horizontal 2-by-4 on the high edge all the way, that joist is screwed into the floor and acts as support from above instead of having the support between the floor rules, a bit difficult to explain but I'll show later, you save some time and money on it. I will put more joists upstairs CC60, but the stairs will go up between 120 cm as you mention. I'll build the stairs in place later and it's quite fun. Have done it loads of times.
Nice work. Same thing here in Canada, it's rare to get a stretch long enough where it won't rain, so each step needs to be planned in a way that if it rains it won't ruin anything. Trying to navigate days off and weather can be a pain. Can end up with weeks without being able to do anything.
I know you don't want your subfloor wet, but I used to frame in Seattle - famous for rain - and that was never an issue. Faster and safer with a subfloor and it'll dry out. (In Idaho they frame with snow on the subfloor.) And while the wall is on the deck you can square it, add the exterior sheathing and then raise it. It'll stay square and you don't need the temporary 45's. An added benefit is no one is on a ladder with a sheet of plywood or OSB trying to attach it vertically. Maybe no big deal on the ground floor, but much safer and faster on the next floor up. If you really, really don't want to fasten the subfloor before the walls, at least put a couple down loose to work on. Just my 2 cents.
Amen to that.
There’s all types of subfloor now that can withstand water for months.
PNW here too. Yea these euro builders are pretty different lol. No reason not to put the subfloor down. They dont use our materials either ie zip sheeting spray foam glues etc. I prefer our way for sure. We build in freezing rains, snow etc. Gotta blow torch the ice off the subfloor or top plates for trusses. Stick frames are meant to get and dry out. Technology nowadays for stick framing has come a long ways the last few decades
Yeah, lots of tomfuckery going on here, but different strokes for Swedish folks, as they say lol.
I live and frame in North Idaho, and I can confirm we be doin crazy ass shit in the rain, snow, and ice lol.
I'd rather pay a 2nd person $20/hr just to move material and help me raise shit, don't gotta even wear bags just bring me lumber lol worth the cash for the added speed and safety.
Yes, that is how I framed our house in 1977. The installed subfloor is a good working surface, By attaching the sheathing to the exterior wall sections before tilting them into place, the house is soon closed in, I bought pre-made trusses to speed up the process of framing the roof. I enjoyed watching this video,
that actually helped allot. i have been thinking about building my own house, but was struggling to figure out how to build/ place my own roof. i eventually would have figure it out, but probably after many man many hours of frustration and getting... well lets just stop there haha. thanks for the video. super helpful!
That’s excellent work! Very resourceful. I am building an oval pole barn (10 posts) greenhouse with a 32ft and 26ft diameter span at the longest and shortest points. I will put a 3 ply girder truss and will hang the remaining 8 primary rafters from the peak of the girder truss. Still have to figure out a couple brackets that will accommodate 4 rafters on each side of the girder truss and how I’m going to get the girder trusses up by myself. Total of over 600lbs but you’ve got me thinking. Hopefully goes as smoothly for me! Thanks for the inspiration!
Cool project, see if you can use pulleys, I couldn't find any so I used rope, pulleys are better especially if it has a brake
Thank you for conversion to inches very thoughtful. And appreciated
definitely diving into your videos. Thank you so much for taking the ti to teach us that are green in the field. Have a great day
Awesome only thing i noticed is you have no crawlspace vents may help control moisture if it becomes a problem. Great job sir.
This is skill, and he’s definitely a footballer you can tell
Built my house by myself. Mostly in the winter from10 below to 20 below zero F. After enough experience of doing everything by yourself you can get a lot more done than having most people "helping." And most people would never think of making a long wall in sections as they learn only one way everything is to be done and can't think of another.
"most people would never think of making a long wall in sections "
This is literally how most construction companies build walls.
Thanks for sharing your work. It's fantastic and real professional!
Just looking for some advice...thanks GODBLESS..ruclips.net/video/aQG4bu_MRF4/видео.html
It beats paying a gazillion dollars, even if it takes longer, it's worth it. Thank you for making these videos!
You are amazing!!! Watching this process was so inspiring!!!! Great Job
Great video. Your explanation is perfect, and your ingenuity in lifting and placing the trusses is admirable.
You're awesome 👌 👏 I wish I had the strength to do this.
Thank you :)
[16:32] The gradual erosion of property rights must be stopped and reversed.
Very interesting - thanks. I worked on framing crews here in the States and the work was brutal. I'm curious as to how you headered the basement doorway because it appears as if only a 2'x spans the doorway. Also, almost all of my tools are cordless now, which saves a lot of time.
It is brilliant to build the deck prior to the house. Having a flat, clean and draining platform to work off of must help immensely. If you plan to build one anyway, why not start with it?
Super impressed, but you are correct in saying how dangerous it can be. The biggest safety issue was you walking on the joists without a floor. Additionally, you joined the wall studs to the plate directly, whereas most builders would lay down their floor BEFORE they attached the studs. One other safety issue would be (if it were me) to wear a helmet, especially as you put in the trusses.
very nice video! the cc method is basically a certain measurment from center of a stud to center of the next stud?
Yes, exactly, it's easy when you know. If you're not a builder, you usually don't know that there is a standard. if you know the method, you save a lot of time and money. Might be good to know :)
@@mindsparx1 true. How big is that house you are building? Cant belive the wood cost 6300$ only for the framing. Wood is very expensive right now
@@meandnature6452 The frame is cheaper than you think, this is where the companies make money. The house is 90 square meters and 6.50m high. 220x45 C24 stud is around 8Eur meter and 170x45 C24 is around 6Eur meter for now, use to be half of that.
How much is it for wood where you come from? I think we have cheap wood over here since we have a lot of it.
@@mindsparx1 A 2x4 costs 4 euro per meter so i guess same price. I think its quite pricy compared to what it was. The frame should be the cheap part on s house
1000% respect for your skilled work ,wish i had your energie .
Admire your work-regards from Tokyo.
. Am about to start to build mine one and am looking for moee details like how did you attach the wood to the blocks and much details which you show but far.. t. You did a awesome job
Amazing, but there is no reason not to temporarily lay down a few sheets of plywood instead of balancing on the joists the entire time
No kidding. A very dangerous worksite.
I was thinking the same thing. And once you have a place to put it a scaffold too.
Yes and it would take about 15 minutes. @kazparzyxzpenualt8111
if u watched the video he says rain would ruin it which is correct. also he said you cant use his method for raising the joists solo with a floor.
@@morrisl7 I believe our notion was to just put some kind of workable deck on. Sheets of plywood or planks just for safety.. Move em when or if they get in the way of the truss operation.
Studs are much bigger than traditional ones of 90x35mm. Reinforced with the hammer strings at the top ( like lintels) - haven't seen that before, for added strength. His trusses are using bigger timber pieces, snow load - must meet building code there. Enjoyed watching, the guy is very efficient & a monster, building on his own.
I learned a lot from your video. 1. Building the scaffolding on side the house using the wall is genius. 2. Building the porch first so you have a clean and level place to work from. Genius. 3. Lifting the rafters up by yourself. Genius. 4. Lifting them all up before you run out of room.......and then pushing them out to the end as you go...and walking on them at the same time....genius. 5. Waiting until you have a roof on before you put the floor down (so it does not get wet). Genius. ....... and all of this was on the first video. Can not wait to watch the other ones. Keep up the great work. Question? Why did you extend the rafters? Where I live......we build them to lenght.........cut to the correct angle....and then install.....it is all one piece of wood......yet it looks like you built them short.......to only come back and add on to them.......I realize that part of the house is just for the over hang........ but was this to keep the cost down?
Can’t remember the last time I hammered a nail! Been building projects with glue & screws 4 years! No glue if U wanna b able 2 take it apart! 👍
Absolutely love it. I have done construction my whole life(57) So i I have built everything thing for 200 room hotels(frame to finish) in side of concrete honey comb in Hawaii too a tiny to shead in Illinois. FCUK the nay sayers. By the way it does NOT look all that dangerous to me😊❤👍❤👍❤👍😊
Sounds like we have a real carpenter here in the comment section😀
What excellent craftsmanship. Thanks for sharing. I hope these videos help with cost. I must remain humble since I cannot build such things, but it's ok to dream. I am working on my first tiny house. :).
IKEA: Level God!
Omg, you're very brave and driven. I would have not been able to do this alone but now I can mentally that is. I am almost 60.
This dude built the pyramids for sure
I'm so jealous. I feel a strong desire to build something. It's a scratch I can't itch.
Is there any specific reason you opted for a rim joist on that crawlspace pony wall instead of lapping the floor joists and using roll blocks? I’ve been framing for 15 years, and it seems to me that doing it this way it could allow for your floor joists to twist overtime.
Also, when platform, framing, Which is the method of subfloor you opted for, floor sheeting, is supposed to go on before your exterior walls. Rain isn’t the end of the world. I’ve been framing my whole career out here in the Pacific Northwest.
Fascinated in how you lifted the trusses! I recall building a large timber frames school in NZ and I was the Project Manager. I had the boys make up a small section of the wall framing [200 x 50 timber, studs and dwangs] and was surprised to have one of the crew ask me back out onto site to "see" the wall. Well, the small section of wall was laying flat on the floor [should mention that the stud height was 3.2 m]. They then asked me to lift it. Shit, was it heavy! I think about 8 of us struggled and managed to get it lifted and into place. After that, I had a small HIAB on site for lifting all the wall framing!
I've been trying to figure out how I will do the the roof of the garage I plan on building for 3 years now. I know I'm gonna have to do it by myself, thank you. I'll be working from the ground though and with a much easier pitch so I'm sure I can do this
I once watched a video of a building inspector that showed the strength of nail vs screws. Screws are brittle and can fracture during expansion and contraction of a building. He used screws to temporarily hold something place but final assembly was always with nails. Might even be code in some places. Not so where you live?
very hard working man on site. experience makes all the difference. well done. we call that sweat equity.
I wonder where these guys learn to build so well..its amazing..
I designed & built a 24’W x 40’L x 16’H non permanent garage 100% myself at 24 years old.
I built 4 smaller 12’x20’ sheds and basically tied them together into a single structure. I made the floors strong enough to park cars on too.
Cost me $8500 USD for materials…
Insurance would only pay for $30k & estimates were well over that.
I pocketed about $22k building it myself.🎉🎉🎉
@1:30, not capital layer, capillary layer, a weap layer so the wood doesn't touch the cement. Roofing felt works!
Our US building code is the floor joists are connected to the rim, and the rim should be connected to the sill plate with an L bracket, and the sill plate connected to the cement wall with anchors (preferrable J bolts anchored 6" in the cement"). The rim joist is then connected to the wall stud with metal straps, and the wall stud connected to the truss with a hurricane clip, finally the truss is top strapped. The effect is a giant connection loop from the foundation, up the wall to the roof and back down the opposite wall. Time will tell how the house holds up to hurricane winds...
Very innovative way of doing the trusses. I prefer to shear the walls before doing the roof, this gives the walls more stability.
Great work doing all by yourself and filming at the same time.
And no bear got your camera.
Ok the truss raising part was just awesome. 👏
That is how ya do it. I framed up a house in Colorado, but it took me longer then 7 days. And not that good of wood.
You are a skilled craftsman! Great video! I am framing a new roof on a 100 year old log cabin located in North Carolina m USA,by myself! Good tips!
Good idea building a deck first to have a nice flat area to work on
Total stud. And I am talking about the builder! Thank you for sharing.
In the usa we have building codes and the inspectors don't like it if you do anything different than everyone else does. My experience in Sacramento is they are not very informed or well trained. They wrongly questioned lots of my techniques, even though my building plans were approved.
Amazing method of construction (for me, a guy from Europe). Congrats.
Impressive work! Especially, you did the top parts alone!
Genius on getting the trusses up!
Incredibly nice work my friend !!!!! Hats off to you and all your hard work I do hope you got to relax for a while and enjoy the fruits of your labor but somthing tells me a guy like yourself jumped right on to the next project and started building
I gotta do a bunch of research and find some house plans. if I have some plans to follow, I can do it all not be overwhelmed. I’m pretty confident.
I love how you make everything feel simple!
Ingenius. I love learning about and using leverage. I'm amazed that the lumber only cost 6300. Do you go straight to a Miller or just a regular lumber yard?
The price is directly from the lumber yard, but i have understood that we have cheap lumber over here :)
Kind of recognized the trees and stuff. What really have you away was the narrative voice saying "Hammarband" instead of top plate lol. I always prefer the US way though laying down a subfloor first. Hate stepping around on the floor beams.