I AM building a 24x36 3 story addition by myself, I'm almost 48
I installed 5 sets of LVL's by myself - 4 sets 24' in length
1 set of these is a triple 16"
The excavation & concrete pour were done by Pro's
I drew up & designed & created the plans
In 6 weeks I was on the 3rd floor ready to start roofing
Then winter.........
I have raised almost all the walls & installed the rafters by myself
The wife did help with 2 walls - but she made ME nervous
Here you need a plumber - no DIY
The only plumbing will be garden hose pipe in the garage
AC not really used here - I'll have in-wall unit(s)
My regular job was (unemployed) working on PC's
I have a background in college in architect design
I have used 3 different software programs to design
But for final plans I printed out & did some work by hand/ruler etc
I've been doing electric & building work since I was a kid - not really a choice - old man made us help :thumbsup:
I bought the NEC codebook, a couple framing books for reference
I research everything 1st
Local lumber company sized the beams & sent my plans out for engineer stamp
There are a few sites like this where I ask questions & input
There is more then one way to do something
I have seen some excellent info on this site & the others
It is NOT an easy task
If I was working FT it would have been even harder
Prior to this I added a 2nd floor to my last house
Dormered the back of this house, added front porch, a greenhouse & a 16x17 sunroom off the back
You want some fun try getting a 606 (46x46) skylight onto a roof by yourself. I guess I was younger 2 years ago :laughing:
If we had enough $$ we woudl have hired someone
In todays economy - $$ stays in the bank, no loans