Did you say, six months?

So, how long does it take to build a small house in a backyard?

It may be different for you, but here is my timeline (omitting PHASE I: I should probably build a house, PHASE II: I am ready to build a house, PHASE III: Oh, no, it's pandemic, so I better wait for things to come back to normal before I start building a house, and PHASE IV: Well, maybe things will never come back to normal, so let's start building a house now).

PREPARATION

Doing research, picking up a house plan, redesigning it to fit my needs, using software to build 2D and 3D models, talking to different general contractors, and finally picking one took me about a year.

INITIATION

It took 2-3 months working with a contractor to finalize the house and landscape designs, determine materials, figure out solar, and get the documentation ready for the permit application.

PAPERWORK

The permit approval process took 2-3 months.

CONSTRUCTION

The construction phase took about 5 months so far. The house is almost ready, just needs a few finishing touches and landscaping to be done. There were a few delays: some related to pandemics, some not related to pandemics, but this is not unusual and pretty much what I had expected.

P.S. If my contractor didn't have to take classes at a local University, the construction phase could've been done in less time (I suspect 3-4 months would be enough). He also had other projects, so during the last phase (January-May) they only worked on my property 2-3 days per week. 

NEXT: "I AM ALSO AN ARCHITECT"

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