I am giving my home construction E books away for free for a limited time. You can download them here:
www.smaller-homes.com/free-ebook-downloads.html
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
3-way light switch
You'll be able to wire a 3-way light switch with confidence. Electrical contractors all follow the design because everybody has to follow code or at least, they are supposed to follow code.
There are three basic types of light switches. The first is a simple, single light switch. The second is a 3-way switch that controls one lighting fixture from two locations. The third is a 4-way switch that controls one lighting fixture from three or more locations.
The easiest way for three-way switches is to place the light between the two switches. You have to look closely at the electrical wiring diagram to understand how it is done. The cable should be 12.2 Romex right up to the first switch, then run 12.3 Romex to the light and then on to the second switch.The 12.3 Romex has an extra wire called a traveler (usually red), which is necessary for 3-way switches. 
At the first switch, the 12.2 Romex from the circuit run enters the bottom of the switch box and the hot (black) cable connects to the bottom right terminal on the switch.The 12.3 Romex enters through the top of the switch box. The hot traveler (red) wire connects to top left terminal on the switch. The black (hot) wire connects to the top right terminal on the switch.The 12.3 neutral (white) wire connects directly to the 12.2 neutral wire with wire nuts and the copper ground wires are also connected together with wire nuts. 
At the light box, you should have two ends of 12.3 Romex hanging out. One end comes from the first switch the other end comes from the second switch.First connect the copper ground wires together with a wire nut to get them out of the way, and then connect the two red traveler wires together with a wire nut as well.Now find the black wire coming from the first box and the white wire coming from the second box and connect them together with wire nuts. Now, this is important, you need to mark each end of the white wire by wrapping it with black electrical tape. This means you have made it a hot wire. This is a code requirement! It is common practice for 3 and 4-way switches.
Now, at the second switch, you will connect the red traveler wire to the top left terminal. The white, wire now labeled as black with tape, connects to the upper right terminal. The black wire will connect to the lower right terminal screw. The copper wire will connect to the box if it's a metal box or the green ground screw on the switch if the box is plastic.
The light box should now have a black wire and a white wire sticking out which is what you will need to connect the light to.
Monday, June 30, 2008
How to make stairs
Let's learn how to make a precise and beautiful stairway. Building stairs seems challenging, but it's really quite simple if you use the proper formula. This is how you can measure and build professional-looking stairs with exact accuracy.
Before we can start putting up the stairs, we'll need to take a few measurements. We need to think of it this way: we have so much height that we need to reach and we have to do it within a certain length.
The part of the stairs that will help us accomplish the height is the risers. The length part is the treads. The part of the stairs that will hold all the weight will be the stringers.
The treads are usually around 10-inches. That's kind of standard, but the risers completely depend on the height from the bottom floor to the top floor.
Now we need to get an exact measurement from the bottom floor to the second floor, including the second floor particle board.
Now, we use the formula for getting the height of each stair riser.Suppose the distance from bottom floor to top floor including the thickness of the second floor is about 9 feet or 108 inches.108 divided by 7 equals 15.428. That tells us that 15 risers will be needed.Next, let's divide 108 by 15 and we'll get right around 7 inches or the exact height each riser needs to be. The treads need to be right around 10 inches.The amount of treads will be one less than the amount of risers, so to find the total run or length of the stairs, we just multiply 10 by 14 and that tells us that our stairway will be 140 inches long.
Now, select a knot-free 2 X 12 stringer. We can get prefabricated wood or a cheaper selection can be a strong softwood like Fir or Pine. It needs to be about one foot longer than your stair distance. This would need to be 120" or twelve feet long.Next, while the board is laying flat, measure up about 8 inches to mark the first stair tread.Use a carpenter's square to measure 10-inches over(tread) and 7-inches up(riser).We'll do this on every step. Once that is done, we'll go back to the bottom of the board and measure and cut the first riser. We'll use the carpenter's square to make it exactly 7-inches.
Once this is all marked we can cut out the stairs with a Skilsaw. We can cut almost to the inside corner, but we'll need to complete the cut with a hand saw to get into the corners.When we get that done we can use it as a pattern for the other stringers by tracing in the steps.We are now ready to stand them up and secure them with nails or screws. Once the stringers are in place we can put the tread plates on and then the riser plates.
We can buy special tread boards that are rounded on the front. They work good for carpeted stairs. If we want to have hardwood stairs that are exposed, we will want to use high quality oak or some other hardwood.That's how we make stairs.
How to do desert landscaping
One of the most modern and popular forms of landscaping is called, "going green landscaping". Ironically, there is very little green in the actual landscape because it is a landscaping method that saves water.
To start our plan for a front or backyard landscaping plan, we will have to decide if we want to completely have a waterless yard with stone and small rocks, or a yard with a few plants.
Most yards need at least a few plants. Desert plants use such a small amount of water and can be watered with a drip system.
Let's design the yard by deciding where to put a water drip hose system. These drip systems are available at most hardware stores and they can be installed in just a few minutes.
To start our plan for a front or backyard landscaping plan, we will have to decide if we want to completely have a waterless yard with stone and small rocks, or a yard with a few plants.
Most yards need at least a few plants. Desert plants use such a small amount of water and can be watered with a drip system.
Let's design the yard by deciding where to put a water drip hose system. These drip systems are available at most hardware stores and they can be installed in just a few minutes.
The large poly tube carries the water to the garden where it is then reduced to the drip tubing which waters each tree and plant.
Before we put in the rocks and gravel, we need to plant the flowers, plants, and trees. There are many kinds of desert plants and trees that are beautiful, but if we don't live in a desert climate, most of these plants won't grow.
We can still use the desert landscaping mentality of water conservation with local plants and trees that will flourish with the water drip system.
For those that do live in a desert climate, there are some fun plants that require very little maintenance.
The Joshua tree is a favorite of the Mojave Desert. I wish they could grow everywhere but that would make them less special.
Palm trees are very popular and there are hundreds of species to choose from.
Plants and bushes add a touch of beauty and with the drip irrigation system, the plants get watered, not the weeds.
The part of desert landscaping that requires little to no maintenance is the rocks and stones. This also includes "pavers" which is pathway stones.
Rocks and stones can be used as ground coverings.
Or they can be used as a yard centerpiece.
Curbing can be a nice addition to a front yard landscaping project because it adds definition. It separates and gives a yard symmetry.
Sidewalks, steps and stairs add completion to a sloped area.
There are many desert landscaping ideas that conserve water.
How to make a Koi pond
This article covers the basics on making a Koi pond. You will be able to plan and build a Koi pond with a circulating pump. You will also learn about the kind of bacteria Koi need to survive and how to make a bacteria containment system. You will learn how to line the bottom of the pond with plastic to keep the water from seeping.
We'll just start out by digging out the Koi pond. Most people like to have small waterfalls to keep the water circulating for the fish. If that's the case, you may want to stack some of the dirt taken from the Koi pond and make a sloping hill for the waterfall.
Once we have the hole dug out, we will need to put in a pond liner which is a plastic membrane made for this purpose. You can get pond liner kits online or at hardware stores.
Part of the pond construction will include a bacteria tank used to keep koi alive. Koi create a certain type of necessary bacteria which keeps the water conditioned for them. These tanks help that bacteria thrive.
Many landscapers will use the bacteria tank as a waterfall to run over rocks and down into the Koi pond. All ponds and waterfalls need a circulating pump. These come in many different sizes according to how high you need to pump the water and how fast you want the flow rate. The pump will need to be placed in the pond, but it needs to be off the bottom of the pond floor by an inch or two. This keeps the pump from sucking up sediment.
Rocks can be a beautiful part of any landscape pond. If you need to make a waterfall from rocks, you can use a rock adhesive/sealant to hold the rocks together. This also fills in holes really well. Natural rocks work the best, but if you're concerned about weight, you can get faux (artificial) rock.
Next, we can fill the pond to test it out for leaks. Once we know the pond holds water we can put all the extras in place to make it look nice. Plants and lilies are a great addition.
Plants can take awhile before they start to take hold and look healthy. We will need to wait for a few weeks before we put the Koi in. It's important to let the water circulate and build up some sediment.
Koi are such a tranquil feature to a landscaping project. They have become so popular recently. I think it's because the Koi are so tranquil when they're swimming around. They remind us to take life easy.
Larry Angell
We'll just start out by digging out the Koi pond. Most people like to have small waterfalls to keep the water circulating for the fish. If that's the case, you may want to stack some of the dirt taken from the Koi pond and make a sloping hill for the waterfall.
Once we have the hole dug out, we will need to put in a pond liner which is a plastic membrane made for this purpose. You can get pond liner kits online or at hardware stores.
Part of the pond construction will include a bacteria tank used to keep koi alive. Koi create a certain type of necessary bacteria which keeps the water conditioned for them. These tanks help that bacteria thrive.
Many landscapers will use the bacteria tank as a waterfall to run over rocks and down into the Koi pond. All ponds and waterfalls need a circulating pump. These come in many different sizes according to how high you need to pump the water and how fast you want the flow rate. The pump will need to be placed in the pond, but it needs to be off the bottom of the pond floor by an inch or two. This keeps the pump from sucking up sediment.
Rocks can be a beautiful part of any landscape pond. If you need to make a waterfall from rocks, you can use a rock adhesive/sealant to hold the rocks together. This also fills in holes really well. Natural rocks work the best, but if you're concerned about weight, you can get faux (artificial) rock.
Next, we can fill the pond to test it out for leaks. Once we know the pond holds water we can put all the extras in place to make it look nice. Plants and lilies are a great addition.
Plants can take awhile before they start to take hold and look healthy. We will need to wait for a few weeks before we put the Koi in. It's important to let the water circulate and build up some sediment.
Koi are such a tranquil feature to a landscaping project. They have become so popular recently. I think it's because the Koi are so tranquil when they're swimming around. They remind us to take life easy.
Larry Angell
How to make a sidewalk
Making a sidewalk is a lot easier than people think. It’s also a lot cheaper to do all your own labor. First we need to decide how wide we want to make it and how long. We also need to know how deep into the ground we want to dig.
It’s much easier if you don’t have to dig very deep at all when starting a sidewalk, but this depends on your building site. For instance, if you’re putting in a new sidewalk before you dump the top soil for a new lawn then you will want to keep the sidewalk on top of the ground. If you are setting the sidewalk into an existing lawn or walk area, then you will need to dig down an inch or two so the sidewalk isn’t too high. Sidewalks that are too high are tripping hazards because they stick up too far.
Let’s say our sidewalk is going to be four feet wide and thirty feet long. This will be a sidewalk where we’ll need to dig into the ground exactly two inches. We need to measure across the sidewalk area which we already know is forty-eight inches, but we also need to dig the extra area where the forms will go. The forms for sidewalks are often just 2x4 studs. They are cheap and really easy to work with.
The measurement across the sidewalk will include the thickness of a 2X4 stud on each side. The thickness of each stud is an inch and a half, so add 3 inches onto the width of the sidewalk. This will give us an area of 51 inches to dig. Of course, we can always dig a much wider area and just backfill the dirt once the sidewalk is done.
The excavated area will be 51 inches wide by thirty feet long. Sidewalks are usually dug out with a shovel because of the shallow depth. You will need to make sure the entire area is level and you may need to tamp the dirt where the cement will be poured. At this point we can start setting in the forms. The best way to join two 2X4 studs is by nailing a 2X4 block on the outside of the forms where the joint is. This will keep them secure. Next, make sure the forms are even with a consistent measurement of 48 inches the entire length.
You won’t need to use rebar like you do when pouring foundations, but you should use sidewalk mesh, which is a netting to hold the cement together. If you’re making a small sidewalk, then you can buy bags of ready mix, add water and pour it in, but for most projects, you will want to call the cement company to deliver and pour the cement. The cement needed for sidewalks is a smoother type of cement than foundations. Foundation cement is called “5-bag mix, but sidewalk cement is “six-bag mix. It has a higher cement content and uses smaller aggregate material.
The cement company will know what to do when you tell them the cement is for a sidewalk. They will ask you for the dimensions of your project and they will calculate the amount of cement needed. Cement is calculated and sold by square yards. Let’s take our measurement as an example. Our sidewalk is thirty feet long, four feet wide, and four inches deep. So our square footage is 120 square feet by four inches deep. Let’s convert this to square yards by dividing 120 by 27. There are 27 cubic feet in a square yard. This gives us 4.44 square yards, but we still have to divide that by 3 because the sidewalk isn’t a foot thick, it is only four inches, which is a third of a foot. So our final number is about one and a half yards of cement needed to pour the sidewalk. The price of cement varies by location, but if you live fairly close, you should be able to get it for around $90 per yard.
Now, we’re ready to pour the sidewalk. The cement truck will pour the cement, but you will need to shovel it around to get it even against the forms. You will need to get the cement evenly into the forms. Jab the cement constantly to break any air bubbles. Once the cement is where you want it, you will need to make it smooth. You can buy a screed or you can just use a level 2X4 to run across the top of the cement. This will make it basically smooth.
Once you have the surface fairly smooth, you will need to use a float or a long trowel to bring the fine cement to the surface. This will make a very smooth surface and will make the rougher aggregate material sink beneath the surface. You will want let this dry for a few hours before brushing the surface with a shop broom. Brushing will give the sidewalk some traction so you don’t slip on the smooth surface. Be careful not to overdo the brushing.
After about three days, you can remove the forms and start to back fill the edges of the sidewalk so they are even with the lawn or ground. Ideally, we like to have the side walk about a half inch higher than the lawn.
For the final step in the sidewalk process, we need to cut sections in the concrete so it doesn’t crack with the movement of the ground underneath. You can rent a concrete cutter or use a concrete blade on a circular saw and cut across the sidewalk every ten feet or so. This will give the sidewalk flexibility during expansion and contraction of the soil.
That’s basically how to make your own sidewalks. We can usually save about two-thirds the cost of a professionally poured sidewalk by doing it ourselves.
It’s much easier if you don’t have to dig very deep at all when starting a sidewalk, but this depends on your building site. For instance, if you’re putting in a new sidewalk before you dump the top soil for a new lawn then you will want to keep the sidewalk on top of the ground. If you are setting the sidewalk into an existing lawn or walk area, then you will need to dig down an inch or two so the sidewalk isn’t too high. Sidewalks that are too high are tripping hazards because they stick up too far.
Let’s say our sidewalk is going to be four feet wide and thirty feet long. This will be a sidewalk where we’ll need to dig into the ground exactly two inches. We need to measure across the sidewalk area which we already know is forty-eight inches, but we also need to dig the extra area where the forms will go. The forms for sidewalks are often just 2x4 studs. They are cheap and really easy to work with.
The measurement across the sidewalk will include the thickness of a 2X4 stud on each side. The thickness of each stud is an inch and a half, so add 3 inches onto the width of the sidewalk. This will give us an area of 51 inches to dig. Of course, we can always dig a much wider area and just backfill the dirt once the sidewalk is done.
The excavated area will be 51 inches wide by thirty feet long. Sidewalks are usually dug out with a shovel because of the shallow depth. You will need to make sure the entire area is level and you may need to tamp the dirt where the cement will be poured. At this point we can start setting in the forms. The best way to join two 2X4 studs is by nailing a 2X4 block on the outside of the forms where the joint is. This will keep them secure. Next, make sure the forms are even with a consistent measurement of 48 inches the entire length.
You won’t need to use rebar like you do when pouring foundations, but you should use sidewalk mesh, which is a netting to hold the cement together. If you’re making a small sidewalk, then you can buy bags of ready mix, add water and pour it in, but for most projects, you will want to call the cement company to deliver and pour the cement. The cement needed for sidewalks is a smoother type of cement than foundations. Foundation cement is called “5-bag mix, but sidewalk cement is “six-bag mix. It has a higher cement content and uses smaller aggregate material.
The cement company will know what to do when you tell them the cement is for a sidewalk. They will ask you for the dimensions of your project and they will calculate the amount of cement needed. Cement is calculated and sold by square yards. Let’s take our measurement as an example. Our sidewalk is thirty feet long, four feet wide, and four inches deep. So our square footage is 120 square feet by four inches deep. Let’s convert this to square yards by dividing 120 by 27. There are 27 cubic feet in a square yard. This gives us 4.44 square yards, but we still have to divide that by 3 because the sidewalk isn’t a foot thick, it is only four inches, which is a third of a foot. So our final number is about one and a half yards of cement needed to pour the sidewalk. The price of cement varies by location, but if you live fairly close, you should be able to get it for around $90 per yard.
Now, we’re ready to pour the sidewalk. The cement truck will pour the cement, but you will need to shovel it around to get it even against the forms. You will need to get the cement evenly into the forms. Jab the cement constantly to break any air bubbles. Once the cement is where you want it, you will need to make it smooth. You can buy a screed or you can just use a level 2X4 to run across the top of the cement. This will make it basically smooth.
Once you have the surface fairly smooth, you will need to use a float or a long trowel to bring the fine cement to the surface. This will make a very smooth surface and will make the rougher aggregate material sink beneath the surface. You will want let this dry for a few hours before brushing the surface with a shop broom. Brushing will give the sidewalk some traction so you don’t slip on the smooth surface. Be careful not to overdo the brushing.
After about three days, you can remove the forms and start to back fill the edges of the sidewalk so they are even with the lawn or ground. Ideally, we like to have the side walk about a half inch higher than the lawn.
For the final step in the sidewalk process, we need to cut sections in the concrete so it doesn’t crack with the movement of the ground underneath. You can rent a concrete cutter or use a concrete blade on a circular saw and cut across the sidewalk every ten feet or so. This will give the sidewalk flexibility during expansion and contraction of the soil.
That’s basically how to make your own sidewalks. We can usually save about two-thirds the cost of a professionally poured sidewalk by doing it ourselves.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
California wildfires are burning homeowners twice
I received an interesting email this morning from a concerned young lady who lost her home in the California wildfires last year. I run a house building website to help homeowners find a way to afford good housing by means of owner/builder construction.
The email stated that she had lost everything she owned. The fires swept through many neighborhoods fueled by high winds and dry conditions. California was in a state of emergency and there was very little that could be done to stop it. Many homes were completely burned or devastated beyond repair.
The liabilities took a heavy toll on insurance companies. Very few homeowners received what they adequately needed to rebuild their homes, so they are now weighing their options of rebuilding. I have received several emails from our beloved California people who are desperate to get on with their lives, but are unable to do so.
You see, many insurance claims are not calculated on replacement value, but the value of similar homes in the neighborhood. It’s the comparative approach used to determine a home’s value in the real estate market. By and large, this is a fairly reliable means of home valuation, but in the case of home replacement in a weak housing market, it can spell disaster for homeowners.
To put it in simple terms, right now, homes in certain areas cost a lot more to build than they are worth after they’re built. As an example, let’s say I wanted to build a 2,000 square foot home in California where I already owned the land. The materials and labor costs for a modest home of this size is around $210,000. After the home is finished, the appraised value could be as low as 80% of the value of the cost of materials and labor because of a weak housing market. So the comparative approach could value the new home as low as $168,000.
Many homeowners aren’t willing to take such a huge loss of equity to live in a home so they are waiting for the housing market to recover. I’m certain that the housing market will recover as it always has, but this still leaves the California wildfire victims in an awkward place. Do they rebuild a home that will cost more to build than it’s worth, or do they wait for the market to recover? Such is the dilemma of many homeowner wannabes right now.
This problem isn’t everywhere, yet it is alive and well in many parts of the United States, more particularly, in California. There are questions we should be asking ourselves collectively as a nation about the problems in California because it is one of the strongest states leading the way for other states to follow. The question about the volatility of housing markets is really insignificant because markets will rise and fall. That’s just the nature of the beast we call the housing market.
The true question should be directed toward building and labor costs. Why does it cost so much to build a home in California?
One may be tempted to think that the price of building materials could be a reason, but the fact is that building materials are probably cheaper in California than almost anywhere else in the United States.
The real answer is that California has regulated itself into a corner by allowing bureaucrats to impose stringent codes and standards. Many newly created jobs in California are those of inspectors and building officials that aren’t needed. I completely understand and support the need for building inspectors and other types of home system inspectors. They are necessary for our physical and financial safety.
When you have inspectors who are inspecting and overseeing other inspectors however, one starts to feel that there should be some cutbacks on bureaucrats. In many parts of California, homeowners are not allowed to do work on their own homes. It doesn’t matter if the work done is approved by a licensed inspector; the homeowner has to hire someone else to do the work. Bureaucrats have created too many plush jobs for themselves and the housing industry is feeling the crunch.
I live in Idaho where the standards aren’t as drastic, but still more regulated than I like. 10 years ago, there was a mass exodus of Californians into Idaho. Here in Idaho the land, housing, and the way of life was affordable because we didn’t have overregulation in our planning and zoning departments, but that soon changed.
Many of the people that moved from California were older in age and they had money from their home sales to build homes in Idaho and to invest in land. They immediately started to do the same things that they did in California. The same things that made them want to move away. They started imposing regulations and codes.
They made it so homeowners with farms couldn’t divide up their land to sell or even give to other family members. They made it so that homeowners had to become licensed contractors to work on their own homes or else they had to hire it out. Our planning and zoning offices are full of retired California people that moved to Idaho looking to get away from it all, yet bringing it all with them.
The cost of building homes went up sharply after that, but the actual value of homes in the neighborhood rose very little. Now, it’s difficult to build a home on a budget here and people are wondering why.
It’s time to regulate the regulators or there will be more housing markets like that of California. Don’t get me wrong, I love California. Its beauty is simply unrivaled. The problem is that there are so many people who prefer to be government parasites. They want to have jobs that are easy to do so they create those jobs for themselves. Their pay comes from those who work hard for a living.
The housing market will recover in time, but if we could create a housing stimulus package like the federal economic stimulus package, it would help the market bounce back immediately.
This package would be as simple as redefining the needs of inspectors and codes. Making cutbacks on all additional inspectors and codes that weren’t there 20 years ago would be a good plan. This doesn’t have to be a permanent change, but rather, a part of a housing stimulus package to get things jumpstarted. Houses would suddenly become affordable again for everyone. A home should never cost more to build than it’s worth after it’s built.
Larry Angell
www.make-my-own-house.com
The email stated that she had lost everything she owned. The fires swept through many neighborhoods fueled by high winds and dry conditions. California was in a state of emergency and there was very little that could be done to stop it. Many homes were completely burned or devastated beyond repair.
The liabilities took a heavy toll on insurance companies. Very few homeowners received what they adequately needed to rebuild their homes, so they are now weighing their options of rebuilding. I have received several emails from our beloved California people who are desperate to get on with their lives, but are unable to do so.
You see, many insurance claims are not calculated on replacement value, but the value of similar homes in the neighborhood. It’s the comparative approach used to determine a home’s value in the real estate market. By and large, this is a fairly reliable means of home valuation, but in the case of home replacement in a weak housing market, it can spell disaster for homeowners.
To put it in simple terms, right now, homes in certain areas cost a lot more to build than they are worth after they’re built. As an example, let’s say I wanted to build a 2,000 square foot home in California where I already owned the land. The materials and labor costs for a modest home of this size is around $210,000. After the home is finished, the appraised value could be as low as 80% of the value of the cost of materials and labor because of a weak housing market. So the comparative approach could value the new home as low as $168,000.
Many homeowners aren’t willing to take such a huge loss of equity to live in a home so they are waiting for the housing market to recover. I’m certain that the housing market will recover as it always has, but this still leaves the California wildfire victims in an awkward place. Do they rebuild a home that will cost more to build than it’s worth, or do they wait for the market to recover? Such is the dilemma of many homeowner wannabes right now.
This problem isn’t everywhere, yet it is alive and well in many parts of the United States, more particularly, in California. There are questions we should be asking ourselves collectively as a nation about the problems in California because it is one of the strongest states leading the way for other states to follow. The question about the volatility of housing markets is really insignificant because markets will rise and fall. That’s just the nature of the beast we call the housing market.
The true question should be directed toward building and labor costs. Why does it cost so much to build a home in California?
One may be tempted to think that the price of building materials could be a reason, but the fact is that building materials are probably cheaper in California than almost anywhere else in the United States.
The real answer is that California has regulated itself into a corner by allowing bureaucrats to impose stringent codes and standards. Many newly created jobs in California are those of inspectors and building officials that aren’t needed. I completely understand and support the need for building inspectors and other types of home system inspectors. They are necessary for our physical and financial safety.
When you have inspectors who are inspecting and overseeing other inspectors however, one starts to feel that there should be some cutbacks on bureaucrats. In many parts of California, homeowners are not allowed to do work on their own homes. It doesn’t matter if the work done is approved by a licensed inspector; the homeowner has to hire someone else to do the work. Bureaucrats have created too many plush jobs for themselves and the housing industry is feeling the crunch.
I live in Idaho where the standards aren’t as drastic, but still more regulated than I like. 10 years ago, there was a mass exodus of Californians into Idaho. Here in Idaho the land, housing, and the way of life was affordable because we didn’t have overregulation in our planning and zoning departments, but that soon changed.
Many of the people that moved from California were older in age and they had money from their home sales to build homes in Idaho and to invest in land. They immediately started to do the same things that they did in California. The same things that made them want to move away. They started imposing regulations and codes.
They made it so homeowners with farms couldn’t divide up their land to sell or even give to other family members. They made it so that homeowners had to become licensed contractors to work on their own homes or else they had to hire it out. Our planning and zoning offices are full of retired California people that moved to Idaho looking to get away from it all, yet bringing it all with them.
The cost of building homes went up sharply after that, but the actual value of homes in the neighborhood rose very little. Now, it’s difficult to build a home on a budget here and people are wondering why.
It’s time to regulate the regulators or there will be more housing markets like that of California. Don’t get me wrong, I love California. Its beauty is simply unrivaled. The problem is that there are so many people who prefer to be government parasites. They want to have jobs that are easy to do so they create those jobs for themselves. Their pay comes from those who work hard for a living.
The housing market will recover in time, but if we could create a housing stimulus package like the federal economic stimulus package, it would help the market bounce back immediately.
This package would be as simple as redefining the needs of inspectors and codes. Making cutbacks on all additional inspectors and codes that weren’t there 20 years ago would be a good plan. This doesn’t have to be a permanent change, but rather, a part of a housing stimulus package to get things jumpstarted. Houses would suddenly become affordable again for everyone. A home should never cost more to build than it’s worth after it’s built.
Larry Angell
www.make-my-own-house.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)