Reddit reviews 2018 International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings (International Code Council Series)

Why build yourself? Are you looking for something in particular? Building a house in not an easy endeavor.

I'm saying that as a "builder" now working on my second build. I'm not a traditional builder, but I was/am working with smaller in-city lots and am building specifically for long term hold rental properties. My properties had to be custom designed to fit the lots and are for student rentals, so I designed them with smaller bedrooms without master suites, low maintenance long term items (spray foamed the entire exterior of the house, standing seam roof, etc) I literally built the house myself. I was the GC and did a lot of the work myself. It took me about 15 months (demo to CO) for the first one and the second we broke ground about 3 months ago. The drawing and permitting process took ~6 months prior on both. It was an extremely rewarding experience once I finished, but it was extremely stressful on the family and I just can't imagine a normal person doing it. I literally was on my job site 95% of the days over those 15 months.

I'm a huge fan of building science and while I like the idea of Passivehaus, I'm would caution that reaching those higher limits may not be worth the effort if you aren't a building science nerd like I am. More often than not many "normal" contractors will either lie to you saying they know what you want and know how to do it or will have the deer in the headlights look. If you want to get to the higher standards you will have to find those specific contractors and they are not cheap nor are they always readily available.

Agreed with the other user on low maintenance material. The current house I'm building I found a new siding that is definitely more expensive, but is actually dyed through (composite) and therefore will never need to be painted and it being a composite means no caulk. Again that is a tradeoff of upfront cost versus down the road cost.

Lastly before I built my first house I read for almost 2 years. I was/am a full time landlord so am fairly free so that reading was really "studying" and "preparing"for me. One minor note regarding the book list is that I wasn't looking for a builder as I had time and wanted to try and build a house. So many of the books I read were more granular and not so much about permitting and budgeting, etc. I figured I would figure out that stuff as I went along and I did. One big caveat, I didn't finance my build, but if you are you will more than likely need to hire a licensed GC/builder.

Books I read:

1. I read a lot of the IRC code book (make sure you municipality uses the IRC). This was to ensure that I could check on the people that I hired.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/International-Residential-Two-Family-Dwellings-Council/dp/1609837371
   
   

2. Read a lot about building science. Not in any particular order of preference.
   
   Green from the ground up
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Green-Ground-Sustainable-Energy-Efficient-Construction/dp/156158973X
   
   Green Home Building
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Green-Home-Building-Money-Saving-High-Performance/dp/0865717796
   
   Superhouse
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Super-House-Efficiency-Dazzling-Strength/dp/0965792633
   
   Buildings don't lie
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Buildings-Dont-Lie-Henry-Gifford/dp/0999011006
   
   Complete visual guide to building a house
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Visual-Guide-Building-House/dp/1600850227
   
   
3. A lot of the Taunton Press For Pros by Pros (framing, wiring a house, siding, plumbing, concrete, trim, windows) books. Those were for my education on the utilities as I did most of this myself. Some of this may be too granular for you, but still lots of great info in there.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Taunton+For+Pros+by+Pros&ref=nb_sb_noss
   
   There were many more books, but these are the ones I thought worthwhile to buy.

> His county has building codes

Yes, his county enforces building codes. He has inspections.

Building codes are independent of government. In fact, where they are enforced, the law usually simply references the published building code.

Here, you can buy them yourself. Note, they are not restricted from sale in Idaho,.. HAHAHHHAHhhaha

https://www.amazon.com/International-Residential-Two-Family-Dwellings-Council/dp/1609837371/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1538376806&sr=8-4&keywords=building+code