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Woman Built House From the Ground Up Using Nothing But YouTube Tutorials (digitaltrends.com)

schwit1 quotes a report from Digital Trends: In this generation of self-starters and self-made women and men, do-it-yourself isn't just an option, it's a way of life. And if there's not an app for that, chances are there's a YouTube video for it. That was certainly the case for a woman named Cara Brookins, who is living proof that if you're willing to learn, you absolutely can. In 2008, Brookins was in the midst of a family struggle, having left a husband she called "violent and abusive." Looking to make a fresh start for herself, she took the idea of rebuilding quite literally, perhaps using the physical experience of constructing a house as an extension of her emotional and mental journey. Though she had no previous experience in construction or architecture, Brookins found a series of YouTube tutorials on building a home and got to work. Over the course of nine months, Brookins worked tirelessly with the help of her four children to build a new home for themselves. "I had rented this cabin for a Thanksgiving getaway," the mother of four told CBS News. "And driving there, we passed this house that had been ravaged by a tornado. It was this beautiful dream house and it was sort of wide open. You don't often get the opportunity to see the interior workings of a house, but looking at these 2x4s and these nails, it just looked so simple. I thought, "I could put this wall back up if I really tried. Maybe I should just start from scratch.'"

14 of 315 comments (clear)

  1. ok by bigdavex · · Score: 5, Funny

    I bet she used some bricks or wood or something, too.

    --
    -Dave
  2. What about electrical, plumbing etc? by jonwil · · Score: 5, Informative

    I dont know how it works elsewhere but here in Australia there are a number of jobs (electrical work, plumbing, telecom work and others) that you can't legally do unless you have the right license.

    1. Re:What about electrical, plumbing etc? by Sarlok · · Score: 5, Informative

      That depends on state and city laws. In a lot of places a homeowner is allowed to do any work themselves on their own home. So I could do electrical and plumbing work on my own house (and in fact I have), but I could not do electrical work on someone else's house or a commercial building without being a licensed electrician.

    2. Re: What about electrical, plumbing etc? by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 5, Interesting
      Yeah. I actually built my house mostly from youtube videos also. For licensed work like electrical, you can do the majority of work yourself (60 hours) and then hire a licensed electrician to inspect the work and do the final connection (4 hours) - $360 instead of $3000. The codes in my area are probably not as strict as in a major city, but there are still building codes that follow national guidelines (like NEC)

      I originally had the idea that I would build a house with craigslist free materials, but gave up quickly on the idea because it was taking a long time to find the parts I needed...though I'm certain that it could be done. It's not a tiny house either.

    3. Re:What about electrical, plumbing etc? by Highdude702 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Same in the US although home owners are typically exempt from a lot of things, the paperwork alone would cost 3 out of the 9 months the article says it took with plenty of weeks in between construction where you have to wait for an inspector to come before proceeding to the next (unless you're a professional and know your schedule in advance, you have to schedule them when you actually finished a portion or risk having to pay for a second visit).

      Ok so i actually am a licensed electrician. And to tell you the truth when you do Owner-Builder it is 100% identical to if you were a contractor. You pull a building permit(normally valid for 180 days, but you can get extensions. I have seen projects span almost 10 years) With that permit is a fee, That fee includes initial inspection of all facets of the permit. You only have to repay on a Fail. You have that 180 days to get all work done(there is a certain order) But as i said you can get extensions. And when you call your inspection in normally if youre before 4pm that day it will be handled the next business day. There is no "plenty of weeks in between construction where you have to wait for an inspector"

    4. Re:What about electrical, plumbing etc? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Just out of interest, what happens if you sell your house?

      In every jurisdiction I know of, this type of new construction requires several government inspections to make sure it is up to code. They inspect the drains and rebar before you pour concrete. They inspect the plumbing and wiring before you put up drywall. Etc. I have seen plenty of professional contractors fail these inspections for pretty obvious deficiencies. So it is likely that her work is at least as good as theirs. What she lacks in knowledge she makes up in actually-giving-a-shit, since it is her own house.

    5. Re: What about electrical, plumbing etc? by Oligonicella · · Score: 5, Informative

      None of the above. It's an attempt to close off private work and coerce the use of pro or union labor. And one cannot assume the pro did it correctly so there's no more danger than with final inspection on a professional installation. If it passes it's right.

    6. Re: What about electrical, plumbing etc? by Sarten-X · · Score: 5, Interesting

      something you can give to an intern to do at $25/hr vs your 25 years experience $75/hr

      That's a great example, since fixing interns' mistakes has made my years of experience very profitable.

      Sure, an intern can write the software spec, unless he doesn't understand the difference between a Widget and a Wotsit, and doesn't even realize that there are two different things. With sufficient minimal skill, he can flub his way through a basic review (often done by other intern-quality folks) and get the spec published, then be long gone with his credit and job offer once the complaints start coming in.

      Similarly, an amateur electrician can screw things up in ways that aren't obvious, like pulling wires through conduit roughly enough to strip insulation. Sure, it's working fine now, but in a few years, it could very well be a fire risk. Another particularly egregious example from my own experience is seeing a ground wire attached with an eye terminal with a nylon washer (instead of a star washer) on one side and a painted (instead of conductive) surface on the other. The connection at the terminal's edge was enough to make a connectivity meter happy, but in an emergency that poor connection could have been lethal.

      [Grunt work] takes a long time, but not a job you can screw up unless...

      ...you don't have the experience to know that what you're doing is wrong.

      --
      You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
  3. That's certainly my preference by raymorris · · Score: 5, Funny

    > Fuck females

    I certainly prefer that to the alternative.

    I suspect that your subject line may be something you have little experience doing, though.

  4. Re:Fuck females. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I never really understand comments like this. My mother was smart and handy. Growing up she taught me lots of useful around the house skills. Painting, plumbing, electrical work.

    Must be kinda sad being threatened by competent women all your life.

  5. Re: Pffff by greenfruitsalad · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's not the point of the story. It's about child labour and the great things you can achieve with it (as the chinese have proven gazillion times).

  6. Re: Sexist by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But it might help inspire other women in abusive relationships. So it's worth mentioning anyway.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  7. Re:Sexist by jandersen · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So not only the fact that she's a woman matters in this story, it's also important to throw some suspicion on her story of domestic violence.

    I think so - domestic violence very often leaves the survivor with little self-confidence, and the fact that she has managed to not only pick herself up and leave a violent man, but had enough pluck to take on a demanding challenge like this, is remarkable - and perhaps inspiring to others in her situation too. Perhaps what she did was just the right thing; doing practical, hard work can be a real therapy, and the sense of achievement is pure gold. Any engineer knows this.

  8. Re:No materials then? by mjwx · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Stupid headline

    No, it's a headline that isn't meant for stupid people.

    You see, language is contextual, you're expected to be smart enough to fill in the gaps by using the context of the sentence. Obviously by mentioning "YouTube Tutorials" we're talking about educational resources, not building material.

    If language did rely on people understanding context it would take ages to explain a simple concept, headlines would look like legal briefs as every possible explanation is covered off to avoid any ambiguity. I don't know about you, but I don't want to live on planet of the lawyers.

    --
    Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.