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If you have the opportunity (and can find contractors willing to work with you), picking out parts of a project to DIY is a good way to build skills, and save $

If you have the opportunity (and can find contractors willing to work with you), picking out parts of a project to DIY is a good way to build skills, and save $$s. We're building a shop. I've contracted most of the build out, but found that I could save $20,000+ by DIY'ing the radiant heat portion myself. Took about a days worth of planning and research, another to lay down the pipe before the floor was poured, and another to hook everything up. Honestly, the cost-differential was enough to make me think that I should start a company that installs radiant heating. I can't think of many other professions where I could clear $20,000 for 3-days of work. I'm planning to DIY the solar-install on the same shop here in a couple of months, we'll see if that's as much of success story.

Spooky23 6y ago
It’s funny how when you’re young you it’s hard to learn about these types of things. My wife went to school with a guy who didn’t like college. He took a summer job on a road crew, learned how to use an excavator and got hooked. Dropped out, saved up, and bought a used dump truck, which basically made him. Started out hauling stuff and then got into water/sewer work and excavation. He’s up to about 20 trucks a decade later, and pays the bills with the sewer work. He leveraged the assets he had (trucks, diggers) and won demolition contracts — they make money on demolition. Like $75-200k for an emergency demolition if they can get there in 90m.
- hourislate 6y ago
  Have a buddy who got a Finance Degree. Was hired into a large financial/invest firm in a great position and salary. 1 -2 years and couldn't take it, quit to go drywall with his two older brothers. When he quit his job the parents wept. He was the first kid to go/finish University in the family. It went from 3 guys hanging board to a 40-50 million construction company in 2 decades.
  - oigursh 6y ago
    What's the company?
    - hourislate 6y ago
      Small Canadian custom home builder in Ontario.
- yourapostasy 6y ago
  Sounds similar to Andrew Camarata's path [1]. His intersection with HN is he studied computer science, then decided he wanted to work outdoors instead (he grew up helping his dad and picked up a lot of fabrication and repair skills doing that, and he's really good at troubleshooting so he is probably no slouch at coding, either), so he started a property maintenance business. [1] https://www.youtube.com/c/AndrewCamarata/about https://www.youtube.com/c/AndrewCamarata/about
Obi_Juan_Kenobi 6y ago
Being flexible is key. Some jobs benefit so much from equipment and skill that it won't ever make sense to DIY. Some jobs are just a bunch of labor that you could do, and probably do better because you care to do it right. DIY solar seems like a ROI for a DIY project. Just stay safe on that roof!
- atourgates 6y ago
  Thanks! Yeah - I live in a state with essentially zero incentives, so to make Solar pay for itself I have to rely on net-metering plus the 26% federal tax rebate. If I went with a commercially installed system, I'd be looking at a 15-20 year payback. If I can DIY, I should be looking at a 6-10 year payback.
eitally 6y ago
Framing. Once you understand the code and have done it a few times, this is another one where -- assuming you have access to a low cost, reliable labor pool -- you can also clear $20-30k in a weekend [in California].
a1pulley 6y ago
I recently installed a 6.8 kW system on my house. The final cost was $1.60/watt for "premium" Panasonic panels and Enphase microinverters, which was significantly lower than all the quotes I got. Tesla is now competitive watt for watt, but they achieve their prices with string inverters and/or panels from manufacturers that may not be around for the duration of their warranties. Another benefit of going solo on my solar project was learning that I could legally install panels on a part of my roof that everyone else thought I couldn't use because of old setback rules. I was able to fit eight additional panels on my roof after discussing the issue with the city inspector. Most of my prep time was spent writing my permit application. If you want to use mine as a reference or template, file an issue on my github repo for the project [1] and I'll upload it later. I'd also be happy to chat about the gear I chose, where I bought it, and share a list of materials. [1] https://github.com/hamikm/solar-report https://github.com/hamikm/solar-report (side note: I wrote this to help analyze my surprisingly complex electrical bill because custom date ranges were buggy in the Enphase app at the time)
- atourgates 6y ago
  Thanks! Yes - I've heard the permit application can be a hassle, so I was planning on going with one of the companies that offers solar permitting as a service for a few-hundred $$s. E.g.: http://www.geminisolardesign.com/ http://www.geminisolardesign.com/

Spooky23 6y ago

It’s funny how when you’re young you it’s hard to learn about these types of things. My wife went to school with a guy who didn’t like college. He took a summer job on a road crew, learned how to use an excavator and got hooked. Dropped out, saved up, and bought a used dump truck, which basically made him. Started out hauling stuff and then got into water/sewer work and excavation. He’s up to about 20 trucks a decade later, and pays the bills with the sewer work. He leveraged the assets he had (trucks, diggers) and won demolition contracts — they make money on demolition. Like $75-200k for an emergency demolition if they can get there in 90m.

hourislate 6y ago
Have a buddy who got a Finance Degree. Was hired into a large financial/invest firm in a great position and salary. 1 -2 years and couldn't take it, quit to go drywall with his two older brothers. When he quit his job the parents wept. He was the first kid to go/finish University in the family. It went from 3 guys hanging board to a 40-50 million construction company in 2 decades.
- oigursh 6y ago
  What's the company?
  - hourislate 6y ago
    Small Canadian custom home builder in Ontario.
yourapostasy 6y ago
Sounds similar to Andrew Camarata's path [1]. His intersection with HN is he studied computer science, then decided he wanted to work outdoors instead (he grew up helping his dad and picked up a lot of fabrication and repair skills doing that, and he's really good at troubleshooting so he is probably no slouch at coding, either), so he started a property maintenance business. [1] https://www.youtube.com/c/AndrewCamarata/about https://www.youtube.com/c/AndrewCamarata/about

Obi_Juan_Kenobi 6y ago

Being flexible is key. Some jobs benefit so much from equipment and skill that it won't ever make sense to DIY. Some jobs are just a bunch of labor that you could do, and probably do better because you care to do it right. DIY solar seems like a ROI for a DIY project. Just stay safe on that roof!

atourgates 6y ago
Thanks! Yeah - I live in a state with essentially zero incentives, so to make Solar pay for itself I have to rely on net-metering plus the 26% federal tax rebate. If I went with a commercially installed system, I'd be looking at a 15-20 year payback. If I can DIY, I should be looking at a 6-10 year payback.

eitally 6y ago

Framing. Once you understand the code and have done it a few times, this is another one where -- assuming you have access to a low cost, reliable labor pool -- you can also clear $20-30k in a weekend [in California].

a1pulley 6y ago

I recently installed a 6.8 kW system on my house. The final cost was $1.60/watt for "premium" Panasonic panels and Enphase microinverters, which was significantly lower than all the quotes I got. Tesla is now competitive watt for watt, but they achieve their prices with string inverters and/or panels from manufacturers that may not be around for the duration of their warranties. Another benefit of going solo on my solar project was learning that I could legally install panels on a part of my roof that everyone else thought I couldn't use because of old setback rules. I was able to fit eight additional panels on my roof after discussing the issue with the city inspector. Most of my prep time was spent writing my permit application. If you want to use mine as a reference or template, file an issue on my github repo for the project [1] and I'll upload it later. I'd also be happy to chat about the gear I chose, where I bought it, and share a list of materials. [1] https://github.com/hamikm/solar-report https://github.com/hamikm/solar-report (side note: I wrote this to help analyze my surprisingly complex electrical bill because custom date ranges were buggy in the Enphase app at the time)

atourgates 6y ago
Thanks! Yes - I've heard the permit application can be a hassle, so I was planning on going with one of the companies that offers solar permitting as a service for a few-hundred $$s. E.g.: http://www.geminisolardesign.com/ http://www.geminisolardesign.com/