You just bought, or inherited an empty lot and are deciding on whether to hire someone to design your house and build it, hoping to reduce the hassle and worry of the whole process, or just design and build on your own, thinking that you can spend less than the former.

How would you decide what to choose? This article aims to help you realize both the positive and the negative points of your options, and hopefully, have your house built without worrying too much and at the same time, avoid too much unnecessary spending.

Your first option is to plan, design, and build your house by yourself. You should read some books on design and construction, study your design, and have patience and perseverance in conducting all the necessary processes in building your house - design, permits, construction. You will hire some workers and foremen to help you out and see, check, and adjust, if necessary, every step of the construction to your liking.

This can be very tedious and time-consuming, but you can keep track of your costs directly and can have total control where you put it.

Some of the expenses for your house will include materials, labor, equipment rental, tools, formworks and scaffoldings, and permits. You won't have to worry about fees for a contractor/builder. Risk of misunderstanding between you and a contractor is also eliminated because you will have direct communication with your foremen and workers.

Doing it yourself seems a little tempting, considering all the positive points about it and the promise of cost saving. But before you jump out and start building your house, you still have another option to consider - hire someone to do it for you.

While option number one saves you some fees for the builders, most of the time, option two can save you a lot more than that. Why? Consider all your costs in building it alone and compare it with that of the second option:

Contractors, because of the volume of materials they need for their projects, usually get volume discounts from suppliers when they order. They often have regular suppliers and get items at a much lower cost than for one-time buyers. This alone is already a considerable reduction in cost compared to the first option.

When you build on your own, you provide for formworks, shorings and scaffoldings, usually of lumber and ply wood. This will already compose a significant percentage of your cost, adding to that the fact that these items will only go to waste when the house is done, unless of course, you have another house to build. Contractors provide their own formworks and falseworks, which can either be steel or wood. They can reuse these over and over for other projects and its maintenance will be their only apparent cost. Again, huge savings in cost is contributed by this scheme.

Temporary facilities for your workers also add to the list of items that will not be useful after the project. These include the bunkers, temporary storage of personal belongings, and temporary toilets. That is if you are on your own and you have only one project. Most contractors provide these facilities and reuse it for other projects, hence, savings in cost.

Rental of equipment can also be saved in this scheme because some contractors have their own equipment to provide, which they use again and again in their projects. You will have to rent or buy if you were on your own. Most heavy equipment are rented at an hourly rate and can pile up the cost of your project if not scheduled properly. Other tools and equipment - concrete mixers, planers, spades, saws, welding machines - are often bought and will no longer be needed after the project.

Aside from cost, the standardized and systematic approach of the experienced designers and builders also lead the efficiency of the project in terms of duration of construction and accuracy of work.

Problems regarding the work are easily solved because of their experience in the area. Many different and unexpected problems arise during construction. It can add to your experience if you build it yourself, but again, if savings in cost, time, and effort are prioritized, hiring a contractor/builder gives you the advantage. Contractors also generally produce less wastage due to the handling and usage of construction materials because of the same reason. They have the knowledge and experience to know how to make the most out of what is available to them.