I built the house I am living in now. I subbed out things that took crews to do like concrete slab, framing, sheet-rock. I did all the plumbing, electrical, finish carpentry, and painting. It took me 2 years to build. Prices for a contractor to build a home at that time was about $85 a sq foot. I built for $35. I also overdid much of the work such as the electrical. Every wall socket in the house is a dedicated 20 amp. I used 5000 feet of no 12 romex. It was only $90 a thousand back then.