Yes, you can build your own home If you have the time and appropriate skills. Doing so can save around $20,000 to $60,000 for the cost to build your own home, most of which comes from acting as your own general contractor.  Building a typical 2,600-square-foot home can take an entire professional crew and subcontractors many months to put together. If you do it yourself, you'll need to understand the complexities of construction, building codes, and timelines, and you’ll have to spend money hiring labor. Some DIY-ers can take years to build their own home.