June 5, 2009 Build your own home with a Shelter-Kit Play video

(NECN: Lauren Collins) - When you think of buying a house, you probably think of new construction or one that's already been built. But what about building it yourself? Thanks to one company, it might not be as hard as you'd think.

Like most homeowners, Rick takes pride in his four walls and cozy hearth.

But this particular homeowner can boast a little more than others. He built this cape himself.

95 percent of the whole kit went together without a hitch.

Rick, his wife and their dog Mickey live in a shelter-kit -- a do it your self house that arrives in pieces, on a flatbed, from this workshop in Tilton, New Hampshire.

“Everything is pre-cut, pre drilled, everything's been designed for them and about a 40 page instruction manual is included that's specific to their house.”

When shelter kit was founded in 1970, the company offered this basic cabin -- called unit one. It was based on the premise that two people could assemble the house in a weekend without power tools. That approach still applies today, though customers can pick any one of a variety of models to fit their needs -- from a barn or cabin to a cape or post and beam loft.

Owner Dave Kimball says customers get to make each house unique:

It’s a closed in building, and then they take it from there.

This is, or rather is about to be Dave Kimball’s house. This truck is headed out to a property he owns in Vermont. And in about a week,

the full shell should be up. In fact his daughter plans on having her wedding at the finished product in September.

Rick spent about a year on his house perfecting the finishing interior touches. The time and effort saved him quite a bit of money:

He also made very conscious decisions around the house to keep energy costs low -- a lot of insulation, a wood stove, and propane to run the gas stove and back up heaters.

Shelter kit recently launched green home kit -- a platform that allows home owner-builders to make environmentally friendly choices in the assembly process to earn points toward a green certified home.

“A lot of the things that we do here are green in terms of the materials we use, how we handle our scrap, where we source our materials.”

“It's very efficient. That's one thing I like about it. Keeping it small helps too.”