I’ve arranged these in hierarchical order from easiest to hardest.

 

Sanding and Finishing

If you’ve repainted a room, you have some idea of what this is all about: Drop cloths, taping, edging, rollers, clean up, and air out the room. But if you’re painting new construction you have priming, and possibly two color coats--three times the work. If you’re doing any sort of clear finish, there is sanding and tack cloth in between multiple coats and potentially preceding that were came the stain and filling all those dastardly nail holes. Translation: painting is all about time, so if you aren’t paying for a professional’s time, you can get a big financial benefit for having learned just one category of skills.

 

Drywall

Hanging drywall is relatively simple and straightforward, although ceilings require more ladders and hands. It’s doable, but you don’t get a whole lot of bang for your buck here because professional drywall crews are really good at what they do. A better choice would be to hire the installation of the drywall, but do the mudding and taping yourself. That’s a more time-intensive task and after a little practice it’s not too hard. Make sure to invest in a quality filtered sander because drywall dust tends to migrate all over the place.

 

Flooring

Installing a floating floor is relatively simple, although a professional crew will beat your pants off in a race to finish. This is where a tool rental outfit will come in handy for the specialized nailers.

 

Trim

Trim around floors doors and windows is somewhat time consuming, but with a good miter saw and practice using a tape measure, it’s in the middle range of skill levels. Crown molding, chair rails, etc. are in the same category. If your framer did a good job keeping everything square, it will be that much easier.

 

Kitchen Design and Install

This may or may not be a good idea. I take care in my kitchen designs and plans, so I hope will find them to be thoughtful and appropriate for a compact house. In that case, or even if you want to make some adjustments, ordering cabinets from a big box store or Ikea and installing them yourself is quite doable. If you’re really picky about your layout and want a kitchen designer, you might was well get the package: design and installation by professionals. Countertops are probably best left to a professional in either case, unless you’re doing something super simple like a one-wall or galley kitchen.

 

Exterior Siding & Trim

It’s best to have some experience doing this beforehand. Factors that add complexity: long ladders to reach gables and second floors; planks like fiber cement are best done with two people while cedar shakes can be done solo. If you’re painting (and I hope you’re not using vinyl siding), that’s a no-brainer for you to tackle as DIY, assuming you’re comfortable on ladders.

 

Tiling

I can’t say I’ve tackled this one myself, but it seems kind of tricky. I might try a kitchen backsplash first, since tile in a shower has to be watertight and solid in order to withstand the weight of a person and an occasional flailing elbow.

 

Interior Framing

I actually enjoy this quite a bit. Let’s assume the framers have installed all the load-bearing walls. Then you get the flexibility to test out the layout yourself before nailing everything down. Just lay down the floor plates to denote the wall locations to get a sense for how the rooms halls and closets will shape up. No harm in hanging some old sheets or cheap tarps in critical locations to help enclose the “room” and give a better sense of space. Framing can be done solo, but a helper makes things move a lot faster.

 

Everything Else

I’m going to lump together everything that is required to weather-in the house shell as best done by a professional (unless you’re a professional yourself) as well as the other trades. Basically this covers everything that gets inspected:

• Foundation

• Utilities or Septic/Well

• Site grading, walls, driveway

• Structural Framing

• Window and door installation

• Roofing

• Electrical

• Plumbing

• HVAC