Do I need an architect

I used to have a teacher that said

Anyone can do anything given enough time and instruction.

That being said every trade has a learning curve to acquire the skills and required tools to accomplish the task.

I am a Master Electrician and have been in the construction industry for over 30 years. I am just finishing building a new house and here is what it have learned so far.

Some things are just not worth trying to do yourself.

So, here is what I hired out:

• Excavation
• water well
• septic
• poured walls
• concrete flatwork
• windows and exterior doors
• siding
• brickwork
• garage doors
• interior wall framing
• basement stairway
• drywall
• air conditioning
• ceramic tile
• kitchen counters.

Here is what I have done / am doing myself or mostly myself with paid people to help me:

• Framing
• insulating
• roofing
• painting
• concrete stain and seal
• electrical
• data
• cableTV
• security
• smoke detectors
• hot water heating
• geothermal heat pump
• solar water heater
• photovoltaics
• plumbing
• interior doors
• hardware
• trim carpentry
• kitchen cabinets.

I have been working in my spare time and paying out of pocket to avoid a large mortgage. It has taken me 6 years so far with about two more to go.

Sometimes I wish I had started this when I was much younger like yourself. On the other hand, I have acquired many more skills and patience in the last 20+ years that have helped me make this a great house.

Whatever you decide to do, understand that building even a small house is a complicated project and will require perseverance and patience. If you have ever spent a weekend doing a project then just multiply that by 1000 times or more, depending on the size of your house, and imagine how big a job this will be.

If you are still interested, then working in the construction industry for a few years first, will give you invaluable experience toward your goal.

Good luck!

Do you have to?

No.

What will happen if you don't?

The unsupported ends of your joists will:

1. sag
2. twist

The decking on the left of the single tree (from the angle of the picture you provided) will become uneven, making tripping hazards for the occupants up top. You'll also end up needing to replace those deck boards more frequently, since not only will they want to do some warping and cracking of their own (it's wood, that's what it does), but they'll be forced into even more warping by the joists moving underneath them.

An additional consideration - without the rim joist, what are you going to attach the railing to? Having the nice straight, even surface of the rim joist gives a good mating surface for screwing the railing posts to (with some serious sized structural screws, not decking screws (they're not designed for that kind of load), and especially not drywall screws). Without it, you're going to have to fabricate some pretty unique and beefy brackets to hold the railings to the ends of the joists. You'll probably have to cut through that last deck board to attach them. Then, you'll get to watch the whole railing get ripped apart as the joists twist with age.

But, you don't have to.

Maybe OP had thought about this, but it just occurred to me: I'd put a rim joist at the far end, too, even though each joist is directly supported by the beam and attached to them with the hurricane clips (kudos for that!). Those metal clips will help prevent the bottoms from moving when the joists want to twist (if it twists away from the metal, a joist can pull itself off the nail, leaving the metal behind), but will leave the tops free to move. A rim joist on the far end will help prevent warping all the way along the ends of the joists.