"Alex" wrote:

My question is that if we spend those years
researching the in's and out's of building a house, talk to local
folks, etc, would it be possible for us to basically build the house
without a general contractor?

Is it possible? Sure. Is it advisable? No. There are so many reasons it's hard
to know where to begin.

- You won't know which subs are reliable and which ones haven't a clue.
- You won't know how to catch the mistakes the subs are making or the shortcuts
they'll take when they realize you haven't a clue.
- You won't get access to the good subs because they're busy working for
contractors that will send followon work their way.

A friend of mine bought an owner built house and regrets it to this day. He is
constantly dealing with repairs to improper construction and non-standard
parts/construction techniques.