As kids, we learn pretty quickly how much fun it can be to build things. Whether it’s a bucket of Legos, a replica model kit, or just a pillow fort, crafting something from a bunch of parts is what scientists call a blast. But then you grow up, and while some folks keep building models from kits as an adult, one of the sad things about adulthood (aside from the poverty, healthcare costs, and sudden realization that your diet of candy and stress doesn’t lead to a long life) is that we often don’t have the wonder of building things from kits anymore.
Except you’d be surprised how many things actually do come in kit form. Building stuff from a kit is generally cheaper than buying it pre-made, and you can learn a lot more about what you’re buying in the process. Here are seven things you might be surprised to learn you can order through the mail and build on your own.
You can build a house from a kit (but be wary)
Yep, you can order an entire house to be delivered to your property. It will arrive as pre-cut framing and other materials, packed flat and dropped off for you to open up and put together. You can even order them from your local Home Depot. These are mostly what would be defined as “tiny homes,” generally well under 1,000 square feet of interior space once completed, but they can still be fully-functioning houses if you take the time to put in plumbing and electrical. The costs vary—you can buy tiny home kits for less than $5,000, or spend upwards of $50,000 to go a little fancier.
Keep in mind, however, that these kits aren’t magic. You’ll have to prepare the build site, complete with a slab foundation; you’ll have to pull permits and make sure your home is legal; you’ll have to figure out the utilities and drainage; and you usually have to purchase and install your own insulation and finishes. Still, even if you hire a contractor to handle all this for you, building a house from a kit can be an affordable option, and you can learn a lot from the process.
You can build a street-legal car from a kit
Did you know you can build a street-legal car from a kit? While some of these kits require a professional garage to complete, many car kits can be built in your own garage as long as you have a good set of automotive tools and a fair amount of time on your hands—it can take several hundred hours for one person to build one of these cars.
Or you could buy a kit to build the smallest street-legal car, the Peel P50. For about $13,000 you can build a very, very small car that you can legally drive. It takes about 50 hours, even if you’re not the most experienced car mechanic in the world. And if $13,000 is a bit too rich for you, you can find car kits under $10,000 that offer a lot of car for the money. Of course, just because a car is legal to drive doesn’t mean these kit cars will be as sturdy or as useful as a commercially-sold car, but what they lack in practical use they make up for in fun.
You can build an awesome computer from a kit
People have been building their own personal computers since the beginning—in fact, most of the first PCs had to be built from parts because the industry didn’t exist yet. Today you can purchase a fully-functioning PC for just a few hundred bucks (or splurge on something fancier), but there are still good reasons to build your own PC, from choosing the best components (as opposed to the off-the-rack pieces you’ll get in a budget PC) to educating yourself on how to build, maintain, and repair a computer.
But if you’ve never built a PC before, the process can be intimidating, so making your first effort a kit computer is a great way to get your feet wet. PC Crate, for example, will sell you a kit that includes all the necessary components, instructions, and tools to build your own PC at home. There are some limited choices in terms of the components you choose, but they’re guaranteed to work well together, and you can even buy insurance in case you screw everything up. And if things are assembled properly, there should be no difference in performance between your homebrew rig and something you bought at the store—in fact, it’ll probably be better.
You can build a surprisingly wide range of guitars
If you’ve ever dreamed of being a luthier, here’s your chance. You can buy a surprisingly wide range of guitar kits that come with all the pieces of a quality guitar and instructions on how to assemble them. While you’re not sculpting and finishing the body or neck, you will learn how most common guitars are put together, which will eventually let you craft your own guitars from different parts like Eddie Van Halen and give you a leg up on maintaining and repairing your instruments.
You can build a robot from a kit
If you need a robot to pass the butter, you don’t have to wait for the future—you can get a robot kit in the mail and let your inner mad scientist roam free. Whether you want a robotic car, arm, robot dog, or tiny humanoid that will make you feel like a god, you can order a kit that will give you everything you need to build your own metal minion. After that, it’s up to you to program and put it to work, and that’s where the real creative fun begins.
You can build a bicycle from a kit
Like building a kit car, building your own bike offers flexibility because you can choose each part. But if you’ve never built a bike before and don’t know where to start, a bike kit is a great way to learn all about the parts that make up a bike and how they fit together. Most of these kits assume you bought a frame separately, however, and some don’t include everything you need (like a braking system, as some of these kits are for racing bikes that don’t use brakes), so you’ll need to pay attention to what you’re getting in your kit before committing.
You can customize a gun from a kit
The legality of this is murky, but in some states you can order a gun kit that comes with everything except the frame of the gun, which is technically the part the law considers to be the firearm (everything else is just parts). That means you can’t just order a complete gun as a kit, but if you already have a gun or frame, you can order any number of kits to customize and otherwise change up your firearm.
Building stuff from a kit is a great middle ground between throwing money at something and doing everything from scratch. You can usually save some money, learn a lot about how things are made, and have a lot more creative control over the final product. All it takes is your time and patience.
