Noah believed God for things that had not yet happened - - things for which, I suppose, there was no indication they would happen. But he thought those things so real he dared not go against them - - he feared God; he knew God would do what he said he would do. His neighbors may have thought him a fool but Noah proved them foolish by his doing of the things God told him. What God said happened.
Was Noah a farmer or a herdsman, or both? As a farmer it would have been easier for him to grow crops while the four men (Noah and his sons) built the ark. If he were a herdsman he would have to move the flocks around to keep the pastures fresh. This would have made the construction much more difficult. In either case, he had to produce enough extra to fund their subsistence, materials and construction of the ark. This indicates the possibility that he may have hired the work done from people from outside the family.
For such a large structure he and his sons would have needed plenty of “free time”, time away from providing subsistence. Primitive construction techniques would also consume time. Did they use contractors, suppliers? If they did, they needed the funds to pay them. They probably ran a very successful farm, or they had large flocks over wide areas with many employees to oversee them.
