Unlike commercial construction, building a residential house requires less material, labor, and work – but many processes go on in building your dream home. Understanding each step will benefit you, your contractor, designer, architect, and team when the project starts because second-guessing during construction will inevitably cause delays and budget cuts.
If you are in the process of retrofitting or building an entirely new house, there are various considerations that you need to know – good thing that we’ve done the research for you and created a comprehensive guide on how to build and design your new residence project.
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Things to Consider Before Proceeding With the Construction Project?
Building a house involves many steps and things you must consider, such as location, design, and budget. Although this project is exciting, setting expectations is better than charging head-on without a concrete plan. Before you proceed with construction, here are essential considerations to include in the blueprint.
1: How Many Rooms Are in Your House?
When brainstorming about the interior of their homes, the first thing that comes to mind is how many and what type of rooms there will be. Start with the basics – kitchen, bedrooms, garage, basement, toilet and bath, and the living area. Then you can create a list of the secondary rooms you wish to add, depending on the budget.
These secondary rooms may include an office area, attic space, playroom, and library. You can also consider an outdoor space, like a balcony or yard. Nowadays virtual tools offer 3D modeling and simulation that are quite useful for planning ahead and analyzing all of these things.
2: What’s the Size of the House?
Another factor to consider during the initial stages of planning is the floor area of the house, which will entirely depend on how many square feet of land you build it on. Determine how many levels you want and the room layout. It’s crucial to consider which rooms will be beside each other and where to position the balcony or porch if you decide to get one.
3: What Type of Permits and Regulations Must You Get?
Identifying your municipality or zoning is essential to review and applying for the relevant building regulations. This step can be extremely easy or complicated, but if you don’t want to deal with it, the architect should be the one to pursue the application so that they can immediately notify you, as zoning can limit your initial floor plan, number of rooms that you can build on-site.
4: Where Can You Hire the Right People?
No matter how good the blueprint design is and how much you prepare for the project, if you need the right team to back you up, then all the planning will be a good use of time and money. Here’s a quick list of professionals you need to include in your construction roster:
- Architect: Considering the zoning papers and designing the floor layout, hiring an architect can help you interpret your dream into an actionable design plan. A good architect not only creates a vision board based on your needs, but they will also create a functional and architectural space. Compared to a designer, an architect will stay and oversee construction to ensure everything is according to plan.
- Contractor: A contractor is also the project manager, and their responsibility encompasses all stages of construction. Aside from overseeing the project, they delegate each task based on their expertise to prevent delays and ensure a smooth flow of work allocation. The most common type is general contractors, but hiring someone who knows multiple trades, like plumbing and electrical, would be better.
- Project Manager: Although a contractor’s job is flexible, a project manager is involved in all stages of construction – from development to finish. Their tasks include work allocations, scheduling, time management, finding a supplier, supply allocation, etc. Hiring one can help keep things organized and on time.
- Inspector: Hiring an inspector can help you survey the lot you’re planning to build the house on and ensure you have the necessary documents before you commence the project. It’s essential to take these steps and hire an inspector on day one to save hard work when you lack permits.
5: Do You Have Enough Budget?
Perhaps the most important thing to consider is if you have enough budget to build a house. Your contractor and architect will give you a ballpark, but ideally, you should have sufficient funding for the materials, salary, permits, logistics, and an extra for emergencies.
A Short Guide to Building Your Dream Home
Now that you know what to consider, you can proceed to the building stage.
Step 1: Excavation and Foundation
Before anything else, you must prepare and shape the construction site—clear debris like rocks, trees, weeds, and other debris that will cause problems later on. Once done, you can now see what you’re working with. Before pouring the foundation mixture, install the footings first, as these are essential. The foundation is not waterproof, so careful application and maintenance are necessary.
Step 3: Framing and the Essential Components
Now is the step where you and your crew will install the house’s walls, windows, and doors, and then later, the floor and the roof. You must protect these installed parts as you prepare for the next step, and using house wrap will do the trick. After framing the house, set up the essential elements, such as plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and insulation.
Step 4: Interior and External Finishes
Now is the step to install the interior and exterior finishes, such as a fireplace, and internal doors or windows, for the interior. As for the exterior, you’ll install the driveway and the patio and check the outside drainage system.
Step 5: Flooring and Fixtures
Hardwood flooring or carpets will do an excellent start for the house’s flooring. The fixture is the finishing touches of the HVAC, consisting of light switches, faucets, toilets, and sinks. There are protective devices you can install on the floor, like a flood-tight floor access door, that are best for floodtight applications.
Step 6: Inspection
Inspectors ensure that the house built is safe and sturdy enough to let a household live without fearing harm from the same home. The inspection consists of three main things:
- Ensuring the house is secure.
- Finding any issues you overlooked.
- Legal documentation.
Final Thoughts
Creating a house from scratch is no easy task, but it’s still doable if you have the suitable materials and preparation. Make a complete plan regarding the event in your construction project. Look at all angles and ensure you take advantage of every spot, and once done planning, let the construction begin.
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