When you are building a new house you can make mistakes either because you’re unaware of construction best practices or because you don’t understand them correctly.
Homebuilding is a fast-changing industry and what used to work a few years ago may not look good today. It is thus important to stay educated and informed about the latest home construction developments.
In this post, you will learn about the 10 most common mistakes to avoid building a new home.
Here is the list:
1.) Not having proper Safety Measures
Some people want to build their house in the fastest time possible without considering safety, they somehow don’t care or are unaware of the potential hazards at construction sites.
A good safety measure for workers is to wear safety toe boots and helmets to protect them from the risk of falling heavy objects on their feet or head.
By including safety measures such as safety gear, you can increase the productivity of the workers and also make them feel safe to work at the site.
2.) Poor Planning
This is probably the biggest mistake while building a new home and despite the emphasis given by all builders, still, some homeowners do not provide exact requirements for each space.
If you fail to provide home builders with the exact requirements such as (lifestyle, storage space, safety features for young children or elderly requirements), then you minimize your chances of the home getting built as per your requirement.
3.) Failure to estimate time and budget
Homebuilders do not tell you the overhead costs, which is a huge mistake and gives them a bad reputation.
Most people are unaware of the extra cost that impacts the budget such as (building permits, site preparation, lender closing cost etc), make sure to discuss them in advance.
Similarly, most homeowners fail to consider the delays in the construction, for example, unfavorable weather conditions, financial lending process and selecting materials and design.
4.) Frequent change in requirements
Don’t expect that because you have discussed and written the requirements it will not change during construction.
Realistically changes come up while you are building a new home that affects both time and cost. The key is to avoid frequent changes which can increase the cost exponentially
Typically a 10% change in requirements cost is fine as long as you have build allowances for that, so you do not run out of money.
5.) Doing construction work day and night without a proper plan
We understand you have to build your new home as soon as possible, but you have to understand the potential risk of working at night and create a plan to ensure workers’ safety.
- Ensure proper visibility at night to allow workers to continue work.
- Noise control so that you do not disturb neighborhood households.
- Proper rest for workers, so that they are awake and avoid accidents while working at night.
6.) Underutilization of spaces
While it’s enticing to build rooms such as a game room, gym room or multipurpose room but often these rooms are used rarely, which turn them into dumping zones for unused things.
Decide in advance what your requirements are as per your lifestyle and stick to it, no matter what. Do not get influenced by what other people say or are doing.
7.) Ignoring builder reputation
Your goal is to find a trusted builder who has delivered the projects on time and is recommended by other homeowners.
One of the ways is to ask for references and testimonials of other customers to make informed decisions. But remember building home is a complicated process, you may not get 100% satisfaction as each builder might have some bad reviews.
8.) Listening and copying every Idea
In this digital world, there are thousands of experts available online offering advice. If you keep on researching and listening endlessly you will never be able to start the project.
However, it’s crucial to research different ideas and opinions of experts, but at the same time keep in mind your requirements and budget to complete the project on time.
9.) Be proactive at every stage
Don’t take a laid back approach while building a new house, for most people it is a lifetime investment.
People assume once they have finalized the material specification and design, the house will complete as per the contract. However, you should be actively involved in each stage to avoid rework.
10.) Building a home without considering the location
Assuming your desired social infrastructure (school, departmental store, hospital, workplace) is not in close proximity to your house, then you have to travel the distance. Consider what’s the ideal distance for you as per your needs.
Apart from that consider the neighborhood and build your house according to the surrounding area. The biggest and the smallest house in the area is hard to sell.
Conclusion
It may look like a lot of work building a new home but as you break the process into steps it will be easy and manageable. You can avoid all the mistakes mentioned above by taking expert advice and build your dream home.
Author Bio: Stephen Luettgen
Stephen is the founder of WorkGearz.com having more than 12 years of
experience in construction as a construction project manager.