You’ve planned endlessly regarding the design, conceptualization and implementation of your dream home. Yet, the final product may not seem as how you visualize it. It could be because of various reasons e.g. small lot, odd location, cutting back on your budget, poor planning and the likes.
Yes, poor planning. No matter how much attention you put on the design and overall pre-construction conceptualization, it all boils down to the execution; are your builders the best at their work? Or it could be because you’re manning the construction yourself?
Many new homeowners commit regretful yet some other are fixable mistakes, regardless, you don’t want that, do you? Listed below are the most common mistakes you should keep in mind in order to avoid disaster and see your dream home flawlessly come to life.
Trying to do it all by yourself.
So you’ve sketched your desired floor plan and house structure, right? Now, time to hire a real expert to consult your design and conceptualize it with them. You may have place you laundry room inconveniently or your bedroom’s space could have been maximized more. You still need to consult with a professional since they know a thousand times more that you do. And don’t go acting like you’re the general contractor. Have you got a solid network of skilled contractors and subcontractors?
If you think doing it yourself or acting as if you have the general know-how of home building (when you actually don’t) will save you money, you’re wrong. When something wrong boils down, it’s because you lack knowledge and firm understanding regarding it and it could only cost you more than the money you’re saving.
Not hiring professionals.
Hiring the right experts may be expensive, yes. However, having them will save you time as well. Find a licensed and extremely skilled, reputable professional with years of experience to help you plan your home.
Hiring the wrong people might cost you a lot when the plan fail to shape up. Most especially when you’re requesting for a custom-designed home that would need the services of an expert from the industry. On top of that, don’t make the mistake of hiring the wrong people. Prevent that from happening by communicating with their previous clients and reading their reviews. You can always ask for their previous work as reference. Don’t deal with this lightly for they are the ones who have the power to make your dream home from sketch to reality.
Not planning your budget.
Building a home isn’t cheap. Let’s start there. Be realistic with the figures. Do you have a friend or colleague who had their houses built before? Ask them for advices and guide. It could be of great help for you and to give you a reality check of how expensive it is to build a new home. You could also ask your contractor and architect to provide you an estimate of how much the overall cost would be to help you manage your budget. It would be better if they could provide you an exact number — detailed and with break downs so you know how much you really have to allot for the home building budget.
In addition, remember to have a contingency plan. Their provided estimate is just a ballpark figure; it could go either lower or a little overboard than expected. It’s important and ultimately better to budget more than the estimated figure so just in case anything goes wrong or you need to add extra expenses for your kitchen, you have an extra budget for it.
Cutting your budget.
As the old saying goes, “You get what you pay for.” Yes, it is completely understandable that you are in a tight budget. However, cutting corners with materials and design will not reflect positively in the economical sense of it.
Most of the time, home builders cut their budget on the tiles, windows, bricks and others in order to have your hands on an imported chandelier or dining table from Italy. That’s not really practical. Furthermore, do not cut back on your tradesmen’s labor. Their pay mirrors the quality of their work. Sometimes, you being a cheapskate might cost you to replace your roof tiles 3 or 5 years after because you preferred a much lesser quality to cut back on budget.
Poor space planning.
Among the things when it comes to planning that you should be concerned of is the space planning and design — it’s one of the crucial parts of the planning process. Know where to allot more space and where it’s okay to compensate.
Moreover, make sure that you have enough space in your storage room. You don’t want to clutter the other areas of the house just because you failed to enlarge your storage area. If you you could live with a simple master bedroom, good for you; more space to disseminate around the area then. Also, ask yourself whether or not is it really necessary to have an entertainment room (separate from the living room). If you think it wouldn’t be used frequently since your family rather spend a quality time in the living room, drop it. If you don’t have guests come to often, then your entertainment area would be completely pointless. Consider these things when planning the design. Be practical.
Making changes after plan finalization.
The second the engineer approves the architect’s layout structure, any changes after it would bring the construction down and numerous problems and dilemmas will arise which will cost you a hefty amount of money in the end.
In order to accommodate the changes, you should once again consult the engineer to revise the layout and seal his approval. By doing so, you will be wasting more money and time just because of these changes.
Ensure that as early on in the planning stage, you’re able to voice out what you want and need. The architect may suggest a few things but know that you are in control of your home so it is still your desires that are most important. However, do keep in mind the practicality of it. Otherwise. it may only cost you more than just a headache.
About Chie Suarez
Chie Suarez is a passionate writer/blogger for PAAL Kit Homes, a company that manufactures and supplies steel-framed kit homes that help Australian families build their dream home. Chie likes watching TV series and movies, is inclined to music and has a deep interest in home design and decoration.