Building your first home | Top tips to consider
Building your first home can be exciting; you will get to have your own design and carve a reality out of your dreams. But there is also a huge possibility of making a mistake. Mistakes when building a home can be costly. But there are a number of foolproof tips to help you get started and give you a pretty clear idea of what to do, and the best way to ensure a successful construction process.
Know your Materials
The construction industry has undergone tremendous developments over the past few years. The materials available are not as limited as they were some time ago. Try and use some of these emerging materials in building your home because they have been designed to boost performance and reduce environmental impacts.
Geopolymer cement and concrete for instance, is a low carbon cement that reduces emissions by about 80 to 90 percent. Magnesium cements are also available and they extract carbon dioxide from the air during the curing process, thus being more eco-friendly. Pick your materials from an early stage in the project because, in most cases, the materials used dictate the specifications and designs of the home.
Affordability
This is the part that leaves most homeowners dumbstruck. After browsing through glossy magazines and mind-boggling renovation shows, people tend to have a really vague idea of what they can and can't afford. Your best bet is to break down the math. Divide your total budget over the room area to get a figure that will help you know the amount to spend in each room. That will give you a clearer value of the kind of features to have. Also, ensure your contractor knows these figures before the building begins.
Site Preparation
This involves clearing out the site and analysing it before beginning the building process. Normally, this step is not included in the building costs, so you need to account some funds for it too. If the area is uneven or slopes, then your contractor will need to employ some sedimentation control techniques to prevent the materials from draining off onto the roads and other properties.
This is the part where any drain pipes and sewer or gas lines should be properly accounted for to avoid damaging them. Trees, neighbouring houses and rock outcrops are all important bits of info that can assist in decision making and utilizing the landscape to the fullest.