BUILD IT ON PAPER FIRST

To build a new home is very exciting and allows for plenty of day dreaming. A new life in a different environment, enjoying your friends, family and aquaintences in a place you have thought about carefully. It can also be a sizable amount of work. It will be dearer, more work, time and complication for all involved if the details are not thought through carefully, decisions finalised and builders and tradesmen left with the plans and specification to follow the instructions and in the correct order.

One really needs to build the site, home, garden on paper FIRST.

Taking plenty of time to "sleep on it" but to be definate in the decisions, thorough in details of construction, materials, colours, finishes. And then to leave the work to the blokes.

First: Every detail of the plan needs to be resolved, then the construction materials. Once that is decided, there are the fittings & fixtures: kitchen, laundry and bathroom materials, details and colours. Also appliances and furnishings. Of course pricing will influence everything and having clear paperwork & notation makes the process far more sequential and mandanageable. Choices can be made based on availability, tradesmen and pricing.

Having problems with decisions? Think: in five years time will this really matter? What is the worst that can happen? Help yourself and the builders but not flip flopping! The process becomes exciting not daunting, clear not confusing & decisive based on actual quotes, samples, availability, tradesmen and not surprises!

Any changes the clients make to a builder's contract adds dollars and time to the whole build. Builders are within their rights to add a percentage to the changes of construction and materials. He has to ensure for changes that he has allowed extra time for his part and for all his tradesmen including additional insurance cover. Each and every time this happens every tradesman runs the risk of confusions, loss of time and materials. It is a little known fact of how many trades are affected by the smallest variations. A wider entry may mean more tiles, grout and time for the tiler, less carpet but no less of a laying job than the origional size. It could affect the plasterers, electrician, carpenter.

The garden is an intergal part of the comfort of the home so should also be thought through before soil is turned. It maybe affected by where the outside doors are, window placement and paths. Once the home construction is finished spreading a big bag of lawn seed can assist until the full garden plan is realised.​

Firstly plan as much of the detail of the home on paper as you can, gather samples and colours. Make decisions and stick to them. And avoid costly changes!

Author

Margot is a qualified architectural draftsperson with a passion for practical living, making the best use of space, natural light and warmth. She will turn your ideas into scaled sketch design plans that you can take to a builder to quote. ​

Email: [email protected]

Image by ElasticComputeFarm from Pixabay