Home Building Mistakes

Even though we all have idealistic dreams of the way we want our house to look, it is important that you take certain things into consideration before your dreams turn into a nightmare.

Below are the 6 most common mistakes that are committed when it comes to home building:

1. Not leaving it to the experts - avoid the you know better.  

We try saving money where ever possible which is highly understandable. However what you have to realise is that getting a professional architect or home extension designer to design your house extension is very important. They are qualified individuals like a doctor that go through the entire process of studying through university and given exams before they are eligible to call themselves qualified. It is important that you lay the initial foundation correctly so that everything else falls into place.

2. Do it yourself - The DIY approach 

With the aim of trying to save a lot of money, many people tend to take on the responsibility of managing their home extension project themselves. Even though you may feel that this way could save you a lot of money, in actual fact it could end up costing you more due to lack of experience, knowledge and expertise.

A recent quote for taken from a professional architect, Ron Safapour claiming the importance of hiring professional home builders and architects for the right job. He said that based on the type of home you are after, the type of architect and home builder will vary drastically so it is important to get it right.  

3 Stick to your initial plans - avoid Changes during the build. 

Planning is the key to success. What you have to realise is that this is not a computerised program that can easily shuffle things around accordingly to how you want. The whole process of building a new home or a home extension is one that requires a lot of time, planning and commitment. Once the home extension designer and engineer have gone ahead with the plans that have been finalised do not change your mind about what you wanted. It is common for people once everything is done to say “can I move the door to this place instead”.

Not only will that waste a lot of time but will also cost you extra. The planning process is vitally important and can not be stressed enough with your architect and engineer. Make sure you get everything right the first time round unless you have money lying around to waste.

4 Don’t cut corners - avoid the cheaper options. 

We do understand that many homeowners are currently going through financial difficulties which usually cause them to cut corners when it comes to certain expenses. With regards to cutting corners it is fine to cut back on luxury items such as imported furniture but it is highly important that one does not cut corners when it comes to the initial layout and foundations of the house including external materials such as the roof, tiles, walls etc.

5. Do not pay up front - avoid paying ahead of the works installed on site.

Another common mistake is paying the builder in advance for work they still have to do on your home extension. Never do this. If the builder is not willing to work without you paying him up front then you will be better of looking for another contractor.

6. Make a realistic budget - avoid the rose tinted glasses.

It is quite common for one to always go over their planned budget as they are never calculated realistically. For this reason it is very important that you take some time to sit down and plan and calculate a realistic budget for your home extension to ensure that you do not over spend in the process and that you are able to plan ahead for the required funding. 

NOTE - These are general discussion articles only.