Often considered to be the height of luxury, and something which every homeowner wants to have the chance to do at least once in their lives, building a new home according to your exact specifications and requirements is undoubtedly a great way to bring your house goals to life under one roof. However, from failing to calculate the costs effectively to hiring cowboy contractors, there are some mistakes which can soon turn your dream house into a nightmare project.
In this article, we share some of the most common mistakes made by those designing and building their own new home, so that you can learn more them and avoid making such mistakes yourself.
1. Failing to calculate the costs correctly
Let’s be honest, any good construction project starts and ends with the budget. And while it is expected that the costs vary during the process as you uncover ways of cutting a few financial corners while spending more than expected on some parts of the project, for the most part having an accurate budget and costings sheet is the only way to operate without serious obstacles and stumbling blocks.
A few of the best ways to avoid making this mistake include:
- Always budget to the upper end of the scale when setting aside the finances for parts of the project which vary hugely in terms of cost.
- Factor in the chance of price increases in both labour and materials.
- Remember that if something is significantly cheaper, material or contractor, there is probably a reason – and it may mean that you are skimping on quality. You may end up paying more initially for good services and materials, but the long term value will be significantly higher.
2. Getting started with only half of your contractor team identified
A good and well-thought out project is one where every member of the team works well with the others – that is, there is no weak link that is going to create problems with timelines, deadlines, budgets, or quality.
As a leading new build home construction services provider, we would always recommend assembling the entire project and construction team before commencing the project, as not only will this allow for a seamless transition between phases but you may also find you benefit from advice and expertise from the different specialists even before you need them. For example, bringing in your plumber early can help with establishing an efficient network of pipes during the blueprint and foundational build process.
3. Jumping into the project too fast
There are a number of considerations which fall under this mistake, however one of the biggest relates to location – with homeowners and prospective clients buying up a patch of land or a site with planning permission and diving right into their project, without really considering the location or style of their dream home in line with its surroundings.
Moving to a new home isn’t just about the house itself – it’s about the location too, something which many new homeowners fail to consider, instead finding themselves blinded by the concept of living in their dream space.
4. Cutting costs in all the wrong places
It’s perfectly possible that you might, partway into the project, decide to change a few design ideas in the name of cost cutting, opting for a cheaper alternative to the marble or natural oak hardwood that you picked as flooring for lesser used spaces and storage cupboards.
But while some small adjustments can be beneficial to your budget, if you go about cost cutting by accepting low quality materials then you are only setting yourself and your home up to future disrepair.
5. Choosing to “leave them to it”
Yes, the contractors that you have chosen are likely (and hopefully) very much specialists in their field and are much more likely to know what’s going on than you are with regards to specific components of your home build. However, if you don’t keep on top of the project and retain an open line of communication, the chances are that work will stall and slow without effective project management.
To help combat this potential stumbling block, you can hire a project manager to act on your behalf or manage the site yourself with an agreement in place for regular updates from your core contractors and as many site visits as possible.
Building your own home can be a dream come true – but without the right plans in place, it can fast become difficult to manage, spiralling into higher costs without the quality to match. At Team Build Construction, we offer an end-to-end service which promises to make your dreams a reality, guiding you past the pitfalls of homeowners and ensuring that the project is well managed from start to finish.