Is this the year you begin construction of your dream house?
What have you done to ensure your dream does not turn into the nightmare that house building has become for too many?
In any and all of the above three scenarios, youd probably be wrong.
The degree of unplanned problems, frustrating delays, and escalating costs will vary from situation to situation, but the unpredictability of construction will not. Because problems, delays, and additional costs are expected and accepted as part of the construction process, they appear.
Adopt the following Five Stress-Saving Strategies to minimize the unexpected and help the expected to materialize in all three of the dream-house construction scenarios above:
1. Plan The Entire Project.
Just as homebuyers fixated on acquiring a chefs kitchen can overlook many other aspects of the home, similar distractions can leave aspects of house plans incomplete or poorly thought-out. Mentally live in every corner of the dream home. "Walk" through every activity that will take place during each season. Consider all the elements of functionality youll count on to make the home practical, affordable, and a pleasure to live in. Architects, contractors, and every other professional involved in this project will >
Learn to read plans scale, perspectives, symbolshellip; so you can see what the professionals see. Youll save time, money, stress, and frustration. Youll enjoy the process when you understand what is going on and should be coming next:
2. "Hope" Is Not A Building Strategy.
Figuring out how much you can afford to spend and hoping this will be enough for what you want built is a formula for disaster. Have your plans costed out by construction professionals. Disagreeing with professional budget projections does not make their calculations wrong. Either your budget or your house plans may need revamping. Add a realistic contingency amount to the budgetmdash;an amount that would undermine your project if you had to come up with it out of the blue. Cost out interior finishing and flooring, including furnishings, and also landscaping. This part of the build may cost almost as much as the structure.
3. Do Not Expect Your Schedule To Dictate Move-In Date.
You may hope to move in by the holidays or before your interim housing lease runs out, but this is not what drives the construction timetable. The more restrictive your interim accommodation arrangements, the more vulnerable you are to forced compromises, expensive shortcuts, sloppy workmanship, unplanned accumulating costs, and unseasonable weather. Ask about realistic schedules and what could cause delays. The fact that you have chosen to temporarily live precariously or expensively is not a construction criteria. Many would consider this bad planning on your part. Youll pay for this one way or the other, so save by resolving interim accommodation issues at the start.
4. Changes Change Everything.
Once construction is underway, moving a wall, window, or layout element is never "simple." Many interconnecting systems and details, from wiring and plumbing to planning permission, may be involved. Changes on the fly can wildly inflate costs and add significant delays. This is where the nightmare ramps up.
5. Youre Not The Only Customer.
Youve put your life on hold to get the build complete, but contractors and suppliers of everything from roofing systems, engineered structures, heating systems, and windows must satisfy many clients at oncemdash;some of them more significant spenders than you. Trusting, respectful >
What could possibly go wrong? Wont everything just go according to plan?