Future homeowners often wonder what to expect during the whole home construction process. Which comes first? Where does sustainability come in when building a home? What about the necessary paperwork? Do I have to start with choosing a builder?
If you have the same questions in your mind, let’s start discussing the answers here now:
Start with your vision & budget
This comes first. You have to consider your preferences and lifestyle. After all, having a large home could really affect your upfront and long-term costs. The costs of all the materials and labour will sharply increase for every additional square metre you include to your home.
For example, around 240 sqm is the average house size in Australia. For this prepare at least $300,000 total construction costs. Depending on the details and furnishing, the total costs could get a lot higher. You also have to consider the land (e.g. 470 sqm at $1,000 per sqm). So roughly, that’s $300,000 (construction) plus $470,000 (land).
Choose a designer and a builder
After you set some expectations about the total home construction cost, it’s then time to hire a designer and a builder. You’ll discuss your vision, requirements and budget with your chosen designer. The builder will then take charge of the execution of the design and plan. Think of the builder’s role as the project manager. The builder will supervise and coordinate materials purchase, the work of the tradesmen and the quality assurance so expectations and standards are being met.
The builder will also give you details about the inclusions (view a sample here). For instance, pre-construction consultation and construction insurance might already be included. They might also take care of other things such as the required documents and approvals.
By the way, what about the paperwork including all council approvals and inspections? It’s good to get clear about this from the start. This is a time-consuming process and it often requires a lot of research and reading at the beginning. In many cases the builder also takes care of this because they already know the whole process.
Paying attention to the details
Home construction is a long and complex process. The process requires site preparation, foundation construction, framing, window and door installation, roofing, electrical and plumbing and a lot more steps to complete a home. That’s why it’s really important to pay attention to all those details and their corresponding costs.
Also consider the timeline in home construction. It might take 4 to 12 months for completion which depends on your specifications, weather patterns and the builder’s expertise. A lot of things depend on the right choice of builder, which is why future homeowners often pay special attention to this certain aspect of the home construction process.
Since 2006 here at Hume Building we’ve been handling the whole home construction process with a focus on quality and budget control. Together we can create a customised plan based on your preferences and requirements. We can also include sustainability and environment-friendly materials in our plan. Call us today at (02) 4630 8967 and let’s discuss your vision so we can come up with a design and plan that perfectly suits you.
