The idea of building a “your home” excites most people. Many people want to experience the satisfaction of building their own home just the way they want. However, this satisfaction doesn’t come without challenges.
Here are the most common challenges we see people face when trying to build their homes:
Cost
The more you understand the processes involved in the construction of a new home, the more prepared you’ll be for the tasks ahead. Getting yourself a cost estimate of your home (Bill of Quantities) will help you put the financial needs of the build into perspective. Plan for a cost rise during the building process caused by price and availability variations on the market.
Focus
The builders and suppliers will often pass off alternative, substandard or counterfeit materials. Pay close attention to the supplies and installations to ensure everything is as it should be. A genuine product and good installation will save you a headache in the future.
Quality
Low-quality workmanship or shortage of skilled labor will cause your project quality to suffer. The project manager should pay close attention to the supplied material and build work to make sure regulations and specifications are followed. Poor material and workmanship could pause health, safety, and financial risk in the future. For homeowners using a mortgage scheme to finance the build, a delay will occur when the bank cannot advance the funds for the next construction phase due to poor quality workmanship.
Expectations
Suppliers and builders will let you down. This should be expected. Break down the building project into the Steps & Stages In The Construction Of A House to help you develop a complete, but realistic program for your project. Use your realistic program, cost estimates, and contractual documents as the tools to keep the team in line as a guide to the project budget and timeline.
Choices
There are so many decisions to make in regards to your preferred options. Some of these decisions should be left to the professional as they impact the structural integrity of the home and some will come down to you as the owner of the project. Take your time researching your preferred options and remember, these options may not fully work in your current setup or with each other.
Time
Construction of a home can take anywhere between three (03) months to two (02) years or more. The complexity of the house, its size, availability of funds, and unexpected delays will all make a difference in the final time frame of construction. Be sure to allow extra time for every activity and remember the key to a successful home build is patience and lots of it.
Weather
Bad weather will cause a delay in the construction of your home that can be frustrating and costly. The longer it takes to complete the project, the more money it will cost to keep the team on site. Additionally, some delays (and weather damage) can result in additional purchases not originally accounted for, such as added material or equipment. Plan for bad weather and arrange the materials on-site to minimize damage from direct sunlight or heavy rains. A Guide to Building a House In Stages shows you how to deliver materials in phases and construct in stages to minimize the impact of your local weather.
Environmental
Environmental considerations should be taken into account for the construction and life cycle of the home. Many of the design issues will be addressed by the architect during the design process. During construction, material extraction, waste disposal, and equipment usage (including maintenance) will affect the environmental impact of your home.
The most common environmental issues on a home site are;
- Human waste
- construction waste
- noise pollution from the machinery/ equipment and installations
- fuel leakages from the machinery/ equipment
- chemicals required for construction (especially cleaning and painting liquids)
Make sure to work with the local authorities and specialists to minimize the damage to the land, water, and air from handling of human waste of your team, construction waste, fuels, chemicals and noise pollution.
Health and safety
Often overlooked and highly underestimated health and safety rules pose a great financial and legal impact from injury and security flaws on your home’s construction site. Most injuries to personnel can be alleviated by following the guidelines and providing the necessary training to your construction team. Security of personnel, equipment, and supplies can be addressed by hiring a local or professional team. Read about The Most Common Health and Safety Risks During Construction to familiarize yourself and your team with what you can do to minimize and eliminate health and safety issues.
Disagreements
Finally, and most importantly, be open and honest with each other. Dispute resolution is effective these days, though the need to ‘Win’ usually divides the team. Nobody wins. Everyone goes home grumpy and feels like they have lost out. Sit down with your construction team and talk through each aspect of the project before the contract is signed. Identify and find solutions to any stumbling blocks, ensuring everyone agrees to the assigned responsibility, your milestones, timeline, budget, and payment schedule. Your construction team will appreciate this and prone to being much more helpful when they feel like you are all on the same team.
Hiring a project manager can help mitigate the stress of these challenges. It may be an architect, construction engineer, quantity surveyor, or someone with experience in similar builds. By hiring a project manager, you will relieve yourself of the more tedious tasks as you focus on the fun stuff. And while these challenges may seem daunting, the most important thing to remember is the final product. A home is something to take pride in, something to show off. Overall, the process may be costly and take longer than you planned, but the feeling when you walk into your new home built just for you is indescribable.
For those who wish to take on the project manager’s job and oversee the process, you should read about How to Project Manage Your Home’s Construction. This article will give you insight and guidance for the task ahead.
If you are struggling with one or all of these challenges, please contact us for help. Write a comment below or send us an email at hello@dpro.design, we are happy to help!