The Process of Building a House

The first stage in building a house starts with planning. Time spent planning here looking at the range of building materials, different features, house designs, and designers’ works (architects) will save you money and time. Go look at open homes, completed projects online and magazines to gather exciting ideas for your beautiful home.

At Villaworx Construction we say, “it is better to take your time at the planning stage as changes down the track can become costly”. Making any changes after the process of building has begun can cause building delays and be expensive.

The Designing Stage

The designing stage is the most enjoyable, exciting phase of building your own home and as it is where you create your home in your imagination and put it to paper. This is where your dreams become your visionary reality. The crucial aspect to a successful project is the design process.

To ensure the build is just right, ideas will be discussed, re-worked, re-thought and digested many times with you and your home designer until the perfect solution has been achieved. After you have decided the house design you want, and what it will look like, you then work out the price you can afford and how you are to pay for it.

A professional such as an architect can help with this process as they bring understanding, experience, imagination and knowledge to work with you to make your project the best it can be. An architect can customise a build specifically for you that is unique, intrinsic, has elements that you personally value and is within your budget.

Remember compromise is fundamental when it comes to your budget, but design looks can be achieved by smart building and using alternative building materials.

The Construction Process

Now that the dreaming, planning, and design stage is over it is time for the construction process to begin, when the hammer hits the nail and you see things start to happen. Watching your new home rise from your plans is fantastic but you need to constantly review things and stay on top of what is going on to ensure your building company is building it right.

Ensure there is a health and safety plan on site, a building contract signed, and all insurances are in place before your home construction begins. Check that the building company follows the building plans, the building code, scope of the building work and that all the building materials used are the ones specified and are installed correctly.

A Typical Order of Construction is as Follows:

The setting out of the building,
site excavation,
foundations are laid,
concrete floors are poured or sub-floor framed up,
wall framing is constructed,
roof trusses and framed and placed,
joinery is installed (windows and doors),
exterior cladding is put on,
plumbing and electrical is fitted out,
insulation is placed,

internal doors are fitted,
interior linings (Gib) are fixed,
interior plastering and painting,
waterproofing any interior walls/floors,
tiling of floors and walls,
cabinets are installed,
final plumbing and electrical work (fixtures and fittings),
paint the outside of the house and any finishing work,
floor coverings are laid,
open a bottle of champagne and have a glass as you are finished!

When all of this is completed and the final inspection is carried out, your home is finished, and you are ready to obtain a Code of Compliance Certificate from the Council.

Things to Keep in Mind

During this whole building project, you the homeowner must be prepared to endure major frustrations and stressful moments, accept that it will take up a lot of your free time (typically 12 months) and may exceed your planned budget.

Building projects can take longer than what was estimated due to delays caused by material shortages, subcontractor availability, the weather, etc. Communication is essential to any good building project by allowing work to progress smoothly and foreseeing of any potential problems that could become costly.

At Villaworx Construction we see a good relationship and clear communication as the key to a successful building project. Your building company becomes your crucial partner in this whole process, so choose one whom you can trust.