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Contrary to popular belief, building a house from zero is hardly ever a case of doing every aspect of construction oneself - the task is to become a…
Contrary to popular belief, building a house from zero is hardly ever a case of doing every aspect of construction oneself - the task is to become a person knowledgeable enough in the process to be able to work effectively with those licensed contractors dealing with such aspects as safety-critical framing, electrical and plumbing. Skipping the license is out of the question due to real safety risks and legal responsibilities that do not depend on one's knowledge.
Before any design begins, the land and zoning laws are there to determine what kind of construction is possible on a particular piece of land. In other words, this step determines your legal possibilities in terms of construction on your plot of land. Failing to take this step will be one of the quickest ways to become passionately in love with a design that is simply impossible to construct on a piece of land you own. This step saves enormous amounts of time and money.
An architect or a designer is a specialist who takes your ideas and makes a set of drawings that are detailed enough for a contractor to get accurate information to be able to make estimates and submit for the building department. This process will go much faster and easier if you will be clear about your priorities, budget and what is really necessary and important for you. Changing plans during construction is always more expensive.
The purpose of building permits is to ensure that the plans are compliant with codes for safety and structural aspects before starting construction. Omitting this step, even if the enforcement seems not to be effective, risks serious problems in future - from being unable to sell or insure the house and even inhabit it legally. The process and timing of submitting applications differ from place to place, but generally include getting detailed plans checked and inspected before starting any work. This stage needs some budgeting, because it may take weeks or even months.
The choice for a novice is choosing a general contractor who takes care of every aspect of construction, including coordination of subcontractors or working as a general contractor yourself, that is hiring and coordinating each trade on your own. The second variant may be cheaper, but requires more of your time and real construction knowledge. It is safer and more realistic to go for a general contractor, if you have zero experience, because coordination of dozen of specialists is a common reason why an inexperienced owner-builder fails his project and loses both time and money.
It is safe to say that almost every construction project turns out to be more expensive that initially estimated, especially because of unexpected site conditions, changes during construction process or underestimation of cost. Building a contingency, ten to twenty percent of initial budget, protects a project from an unpredictable expense turning out to be a fatal problem in the middle of the construction process. The way to use the contingency is to keep it strictly away from your regular spending plans.
There is a rough order of events during the construction process: site preparation and foundation, framing, rough-ins of mechanical systems, electrical and plumbing, insulation, drywall and finishing. Knowing this order, not matter whether you are knowledgeable about construction or not, allows understanding what is going on during construction and when. Moreover, this will help you see what is really delayed and what is simply takes its time.
Inspections that are done during the construction, especially those before closing of walls after installation of electrical or plumbing installations, are there to ensure the detection of potential dangers and costly mistakes during the process when it is still easy and cheap to fix it. So, a failed inspection is not your fault but a system working properly and saving you money and even life. So, respecting this process will save you time and money.
Underestimating both budget and time, omitting permits in order to save some time or money, trying to do specialized and safety-critical jobs without licensing and experience, choosing a contractor solely on basis of low price without checking references and previous work and changing the design after starting the construction are some common mistakes made during construction of a house for the first time. Most of them result from underestimation of how much expertise is necessary for the construction process that seems to be not that difficult on the surface.