| 12 Tips for Your Home Construction |
1. Hire an Architect
Start with hiring an Architect. The architect will design your home based on your needs, your lifestyle, and your budget. The architect usually has a team of engineers to handle the engineering plans of your house, so you won’t have to hire one yourself. The architect will help you pick a contractor and will guide you through the construction process. Make sure you hire a registered and licensed architect.
2. Create an Outline for Your Requirements
Work with your architect regarding what you would want in your house before you consult with a contractor. It is your job to explain to your architect what you want, and it is the architect’s job to tell you if what you want is practical, doable, expensive, or hard to execute.
3. Allot Your Budget
Before you start talking to contractors, decide how much you are willing to spend on your house construction. Do not canvass on prices and solely go with the lowest bid without knowing the budget cap for your architect’s design. You must disclose your budget to your architect so he or she can design according to that budget. When you start talking to contractors, their offers should be within that price range.
4. Choose the Right Builder or Contractor
We all want the most from our hard-earned money, but is price the only basis for choosing the contractor? Since you have set your budget, and you had your architect design based on your budget, you should be choosing the contractor who is qualified best and works well with you. Hire a contractor who communicates well and is transparent with you and your architect. Above all, hire a licensed contractor.
5. Ask for Options.
Ask your contractor for options. These can be options in construction methods or options in material finishes. With that, you must set your non-negotiables. If the contractor cannot deliver on your non-negotiables, do not hire them. Consider the future when being presented with options. Ask yourself if it will matter 10 to 20 years from now.
6. Keep an Open Mind
Listen to what your architect and contractors say and keep an open mind. Let the professionals do their work because they are trained and qualified to design and build structures. The usual limiting factor is your budget so be willing to compromise if necessary.
7. Always Fact Check
Unfortunately, despite being trained and qualified, some professionals can still take advantage of you in certain ways. Countercheck if you are skeptical, but do not merely use Youtube or social media to do so. Chances are that the professionals you hired are still more qualified than people you see on the internet. The licenses and experience of the professionals you hired gives them their credibility. Trust them, but you must still protect yourself by double checking information.
8. Make Sure You Have a Proper Contract
Protect yourself by making sure you have a proper contract in place. The contract must go both ways, understand that the contractor must also protect themselves from their clients. Have your contract reviewed by a lawyer if you can. Check out our Facebook post on the "10 Things Your Construction Contract Must Include".
9. Document Everything
It is a mark of a good contractor if they provide you with proper documents and reports regarding your home construction. It is better if you yourself will also document everything. Keep every document, invoice, email, or report your contractor sends you. Always make it a point to communicate via email or text so there will be a paper trail. If a decision is made via phone call, confirm with a text or email. Take photos every time you come by the job site.
10. Be Realistic and Don't be a Perfectionist
There will always be problems and errors in construction; no project is perfect. It will look worse before it looks better. A mistake does not mean your contractor is incompetent. Allow the professionals you hired to problem solve for you or work with them if they require your assistance and decisions.
11. Invest in Quality Fixtures
The most important thing aside from good design and structural integrity is your house's functionality. You need to have running water and electricity. You would want durable electrical and plumbing fixtures in your house to last decades. It is also important for safety.
12. Finish Before Moving In
Allow your contractor to finish your house before you start to bring in your furniture and things. Moving in prematurely will make the closing out process difficult which can lead to missed defects and damage to your things. We know you are excited to move into your new home, but it is important to check the contractors work before signing the turnover documents and start moving in all your belongings.
Archadius Construction Corporation specializes in residential construction and remodeling as well as condominium and commercial fit-outs. For your construction needs, you may reach us through Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archadiusconstruction. You may also email us at contact@archadiusconstruction.com or call/text us at 0916-321-6094 / 0969-277-4634.
