Before leaping into your new project carefully consider what needs to be done. Careful planning and preparation and monitoring all stages of the process will ensure a successful project.
Steps to planning, designing, constructing and finishing your new house include:

• Talk to your partner. It's imperative that you are both committed to the process and have a common vision.
• Understand why you’re embarking on constructing a new house or renovating your existing house. Consider alternative solutions.
• Gather ideas and establish a file.
  • Tear out magazine pictures you like.
  • Take pictures and ideas from Pinterest and Facebook.
  • Visit houses for sale.
  • Take photographs.
  • Make sketches – these could include ideas and layout of houses, kitchens and bathrooms.
• List the features you definitely want, those that are optional (‘would like to have’) and those which you definitely don’t want.
• Consider your family’s future needs.
• Work out how much you can spend.
• Decide how many bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms and garages you would like. Think about the ideal room sizes and layout of the house.
• Start working out a budget including all the costs.
• Decide what expert help you’ll need.
• If you intend to do some of the work, get training and read books relating to the trades you’ll be doing.
• Visit local house construction projects. See the typical construction methods, details and materials.
• Look for a property for your house. Always consider alternative neighbourhoods. In a later article I will discuss what you should consider when purchasing a property.
• Review your budget, and if you can afford it purchase the property.
• Visit local builders to see what standard plans and houses they offer.
• Visit building material showrooms to gather ideas on cabinetry, kitchen layouts, windows, tiles, bricks, doors, etc. Collect catalogues and take photographs to add to your file of information.
• Visit the property. Understand what the best aspects of the property are and how they should be incorporated into the house. Look at the properties in the street. Consider the impact they may have on your house.
• Develop a style for your house.
• Review your file and take out all the photographs, catalogues and pictures that aren’t relevant to your chosen style and put them in another file for use in case you change your mind. Whittle the chosen information down into a coherent style and elements that fit together and suit your lifestyle.
• With your list of wants and don’t wants, and now knowing the location for your house prepare a design brief.
• Decide how you’re going to design and construct the house. What will you do and what will you engage professionals to execute?
• Understand all the restrictions applying to your property.
• Select a designer you think you can work with and that can deliver your chosen style and requirements.
• Get a survey of the site so you know where the boundaries are, what the slope of the ground is, where significant features are and the position of the road and the service connections.
• Have the designer prepare sketches.
• Make changes. Consider alternative solutions. Finalise the layout and position of the house.
• Get an estimate of the costs and check that the house is still within budget.
• Select the types of finishes, fixtures and fittings.
• Make changes to reduce costs if necessary.
• Have the designer prepare construction drawing.
• Review the design to check it meets your requirements and has stayed within the design brief.
• Get all permits and permissions to start construction.
• Find contractors and have them price the project.
• Adjudicate the prices to check which is the best value and the right contractor to work with.
• Check your budget.

Many of these steps will be discussed further in future articles.
To be continued in Part 2.

​​For more valuable tips and advice read: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volume 1 Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home' and 'Volume 2 Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home'

​This is an extract from: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 2' by Paul Netscher. Available in paper or eBook from Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon AU and all online bookstores. To read more

​© 2018 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

In a previous article we discussed some items which influence the cost of constructing a new house. Understanding what can increase or decrease the cost of building will allow you to make considered decisions when deciding where you are going to build the house and when you will start as well as influencing your design choices.

In this article I continue with points that impact house construction costs.

What influences house building costs? Continued from part 1.

• Floor finishes vary hugely from vinyl, carpets, tiles, timber veneers and solid timber. Even the price of tiles and carpets can vary by 300% depending on the type. Furthermore, if you want to go with granite or marble tiles then you’re normally talking big money!
• Standard or nonstandard? Custom homes usually cost more than a standard home plan that the contractor routinely builds. The standard plans have been simplified to reduce the materials and labour required to build the house. Even just using standard window and doors can be much cheaper than if they’re individually measured and made to fit your design.
• The number of bathrooms and the size of your kitchen. Bathrooms and the kitchen are the most expensive rooms in the house. Adding a bathroom, or increasing the size of a bathroom or the kitchen will add to the overall cost of the house, even if you aren’t increasing the overall size of the house.
• Floor tile layouts. Larger tiles are often easier to lay on flat areas. Laying floor tiles in a diagonal pattern relative to the walls requires more cutting than for tiles laid in a square pattern and it takes more time and usually generates more wasted tiles. Laying tiles of the same colour is obviously easier than creating a pattern using different colours and types of tiles. Laying small mosaic tiles is labour intensive.
• Roof designs and coverings. The price of roof covering materials will depend on the size and shape of your roof, as well as the available products and skills in the area. The more complex the roof, one with varying heights and with a number of hips and valleys, the costlier the roof will be. Simple roofs without hips and valleys are the cheapest.
• Curves cost money. Whether it’s arches over windows and doors, or walls that are curved, they will be costlier to construct.
• The time to construct sometimes impacts the cost. If you want your home built more quickly than the contractor would normally take then you’ll probably have to pay extra. Conversely homes that are complex, or that require additional tasks, take longer to build, which adds to the overall cost.
• Instant garden or not. If you want a perfect lawn and large trees and shrubs in your new garden when you move in then you’ll pay a premium. If you are content to watch your garden grow, maybe seeding the lawn or planting runners, and planting small trees and shrubs, then the cost of your garden will be much less. The size of the garden also impacts costs.
• The type of material used on kitchen counter tops and vanities varies from chipboard covered with a veneer (often melamine) to solid timber, reconstituted stone, granite and marble. The cost will depend on the size of the counters and vanities, the number of cut-outs through them for cook tops, sinks and taps, and of course the material. Even the price of granite can vary by 400% depending on the colour you pick.
• Fitted cupboards, including kitchen cabinets. These can be constructed of solid wood, or in most cases from chipboard with a veneer. But even the type of wardrobes in bedrooms can vary hugely in price depending on their layout, number of shelves, drawers and hanging rails.
• The internal layout. The more walls the higher the cost. But, spanning a big open room without supports could add to the cost of upper floors and roofs.
• The type and sophistication of security measures required in your house.
• Positioning of bathrooms. Keeping bathrooms together, or above one another can reduce the cost of the plumbing.
• The type and size of heating and cooling systems. Houses in cold regions or areas that face extreme heat will require larger and more efficient heating and cooling systems, which will add to the price of your house.
• The type and make of appliances. The price of kitchen appliances, such as cook tops and ovens can vary by 400%.
• If windows are double glazed, or even triple glazed. The additional cost will also depend on the size of the window and frame material.
• Additional features. This could include swimming pools, solar electrical panels, garden walls and gates. 

Conclusion
You should take into consideration some of the above when formulating your construction budgets and when designing your house. I’m not suggesting that your house should be a box with the cheapest fixtures and fittings, but it’s important to understand that house prices can vary hugely from one area to another, and from one plan to another. The price will change depending on your choice of finishes, cupboards, light fittings, taps, tiles, counter tops, etc. When receiving quotations it’s vital to understand what you’ll be getting for your money. Contractors should also familiarise themselves with the construction conditions on your property.

​For more valuable tips and advice read: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volume 1 Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home' and 'Volume 2 Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home'

​This is an extract from: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 2' by Paul Netscher. Available in paper or eBook from Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon AU and all online bookstores. To read more
​© 2018 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

Construction costs vary hugely between different houses, neighbourhoods and cities. What influences these costs and how can you ensure that the construction costs you allow in your budget to build your new house, or renovate an existing home, are reasonable? Why will the cost of building a house in your neighbourhood be different to building elsewhere? Indeed, why can the cost of one house be different to the cost of a similar size house in the same area? Why does the price quoted by your builder increase as construction proceeds? How can you ensure that you stay within your budget? How can you reduce costs without ending up with a house of poor quality, or one that isn't functional, or that doesn't meet all your expectations?

​What influences house building costs?
The major construction cost drivers include:

• The size of the house. Bigger houses are more expensive to build.
• If the house is single storey or multilevel. Usually building upwards costs more money since foundations must be stronger and there’s an upper floor support structure to be completed. Of course single storey houses require a larger property which costs more. On sloping properties a single storey house may require more extensive site levelling which adds to the costs. So, a single storey house isn’t cheaper in all cases.
• The type of materials in the structure and the construction methods. This varies from place to place and will depend on what’s available, the methods that the local builders use and the availability of skills to execute the work. So, in one area conventional clay brick construction may be the way to go, while elsewhere clay bricks may not be available, or maybe bricklayers are in demand so the cost of using bricks is expensive. Before deciding on materials and construction methods it’s best to understand what methods are currently used in your neighbourhood, talk to contractors and others in the industry. Of course, it’s not to say that another option won’t be cheaper than what’s currently being used by most of the contractors. It’s important to understand that a material and a particular method of construction which experts tell you will be the cheapest, may not necessarily be the cheapest in your location.
• The height of your ceilings. High ceilings are great, giving the house a feeling of space and luxury. But having higher ceilings means you require higher walls, which adds to construction costs.
• The timing of construction. If there’s lots of construction happening in your city then you may find that material prices, wages and subcontractor’s costs have increased, and that the contractors are adding more profit to their prices. In addition, if resources are in demand then construction times increase, so your home could take longer to build. But, when contractors, suppliers and workers are desperate for work prices fall. This could mean a difference of 10% or more to your construction costs. Even starting construction of your house in the middle of the rainy season, or in the depths of winter could result in the contractor charging more, since their work could be interrupted or damaged by the weather.
• The layout and shape of your house. A simple square box house is usually the cheapest structure. Then, who wants to live in a box? It creates architectural interest to have a varied outline of the house, but remember that the more complex the shape of the outside walls of the house, the costlier the house will be.
• The fittings and fixtures. The cost of washbasins, sinks, bathtubs, taps, toilets, balustrades and lights vary hugely, and there could be a difference of at least 10% to the overall cost of your house depending on your choices. Certainly, you probably don’t want the cheapest fixtures, that look cheap and are probably not as reliable as better items, but do you really need the latest imported fitting that costs five times the price of another item?
• Topography of your property. Steep properties require more site works to level the area for the building. Steep sites may also make it more difficult for the contractor to access all work areas.
• Access to your property. If the local roads, or your driveway restrict the size of trucks and cranes that can reach your house it could mean that deliveries have to be made using smaller vehicles, which is usually more expensive. Offloading and lifting items by hand is often more expensive than using a crane or other mechanical means.
• Distance to the connection points for your utilities and sewer lines. The longer the length of cables and pipes, obviously the more they’ll cost.
• The ground conditions on your property. Digging in rock is expensive, while building on clay or other unsuitable ground may require special foundations. 
• Basements add time to construction. Depending on the ground conditions and the foundations of the neighbouring structures there could be additional complexities of excavating in rock, or retaining the sides of excavations in sand to prevent them collapsing.
• The size of windows. Large windows are wonderful since they let in natural light and provide views of the garden, or of ocean or mountain vistas. But large windows can be expensive, possibly even requiring costly structural beams to span over the top of them. In addition large panes of glass cost more than smaller areas of glass.

Conclusion
When selecting a property you should consider some of the above items. Some properties will be more expensive to build on that a similar sized property down the road. Even deciding on the position of the house on the property will influence construction costs.
In part 2 we will look at more items that could influence house construction costs.
​Make sure that your budget is correct and that you can build the house you want.

​​For more valuable tips and advice read: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volume 1 Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home' and 'Volume 2 Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home'

​This is an extract from: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 2' by Paul Netscher. Available in paper or eBook from Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon AU and all online bookstores. To read more

​© 2018 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

In the last post: Have you allowed for all the costs of your new home build?  Part 1​ we considered some costs to consider when planning and budgeting you home renovation or new house. In this post we continue with more costs to consider.





​
Costs for your construction project could include some or all of the following:

• The cost of arranging road closures, if required for cranes or other equipment. These could include for traffic control and signage as well as fees to the authorities.
• Providing access, which could be scaffolding or access equipment. Often the time required for maintaining access is underestimated and costs quickly blowout when it’s required for a couple more months.
• Testing expenses. 
• Hire charges for specialist equipment, such as large cranes.
• Removing rubbish, including general construction waste such as packaging, breakages and off-cuts, disposing of excess soil, rock and unsuitable ground as well as getting rid of rubble from demolitions.
• Employing a clerk of works if you require one. 
• Land survey, boundary demarcation and setting out the structures. 
• When required, undertaking soil and geological investigations.
• Dealing with hazardous materials, such as contaminated ground or asbestos, or ground water, which may be encountered on the project site.
• The costs of finishes, such as, tiles, carpets, bathroom fixtures and tapware, and lights.
• Fitting out of cupboards.
• Furniture, carpets and window dressings such as, curtains, blinds or shutters.
• Security installations.
• Inspections and approvals.
• Legal costs.
• Contingencies.
• Costs of moving into the new house
• Constructing driveways.
• Making good of damage to the surrounding roads, pavements and buildings. Often a deposit has to be lodged with the local council which is refundable after the work is complete and the local authorities have checked that the roads, kerbs and sidewalk are in the state they were before construction work started.
• Landscaping, including installing irrigation sprinklers if required. This could include importing suitable topsoil.
• Taxes, which include GST (or VAT) and import duties.
• Fees for specialists, including town planners and quantity surveyors.
• Other costs, which could include, mail boxes, street numbers, TV antennae and dishes, telephone and data connections, and new appliances.

Conclusion
Forgetting or overlooking costs may result in your project going over budget, which could mean you can't complete the project, or you have to compromise on the project, perhaps reducing the quality of finishes, so that you can save money to bring the project within budget. Regrettably sometimes owners end in financial difficulties because of incomplete or insufficient budgets causing severe financial stress for many years, in the worst case even losing their new home.
Always make sure you have allowed for all of your estimated costs. Then allow a contingency.

​​For more valuable tips and advice read: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volume 1 Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home' and 'Volume 2 Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home'

​This is an extract from: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 2' by Paul Netscher. Available in paper or eBook from Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon AU and all online bookstores. To read more

​© 2018 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

Frequently costs of building a new house or renovating your home aren’t considered, or are overlooked, which could result in your budget for your home project being too low.
Costs for your construction project could include:

• Design fees for engineers and architects.
• Project management costs if you appoint a project manager to manage the process. 
• Land purchases, including duties and taxes.
• Property rates and taxes.
• Costs of maintain the property before construction begins, including, security, utility bills and keeping the property tidy.
• Construction costs.
• Protecting existing structures and facilities which could be damaged by the construction work.
• Modifications to areas of an existing house which are impacted by the construction work. Often existing floor and wall finishes have to be changed in the existing building to match those that are installed in the new areas.
• Upgrading existing buildings which are being added to or changed. This could include requirements to improve the plumbing pipes and electrical wiring and distribution boards to bring them up to code and standard, or to allow capacity for the additional expansion. It may also include installing additional structural supports and beams to the existing structure. 
• Demolition of existing structures and site clearing.
• Clearing existing trees and other vegetation where necessary.
• Levelling the site where required. 
• Constructing ground retaining walls where required. 
• Specialist foundations if required.
• Additional insurances.
• When you have to move out of the house while the construction is in progress, then the cost of temporary accommodation during construction.
• Interest on finance loans.
• Security during construction.
• Fencing during construction.
• Permanent fences, walls and gates on the property boundary.
• Temporary construction sheds and toilets.
• The provision of water and electricity for the construction works.
• The provision of water, sewer, gas, telephone and electrical connections to the new house. These include connection fees and deposits for the utility provider, or the local council. The deposit could be equivalent to one or two months usage. Although this deposit is refundable it’s an immediate expense that must be allowed.
• The cost of permits, plan approvals and building approvals by the local authorities, and when the property is within an estate then the body overseeing the running of the estate.
• See Part 2 for more costs to consider and include in your budget.

Conclusion
Not allowing for some costs in your budget will inevitably mean that your home building project goes over budget, which could lead to financial stress and even there not being enough money to complete your project. It's vital to ensure you've allowed for all costs.