Many people only consider the actual costs of house construction, which we discussed in the article How much will your new house cost to build. But once the house is finished there are other costs to consider. These costs could make your new dream home unaffordable. It’s important to consider the ongoing costs of the house after the construction work is complete. Making the right decisions when designing your new home could reduce some of these costs. Running and ongoing costs after your house construction is finishedThe running or ongoing costs of your new house could include:
Conclusion - how you can lower the running costs of your new homeIt's important to consider the ongoing and running costs of your new house in conjunction with the costs to build or renovate your house. Sometimes spending a bit more during construction, perhaps selecting materials that don't require maintenance, or more hard wearing and durable finishes, could save money later. Fitting security features will reduce your insurance premiums. Installing solar panels and water recycling systems will reduce utility bills. Installing energy saving devises, passive heating and cooling systems, and even orientating the house correctly will reduce your energy and heating bills. But, sometimes the rates, insurance premiums and estate costs (levees) may just be too expensive. In this case you may have to consider building elsewhere where the rates are lower, or it may be necessary to build a smaller house, which is cheaper to build so the monthly loan repayments are less. A cheaper house also usually means lower rates and cheaper insurance premiums. Don't wait until you are living in your dream home to find that it's not affordable. Rather work out all the ongoing and running costs at the outset of your project, when you can still do something to reduce the bills. For more valuable home construction and renovation 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 © 2019 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.
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Over the last 2 weeks we considered a number of factors that you should consider when designing and renovating bathrooms. (Read Part 1 of Bathroom Design Essentials and Part 2 of Bathroom Design Essentials for more.) The design of your bathroom should consider the following:
ConclusionI hope that you've found the last 3 articles informative. It is important to carefully plan bathroom layouts. Look at alternatives. Visit bathroom accessory showrooms to view different baths, toilets and taps. Consider alternative tiles and how they'll fit with the fittings and fixtures you choose. Consider alternative light fittings. Don't just go for the cheapest. Of course it's also usually not necessary to select the most expensive finishes. Consider the needs of you and your family, what's practical, your budget, and what future buyers will like. Many bathroom accessory suppliers have facilities to convert your bathroom plans into 3 dimensional colour drawings so you can better visualise what your new bathroom will look like. Some architects and builders even offer virtual reality where it's possible to view your bathroom as if you were walking through the completed bathroom. Of course it's also important to use reputable contractors, especially for waterproofing, plumbing and tiling (note in future articles I'll discuss what to consider when choosing contractors and later good and bad floor and wall tile layouts). You wouldn't want your dream bathroom ruined by faulty workmanship. Good luck with your bathroom design and construction. For more valuable home design and renovation 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. Last week in Part 1 of Bathroom Design Essentials we considered a number of items that you should consider when designing a new bathroom. Whether you are intending to renovate your existing bathroom or building a new bathroom it's essential to get the bathroom layout right and choose the right fittings for you and your family. Changing bathrooms later will be expensive. In this article I discuss additional items you should consider. The design of your bathroom should consider the following:
For more valuable home improvement and renovation 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. Bathrooms are expensive to build, and costly to change should you decide to modify them later. It's therefore essential to get the design of your bathroom right before construction starts. A good bathroom can be a valuable addition to your home. Unfortunately, frequently bathrooms are poorly designed, they don’t take account of your family’s needs (or future needs) and they're squeezed into the available space. Designing a good bathroom is a balance between your available budget, your needs, functionality, what's practically possible (which is often dictated by the location of existing wastewater pipes or the connections to the town sewer system), the available space, and your wish list for the ultimate bathroom. But, even the most expensive bathroom, including all your wish-list items could end up being impractical and a bathroom that you end up hating, if it's not planned properly. By the same token, a well thought out and planned bathroom, that's practical and functional, which doesn't break your budget, can add value to your home and be a bathroom that you and your family enjoy using everyday. In designing a bathroom it’s important to consider what should be included, the location and size of windows and the location of doors. Bathroom suppliers can often create 3-D drawings for you which help you better understand what your finished bathroom will look like. The design of your bathroom should consider the following:
For more valuable house construction, design and renovation 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. This story provides a valuable lesson why you shouldn't start work before all the planning permissions have been received. Indeed, a very, very expensive lesson!
Read: Owner who demolished famed San Francisco house must build replica In Designing Cooking Kitchens - part 1 I discussed some of the things to consider when designing your new kitchen. In this second part we consider more items:
Plan your kitchen carefully so that it adds value to your house, while being a safe and functional work area. For many the kitchen is the heart of their home, so spending a little more time over the design and a little extra money to achieve the desired result could be time and money well spent. Look for new ideas that will suit your lifestyle and incorporate features that are important to you. What do you think are important considerations when planning and designing your new kitchen? Next week I look at Bathroom Essentials - What You Should Consider When Designing Your Ultimate Bathroom 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. A great cook’s kitchen can often sell a house. But not everyone needs a chef’s kitchen. In fact, these days many families dine out, or order in. So I’ve seen houses with small kitchens, but this can limit future buyers, perhaps excluding some. Kitchens are expensive, and changing the layout and fixtures later will be costly so carefully consider the design layout. Ensure you get it right. Kitchen suppliers can create 3-D graphical designs of your kitchen which will help you visualise the finished kitchen, ensuring that the layout suits you and your lifestyle and that everything fits together. A good kitchen is one that’s functional while also being aesthetically pleasing. It should be practical, easy to clean with a great use of space. It’s a place to cook, often a place to eat, and of course it can be a place to impress friends. Considerations for kitchens include:
For more valuable home improvement, design and renovation 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. How much will your new house cost and can you afford it? This is often as far as many new home build projects get! You must estimate an accurate cost for constructing the house (taking account of all the costs, see: Have you allowed all the costs of your home build part 1 and Have you allowed all the costs of your new home build part 2), then calculate the cash flow of these costs (when bills have to be paid – I'll discuss this in a future article in more detail), and then balancing this against the money that’s available now, as well as the income that you will earn while the project is in progress, or which will come from the sale of assets, or from bank loans. It’s advisable to add a contingency to these costs, as well as erring on the side of caution when calculating the income you expect to earn. There are a number of ways of obtaining a cost estimate:
If there appears to be sufficient finances to cover the cost of the project consideration can be given to proceeding further. If the project is too expensive there may be other alternatives such as:
For more valuable house building and home renovation 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. Generally when planning a house you’re faced with a number of conflicting forces which are, what you desire or want, what you actually need, what you can afford, what can be done or is allowed, and of course with a new family home you also have the opinions and needs of your partner and even the children. Seldom do these align perfectly, so most houses end up compromising on some of these items. For example, your family may be expecting another child and need to add another bedroom. At the same time you might want another bathroom, to renovate the kitchen and build another garage. However, you may only have sufficient money to build the extra bathroom and bedroom, but, possibly you won’t have sufficient space on the property for the additions. Somewhere there’ll need to be compromise. Unfortunately, sometimes this compromise can lead to a bad house, where the compromise results in one force dominating the others – for instance, affordability drowns out everything else, so you end with a house that’s of poor quality and doesn’t satisfy any of your other needs or desires. Of course, there are usually other factors that come into play which also affect the final outcome. If the property is an investment property, to be sold or rented, then it’s important to consider what buyers and renters want as well as the available existing stock. If you’re planning to execute most of the construction work yourself then the amount of time you have available should influence the size and complexity of the project. The available materials, access routes to the property, as well as the site topography and existing vegetation will all influence decisions. In this chapter and the following chapters we’ll look at many of the considerations that can impact the final result of your new house. It’s important to take a pragmatic approach to planning projects. Projects that are poorly considered and ill-conceived can be expensive disappointments. It often leads to a house that you no longer want to live in and can’t find a buyer for. In fact some poorly managed projects that are started with great excitement can have far wider repercussions, even resulting in bankruptcy and family break-ups. What you think you want in the beginning should never be cast in stone. There may be reasons why the original envisaged project isn’t feasible, or not the best solution. By necessity projects should adapt and evolve as more information is considered. Indeed, it may even be wise to cancel the project should it become too expensive, or difficult. Even if you’ve spent money already, never be scared to cancel a project, or to move it elsewhere, when it becomes apparent that it’s not right. It’s far better to lose a small amount of money than end with a house that you’re not happy with, or one that’s going to cause you financial stress. Certainly, if you do all the preparatory homework and investigations as suggested in this book you will, if necessary, end the project before you’ve incurred too many costs. But changes made to the project by you, your designers or contractor, could indeed result in a project that’s better, cheaper to construct, less expensive to maintain, or one which has more amenities for minor additional costs which are still within budget. Although our first thoughts and project concept shouldn’t be cast in stone, and it may be necessary to deviate from these in the course of the project execution, it’s important to always refer back to those first concepts and ideas. Regrettably, as projects evolve, in the excitement of new ideas, it’s easy to forget what you wanted and needed in the first place, then you end with a house which doesn’t actually satisfy what you were originally after. So, as changes occur to the project, always understand why those changes happened. Did the changes improve the project, were they ‘nice to haves’, maybe spur of the moment whimsies, or were they unavoidable? If the changes are unavoidable and they result in a project that isn’t suitable for your needs, then you may have to make the hard decision to cancel the project, or develop alternative strategies and solutions. For more valuable tips and advice read: Build and Renovate Your Home With Your Eyes Wide Open. 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. We usually require some expert help to design our new house or large renovation. Architects can fulfil many functions, but importantly they can interpret your requirements and vision into construction plans and drawings. These plans and drawings are usually a requirement for construction permits. The drawings indicate how the house should be constructed. What you should consider when choosing a designer You should consider the following when selecting a designer:
It's important to select a designer that's right for you, one that you can work with, one that understands what you are looking for, someone that understands the local codes and conditions, and one that won't break your budget. Importantly you need to understand what you are paying for - you don't want to pay additional and unexpected costs which you haven't allowed for. You don't want unpleasant extra costs for items you thought were included. Not every designer will be able to interpret the home of your dreams. Selecting the wrong designer could be expensive and result in your home not meeting your expectations. 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. |
AuthorI’m a construction professional, author of several successful construction management books, and a home owner. I’ve made mistakes in construction management, I’ve seen others make mistakes, but importantly I’ve had multiple successful construction projects and I’ve learned from the mistakes. I want to share these lessons and my knowledge with you. Also available from:
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