Our Building Guide
You’re probably organising finance, getting house plans underway and choosing your block of land – so far you haven’t even had time to think about paint colours! It’s easy to be overwhelmed and for a mistake to occur when you’re building your dream home; and it could be a mistake you will be living with for a long time.
We have created a guide to help you achieve the best possible home whilst avoiding overlooking those errors commonly made by people building their custom home.
We cover the following:
Choose your block carefully.
Before you buy your block you need to consider the features of the land you are purchasing. The most important being: Is the block actually suitable to build a house?
There are many considerations to examine before you decide on the perfect block, a few initial observations we suggest to look into are:
Soil Conditions – will there be additional foundation requirements?
Slope – will you need retaining walls or does the site require extensive cutting and filling? Or would a step in your home fix this issue?
Dampness – will the site need significant drainage before you can consider building?
These initial fees to prepare your block for building can be significant and eat into your budget before you even begin to build.
It is also a good idea to check with council regarding the zoning of your block – they will also be able to give you an indication of services and their availability including power and sewerage. Don’t let your perfect block turn into a disaster – the team at MGH can help you with a detailed site inspection before you buy with the intention to build and provide a realistic idea of the requirements of the site in preparation to build your custom home.
Consider function & design.
Make sure that your design is functional and that the house design fits your block. Talk to your builder before you commit to a particular home design. Look at the slope, block sizes and frontage. Issues such as a sloping block can be addressed by your builder – MGH have years of experience dealing with blocks of varying shapes and sizes, we specialise in helping you get the most out of your block. You will need to be aware of council restrictions and also to consider your lifestyle and what you want to achieve with your block.
Make the most of home, land, function heating and cooling etc. Have you ever seen a home with rows of large windows facing west? Mistakes such as these can make heating or cooling your home a nightmare, not to mention adding to your power bill. Build for your future as well as today.
Consider your life goals – do you have children? Are you an entertainer? Do you have regular house guests? You need to consider these options when looking at your design. Everyone has been in a home which just doesn’t seem to gel, essentials such as the linen cupboard may be missing, or there isn’t enough storage space. Write a list of what’s important to you and go through it with the team at MGH. We can help you blend functionality and design together seamlessly.
Choose the right builder.
The Yellow Pages is not the place to find a good builder for the biggest investment of your life. Getting the wrong builder can cost you time, money and in the worst-case scenarios it can cost you your dreams. Anyone can create an ad and sound great, but you need to investigate a little further. What do people really think about their builder? Who do you know that has built a house? What did they think of their experience?
Talk to your builder, get to know them and look at examples of their work before you sign up. This is your dream, you need a builder who is going to treat it as such. Have a look at your builders other jobs – drive around and look at the job site. Is it clean and tidy? Does it look like a quality job? There is nothing that will cause you more grief in your building experience than starting with the wrong builder. Get it right first time and you will be glad you did. Remember, the cheapest price rarely ends up being the best value.
NOTE: Never go on to a building site unaccompanied or uninvited – to do so is breaking the law.
Good quality house plans.
….and we aren’t talking about the sketches you make on a napkin while you’re drinking your morning coffee.
A good set of plans are worth their weight in gold. The only way that your dream custom home is going to get off the ground is with a set of plans. Turn your ideas into reality with a quality set of plans from a reputable draftsman or architect. If you skimp on your plans, you may end up with a home that isn’t quite what you were after – or even worse, not quite right. Mistakes cost money, and those few thousand dollars you saved initially can be eaten up quickly down the line as your construction gets under way. Accurate quality plans will allow your builder to get an accurate cost estimate for building your house.
For example, if you have an idea of the decorative features you would like created in your internal plasterboard wall linings but they aren’t listed on the plans, your builder cannot give you an appropriate estimate. Changes made once work is underway can be costly and time consuming, having a knock-on effect throughout the entire job. A good set of plans will show all details of your job.
Builder vs. Owner Builder
Has it always been your dream to build your own home? Being an owner builder is a dream of many people, but before you take steps to tick it off your bucket list here are some points to consider:
Building a home from the ground up is about more than being able to coordinate a few trades. It’s about building a relationship with your subcontractors to ensure that your dream of a first class job is reflected in their work and their approach.
You may think that you will save up to ten percent on your build – but in reality this is seldom true. Not many people know a quality tradesman in every field to build a home. A builder has a relationship with his tradesmen – they work together every week. When you choose to have a builder create your dream home you will reap the benefits of that relationship. Through long term experience MGH have put together a team of first class tradesmen ready to work together to create a home you can be proud of.
If you are trying to hold down a job in addition to running a construction site is the ten percent you believe you will save worth the stress and the extra time it’s going to take? This is your dream home – doesn’t it deserve to be a little more than bricks and mortar?
Cost Per Square Meter
“Choose a quality custom home builder – acting as an owner builder will cost you more in the long run.” Don’t focus on the cost per square meter of your house. Slicing a meter off your bathroom isn’t going to save you overall. This would have to be the most common question asked of builders by clients wishing to build a custom home, and it is a question which has no simple answer.
To select a builder based on the answer to this question or to cut back a couple of feet on the size of a bedroom or another room, just to hit a budget target is rather misguided. Space is the least expensive part of a house – consider a small warehouse vs. a highly finished custom home – their space size may be comparable but it is the quality of the finishing touches which will vary the cost. There are A LOT of options available to the custom home builder, there are ranges of items and finishing touches you can add to personalise your home that an off the plan version just does not have – but these extras also prevent a builder from being able to give you a cost per square meter to build your home.
The solution to this is to be aware of everything that goes into a truly custom luxury home and select your builder at the outset of the design process to work with you, the architect, and the interior designer to help keep you headed toward a target budget. More importantly, develop a realistic budget with some wiggle room so you don’t push the edge of the financial envelope.
Develop a realistic budget with some wiggle room.
Builder Choice vs. Price
Don’t make your choice of builder based on price alone – style and quality of items such as doors, cabinets and bathroom fittings can vary widely and account for low prices in quotes from your builder. Have you considered why some of your quotes are so cheap? The old adage that you get what you pay for is true.
On top of this – don’t be taken in by the advertised price of a home. More often than not, this original price will not include site costs, nor many of the inclusions that you would generally want in your home!
You are building a custom home, and as such there are many optional extras you can include which makes your home unique to you and your style. Look at quality of the fittings you have been quoted by your builder and see displays of the items where you can. Your custom home is your dream – you want to be proud of your home every day.