Everyone dreams of owning their own home, and they’ll often have their dream house. That’s why so many people buy one as soon as they can afford it. While that’s a logical path to take, you can always build your own home.
You could’ve heard about taking this path before, but it’s an often underexplored one. Quite a few people want to take the plunge, but they believe it’s too complicated to do.
While there’s naturally more work involved than buying a house, it doesn’t have to be a complicated process. Instead, it could be relatively straightforward, as long as you know what you’re doing. It’s a matter of knowing which steps you need to take, as well as how you can get through them.
If you’re considering building your own home, it’s worth diving into the most essential steps you need to take.
Why Build Your Own Home?
With how much easier it is to buy a house, you might wonder why you should build one instead. It takes more time and effort, after all, and it could even be more expensive, depending on what you’re doing. As it turns out, there are more than a few benefits of taking this approach.
These include:
- Having full control over the process so you can create your dream home
- Making sure everything is as high-quality as possible
- Being able to design a home you’ll love
- Letting you shop around and find low-cost options to bring the cost down
All of these could be more than enough to persuade you to build your own home. You could still think it’d be a complicated process, and you mightn’t know where to even start with this. You’ll already know hiring a builder could be essential, but there are multiple other steps to take on top of that. You can visit this site to learn about how they can help you.
It’s worth diving into seven of the more essential of these. You’ll end up having your dream home before you know it.
Build Your Own Home: 7 Steps To Take
Image Credit: Phil from Unsplash.
1. Prep The Site
Once you’ve hired your contractors and gotten your permits, you might think it’s time to start building. There are a few things you’ll need to take care of before that, though. The most notable is to prep the site before you start construction. A lot of this could depend on the specific site you’re building on.
Usually, this involves clearing any debris or anything else on the site that could interfere with construction. You can do a lot of this yourself if you want to save some money, but it could take a little time.
Despite that, it’s an essential step you’ll have to take. It’ll make sure there aren’t any issues with the home as soon as it’s built, so it’s worth putting the effort into.
2. Start With The Foundation
The foundation is naturally the first thing that’ll need to be done when you’re building your own home. Everything else literally goes on top of this, so there’s no way you can leave this until some other time. Thankfully, it shouldn’t be too complicated to actually do.
Your contractor will plan out the entire foundation, and pour it in the exact shape your house will be. After that, they’ll use a spray to make sure it’s waterproof before an inspector gives it a look. Once the foundation is approved, you can move ahead with the rest of the build.
3. Add The Framing
Once the foundation is done, it’s time to start framing your home. This is what it sounds like, and involves building the frame of your home before starting to fill it in. Usually, the frame is made of wood, and it’ll end up forming the bones of your house. Everything else is added on top of this.
A waterproof wrapping is normally added to the frame to protect it from moisture, especially during the construction process itself. It’ll take a little time to get this done, but it’s a vital part of the process. You’ll see the outline of your home by the time this is done, and your contractors can start adding windows and doors soon.
4. Set Up Plumbing & Electricals
Once the general shape of the house has been set and everything else put in place, it’s time to add the plumbing and electricals. Some of this could’ve been done as the concrete was poured, if any of the plumbing goes through any concrete areas. Barring that, however, it’s now time to get it all done.
Since it’s vital these are both done right, it’s worth making sure a professional sorts them out. These are both some of the more time-consuming parts of the home build, but it’s always worth spending the time making sure it’s all done to a high standard.
5. Add Insulation & Drywall
Insulation is vital to making sure your home is warm, and it’s always worth putting in after you’ve sorted out your plumbing and electricals. This isn’t something you should skimp on, as putting in the right amount makes a significant difference in your utility bills moving forward. Don’t skip it.
Once the insulation is in, you’re in a great position to add the drywall. This is what makes your walls actually look like walls, and it can be a relatively time-consuming process. Since it helps complete your home, though, it’s an essential step to take.
6. Time For Finishing Touches
Once all of the above is done, you should have all of the major work done. Now, it should just be a matter of adding the finishing touches, and you should be good to go. Many of these can be relatively minor, like adding decorative trims. Others can be relatively large, though.
Painting the house and installing light fixtures – among others – will be some of the more notable of these. You can do many of these yourself if you know what you’re doing, but you can always get a professional to help you with it. You could end up getting more of it done yourself than you would’ve thought.
7. Do A Final Walkthrough
Once you’ve added the finishing touches, you should have everything done. While everything’s been built and installed, it doesn’t mean you’re completely done, though. Instead, you have a little bit of extra work to get through first. A walkthrough is the most notable part of this.
While you could’ve done a few of these already as certain stages of the home build were completed, it’s always worth doing a final walkthrough. It helps you make sure everything’s done the way you want it and to a high standard.
If you spot anything wrong, get it corrected before you’re done with your contractors. It’ll make sure you don’t need to get anything else done relatively quickly.
Tips For Building Your Own Home
Each of these steps should be more than enough to help you build your own home without the stress. You could want a little more help to make it even easier for yourself, though. That’s where a few homebuilding tips come into play.
They could play a major role in how stress-free building your house goes. It’s worth taking advantage of as many of them as possible, with the most notable including:
- Add Extra Time To Your Timeline – You’ll inevitably come up with a timeline for your home build. It outlines when specific tasks should be done, as well as when everything should be finished. While this would’ve been properly planned out, surprises and delays could come up. Build extra time into your schedule to deal with anything that’ll come up.
- Use Software To Manage The Project – Managing a home build can be complicated at the best of times, as there’s quite a bit to look after. By getting some apps and software, you can make this much more straightforward. Construction accounting software could help you budget your home build and manage the finances, for example.
- Put In Some Sweat Equity – Building your house can be an expensive process, especially when you’re hiring multiple contractors. An effective way of bringing this down is to put in some sweat equity and do whatever you can yourself. Even if you’re relatively limited with your skill set, you could still add some finishing touches yourself, for example.
By knowing what you’re doing, you shouldn’t have to struggle when you build your own home. While it’ll still take some time and effort, it should be more straightforward than it would’ve been otherwise.
Build Your Own Home: Wrapping Up
There are plenty of reasons to build your own home, but you could still think it’ll be an overly complicated and stressful process. It shouldn’t have to be. Instead, it could be more straightforward than you’d expect, as long as you know what you’re doing. Following the right steps is essential to this.
Once you start going through them, you’ll get closer and closer to having a finished house. You’ll have your dream home before you know it. Adding a few tips and tricks could be more than enough to help with the process, too. You shouldn’t have to struggle with the entire process.