I had my first house built when I was in my late twenties, and even though I was still young and inexperienced at that time, I made sure I built a home I wouldn’t regret living in until the day that I die. In this lens, I’m going to share some of the things I’ve learned from that experience.
Building and designing your own dwelling can be exciting, but it is not as easy as it may seem. In fact, unless you hire professional builders, there is no way you can achieve your dream house. During that period my house was being constructed, there were several things I have learned that later on become great lessons for me and which I applied every time I would help someone build and design their own home. I would be glad to share these lessons to you as well.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when building your home is not doing enough research before buying a property. Uncommon zoning, site slopes, and geographical issues are just some of the things you might encounter if you fail to do research. Before I bought the land I built my house on, I made sure I asked the local council regarding common issues like building requirements and the like. I also made sure the land wasn’t prone to flooding and bush fire and that there is nothing on the site that would hinder or affect my design program.
Another very important thing you need to keep in mind is that your house should be built to accommodate your needs and the needs of your family. The keywords here are “function” and “comfort.” By function and comfort, we imply that each of the rooms in the house is built to function as they should and provides comfort to family members at the same time. For instance, the living room should be located to the north of the plan or in an area of the house where it would receive sunlight in the morning, but not in the afternoon. Making sure you build every room of your house based on these two keywords will reduce your chances of having to do renovations and repairs later on.
Finally, make sure you stick to standard building techniques and use standard construction materials. This will not only ensure safety, but will also help keep building and design costs down.
Always remember that there will be people who will try to influence the design of the house you are trying to build. Be careful not to listen to just anyone or you will end up not building the house you want. Instead, focus on what you want to achieve and stick to your original plan as much as possible.
Stick to the plan as well, it was created for the purpose of guiding you to what you think is best for the people living inside your home. If you see yourself changing your mind about specific details in the home design that you currently have, you might have made several mistakes on your planning stage so I suggest you should stop, go back and review. It may take time but you will end up satisfied with the home that you dream of.