Owning your own home can give you an incredible feeling. Searching for the right home will include many challenges. Sometimes, instead of looking at many homes designed for others, you may hear about many who are constructing affordable custom homes from scratch. If you decide you want to build your own new home, here are some guidelines to follow:
Hire Professionals
When you want to create the home of your dreams, you’ll need to find the right professionals to oversee the home building process. Even if you have carpentry skills, supervising the building of a home is a complex process that is often beyond the capacity of a non-professional. According to Homelight, you’ll need about 22 subcontractors to complete your new home. People building affordable custom homes must find a reliable general contractor to head their home-building team.
After listening to your specifications for your home, the general contractor will provide you with an estimate of the cost of labor and materials. Some general contractors have a group of subcontractors they usually work with, and they know the quality of the subcontractors’ work. You may choose other subcontractors if you prefer other companies. However, selecting the groups of workers known to the general contractor is often a good idea because they are used to collaborating.
The general contractor is also responsible for setting the home’s building timeline. Once the building schedule is established, the general contractor will assign tasks to the subcontractors. During the home-building process, the general contractor will ensure that all the subcontractors meet their deadlines. The contractor teams will communicate with each other, while the general contractor will be the one to speak with you.
Get Required Permits from Your Town
You must have the necessary permits to clear your land and build on the land. Each town will have different requirements and documents needed to construct your home. In most municipalities, you’ll need grading permits to level your land. You will also require a permit for construction, HVAC, electricity, and plumbing.
Your contractor can contact the municipality to get permits for you. However, you can save some money by getting the permits yourself. If you get the permits yourself, you’ll be considered the contractor of record. If you are on record as the contractor, you will become liable for any problems arising during construction or inspections.
When building affordable custom homes, general contractors know it’s never advisable to build without a permit. If municipal authorities discover you are building without permits, you will be immediately compelled to get permits – at higher costs. Your building site could be closed until you reach the licenses. You could even be asked to tear down anything you have already constructed.
Find the Perfect Land
People who want to build affordable custom homes must start with the right plot of land. Ask yourself where you might like to live (if you don’t already own land.) Be sure any land you choose will be able to give you access to sewer lines, water, and electricity. You’ll also need to ensure the land is in a residential building zone, which can be done at the town’s municipal offices.
Once you have chosen your land, working with a land clearing service is essential. These contractors remove any rocks, plants, and debris from the site. After clearing the lot, the contractor must remove any stumps or roots from the land. If your site has many trees, you can sell the felled trees to a lumber company.
Once your land is completely cleared, you must seek an excavation company to level the site. This company will ensure the land is flat by filling in any holes and leveling the rest. If the land has any hills or dips, the contractor will level those out so the surface will be completely flat. This company will also place stakes in the ground to mark where the foundation will be poured.
Have a Good Foundation
According to Stronghold Engineering, a good foundation is crucial to building a home. When constructing affordable custom homes, you must dig a trench for the foundation after the ground is leveled. Once that digging is done, the contractor must set footings around the perimeter. Footings will be inserted to a depth of a foot below the frost line (the location below where the ground will freeze.)
The footings will be placed so that water will flow away from the home to protect the home from damage. The contractor will pour concrete into the site where the foundation will be set. According to Cemex, concrete is the most common material used for flooring because of its durability. The type of concrete you choose will likely depend on its durability and cost.
The contractor will be responsible for concrete leveling. Once the concrete is poured, it must be cured for 28 to 60 days before you can continue with the next phase. The concrete must also be waterproofed before it can be built upon. The amount of time the foundation must be left to “cure” before the next phase begins will depend on the weather.
Get the Basics Done
As the framework and walls of your home arise, teams building affordable custom homes will need to include fixtures for letting water flow into and drain out of your new home. Once the foundation of your new home has been cured, the next step will be to install drains, sewers, water taps, and other plumbing. During the planning stage of home design, you must consider how many toilets, sinks, and other water lines will be needed. It would be helpful if a local plumber could be a part of deciding the location of the plumbing system.
Plumbers are the ideal professionals to plan, install, and maintain pipes, vents, and drainage lines for your home’s water and gas lines. According to Build-Review, many plumbers feel it’s best to install all the fixtures in a central place within the home. The same website suggests that to simplify maintenance, you should put the home’s water heater, furnace, sewer connection, and sump pump in one location. The basement is typically the ideal place for these to be installed or in a utility cabinet for a one-story home.
Part of your plumbing system will include drains and sewer connections. Your drains will carry waste, washing machine, and sink water, plus the water from your shower or tub, away from your home, and to the public sewer. As the plumbers do their installation work, it can be wise to watch them with the future in mind. After your home is built, if those plumbers do good work, you can use them when you need drain and sewer cleaning.
Make Your Home Comfortable
When living in your finished home, you’ll want it to stay at a comfortable temperature and have adequate light and power. Placing the HVAC unit correctly should include some essential guidelines. According to KCIAC, you should put the HVAC system away from bedroom windows so the system’s noise doesn’t disturb your sleep. You’ll also need to place the unit near a power source.
Sufficient insulation is also essential to adequately support your HVAC unit. When adding insulation around air ducts, you should do so during the early stages of HVAC installation to prevent heat transfer. When selecting insulation, look for materials that are highly resistant to water. Although water-resistant materials are often more expensive, they will pay off in the future because they will reduce the energy you use.
Professional electricians are needed to install safe and effective electrical wiring. According to Dan the Sparky Man’s electricity blog, a standard-sized home will need between 100 and 200 watts of service. The same source recommends using closed conduit wiring, which hides the wires behind the home’s walls. Your electrical contractor will help you choose the best places for control panels, outlets, and switches.
Upgrade to New Appliances
As you are planning the building of your new home, you’ll need to include appliances. Affordable custom homes give future homeowners a choice of features during the planning phase. During the planning phase of your home build, you may decide that the plan is to have a built-in stove, refrigerator, sinks, and dishwasher. In addition, choosing the most up-to-date and energy-efficient appliances will benefit you.
Appliances most often included with today’s newly constructed homes tend to be energy efficient. Most new homeowners today prefer energy-efficient appliances. In addition to using less energy and decreasing your utility bills, having energy-efficient appliances will add to your property’s value. Choosing these more up-to-date appliances will have the additional benefit of ensuring an appliance repair service to find appliance parts easily in the future.
Build Your Dream Rooms
Since you’re the one whose vision is the inspiration for the construction of this house, the rooms you choose – and your arrangement of them – will be the predominant guide for the construction of your rooms. You can make decisions to place bathrooms in a specific position. You can decide between showers or bathtubs and determine what floor the washer and dryer should be on.
When building affordable custom homes, you’ll need to make your choices known about many of the rooms. For example, when your bathroom contractors begin doing their part of the construction, it is another opportunity to choose energy-efficient fixtures. Choosing low-flow shower heads and low-flow toilets will conserve water. As a result, you will also have lower water and utility bills.
Water is one of the resources you can save in your bathroom. For example, by using extra insulation around the water pipes in your tub or shower, the water will remain hot when it’s in the tap. You might choose LED lights for your bathroom to use an eco-friendly light source. You can ask your electrical contractor to install motion-sensitive lighting to save even more money on your bathroom lighting.
Don’t Forget the Details
Your windows are an essential part of building your new home. According to Well Custom Framers, windows should be installed when the framework has been completed. You should discuss with the contractor what type of windows you’d like. Your choices about your windows may help you save energy or allow a maximum of natural light into your home.
Regarding your window frames, you will have a choice of materials. Your material choice for the frames of your windows will depend on your style. You may want a picture window in your living room or double glass doors in the back of your home that lead to your deck and backyard. You can choose between wooden frames, aluminum frames, or vinyl frames.
Your contractor must use sufficient sealant on window frames to conserve energy in affordable custom homes. Sealant helps keep the temperature level in your home and prevents moisture from getting into your rooms. Finishing the window jambs will improve the appearance of the windows – plus, it will add to the window’s ability to prevent moisture from entering. After your home construction is finished, keeping in touch with your window contractor may give you a resource when you need window repairs.
Another important piece that you’ll need to consider is your driveway. Be sure to look into asphalt driveway businesses. Asphalt is a very popular material choice because it’s durable and long-lasting, plus it’s resistant to thinks like weather and oils. You may need to sealcoat it every few years, but that’s just about all the maintenance it needs.
As you look into local companies to get the job done, choose someone who is experienced. Experienced contractors are more likely to deliver great results. You can also ask friends, neighbors, family, and coworkers about who they would recommend. If you know someone who has completed an asphalt job recently, they can tell you how they felt about the team they hired and the work they did. You should also take advantage of any warranties or guarantees they offer, and keep a look out for any discounts you could use. The best case scenario is finding a team you like and who you can call whenever you need maintenance or repairs. Working with the same company over time can save a lot of hassle.
Finish Off with the Details
When deciding on your home’s exterior, you’ll have several choices. One popular choice is home siding – wood, vinyl, aluminum, brick, cement, or stone. Home siding can give your home an attractive exterior that protects it from the elements. According to C3America, using siding on the exterior of your home can sometimes be seen as an eco-friendly choice.
If the siding is your choice for your home’s exterior, you’ll have a choice of several composite materials for the siding. Your siding contractors can help you choose the best material to use for the siding on your home. When selecting affordable custom homes, you’ll want something attractive that will last a long time. Of the many choices of siding, according to C3America, fiber cement, and aluminum will last the longest (up to 50 years.)
When you decide to build your new home, it will present you with a series of decisions. Some of the decisions will concern the appearance or style of your home, while others will concern eco-friendly choices. Whatever your choices are, this is your opportunity to create the home of your dreams.
Hire a Roof Inspector
A roof is an integral part of your home and if it isn’t inspected while you’re in the process building affordable homes, it may impact you financially in the future. Hiring expert roofers can prevent you from making mistakes like these in the future. Before buiilding your home, you can ensure that it is safe from the elements by hiring a professional. Although it is tempting to cut costs at this time, eliminating a roof inspector and planner should not be part of your financial plan. If you don’t hire a professional to take care of your roof plans, it could result in a lot of damage to the interior of your home. For example, if the roof is not installed correctly, it will allow water into your home. Water, combined with heat will enable the growth of mold in your home. This will not only lead to damages in your home like on the walls and on the ceiling, but it will also pose as a health risk to your family. Ensure their safety by hiring a professional roofer to take care of it while you’re in the process of building your home. Don’t hesitate to contact a professional today to get started.