Building can seem complex and the questions to answer are countless. Focusing on the wrong things can make you feel stuck. Here are five essential questions that will help you make progress on your journey:
1. Where do you want to build the house?
The site affects the house in countless ways. Picking a site from early on will affect other decisions that follow when planning the house. A well-designed house leverages the surroundings to enhance certain features while minimizing undesirable conditions on the site.
Features to think about are the location, shape & size of the plot. The topography and natural features in the plot play a role when it comes to the design possibilities. Designing with the context in mind should lead to a house that is in harmony with the surroundings. Location affects the availability & cost of certain materials. It might also determine the building team you end up going with. More info on the effects the site has on the house can be found here
2. What spaces do you want to include in the house?
Deciding on the different spaces needed in the house is a question only you can answer. This can be directly through deciding you want eg 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, a livingroom and a store. You can also do that indirectly by clarifying what the house will be for, who is expected to occupy it and how you expect to experience life within the house. This will also help you decide how you want the different spaces to relate to eachother & the external space.
The point of doing this beforehand is not necessarily to find the right answer. The exercise is useful to determine the possibilities that apply to your situation. You can make more informed decisions as the house planning and design progresses.
3. What is the Style/Concept for the house
This can be tricky to figure out. Sometimes you are fortunate enough to find something almost exactly like what you want. In most cases, you like some elements of a certain style and other elements from another. Figuring out the style you want is difficult. What is style anyways?
Here is a better place to start. Look through pictures of houses. As many as you can. Save the pictures that you like & go through them again. You will realise there is something common there. Style might be one word for it.
The second step from there is optional. You can categorise the pics you saved further into themes. You could also leave it at that and collaborate with a designer/architect/builder to synthesise something unique. The process from thereon is a journey to discover what works for you. Just remember that it is a process and it takes time.
4. What is your budget for the house?
While the per sqm estimate is a good starting point, it ultimately breaks down, especially when building a custom home. Be prepared to modify that estimate.
The estimate for construction cost gets more precise as the design progresses. Quotations received from contractors tend to vary widely. Herein lies the challenge of estimation. You can build the same project with different budgets. The variations are in quality of all the components. It is your job to figure out what quality fits your budget and is satisfactory.
It is also important to understand what the budget covers. Is landscaping covered in your budget? Is there a water tower that you also want to include in the estimate? Elements like boundary walls & pools might be a cost that has not been considered
Ignoring the budget for the house can lead to disappointment later on once the house has been designed and you realise the budget does not cover it.
5. When do you want to start building the house?
Building a house is not something you do everyday. It is understandable that getting everything in place to do it takes time. Deciding on the questions above takes even longer. The questions are tough to get right and without setting a deadline, months might turn into years.
It is a good idea to set a date for when you want to begin building the house. Working backwards from that will inform you how quickly you should decide on the questions above. Designing and planning will also take up some time after that. County approvals and construction approvals can sometimes be delayed. Considering all of these, it is a good idea to set deadlines. Though you may not meet them, they can work as a general guide.
Answering these questions is a good start in the right direction. The answers will change as the project progresses. Having a rough idea from the start will point you towards the next steps. While finding the right answers will take time, it might be a good thing. Here’s why
