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Steps for House Construction

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Everyone wants to have their own home but the real problem is they do not know how to start aside from financial matters. Of course, before planning to own a home, one must have an area or a piece of land where the home will be built. Also, one should finalized budget and know what designs or type of house they want. Some are planning to avail loan either from bank, lending institution or Pag-ibig.

Home is the biggest investment that anyone will ever make so it is important to do the right thing. Here are some helpful steps to start on:

  1. Hire an architect or draftsman that will make a house plan for your home. House plan contains house perspective, construction or working drawings that define all the construction specification of your house including dimensions, materials, layout, installation method and techniques.
  2. Secure building permit for your home. Building permit is issued by your municipal office and it is a requirement before proceeding to the construction. It is a formal approval by the government as meeting the prescribed codes and approval of drawings and specification.
  3. Choose a contractor that is trustworthy or, hire skilled persons who will be able to build your house. These skilled persons include mason, carpenter, welder, painter, etc. You may also hire someone who will supervise and look for your house while constructing so that you may know the development of the construction. This someone should have knowledge the proper way of constructing the house and knows how to follow the specifications and materials in the house plan. This can be an engineer or architect.
  4. Make sure that all information needed for the construction is written in the contractor’s agreement before signing it. You can hire consultant to see if the contents of contractor’s agreement are correct and complete.
  5. Do not rely on your contractor everything. You have to check the construction of your home regularly to see if the contractor follows the materials and drawing specification on your house plan and contractor’s agreement.

Home Construction Checklist

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Are you planning to construct your house? Is so, it is very important to determine some things needed for house construction and be ready for it. Remember, have a house construction is much more complicated than buying a house.

Here are some construction checklists:

•    Is there a lot or area to construct a house?

Of course before thinking of having own house, you should have available area or lot.  Make sure to choose the right location for your house so that you will not regret in the future. Remember house is a big investment.

•    How much is your budget for your house?

It is very important to have budget or enough money for your house construction.  Are you planning to finance your house on your own or get a loan from bank.

•    What type of house is suited to your budget?

Decide what type of house do you want; it can be bungalow or two-storey house.  Also, decide the size of your house and decide for your desired floor plans.

•    How much money is needed to construct a house?

Consider the cost of your desired house and if this cost is suited for your budget.

•    Who will create your house plan and house perspective?

Look for a draftsman or architect who will create and design for your house.

•    What are the other expenses aside from house construction?

Constructing a house is very complicated since you should have funds for non-budgeted expenses including cost of the permits such as building permit, electrical permit and so on.  You should also a budget for cost overruns, missed deadlines, and house construction modification.

•    Who is your house builder or contractor for your house?

Hire a builder or contractor who is trusted. You can review all the qualification and look for their project to know if they delivered a quality house.

•    What are the things to look before signing a contractor’s agreement?

Before signing a contract, you should check all the details properly. These details include the scope of works, materials specification, time frame, terms of payment, and warranty

•    Who will inspect your house during construction

Do not rely everything to your contractor once you construction is starting.  It is important to check if the contractor follows what is written in the contractor’s agreement. You can hire someone to supervise and check the construction so that someone may report to you the development of your house. This someone must be an engineer or architect so that he may know the right material for your house and the way it construct.

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Types of House in the Philippines

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House is one of the most important asset that a person can have most especially if you have a family. Having own house or home can be a greatest accomplishment since it is a big investment which involve large amount of money and patients.

A house is a shelter that protect us from sun, rain and other elements. It is a place where we are allow to rest, relax and unwind as well it provides as comfort and safety. Also, it is a place that brings family, friends, and loved ones together.

The following are the type of house available here in the Philippines:

1.    Bungalow

It is a single-storey house in which living room, kitchen, dining area, bedrooms, comfort room, bathroom are all on the same room.  Bungalow house is suitable for those who have difficulty to take stairs.  Also, construction of bungalow house is simpler and requires less cost than multiple storey houses.

2.    Two-Storey house or Multiple Storey house

A multiple storey house is an structure that have 2 or more floors. Areas such as living room, dining area, bar counters, kitchen, powder room may located at the ground floor while bedrooms, bathroom, family hall and other private can be on the second floor or other floor of the house.  This multiple storey house is recommended for families with five or more members. Also, the best option for those who want larger space.

3.    Condo Unit

A condo unit is usually located within a mid-rise or high-rise residential building in the cities where more people live but it is more expensive compare to other type of house. It is single housing unit in a multi-unit building. The owner holds sole title to the unit but owns land and common property such as elevators, halls, roofs, and stairs jointly with other unit owners and they shares the upkeep expenses on the common property/

4.    Town Houses

A town house sometimes called apartment. It is constructed as two or more storey unit with a common wall or walls bordering the adjacent unit. Also, it shares a common roof, parking area and other outdoor spaces with other townhouses.

Common Causes of House Construction Delays

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Construction delays is means the late completion of work based on the planned schedule or contract schedule. It can be minimized only when you are aware of the causes of delays and be prepare for it and prepare of possible solution.

Here are common causes of house construction:

•    Bad weather

Severe rain can affect house construction and it is unavoidable situation so better to start your house during summer or hot day season.

•    No sufficient manpower

If there is insufficient labor to do the job, delay is expected so if you have contractor, be sure that he has sufficient people and if you do your house construction make sure that your labor are enough.

•    Labor disagreement

Disagreement sometimes is also unavoidable most especially if some labor is hard headed and do not want to follow instruction. Just make sure that you are still available person to do the job in case of labor dispute and disagreement

•    Lack of materials

Always check and monitor the materials to be used in the construction and purchase materials in a timely manner.

•    Delivery delays

Make sure that your supplier will be able to deliver the materials on time.

•    Poor communication

Make sure to communicate properly what you want in your house. It is suggested to put in writing everything so that your labor or manpower will have checklist of their work.

•    House modification

If there is something you want to change in the design of your house. Sometime minor modification can have large impact to the construction.

How to Hire Right Contractor

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Hiring a contractor can be tricky. But of course, it is best to analyze and take a look how to have a right contractor for your dream house.  It is really important that your contractor has good reputable.

Here are some tips on hiring the best contractor suited to your needs.

  1. Make sure that your contractor has license.  The contractor should have license in order to do the work properly.
  2. Ask the contractor when to start your project.  Some contractor may not be able to start a new project immediately most especially if the contractor have a lot of work to do. Make sure that the contractor have enough people to do the work.
  3. The contractor should willing to put his commitments on writing to prevent problem just because something was not written down.
  4. Know who will be taking care of necessary permits for the project.
  5. Ask you contractor if they are responsible of cleaning the site at the end of the day.
  6. The contractor should be able to communicate with you regularly to update what’s going to happen.
  7. Know the easy way to keep in touch with your contractor and their team to easily take care the issues that may arise.
  8. See the past projects of the contractor to give you an idea on what to expect. It is a good idea to contact contractor’s past client to ask for their feedback.
  9. Ask for the quote or estimated cost of the job so that you may know if the project cost is within budget or not.
  10. Verify what is included in the contract such as the design as well as the scope of work.
  11. Know the terms of payment with the deposit up until the final payment.
  12. Confirm the extent of the warranty of work. This should be warranty to ensure quality of work. The contractor can provide a long warranty if he confident in the materials and processes used in the project.
  13. The contractor should provide a breakdown of work with corresponding number of day completion and date of completion.
  14. Know what will be the consequences if there will be a modification in the scope of work. If there is additional charges. It is important to know the details before moving on the project.
  15. Know also the suppliers of the contractor if they are able to supply quality materials.

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How to Avoid Constructor Fraud

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In this modern society, it is hard to trust someone since scammers are everywhere.  Building a house is requires big amount of money so better to know who can entrust your money.  Contractor’s fraud is an illegal acts committed by a single contractors or firms. These acts includes using substandard repairs or offering services that scam the other party. For homeowner, the contractor’s fraud is very costly because fraudulent acts can lead to more bills or cause damage to property.

Here are some tips to avoid contractor fraud:

  1. Ask for contractor’s license. Make sure that the contractors has license to perform the job.
  2. Make sure that your contractor will be in charge of securing permits such as building permits, electrical permits, and among others to prevent problems in the future.
  3. Watch out for contractors that requiring upfront payments.  It is not all unusual for a contractor to request some up front payment before beginning a job.  The up front payment should only be a very small percentage of the total cost, ten percent (10%) at the very most.  If a contractor request for a larger percentage before the job starts, it might be a sign of contractor’s fraud.
  4. Review final contract.  Make sure that verbal agreement also includes in the contract. Some contractors do not include verbal agreement and at the end, they will required you for the extra fees.
  5. Make sure that your contractor has a good reputation. You can get referral from your friends, family, suppliers, and colleagues. Take time to visit their previous work and talk to their former clients.

Common Construction Problems

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Problems during construction are inevitable so it is important that we are prepare and we have solution for that particular problem to avoid delays of construction and other consequences.

Here are some construction problem and their solutions;

1.    Hiring unskilled workers and inefficient workers

You may hired inefficient and unskilled workers during your house construction so it is very important to pre-screening the people who will be working on your house.  You can visit their previous work and asked their previous client.

2.    Lack of communication

When there is some something wrong with your house construction, most probably, this always due to communication breakdown along the way. Do not assume that your worker or team knows everything you want for your house.

3.    House modification

Some homeowner may request to modify or change something in the middle of the house construction. It takes so much money and time because some minor revision may cause many work to be done. It is important to review and make final request or modification for your house before the start of the construction.

4.    Unreliable and untrustworthy subcontractors

Many subcontractors today may become unreliable and untrustworthy so it is necessary to get recommendation from your trusted suppliers, friends or family. Aside from recommendation, you have to visit their previous work or talk to former client about subcontractor’s behavior and quality of their work.

5.    Available Cash

To avoid the delay for the house construction, you should have available cash for salaries of your workers, suppliers, subcontractors, equipment renters, etc.

How to Estimate your Dream House

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Are you planning to build your dream house? If so, it is really important to estimate the cost of your dream house so that you will be ready in terms of financial matters.  Knowing the estimated cost of your dream house can help you prepare for anything that comes your way during the budgeting process.

Here are some Tips to Estimate your Dream House:

1.    Decide your floor plan.  Your architect or draftsman or builder/designer will help you to do a floor plan for your house depending on your lot area. The floor plans will know the size and features you want in your new home.  Once you and your designer finalized the size of your plan, your builder should be able to tell how much per square foot they charge for a new home construction like yours.  Like for instance, let say the size of floor plan is 68 sq m. and the cost per sq m is Php 20,000.00. The cost of your dream house will be Php 1,360,000.00.

2.    Know your type of finishing you want such as the style, quality, and features.  It can includes the brand of your paint, the type of flooring and roofing materials, or whether the interior design will be included or not. These should not be overlooked when determining the cost of your dream house. You should know what actual materials to be used on your house that includes flooring, paint, insulation, shingles, roof type, cabinetry and built-ins, doors, and windows.

3.    Save for contingencies expenses to your house construction budget. Contingencies expense includes delay of work due to weather condition, design modification,  manpower disagreement, etc.

4.    Add budget for house plan as well as permit fees for house construction. Here in the Philippines, the cost of house plan for bungalow or one-storey house is between Php 15,000 to 25,000 depending on the design while for two-storey house range to Php 25,000 and above. Permit fees is depends on the location.

5.    If you are the one who is planning to supervise the construction of your dream house, estimate the cost of labor such as trussing and roofing cost, electrical works, plumbing, painting, masonry works, etc. so that you have an idea how much budget you will keep and save.

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Tips to Arrange your Living Room

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living-roomLiving room is an area of the house which usually located near the main entrance at the front of the house. This area is used for relaxing and socializing such as for leisure activities and entertaining guests. Living room may contains furnishing such as sofa, center table, chairs, television, coffee table, bookshelves and other furniture. Other function of living are watching television, listening to music, family activities, get together with friends, and children’s playground.

When lay-outing your dream house, it is important to take a look for your living room to know if there is enough space for your guests, family activities and place for furniture.

Here are some tips to arrange your living rooms

  1. Make sure to buy a sofa that you and your guests feel comfortable in.
  2. Don’t forget to install proper lightning.   Proper lightning can give good ambiance to your guests. Space should have variety of lights such as on walls, ceiling or hanging fixtures.
  3. There should be enough seating on your living room for accommodating the number of guest and family members to fit.
  4. Organize place of your television, books, videos, CD’s, etc. Adequate storage is necessary but make sure to put it in the right place.
  5. Get rid of all the mess. Remove and hide-away all messy objects and unnecessary stuffs.
  6. Coordinate colors in your living room. Make sure that the color combination is in harmony. Keep on matching colors in the area to those colors such as your curtains, sofa cover, etc.

Building Home Tips

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build-home-tips
Building your dream house is always exciting. It is a big investment so it is important that you have to read and learn the process.  By simply planning ahead, you can help ease stress and anxiety of building your new home.

Spend some time researching the latest trends and materials so that you can be familiar yourself to ensure that your home is really a dream come true.

1.    Set a realistic budget.

Setting a budget for your home is determining how much you can spend at your home construction. You should decide what type of house, bungalow or two-storey, you want to build and how many sq. meter you want. Make sure that you have a budget for the permits and documents needed for the construction.

2.    Have a draftsman or architect that can draw your house plan.

Tell the layout and design you want for your house. Explain every detail so that the designer will be able to sketch properly your house.

3.    Choose the right contractor.

You can get recommendation from your friends, neighbors or colleagues. Visit their former project to ensure that they are after the quality not the price.  You can asks their previous clients and a list of supplier. Make sure that your contractor has a good reputation and able to do the job on time.

4.    Review and check contractor’s agreement before signing.

Look for the time frame, prices, payment penalties, payment method, house warranties, legal issues, anticipated problems, attorney’s fees, house specification such as the materials going to be used, additional payment, disputes, etc.

5.    Visit the construction site regularly.

It is important to visit the site so that you will know the development of the house if your contractor will be able to follow their schedules and follows the specification based on the house plan and contract.

6.    Pay on time.

Make sure to pay your contractor on time so that the construction will not stop.

7.    Communicate everything to your contractor.

Do not assume and talk to your contractor and the person involve in the construction of your expectations. Good communication is a key when building your home to minimize mistakes.

8.    Monitor your home during construction.

It is necessary to monitor the construction most specially during finishing stage so that you may suggest what you want in your home like colors, style, light setting, electrical setting, etc. If you are busy, you can hire someone who can supervise your house aside from your contractor.