Prioritise important decision-making when planning your home

PLANNING to build a new home is one of life’s most exciting undertakings. But long before you get to enjoy the blissful hours spent decorating your new home with fittings and furnishings, there are a number of important tasks to get right.

You must avoid costly financial mistakes by sourcing the right professional help. Another handy tip is to source as much advice there is about each stage of development. Engineers and architects are key but asking advice from someone you know who has recently built a new home can help.

Remember to negotiate a contract at the outset. This will bring peace of mind later on if the project should suddenly hit a snag. Ensure you and the builder are on the same wavelength from the get-go and keep an eye on any deviations to the specifications. These may be necessary in some cases due to unforeseen circumstances but be sure to update the contract if this happens. Under no circumstances ‘assume’ that something will be done the way you want it. Be sure to inspect every phase personally to see that it is being done to specification.

When choosing a designed or custom-designed plan for your new home leave no stone unturned. Examples of design homes can be sourced from builders and architects’ catalogues. This helps you select the best stock design that is practical to your needs, the size of your sight, and, more importantly, your budget.

A custom-designed home is more flexible in terms of what you want. It will require the skill of an architect to discuss in detail your specifications. You should ask questions like sun alignment in relation to your home, can the home be sheltered from wind? Ask what the best energy saving additions are for home heating, etc.

If this is a new adventure for you take note that the main players you want on your team is a surveyor, excavator, home designer or architect, and a builder. In Ireland, the standard route many take is choosing a general contractor. But depending on the size, scale, cost and overall depth of the project in can sometimes be a good idea to hire a separate architect or engineer to oversee the general contractors work. This is not a slight on the contractor, just a form of extra cover as two minds can sometimes be better than one when building a home.

Lastly, remember that designing and building a home is one of the most serious and stressful projects you will commit to. You need to assess your approach to it and understand the demanding nature of what lies ahead. Once you have all your main priorities lined up, you won’t look back.