House Building

Some points to note when building a house that you may or may not be aware of, and that you won’t find in any book! ..(or rather some points that I was not aware of.. )
- Your site so determines the design, layout and type of house you will build.
- Taking site levels is an endless process (or maybe that was just in my case) – however it vital to get it right from the start, its one thing you can’t change later!
- Getting a tidy diggerman is important – both for digging out foundations and later for landscaping.
- Make sure you do most of the drainage before all dead-building is complete! Otherwise the workload is immense!
- When choosing windows, you not only have to choose the colour of the frame, but also the type of glass – and this is important in achieving a good U value for the house. (In fact the decision making process is endless when building, even down to the type and level of insulation you’d like.. I never realised there were so many different types!)
- The block/brick work is a tedious process and concrete slabs are a good idea for flooring (handiest, good for sound-insulation and fire-proof though are expensive.) Ensuring that the DPC is inserted correctly and the radon barrier very important, especially at the windows/lintels
- Getting the main physical structure up is a challenge, but the real challenge starts inside - stud walls, first fix for wiring and plumbing, then door frames, slabbing, plastering .. and then choosing light switches and plugs; floor covering; WBH, WC, shower trays and fixings; - all of which have to be more-or-less decided on previously to know sizes, positioning etc.
- Its very difficult determining where lights and switches will be needed, so if you can, take time out in the design phase and think about this at the same time. Same goes for bathroom items.
- Keep in mind the number of doors in the house – for each door there’ll also be a door frame, architrave, handles, hinges, stop etc.
- And lastly, builders are all untidy – i.e. they leave a lot of garbage about the place.. constantly cleaning up after them!
These are a few of the points that spring to mind for now (or rather this is as far as I’ve gotten in the process…) More to come in time! ;)