WA Country Builders

What Should You Consider When Designing on a Budget?

When you’re ready to start construction on a new home, you have a budget in mind. Many people say that the final cost of the home ends up much more than the initial estimate. When you start planning with home builders in WA, there are some designs considerations that can help you stay in budget.

Make Detailed Plans After you work out the details of your loan and hire a builder, you want to start immediately. Don’t rush to break ground, though. First, work through three important documents: architectural drawings, project specification, and building contract.

The architectural drawings describe exactly how you want your home. Provide as many drawings as possible, and make sure each one is as detailed as possible.

The project specification is a written description of every item in the home – appliances, doors, wall finishes, door knobs, etc. – including model numbers and suppliers. The more detailed this specification is, the fewer surprises you’ll have.

Your WA Country Builders should provide you with a building contract that details the final cost of the home, including how and when you’ll make payments, the start date, and expected completion date. If there are items you provide to the builder, those should be included.

Keep it Modest and Simple Smaller homes are less expensive. Make sure to give yourself enough living space, but if you have a tight budget, impressing your neighbors may be way too much. You’ll lose interesting details, and those may be more important than the size.

If you build up, you’ll spend money on staircases. That’s not all, though. Your builder needs extra money for scaffolding and moving materials to the

upper level. If you build down, the builder has to hire someone to dig, stabilize the earth, drain away water, and everything else that comes with that. If you must have a

wine cellar or extra bedrooms, plan them on the ground floor to reduce costs.

Limit Material Types and Use Simple Designs The more different materials you have, the higher the cost because your builder will have to get different contractors to come in. For example, if you want a mix of stone and timber, you’ll need both a stonemason and a carpenter. If you limit those, you’ll reduce the costs.

Something that seems small – like a complicated roof design – can increase the cost of your home more than you think. The contractor has to design drainage to keep standing water from the top of your home. Keep the designs simpler, and you’ll save more money.

There are many other factors that affect how much you end up paying home builders in WA, such as making sure you have site access, how the home is placed on the land, standardization of items, and structural alterations to an

addition. The more you work with your WA country builders, and take

their

advice

for

budget

restrictions, the better you’ll feel about the financial aspect of your new home.