home building Archives - Bruzzese Home Improvements

As the construction industry gets back on track, new home sales are soaring once again, with 811,000 new houses sold during 2021.

That means you’ve got more choices than ever if you’re on the hunt for a new home in 2022. So, as a prospective buyer, you need to decide whether to look at these types of homes or confine your search to existing dwellings.

These are the benefits of buying a new construction home instead of trying to find your ideal dwelling in the resale market.

New Home Warranties

Like a new car, a new home comes with extensive warranties to protect you from issues that can arise with any home. If your new home springs a leak within the warranty period, you needn’t worry about the costs and hassle associated with this repair.

Your construction company will sort out any teething problems right away, at no cost to you. Existing homes might have underlying issues that the previous owner is unaware of.

That means you need to pay for a home inspection before you buy the house. If you don’t, you could face expensive repairs down the line.

Extra Customizations

Existing homes usually fall short of your ideals when it comes to amenities and decor. That means you’ll need to spend money upgrading these spaces to suit your desires.

When you buy a new build, you can work with the construction company to customize it according to your lifestyle needs. Most new homes have the option to choose from several contemporary floor plans and design options.

First-Class Amenities

Some model homes are part of prestigious communities. These boast sought-after amenities like a gym, pool, walking trails, sports amenities, and a clubhouse.

Some of them boast a full social calendar to ensure you make the most of these conveniences, too.

These custom communities cater specifically to over 55s, families, young couples getting starting, or a mix of ages and interests.

No Maintenance Issues

A newly built home offers the convenience of moving in without having to worry about major repairs or minor fixes.

They feature all the latest mod cons like state-of-the-art appliances, heating, plumbing, and air conditioning. When you buy a new home, you needn’t worry about repairs or replacements for many years to come.

Without these extra expenses and worries, you can relax and enjoy your new surroundings right away.

Superb Energy Efficiency

The latest building codes demand that a construction firm builds according to high standards of building efficiency. That means you get to benefit from living in a carbon-efficient home.

Apart from the ongoing environmental aspects of electricity and water-saving features, these homes are much cheaper to run than their power and water-hungry predecessors.

As these laws evolve and become more far-reaching, owners of old homes might find themselves forced to upgrade their aging heating, cooling, and water systems.

You needn’t worry about these expensive enhancements when your home’s already built according to the best construction company standards.

Enjoy Your New Construction Home

When you buy a new construction home, you can move right in and start to enjoy all the benefits mentioned above. Yet, you probably still want to make some changes to suit your tastes.

Browse our blog for all the inspiration and information you need to make any home your own.

There is no going around the fact that building a house is quite pricey. It tends to be the largest investment one makes in life. Then again, there are many cost-effective tactics one can employ. They allow us to trim the spending without jeopardizing the whole project. There is no need to blow the budget buying from expensive showrooms. But, when going down this road, there are some additional responsibilities in the area of planning and due diligence. All these efforts pay off in the execution stage and especially when the work comes to an end. Here is an essential guide on how to make it happen.

Get your ducks in the row

You probably want your new home to be exactly what you envisioned. That is why you need to know which areas you can afford to skimp and where not to. To set the wheels into motion, come up with a sound budget. Identify opportunities to reduce material, labour, construction and operating costs. Right off the bat, figure out who you will need to hire. Doing everything yourself is hardly an option. However, actively participating in the building process can decrease labour costs and give you more oversight. Involve friends and family members in case they are willing to help and possess some know-how.

In any event, you will likely need services of designers, engineers, contractors, plumbers, electricians, architects, etc. Here, note that clear and open communication is paramount to fruitful collaboration. For a peace of mind, do your homework to research contractors, their crew and subcontractors. Get familiar with main construction methods to optimize accordingly. Pay close attention to strategic material sourcing, construction techniques, installation, energy efficiency, material limitations and other frugal measures. Decide what really matters to you and what non-negotiables are.

Pieces of the frugal puzzle

Try to creatively source all materials and products. Be prepared to balance different priorities such as affordability, aesthetics and structural capacities. One of the most important things is to understand the cost grades of materials and trade-offs associated with the lower end of the price spectrum. Never sacrifice durability and longevity completely, as that could come to haunt you later. Save money by playing it smart: take advantage of standard construction dimensions and modules to minimize material waste. Consider versatile and affordable options such as prefabricated wood truss and joists.

Bear in mind that the floor plan and layout are crucial aspects of home construction. You have to get them absolutely right. Thus, take your time to work out the room dimensions and the total size of the house for a detailed floor plan. It is highly advisable to invest in a precise laser level to obtain the most accurate measurements, even when dealing with unusually shaped rooms, landings, alcoves and hallways. An additional benefit is that it works both with metric and imperial units. You can include a garage as a separate measurement. In case your attic is a habitable space, include it as well.

Finally, there are some new trends and industry standards that can work to your advantage. Check out, for instance, advanced framing techniques. They facilitate faster and cheaper construction and lead to higher energy-efficiency. This is due to the fact that there is less timber overall and fewer pieces to install. Moreover, more space for insulation and decreased thermal bridge save money on utility bills in the future. This brings us to the point: always build with energy efficiency in mind. Insulate everything properly and have an airtight envelope. It will pay off in years to come.

The best of both worlds

Well-conceived, affordable home design requires a whole lot of planning and organization. So, be mindful of how the home will get built. Make certain you use suitable materials and in an efficient manner. Make a list of everything you need and get creative a bit. Do not hesitate to get your hands dirty, but also rely on professionals. See to it that everyone is on the same page and aware of the overall goals and priorities. Take your chance to infuse the building with higher energy-efficiency to build a frugal lifestyle. Just be careful not to undermine the quality of work and materials. Measure twice and cut once.

Building your home is the most exciting project to undertake. A luxury custom home is a dream come true for many people; everything about your home can be designed with you and your family in mind, down to every last detail. It’s also a huge financial commitment, however, and a responsibility you need to take seriously if it is to be worth every penny.

Here are 10 things you absolutely must consider:

1. How You’ll Make a Practical Space for Living

At the top of your considerations needs to be how you use the space available.

Firstly, consider the possibilities of the space. Make sure you plan adequate space for utilities and storage, and everyday life. It’s easy to get carried away with the aesthetics of the project, like your beautiful staircase or fireplace, for instance, and then to give inadequate consideration to practical spaces like laundry areas.

It’s important to be generous with this kind of space as you do not want these areas to overspill and impinge on focal areas.

Consider storage for toys, coats and shoes, bookcases, walk-in closets and pantries. Areas for pets to sleep and play in should also be of equal importance to any other feature of your home.

2. How You’ll Maximize the Feeling of Space

Equally important is how you will make your home feel spacious. This will make your home feel more luxurious and allow you to enjoy spending time there. The feeling of space is not all about having a large square footage.

Tricks of the trade to create illusions of space are to plan large, well-positioned windows, higher ceilings, wide hallways and open plan areas for cooking, dining and general living.

3. How to Avoid Under-Utilized Space

Creating spaces that will only be used occasionally are a drain on your budget and the space available for living. Guest bedrooms are a typical example of an underused space that often becomes a dumping ground when out of use.

Consider combining your guest space with a home office, or a reading, hobbies or music room.

4. The Style of Your House

How you decide your home will look is a hugely personal decision, but one that needs to be informed by other factors, such as the styles of neighboring homes and the neighborhood in general. Color schemes, landscaping, the build material, the types of windows and doors — all these are vital considerations for luxury custom built homes.

Remember, that people living across from you are going to have to look at your house more often than you are.

5. How Future-proof Your Home Is

Try to envisage how circumstances might change in the years to come and how your home will be able to respond. Will the amount of occupants’ likely change? How will their needs change?

For example, if you’re planning to extend your family at some point, you’ll not only need bedroom space, but also storage for equipment like strollers and kids bikes, and an area that can become a play space. It’s easy to make the mistake of creating the most incredible home for life as it is now, but try not to forget that life can also change quickly.

6. Resale Potential

Yes, you might not be planning to sell on at any point, but we have to be practical here. Life sometimes takes unexpected turns and while the number one person to please when building your own home is yourself, you need to be sure that it will appeal enough to others too should you ever need to resell.

7. How Certain You Are of Your Numbers

This is common sense, but it cannot be understated how easy it is for budgets to fall by the wayside and for the cost of the build to spiral out of control. Being organized and in control is the key, so maintain regular checks to monitor the budget and readjust as necessary along the way.

8. The Environmental Credentials of Your Home

Not only will ensuring your home is friendly to the planet ensure you are guilt-free, but it can also save you money. Depending on where you live, you may be able to apply for grants available for environmentally friendly projects.

You can save money over the long term by making some clever choices about where your energy comes from, too.

9. Plentiful Power Supplies

This may seem like a minor detail, but where you have access to power can make a substantial difference to how you can place your furniture and how usable the finished space is. Give lots of consideration to where you may want to access power in each room, and allow for spare sockets, too.

A wise consideration these days is also a central charging station for phones, tablets, laptops and other devices. This means you can avoid unsightly wires throughout the home, which reduces the chances of you losing track of where your devices are.

10. Lighting Choices

Lastly, if you’ve planned your windows carefully, you’ll have no issues with lighting during the day, since natural light will be adequate even on duller days. To compensate for darker hours of the day, sources of artificial light should be abundant.

Consider how you would like to light up each room according to the variety of activities that may take place there.

AUTHOR BIO

Robert Allam has had an understanding of Trendsetter Homes inside and out since he started with the business as a client over 10 years ago. Eventually becoming part of the company as a Sales Consultant, then Office Manager, and now as Finance and Sales Manager, Robert has seen the company grow from a small team of 4 to a professional team of 16 and has guided many clients through the process of developing their dream of a unique, luxury home.

When you begin building your home, you want to build something that is functional and modern. Each year it seems like there are different trends to consider, but if you pay attention to what is at the top of the list, then you can sometimes combine a few trends together to give a unique look in the home. Consider talking to a contractor to get a few ideas if you aren’t sure how to incorporate the trends in the house so that you get exactly what you want.

Cabinets And Appliances

After the flooring and walls are in place, you can start thinking about the smaller details that you will have in the home. This will include the cabinets and appliances in the kitchen, bathroom and other areas. An open cabinet system is a trend that looks to remain popular. This design keeps door facings off of the cabinets, making it easier to see what is on the shelves. Tuxedo cabinets are another trend that looks to be popular. This design is one that features dark cabinets against a light wall. It looks like a tuxedo if you stand back and take in the overall colors. Another option for this design is darker lower cabinets and lighter cabinets on top with lighter walls. Appliances used to be stainless steel, but they are now colorful and bold. Some trends include colors that include teal and orange instead of white, black or steel colors. Hidden appliances are also a trend so that you have more of an open space in the home.

Tours On The Computer

Before you make any final decisions about building the home, you might want to look at a 3D tour such as those that are offered by these Davis County home builders. You can enter information about how you want the home to look, the size of the home and any details that you want to include before taking a virtual tour. This can help you pinpoint where you want to see some of the 2017 trends more than others and what they will look like with the furnishings and colors that are in the home before you begin building. Some companies already have home ideas in place on the site so that you can get an idea of what other homeowners have already come up with in terms of how the living room is arranged or the appliances that are used in the kitchen. This kind of tour can end up saving you money as you can see whether something might be what you’re looking for or not depending on the ideas that you have.

Textures And Materials

Wood through the home is a trend that is back for 2017. You’ll see that dark wood is favored over light wood, giving a modern appearance whether it’s in the kitchen or the bathroom. Any natural material will likely be used in homes that are built, including wood of all kinds and stone. Counters will likely be made of some kind of stone, especially granite, as the material is sturdy and will last longer. Paneling is also a trend to look for in the home this year. One of the options that you have for counters if you don’t like granite is quartz. This is sometimes more durable and easier to clean. You can usually find more colors of quartz as well.

Designing a new home can be difficult if you don’t know where to start. Get a few ideas from home design companies, or talk to contractors before getting started. Magazines and pictures online are also a good place to start to see some of the trends for the year.

The dream of building a home from scratch becomes a reality for many people. It’s easy to see why: being able to have complete creative control over each aspect of a new home from the first brick laid down to the final dab of paint applied is an attractive proposition.

This is not an easy task and shouldn’t be taken lightly at any stage. Before embarking on a home-building quest it is important to be aware of some key factors that can influence whether the project is a success or a failure. By planning out all costs well in advance and factoring in unpredictable pitfalls, the new home has every chance of being completed on time and on budget.

Using a home builders in Perth company is a good option when building a home as well, allowing Pottier Homes to take the strain so you don’t have to.

Costs of materials

From the oven in the kitchen and the dimmer switch in the bedroom, and the oak floors to marble worktops, every material that is used to create the perfect house needs to be carefully budgeted for. This can lead to some compromises being made, which is never easy. However, it is very important to be disciplined during this phase of planning – by indulging every fantasy that can be dreamt of, there is a danger that costs can spiral out of control before the project has even begun.

Cost of labour

As well as the materials, the cost of manpower needs to be considered with home builders in Perth like Pottier Homes.

From JCB operators digging the foundations to plumbers connecting the pipes, every potential labour cost needs to be factored into the budget. It may soon become apparent that more people are needed than was originally thought. Failure to think about extra labour costs could lead to a half-finished project because too few builders are on the job.

Cost of connecting utilities

Budgeting for the cost of connecting utilities such as gas, water and electricity may seem like a straightforward step but sometimes this is neglected until the last minute. Finding that a completed house cannot have any electricity or water because the budget has been spent is a nasty surprise. Avoid this by making sure that utility connection is the first thing budgeted for in the project

Environmental Protection Laws

When building a home, be aware of government regulations regarding environmental issues. Any new structures need to comply with the standards that are set. This means that homes must be carefully planned regarding their impact. By meeting with the local environment agency and discussing the proposed building, they will be able to determine whether the project poses a risk to the environment and what elements of the house are also deemed to be a benefit.

For example, a project may be rejected if it is decided that the building is to be constructed in an area where endangered species are found to be living. On the flipside, using methods such as solar panels to generate electricity may help a project’s application.

Stamp duty

Buying land and property in any Australian state is subject to stamp duty. The tax amount is a percentage of the value of the home. If you are buying land to build a home then the stamp duty is only applicable to the cost of the land. How much you pay depends on the state the house is being built.

Land boundaries

When planning to build a house, it is vital to contact the local council in order to work out the land boundaries where the house is going to be situated. This helps to ensure that any building that is done does not encroach onto other people’s land or property. Failure to do this could result in legal action being taken, so the boundaries must be fixed before any work takes place.

Insurance

Making sure that the new building has the proper insurance means that should the worst happen, the entire project is covered.

The natural surroundings need to be evaluated for the risk that they pose to the new building. For example, the correct insurance against flood damage or wildfire damage should be considered.

Failing to cover all insurance bases can derail a project if an accident damages the new house.

Whether building your own home or using a contractor, always make sure to plan as thoroughly as possible.

When it’s time to build your dream home, you want the process to go smoothly. If this is your first experience with having a new house built, then you may feel overwhelmed by everything. Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to ensure that your new living space is everything you’ve been dreaming of.

The Detailed Plan

It’s important to be specific when you’re building a home. Deciding on the number of bedrooms is only the beginning. Take the time to look at different plans and options to see if you want more windows in certain areas, love the feel of window seats or really want a sunroom. Take the time to consider how much closet space you really need, where the laundry room should be and how much storage you’re looking for in the pantry. This is a major investment, and your detailed plan will ensure that it suits your needs perfectly. An inspiration board can be a great place to keep track of all the little features and ideas that you like. This way, you won’t forget to add a cool feature to your kitchen or bedroom when it’s time to develop the plans. You can also find great ideas on Pinterest where you can design your inspiration board and start pinning great finds to it!

Realistic Budgets

One of the hardest things to work with is your own budget . This starts with determining how much money you can realistically spend on your new home. Speak openly with your builder about potential hidden costs, including the final clean-up, permits and scrap materials. As you work through the process, remember that any changes you make will typically drive the cost up. Ask your builder to tell you up front when a shift in the plans will cause an upward climb in the cost. Once you’ve determined the budget for your project, add 10 percent to it to allow for unexpected expenses. Based on your price range, you can either move forward or make adjustments as necessary.

Location, Location, Location

Choosing the right location can be challenging, but it’s worth the extra work. When you’re working up the detailed plan, your location should also be at the front of your mind. Ask yourself if you want to be out in the country or closer to the metropolitan area. The school districts can have a drastic impact on future values, so you should look for a good school district even if you don’t have children. When it comes to building a home that will hold its value, location is incredible important.

Safety Considerations

Building codes are in place to ensure that homes are safe, and the inspection process is in place to ensure that the standards are being upheld at all levels. However, you can make your new home even safer by adding smoke alarms, exterior lighting and security systems. Consider a built-in nightlight for the hallway outside of the bedrooms, and have LED lights put along exterior steps for ambiance and safety.

The Professional Experience

Building a house is not a job for the average do-it-yourself. In addition to building the structure, you also need professionals to deal with the wiring, plumbing, roofing, windows, and finishing work. While you could schedule and coordinate different people on your own, you may find that it’s faster and less stressful to simply work with a general contractor. When you go with one company to handle the entire project, you can sit back and relax while someone else deals with the timeline and coordination. Before hiring a builder, take the time to do a background check, speak with references and see if they have any complaints against them.

When it’s time to build your dream home, it’s important to know where to start. Your detailed plans can be used by the designer to create the perfect floor plan. The budget plays vital role, so be upfront with the various professionals about the level that you’re trying to remain under. Finally, work with a professional to ensure that the home is safe for your family, up to the government’s sustainability standards and built to last.

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