Construction of a private home, all you need to know

How to build a house? For those of us who think there is nothing better in life than having our own home, this book of ideas is for you. But it’s not just about the house, or the house we’re looking for in any neighborhood, it’s about that feeling of creating and decorating like we want. However, we may think that building a house is easy, and that many times we can skip some steps and save some bills. We encourage you not to do that, so here we tell you the 9 most important steps you should take into consideration to build your home.

With these tips, we don’t pretend that we do, but rather serve as a guide to better understand what’s needed, from location to icing on the cake. Keep reading to learn how to build your own home: 9 aspects to consider.

1. Location and ground conditions

One of the first things to consider when building a house is location or soil. They say that the order of factors doesn’t change the product, which is the same as having the architect or location first. What we recommend at homify is that you look for the perfect location first. We know that because of overcrowding, it’s already hard to find a good location because it’s full of residential units, residences and/or private homes. However, anything is possible. By knowing first the location or land where you want to build, you will have a better idea of the design of the house.

2. architect and plans to fit your needs

Some people say you don’t need an expert to design a house, just have an idea of the design and voila!

But often the results are not as planned. That’s why it’s best to consult an architect. The architect will help determine the dimensions, spaces, complete ideas and more important things such as electricity, plumbing, details that you will not know how to handle.

3. labor – find the best and according to your budget

You have to call in professionals to build your house. You can’t start walking around and papering bricks and partition walls yourself, maybe you can, but it’s always better to have someone who knows how to do it. Bricklayers, as we call them here in Mexico, play the most important role in building a house. They know the perfect measure of water, lime, cement, sand and other things so that the walls, the foundation, can be formed. And also the placement of the rods for the foundation.

4. Functional design and to your taste

After going through the three steps above, it’s time to think about the design. That is, if it will be two stories, how many rooms will be in the first one? Usually, if it is on two floors, it is designed for two people who plan to create a family in the future. On the first floor, a garage, hallway, living room, dining room, kitchen and, why not, a small patio is recommended. For a simpler one, you can’t skip the half bathroom. On the top floor, you can add bedrooms, a bathroom or full bathrooms, even an office. It all depends on your needs.

5. Space for living with quality

The different environments of our home can be clearly separated or combined into a larger space. The important thing is that spatiality inspires us, that it does not generate a feeling of suffocation. Let’s take a look at how this project explored the fall of the sun in space. How nice it is to be in such a setting!

We need to pay special attention to this factor, as our lives at home will be strongly defined by this important detail.

6. A house that provides security and adapts to the environment.

The next step we recommend you take is to visualize what you want your home to look like on the outside. The exterior of your home ranks high on this list of 10 steps you need to take to build a home. Imagine your ideal home, often we don’t have those options and have to look for a similar one. Design a façade that you enjoy entering your home and that other people enjoy entering your home, the first impression is what counts.

7. Materials – look for natural and local.

Another important factor to consider when building a home is material. That is, what kind of material you want to build your house with or if you want to add another type of material to the house. Depending on your taste, the house can be cobblestone, stone, even glass or aluminum. It is worth thinking about what goes with the previous, the design and style of the house.

8. Cozy interiors with appropriate furnishings and finishes

After building the house according to the design and style, it’s time to choose furniture. The furniture ranges from a simple table in the hallway to a bribe and a bathroom. As we mentioned before, a house can have different styles, so if you have different styles in the rooms, it is important that the furniture match the style of the rooms. If you like elegance and modernity, we suggest you keep the same style in the common areas, and the bedrooms will always have a little bit of who uses them.

Regarding decorating. Before we build a house, we think about the end result, especially how it will be decorated. Decorating was one of the most important factors for a home and the finishing touch. You can decorate with pictures, mirrors, plants and even lighting. Awaken whatever creativity you have in you, and you can even make them yourself if you want to.

9. Expanding outside – Patios and gardens are an integral part of the home!

It is very important to consider what kind of outdoor space we want to live in. A patio or garden is very important because it provides quality of life for the family. It’s interesting to consider the different types of surfaces on the floor that give us options depending on activity and weather. As well as space for a patio or small garden.

Funding

It is most normal for the bank to ask us to have enough savings to purchase the land.

The land purchase mortgage option is usually only accepted if we have 20% of the total land and house, which means asking for a mortgage on part of the land and on the house. This option is very difficult because it would mean that the seller of the land agrees to sell it with a down payment and a down payment within a few months, since the bank will not give a mortgage on the land until it has a project with a visa and a working license. Also, our architect is not going to finance the project, so we have to have savings to pay for both the project and the building permit. It’s not impossible, but it’s a difficult option to execute.

Also, in this case, there are procedures that are not up to us, such as building permits. The bank will not issue a mortgage loan until the project has a building permit. For a project, the team of architects can adjust deadlines and anticipate to control the date, but the delay in issuing the license is not in our hands, but in the hands of the utility technicians at City Hall, and each municipality has its own deadlines and rules.

So, let’s go straight to the second option, in which the bank exclusively finances the construction of the house. Again, we must keep in mind that the bank does not issue a mortgage until it has a project and a building permit approved, so there are some costs, such as the purchase of land and related taxes, the project in the executive phase to request a license to work and the cost of a building permit.

Depreciation

Just as we explain the advantages of building an eco-friendly home over conventional construction, perhaps we choose ethical banking not because of budget, but rather because of principles and benefits beyond the purely economic. However, it should be noted that an eco-home saves money in the long run by minimizing what is known as an energy mortgage.

Currently, the average cost of a green home mortgage is about 230,000-250,000 euros excluding land. The bank will transfer the money to us as the construction of the house progresses and we will provide phase closure certificates.

2 Land purchase.

Land location and purchase is a very fluid process, so it can take anywhere from a few days to a few years. We have discussed in various articles on the blog how to choose a good piece of land, and it is something that studying the characteristics of the site is necessary to properly focus the design and be able to reduce costs.

technical aspects

The organic home is based on the principles of bio-architecture, whose strategies maximize the use of the natural resources of the area to minimize energy costs. After locating the desired site via the Internet, a personal visit is required to evaluate the site in terms of orientation, slope, services and immediate surroundings.

administrative aspects

The administrative aspects consist of checking the status of fees, debts or easements on the land to make sure we are not buying it with any debt pending. By studying the building codes, we can also adjust the design of the house in parallel and thus reduce costs.

Legal aspects

Before we begin the process of buying a plot of land, we must take precautions by requesting a simple notation at the appropriate Land Registry and confirming that the land has no debts or fees.

Once we are satisfied that everything is correct, we must execute and sign the deposit agreement. We should add that the purchase tax price is much lower if we buy from an individual (TPP) and not from a company (VAT).

3 Finding the project team

Depending on whether we have searched for the land ourselves, we already have it or we have sought advice from an architectural firm, we will find ourselves at one point or another in this search phase. Today, however, there is an increasingly wide range of architects, and a greater ease of access to this information thanks to the digital age, which displays all the information on the Internet and social media.

Like everything, this endless number of possibilities has its disadvantages, namely that a number of construction offers appear at very low closed prices. Behind them are construction companies that promise prefabricated houses of closed construction and very low quality. Such construction companies have an architect because Spanish law requires it, even though he is a professional subordinate to the economic interests of the company.

If we want to make individual and quality treatment a priority, we must find a design team with whom we can understand each other and share the philosophy until an agreement is reached on payment and the execution of the contract. In our case, Slow Studio is a young and energetic office that combines the closeness and technology of the project with the principles of bioclimatic architecture.

4 Design.

The point that seems most obvious for us to consider when building a home is the design of the project itself. The design phase is divided into two parts: the preliminary design and the construction design, or a detailed design that includes a basic and executive design:

Project

Preliminary design is the stage that requires the most involvement from the user, as well as the most creative and challenging in terms of defining our future home. After agreeing with the project team, the architects will have to detail the technical part in order to bring its construction to life.

It all starts with the client, who has to define his program of needs, answering the question: what will my house be like? In our case, the Slow Studio team holds the first meeting in the user’s current home to enter their private life and establish the first connection with the family, understanding their needs and requirements.

The connection of all the variables that we have detailed so far, which must be taken into account when building the house, are blended to formalize the decision: the user’s agenda along with the characteristics of the chosen site and the budget that we have. All this with the criteria of passive design and zero consumption.

We always say that architecture is not an exact science, so solutions are not unique, but can better or worse meet the client’s expectations. That’s why we make a proposal after the initial meeting, which will then be outlined in a series of meetings with the client.

construction project

The construction project, in turn, is divided into two sub-stages: the basic project and the executive project.

The basic project defines the building system and details, while the executive project includes structural calculations, installation, detailed finishes and all design dimensions, which will allow us to come up with an adjusted budget.

Similar to finding a design team, but simpler, the builder application basically consists of selecting the builder who will make our future home a reality. Usually the architectural firm itself performs the process by sending the construction design and dimensions to various construction companies – in our case, we usually send it to three.

Each construction company responds with a proposal, which is usually formulated based on the measurements sent in, but also includes technical details of how the construction process will be done in terms of timing. The different proposals are compared and the one that convinces us the most is chosen, always trying to negotiate to ultimately award it to the highest bidder. At that point, a contract is signed.

In our case, it is a process that we carry out with absolute transparency. However, the architect-builder relationship has not always been synonymous with clarity. As a user, a factor to consider when building a home is the relationship between the two agents. The fact that the architect is a different team than the builder ensures that the architect is always on our side and protecting our interests