The job of building your own home can be huge, with hundreds of details that need to be addressed and endless problems to be solved. Though every project is unique, there tends to be certain aspects that people ignore or simply forget about.
From hiring a One Search locator to help with utility mapping, to taking your furniture into account, there are a number of things you should remember to add to your to-do list.
Checking Underground
As we already mentioned, doing a pre-dig inspection of the property is vital. Even so, many people don’t give this task the attention it deserves. Never trust the opinions of your contractors about where cables, pipes or lines “should” be. Call your local “dig safely” line and have a proper assessment done.
Outside Plugs and Spigots
There is always so much focus on the interior of the house, that many aspects of the exterior get overlooked. In this case, we’re talking about outside electrical outlets and water taps. People tend to just stick them around the backside of the house (if they are remembered at all) without really thinking about their best placement. If you are planning on putting in a gorgeous flower bed to highlight the front porch, then the hose spigot should probably be closer to the front, for example.
If you haven’t thought ahead enough to know where these should go, then it would be best to play it safe and have more than one.
Planning for Mistakes
Managing the materials in a big job is a project all of its own, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of sticking to your estimates to keep the costs in line. The problem is that no job ever runs that smoothly, and you simply must plan for errors. Mistakes are made all the time, and it’s inevitable that you will need more of some supplies than you expect.
Taking the approach that you can always buy more when you need it may not be the best idea. That can mean awkward delays if you need to place orders for more materials right as you have a contractor on-site for some part of the job. They may not be willing to wait around. You can also run the risk of finding some particular product is no longer available, which can be a disaster if you have already tiled 3/4 of the kitchen floor and can’t get matching tiles for the rest.
Planning for Large Furniture
A house is not an island, and you need to take your contents into consideration. At least to some degree. Will a large king-size bed fit up the stairs to the bedroom now that the staircase has that 90-degree turn in it? Will your pool table fit through the doorway into the games room? Even if you are not personally going to move into this house, or are planning in buying new furniture anyway, these are still important considerations to consider for the future.
High-Tech Wiring
Keep your technology needs in mind when you plan on the wiring. Outlets that have built-in USB slots can make charging devices much easier, and you can add surge-protectors as well to protect your larger computer systems. Integrated Ethernet cabling or whatever you happen to need can make your home office a lot more efficient.
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