Your 36-Point Checklist for Building a House – Free PDF Download

Building a home from scratch is a very exciting and rewarding project to take on, but that doesn’t mean it will come without its problems and potential barriers.

When you’re building everything from the ground up, there are many things to take into consideration that you may have never thought of before. From gas and electricity meters to selecting paint colours for each room, there are many aspects that you will have to learn to juggle—along with the help of your chosen builder.

To make sure you don’t forget anything during the home-building process, we’ve created the ultimate list of home construction musts, so you can get one step closer to achieving your dream home, without unnecessary stress.

Preliminary Budget Considerations

The first thing to consider before getting started with any other aspect of building your new home is your budget. Having a realistic budget is important, whether you’re building a custom home or undertaking a small renovation, having a budget you can stick to will ensure you have a successful construction project.

Your construction partner will help you to settle on a budget that makes sense for your project and this should include all of the different areas you can expect to spend your money on. Your budget will be allocated across several places throughout the process; having clear expectations from the start will give you the confidence you need every step of the way.

No matter how big or small your project may be, your budget should be laid out to cover all aspects; from the site inspection on your new plot of land right down to the tile selections in your bathrooms. Whilst it may be tempting to have a ballpark budget in mind, a clear figure with an emergency fund will help you to get exactly what you’re looking for, without any unwelcome surprises.

Below are nine of the most important parts of your construction project that should be included in your budget:

1. Land Price
2. Gas and Electricity Meters
3. Internet Connection
4. Planning Fees
5. Finishing Costs
6. Stamp Duty
7. Solicitor Fees
8. Loan Settlement Costs
9. Contingency & Buffer Budget

Choosing the Right Block of Land: Location Hot-Points

Whether you’re renovating your current home or building your first, you’ll need a building checklist to help you along the way so nothing is forgotten. If you want to ensure that your property is set in the perfect location, you should do as much research as you can into different suburbs to ensure it fits the needs of you and your family.

For example, if you need to commute to work by train or your children catch the bus to school, it will be no good to build your house in a suburb with inadequate transportation links. On the other hand, if you envisage a life spent out enjoying the sunshine, you should ensure your new home is based on a plot with terrain that can be easily transformed into an outdoor entertaining/living space.

Buying the right land for any home can be a tricky process, but if you take care of the following points we’ve put together, you should find that you’ve chosen the ultimate location for your new build:

1. How noisy is the surrounding traffic?
2. Are you in a desirable neighbourhood?
3. How good is the availability of public transport and other facilities?
4. What is the surrounding terrain of the land like?
5. Does your family have any specific requirements e.g. commuting to work etc?

Builder Selection

When it comes to choosing a builder or architect to work on your project with you, the wrong decision can have disastrous impacts on the process of building your home.

You shouldn’t settle on the first builder that you come across, instead, you should do your research to make sure that you’re picking an experienced home contractor who can be trusted to design and build a home that fits your family and your lifestyle.

If you’re starting your search for the perfect builder for your project, here are some things we recommend.

1. Review the builder’s previous work to make sure it aligns with your goals
2. Check for client feedback and previous experiences
3. Compare prices with other builders – but, remember if something seems too good to be true, it normally is
4. Check the types of home the builder specialises in and whether this matches your ambition

Basic House Specifications

Next comes the basic house specifications that you will need to think about, regardless of how big or small your construction checklist is. Every project must adhere to certain building requirements, but you will also get a degree of autonomy to personalise the construction process and organise your project the way you want.

If you’re using custom homes builders in Brisbane, you will benefit from plenty of home specification options when it comes to bedroom choices, energy efficiency measures, project plans, and maximising space per square meter.

Here’s a home checklist of all the basic house specifications that you should account for over the course of your new house project:

1. Appliances – Make and Model
2. Plumbing Fixtures
3. Cabinetry
4. Wall Finishes
5. Flooring 
6. Doors and Windows
7. Carport/Parking
8. Insulation
9. Utility Access
10. Paint Colours

Understanding Your Contract

When you commence a new house project with a general contractor, you’ll have to sign a contract that should include all of the aspects of this ‘building a house’ checklist.

If you sign an inaccurate contract, you may be left in a bad situation where your contractor does not supply you with the service you were hoping for, so you should always take care to doublecheck some of the common inclusions below to ensure they meet your expectations:

1. Construction Plans and Timeline
2. Project Inclusions
3. After Sales Provision / Warranty
4. Legalities

If any of these clauses within the contract are not as expected, you should speak to your contractor immediately to rectify them before starting any work constructing a new home as this can cause negative repercussions later on.

Progress Monitoring

The work doesn’t end once you’ve secured a construction loan, obtained a building permit and work has commenced in the right location. Once everything has started rolling, you should also take care to monitor the progress of the project.

Although your building partner will manage the day-to-day operations, it’s still a good idea to have an overall view of what’s going on just in case there is anything you need to be involved in.

Here are just some of the progress monitoring tasks that homeowners may need to consider, even when they hire an architect or designer to manage their project:

1. Material and Output Quality
2. Output Deviations from Standard Plans
3. Running Budget and Progress Payments
4. Timeliness of Output 

Download This Free Checklist for Building a House

In this article, we’ve taken you through all of the most important tips that will help you execute your custom home build successfully. Starting with the preliminary budgeting to the progress monitoring that will ensure a project that’s completed on time and on budget, our checklist should cover everything you could possibly need to think of.

If you’d like to have your own checklist to refer back to as you undertake this type of project, we’ve created a downloadable version that you can access from any device.