12 Things to Know Before Building a Home
We know first-hand how exciting it is to build your dream home. It is something we are lucky to see with our customers on a daily basis. But building isn’t something that most people do often, so we know there are a few common things to understand before building a home.
While it will change from builder to builder, if you are on our website, it is likely that you are either already building with us or considering us as your builder. So, this blog post will be incredibly relevant to you.
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Budget for emergencies
If you have watched any home renovation shows, you will know there is always something that doesn’t go to plan. Sure, you are building a new home, not renovating, but just like an emergency fund for life, an emergency fund for your build is ideal.
There are some emergencies even we can’t predict will happen, and building homes is what we do. From hitting rock when we dig your footings, to finding bones on your site (yes, this is real) or damaging a pipe when you attempt to save a few dollars by digging yourself. Don’t be surprised if there is something that needs your financial attention.
If it turns out you don’t need the emergency funds after all, it can be put towards something else for your home when you move in. And you can do a little happy dance.
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A new build doesn’t mean move-in-ready
When you move into an existing home, it has already been lived in. Meaning that you would expect everything to be complete as the previous owners had called it their place of residence.
Drive through a new housing estate and it is very easy to see those homes that didn’t factor the post-handover process. Usually easily spotted by the sheets over the windows, yards that stay as a pile of dirt for too long and cars parked on the street as they can’t access their garage.
When you build a new home, there are two different sets of post-handover items that you will need to think about or have already thought about well in advance. The first are items that you choose to provide yourself, ie. items that are normally included as standards that you are providing instead. Most commonly our customers choose to provide their own mirrors, flooring, cabinetry, light fittings, air conditioning and similar items.
The other post-handover items are those that are not included as a standard, unless they are something we can assist with, and you have added these to your build contact. These can include landscaping, stormwater, perimeter paths and driveways, decking, fencing, rainwater tanks, sheds, a washing line, solar, internet connection, light fittings, curtains and blinds.
Not included on either of these lists is the time you will need to dedicate to organising each item – researching, purchasing or requesting quotes, booking trades or installing yourself. While it might seem cheaper to tackle them yourself, many of our customers prefer us to take as much of the responsibility as possible.
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Be flexible with your timeline
We don’t like pushing out your timeline just as much as you don’t want to hear these words. The reality is that there are hundreds of humans that work together to complete your home. From working with your local Council, to engineers, suppliers and trades, the touch points are many. Some, like our electricians, will even work on your home on multiple occasions before handover day.
We know it can be stressful, especially with finding alternative living arrangements. The best course of action is to be flexible with your planning. Expect to extend your rental agreement, sell your house a little later, stay with family longer or bunker down in your caravan for a few months more than you initially thought.
There is no science to building a home and unforeseen delays, supply and trade shortages and lengthy bank waits are all part of a ‘normal’ process. The more relaxed you can be during these stages, the easier it will be to handle when the discussion arises.
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A custom home takes longer to build
Every Kookaburra Home is 100% custom, meaning each home is different to the next. You will hear plenty of ads for builders that take X number of weeks for their build time or for the entire process. Sounds like they are unicorns in the building industry and can fast track you to your new home.
Sure, they absolutely can and if you need to have a home built quickly, by all means, they might be the builder for you. They will also be the builder that will create you a volume-built house that they have built hundreds of times before that operates on a copy and paste formula. It makes the drafting, selections and council approval process incredibly easy as they simply need to change the build address.
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A designer is not required
Sure, it sounds fancy to say you will ‘consult with your designer’ but it is an extra process and cost that isn’t necessary. Our Sales Team will work with you to assess your lifestyle needs, block and budget. From here they will work with you to design a custom floor plan based on your requirements and create your quote. It is then onto the engineers, drafter and energy assessor to finalise your build documentation.
Your Selections Consultant will work with you to choose your selections, and our Drafter will create a 3D render of your home, all while we are working on your building approvals in the background. These steps are all included in your contract price, and plenty of our team have built a Kookaburra Home in their time, so they know the process from both sides of the table.
By all means, if you are really struggling with the design process, you are welcome to work with someone. It is helpful to know that we often need to redo their work. It isn’t because we don’t like what they do, we require designs to be in our systems to work with all the touchpoints across the business.
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Your build will always be on your mind
If you are a planner or like to be hands-on, you might be surprised how much of your brain time your build takes. Each stage will need your attention and there is only one person that can do that. From finding your block, arranging finance, to thinking about plans, picking your selections, all the way to the construction stage.
The biggest tip we can give you is to trust the process. Lean on our team to help make it all seamless. We will follow our processes which will guide you through all the decision-making touchpoints. We have a very brief overview of the process here. Each of our teams will go into much more detail as these steps happen.
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You will need to use your imagination
Okay, this isn’t as fun as the heading makes it sound. None the less, it deserves a place in this list. During the framing stage, your home and each room will feel small. Maybe even tiny. The way you can see between the rooms and the blue timber frames play an optical illusion on you. Once the plasterboard is fitted, you will feel much better about the sizing.
The same goes for rooms before the flooring stage. The wall, tile and cabinetry colours will feel off until the flooring is laid, and the final look of your home complete. It may even take the furniture being in place for it to look as you visualised. Just like cleaning out a cupboard, things will look worse before they look better.
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There might be cracks
This one always comes as a surprise, which is why we like to tell you before it happens. As your new home settles on its foundations, hairline cracks may develop in your skirting and architraves in the first few months and potentially for years to come. They are perfectly normal and don’t indicate any structural issues with your home.
The causes can be anything from soil moisture changes, the soil settling, excavations next to your home as part of your landscaping or trees and gardens planted too close to your home.
Your house footings have been endorsed by our engineers, which are designed based on the soil test results from the early stages of your planning process. It is incredibly important to organise your perimeter paths as soon as possible after handover, if we aren’t looking after this for you. This allows moisture to be kept away from your slab and minimise cracking. Your handover folder will include an information sheet with foundation maintenance information, or you can get in touch with your Site Supervisor if you would like to view this information earlier.
Cracks can simply be fixed by touching up with paint. Our painters typically leave part cans of paint once they have finished so a quick touch up is easy to achieve. Alternatively, your handover folder will contain a copy of your paint selections and small paint tubs can be purchased from any paint store to match your home.
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Be prepared for a builders clean
Yes, your home absolutely comes with a clean before handover day. From windows to tiles and each and every drawer, our homes have two cleaners for most of a day in the week before handover. What you can expect is a builders clean. This is very different to the clean you would expect in a hotel room.
The homes we build are often on property or in estates with lots of wind and dirt, especially if landscaping and paths are being completed after handover. Consequently, there will still be dust around. As there will be plenty of outside materials tramped in when move in day happens. Expect to give shelves and drawers another once over before you fill them with clothes and mugs, just to make sure you are happy with them.
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There is at least one element you would change
We almost didn’t include this, simply because we didn’t want to make you question your choices. Remember that horrible outfit you wore to your best friend’s birthday, or the meal you served, and thought was fantastic only to find out later that it wasn’t. We make questionable choices all the time in life. The same as you will do in your home.
That being said, some elements are going to turn out much better than you ever expected. Some happy mistakes, some really great choices. The best part is that it is a house, so it can all be changed. You can’t unfortunately go back and change that event outfit.
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We leave a handy handover folder
AKA the handbook of your build. This will be your go-to for everything you’ll need to know about your house and is all kept together in a handy folder. From details about your wall and roof trusses, to every choice you made in your selections appointment, your appliance serial numbers, product information sheets and the certificates of compliance from our trades. This folder deserves its own drawer.
It is also the perfect gift to leave for the new homeowners, if you happen to sell in the future. As someone who purchased an existing Kookaburra Home, I can attest to how handy it has been as my husband and I have gradually made changes to our home.
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You will see us again
Once we hand over your keys, and your handy handover folder, it won’t be the last time you see us. We are not one bit sorry about this, and you won’t be either.
All our homes run with a thirteen-week, three-month, maintenance period. This allows time for you to live in your home and find all the quirks that it came with. It could be a drawer that sticks, a light switch that has a mind of its own or a handle that looks like it has been on a night out that it couldn’t handle.
Jot these down on the maintenance list sheet, which you’ll find in your handover folder, and email it back to us at the thirteen-week mark. Our maintenance team will be in touch to organise to come and have a look at these items. Best place to keep this form is on the fridge or in the top drawer so it is easy to access.
The biggest piece of advice is simply to enjoy the process. While it is a timely process, not everyone has the opportunity to build a custom home. And the final result is worth more than words. Seeing your dream come to life is truly a one-of-a-kind experience.
Have we forgotten something from the list? We would love to hear from you.
Looking for other building inspiration? Check out blog posts for everything from the best white paint for your home, to the benefits of building with bricks or creating the Hamptons style in your new home.
By Amy Rosendale
