Checklist for New House Construction

Building a house is everyone’s dream which needs to be executed in a right way. However, building a house in India is not a cakewalk. Decisions need to be made in the right path from selecting the plot and arranging the funds to all the statutory guidelines of the state and local authority. So, if you are wondering if there is a checklist of guidelines on how to take the best steps while constructing your dream house, you can follow these steps:

• Selecting the plot: This is the most important step before building your dream house. There are legal view points, technical/engineering view points, aesthetical/architectural view points and location and facility view points. To check with all the legality of the subject property, the title flow of the property, whether the property comes under residential zone, or the property has been notified by any local authorities has to be thoroughly checked by getting a legal opinion by a qualified advocate. To check the technicality, the site should not be in a low lying area to avoid flooding, water table should be at least 15 feet below the ground level, and soil should be not be loose or landfilled. In architectural view points, corner plots and non – rectangular shaped plots are preferred to get a plan which is aesthetically beautiful. Considering the location of the plot, it has to be near for all the surface transport, schools, hospitals, entertainment corners etc., and all the basic amenities like water supply, drainage, electricity supply is a must.
  
  
• Deciding on requirements: Here you need to discuss with all the family members who stays with you in this house about what purpose are you building the house and estimate the requirements of all the members of the family for the next 25 years of your stay in that house. The number of rooms, toilets, kitchen, family area, balcony, floors, whether single floor or multi-floors, internally connected or externally connected floors, for owner occupied or tenant occupied or combination of both has to be decided.
  
  
• Budget planning:  Depending upon the requirements, you need to plan on the investment budget. You can either restrict your requirements based on the budget available or plan for the funding from different sources. In my experience, for a descent specification one need to be ready for Rs.2,500/- per Sft of the built-up area of the building on an average.
  
  
• Approach an architect / engineer / construction firm for designing: Basic trend in India is self-execution by involving a labour contractor or a mestri, which has been time tested to be wrong decision. This decision is the most important as the people mind-set is that, if they can self-execute the construction, they can minimise the cost of construction which is a myth. While in the reality, a construction firm or an engineer who is into construction can procure the materials at a much lesser cost and quality of the same can be monitored regularly. The quality check will be ignored or misled when you go for self-execution.
  
  
  An architect is a must for proper planning, space utilisation, aesthetical looks, proper lighting and cross-ventilation and to get the best usage of the property without ignoring the client’s requirements, basic engineering aspects and legal statutory rules and regulations. Also, there has to be a local authority recognised architect for giving approval plans to procure construction licence from the local authorities. Remember to have minimal variations between the approval plans and working plans to avoid any legal issues that may occur.
  
  
• Finalisation with construction firm / engineer on specification and pricing of construction: After finalising the budget and plan, next step is to finalise the specifications of each material to be used in the building. This will majorly depend upon the aesthetical (decorative) materials of the building as all other construction raw materials will to be procured as per the IS standards and structural consultant’s detailing. In my next blog I will be sharing you the knowledge on how to select specification in detail.
  
  
• Plan sanction, Temporary power and Water supply:  For construction of any building, construction licence and plan approval from the local authority has to be procured before commencement of construction. Also, power supply and water supply is a primary requirement for construction activities. So, temporary power connection from the local power supply board has to be applied and sanctioned (best option is to book a laison to get it done). Water supply can be either by digging a borewell, or constructing a sump and getting the water from nearby tankers or applying the temporary commercial water supply from the local water supply board.
  
  
• Keep tabs on latest innovations in advance construction technologies: Every individual need to update themselves with the latest construction technologies, construction equipments and construction material by visiting exhibitions and stores, online searches, reading blogs etc. This helps them to use unique and latest materials and technologies to construct their dream house which turns out to be best in class, whilst the feasibility of the same has to be discussed and negotiated with the contractor entity.
  
  
• Keep monitoring and co-ordinating with site engineer for work progress:  Monitoring each construction activity with the site in-charge is a must, which helps in arranging funds, materials etc. All the activities has to be pre-planned with utmost care to finish the project in speculated time lines without hampering quality and budget of the project. With continuous monitoring and co-ordination, the building execution can be achieved to enter into the discussion of interior works and decoration.
  
  
• Finalise on interior designing with architect / engineer / construction firm: The requirements of interior works and decorations has to be discussed with the designing agency. In this stage the placing of storage units, wardrobes, kitchen units, T.V units and other partition and decorative items has to be decided with the architect and co-ordinated with engineer in-charge / construction firm.
  
  
• Finalise with construction firm / engineer on specification and pricing of interiors:  The specification for interior materials, hardwares and facia has to be discussed and decided based on the budgeting and client’s requirement. Interior works can be either factory finished or tailor made at site. Both has pros and cons. With factory made interior works, finishing quality will be highly exhibiting and can be finished with lesser time line, but the client will not be able to keep the tab on the raw materials used by the contractor. With onsite interior works, the quality of materials used can be monitored, the measurements can be adjusted with the site condition, but time taken and cost will be slightly higher compared to the factory made works. • Finishing check before handing over:  The whole building need to be checked by client along with the contractor for quality conformance and specification agreed before commencement of the construction. This has to be done before taking hand over of the building from the contractor.
  
  
• Handing over of keys: This plays an important step which most people neglect. In this step, client needs to understand his building and its functionality in detail from the contractor (as people will be briefed while purchasing a car). The electrical connections and functionality, plumbing lines and usage procedures of each fixtures, the warranty of each item, the regular maintenance of each materials etc., has to be briefed by the contractor before handing over the keys.
  
  
• Gruhapravesham: Gruhapravesham date has to be discussed with purohith and the contractor for having the finished house for the pooja event. The budget for this even should also be forecasted while budgeting for construction of the building as this program also plays a major role in the process. This pooja event helps for peaceful stay of the family members. 

Conclusion: When it comes to building a house, one need to have a basic idea of construction, need to decide on a suitable plot, choose a right engineer and architect for smooth construction activities with right quality, affordability, adaptability and flexibility. Every step mentioned above is a must and should procedure for building your dream home. Yes Design & Construction is one stop solution for all your designing and construction needs, guide you right from viewing and customising your plans and specifications, to forecast the challenges you may face and finally finishing the project within budget.