Constructing your dream house might seem a wonderful idea, but once you get down to business, it’s a lot of hard work and spending. Did you know that the average construction of a typical single-family home in 2019 is $296,652?
In case you’re looking for some money-saving tips while constructing your ideal home, this list shall help you out!
1. Selection of plot
Even before starting the construction, you should keep in mind the plot where you want to build your house. If the plot is near the main road, your transportation costs will reduce significantly.
But a lot of real estate sellers like to sell these plots at very high prices, so be careful about that. If, however, the plot is slightly away from the main road, then you can consider choosing it.
2. Soil test
The foundation of your house is far more important than the construction of the house itself. So always do a soil test to check the kind of ground your house will be standing on- whether it’s an agricultural field, or a paddy field, or a plot with hard soil.
If the soil is unsuitable for construction, you’ll have to spend a hefty amount of money to build a very strong foundation.
So if you want to reduce the construction cost of the foundation, make sure to choose a type of soil that costs less to build the base on. The cost of obtaining permission for the construction from the local authorities will also be lower in this case.
3. Architectural and design costs
If you’re going for a house with two or more floors, never look for design options that cost less. Go to a designer or architect who has experience of many years.
A good designer knows the importance of ventilation and good lighting and shall help you to design a house that has proper plumbing, ventilation, and lighting.
A detailed plan of your design will save a lot of confusion, which in turn will help you save unnecessary costs. If you’re confused about the kind of shape you want for your floor plan, go for a square or rectangular shape since it cuts down on cost. H or L-shaped houses tend to cost more in terms of construction.
4. Cement costs
Always go for local cement shops that are reputed and branded. Brands like Panna cement, Chettinad cement, etc offer good prices as well as good quality cement. Optimize the cement consumption by using the right grade of cement. OPC cement costs a little more than PPC cement.
The former is used to construct foundations, columns, or beams and the latter is used for plastering and tiling, etc. This will not only help you to reduce the cost but also prevent your cement from cracking.
To further strengthen the cement, you can mix a little fly ash (15-25% as a part replacement to cement) with OPC 53 cement. This will further help to decrease the cost and make your cement more durable.
5. Bricks
Like with cement, buy locally made bricks from brands that have a good reputation. Remember to compare the costs of different types of bricks like first-class red clay bricks and fly-ash bricks.
Both of them are equally good in terms of quality so you can go for the type that costs you less. If your house plan has more than 3 floors, switch to AAC blocks instead of bricks.
Although these concrete blocks are costlier than bricks, they are lightweight. So they reduce the steel consumption, thereby saving a bit of money. They also help you to reduce the cost of electricity by cooling down your house.
Over to you…
Building a house can be extremely overwhelming, especially when you’re doing to it all alone. You can easily spend more than required only find yourself buried in debt later. These were some of the ways in which you can significantly reduce the cost of construction of your house.
In today’s gen with the rise of prop tech revolution, the information about real estate is easily available unlike a few years back. Make the best use of it and build the house of your dreams.
