Hidden costs you should be aware of when building your dream home.

With the rise in prices of building costs everywhere in South Africa, it is important to do some homework before you take the plunge.

First of all, you must familiarize yourself with your local building regulations. South Africa’s National Building Regulations were originally produced as a set of functional guidelines for anybody building any type of structure. They stipulate important “dos” and “don’ts” for home building. So, if you are planning on building a house you should get the local updated regulations.

What are some of the important home building and home designing considerations?

Start at the beginning- buying your property

Excessive noise can adversely affect the resale value of the property in the future. If you are in the process of choosing a residential piece of land for building your dream house, consider traffic and traffic noise and how it will affect the resale value of the property after completion. Remember outside noise can the cause of other sources than traffic.

Even though you might think the soil is only important for agricultural purposes, the ground conditions are key to home designing considerations even in the planning stages of the house. Some soils with high organic content may, over time, compress under the building load to a fraction of their original volume, causing the structure to settle. Other soils might slide under loads, be waterlogged, especially important in areas with high rainfall.

Soil and geological analyses are done by professionals and are usually an additional cost not negotiated when buying the property. However, to determine whether a proposed building can be supported adequately and what would be the most effective and economical method of support, it has to be done.

Check for any title deed conditions and restrictions. These can be crucial to what you can do on a plot, even what kind of house can be built on it. Normally, you will be required to sign a document acknowledging that you agree to abide by the restrictions before you get title to your land. The sales agent may not tell you or may not even be ignorant about any restrictions.

What will increase the building cost?

Anything out of the norm, like an irregular shape home designing, will add to the overall cost. When consideration is given to estimating the total construction cost of a building probably the single biggest factor to consider is the shape of the outside perimeter. Rule of thumb is that the more complex the shape, the more expensive the structure per square metre of floor area. Additional costs will add up when other elements of the building such as the walling and roofing are complicated by the shape. When more than basic design elements are present, one must classify the quality higher than would be warranted by materials alone. For instance, a circular room will be more expensive than a square room, even when constructed with the same building materials. 

Construction costs are higher in some areas of South Africa. The cost of building a home must take into account the variables like labour, material, equipment, climate, building codes, likely job conditions and standard markups in that area.

Something else to remember is that whilst larger buildings obviously is more costly than smaller buildings, the general cost per square metre is less than in smaller buildings. The reason being is that costs do not rise proportionally with increases in the plan size of a building.

What flooring should I consider when building a house?

Most homes today use a variety of flooring options. The most commonly used materials for flooring are carpet, wood, vinyl and ceramic tile. Each of the material differs greatly in look, quality and even performance. Because each room will have a different function, the flooring material you choose should match each room’s function and style. The function of the room will determine certain factors that should be taken in consideration when selecting the flooring, for example, the cleaning ability, durability, longevity and moisture resistance.

The flooring material for the stairs and hallways should be decided upon after a lot of careful consideration. These areas are obviously going to see more traffic and will require a durable option.

Because of the sunny weather in South Africa, ceramic tiles are a popular flooring choice. It also works perfectly in seaside homes. Ceramic tiles are a natural product made of clay, minerals and water and come in a big selection of designs and shapes. The tile's strength is determined by the body’s thickness and structure.

Dining rooms are often fitted with wood or tile flooring. Both types of flooring are wear resistant and less prone to stains than the other flooring materials.

However, carpet still remains the most popular choice for bedrooms. Carpets have several advantages It is comfortable, warm and often the least expensive of all flooring options. The disadvantages are that carpeting can absorb moisture, stains easily, and collects dirt, hair etc, has to be maintained to keep from looking worn out and has to be replaced in time.

Although these are just a few things to take in consideration when you decide to build a house, they are most important and can, in the long run, save a lot of headaches and money!