Building a new home from the ground up is a dream for most people. Yet, there are many house-building problems you will run into if you are lucky enough to be able to do it. Of course, it depends on your project, and they are all different. But here are the most common.
Your Land Can be an Issue
Before you even think about building a home, it is always recommended that you ensure your land can handle it. Numerous things can go wrong if you don’t. For example, the solid may be unable to handle the weight, there could be protection orders, and the gradient could be too steep. Luckily there are expert sloping block builders that can help with these issues. For instance, companies like Latitude 37 employ skilled teams to work with angles.
House-Building Problems Includes Windows and Doors
Your windows and doors are among the most vital parts of your home. And in a new project, they can be fitted wrongly or not the windows and doors you ordered. And if this happens, it can be a major headache to fix. For example, the liability if a replacement can run out after a year. So you need to act fast. In the meantime, you will have issues such as drafts, dampness, and even hard opening them. This is one thing you need to ensure goes right.
Poor Drainage Around Your Property
You must make sure water drains away from your home and not towards it. This is where your gutters and foundations come in. Or you will get severe problems with your basement and crawl spaces that affect the entire building. You need to build your home with a slope that guides water at least four inches away from your home. You should also compensate for settling. Settling can cause the building to shift a little over the first couple of years.
Insulation that Doesn’t Stack Up
Insulation is very important these days, and there are always strict laws on the types you can use in countries like the UK, USA, and Australia. For example, it has been illegal since the 1990s to use spray-on insulation that contains more than 1% asbestos, such as vermiculite insulation. Of course, you don’t want aunty asbestos at all. For a modern home, some of the best types of insulation include blown mineral fibre, beads granules and urea foam.
Common Fixture and Fitting Issues
A home-building project has numerous stages. One of the most exciting things is your fixtures and fittings. This is because you can see the functional parts come to fruition. Fittings are unsecured, while fixtures are secured with nuts and bolts, etc. But you can run into some issues:
- Appliances like the oven and fridge haven’t been built properly.
- Poorly sized fittings, such as cupboards, prevent access to sockets and switches.
- Measurements were not properly taken for furniture and wall hangings.
- Your contractors didn’t comply with recent changes in regulations.
- The things you want have become unavailable or even illegal.
- Last-minute changes will make fitting them costly and more challenging.
- You didn’t budget for additions and have lost some money.
It can be very hard to decide on the fittings and fixtures you want; these all need to be justified for the project and your budget. Making last-minute changes is one of the worst things you can do, as it will only add expenses and cause major headaches for your builders.
Issues with Getting Clean Water
When building a new home, you will likely run into plumbing and drainage issues. It’s not uncommon. However, plumbing water is water you can use functionally and doesn’t have to be 100% safe for drinking. But you can also run into issues trying to get safe drinking water into your home. Whereas wells were once the main water source for some homes, especially in rural locations, you now need to connect your home to a main water supply pipeline by law.
For assistance navigating these plumbing concerns, we recommend contacting Kentucky Plumbing. They offer comprehensive solutions for both residential and commercial plumbing needs. Whether addressing kitchen and bathroom repairs or handling sewer pipeline and hydronic installations, they have the expertise to assist you.
The Old Home Can Impact Your New Home
You might have to knock down an older one when building a new home. But this isn’t simply a case of taking a wrecking ball to a house and swinging. It needs to be done professionally and with care. This is because there could be very hazardous materials in the home, such as asbestos, toxic lead paint and even pests like roaches and rats. You can have local experts test for these things and then make the necessary arrangements for moving on.
Soil Causes Some House-Building Problems
You can pick somewhere great to build on and buy the land. Only to find that the solid underneath isn’t enough to support a home. This often includes either too wet or too dry soil, such as peat, silt and dry soil. For example, silt keeps water for a long time, meaning it stays wet and will shift and expand. Because of this, it cannot support a structure. Land with high amounts of loam soil is often considered the best for building a home.
A Lack of Natural Light
You have probably read a thousand blogs, mostly interior design or well-being posts, about natural sunlight. Sunlight is important for your general well-being and for feeling good. But it also plays a vital role in keeping your home fresh and safe. UV rays are naturally anti-bacterial, so they will kill many bacteria in your home. But being able to let in natural sunlight will also help keep your home insulated in the winter, keeping your costs down.
Summary
It is highly unlikely you will run into zero house-building problems if you are lucky enough to be able to build your own. Some are more common than others. These include sloped land, changes to fittings and fixtures, and a lack of natural light and safe, clean drinking water.
