Add a Garden

A wonderful way to make your kit home a whole lot better is to add a garden to it, and whether your kit home has a big backyard, a small front yard or even a tiny balcony, there is always enough room to fit a garden in somewhere or other. Whether you grow flowers, cacti, herbs or vegetables, the boost of colour and energy will make your kit home feel like a totally different place, and if you grow things that you like to eat, your garden may even save you money on your weekly grocery bills.

Create an Outdoor Entertaining Area

If you are someone that likes to have friends over at your place every now and again, having an outdoor entertaining area can make a huge difference, especially on those warm evenings when it is simply too hot to be inside. So if you have any extra room outdoors, whether it is out the front, the back or the side of your place; do whatever you can to turn it into a space that is more conducive to entertaining. Having a deck built or a flat surface paved will make setting up chairs and a table a whole lot easier, and by investing in outdoor furniture and adding some shade you will make your kit home far more suitable for hosting those social gatherings.

Control the Climate

Having a way to control the climate in your home can make it a far more enjoyable place to be, especially on those days when the weather gets extremely hot or bitterly cold, so if you want to make your awesome kit home even better it is well worth investing in a climate control unit. While you should avoid overusing your climate control system and be careful to not be wasting energy, having the ability to control the climate on those extreme weather days will be a massive bonus to say the least.

Add a Granny Flat Out Back

It can be extremely handy to have a space at home that is separate from the main part of your house, whether you want a quiet place to study, somewhere to use as storage or even an extra place that guests can stay the night. So if you are looking for a way to make your kit home better consider having a granny flat built out the back, because even a small granny flat will make a huge difference in terms of what you can accomplish at your place.

Making Your Kit Home Even Better is a post from: House Construction & Kit Homes

Finding a good builder

There are lots of builders out there and, as in any industry, some are better than others. Finding a good builder to construct your kit home can save you time, money and a whole lot of stress. Qualities to look for in a good builder include:

•           Availability (there when you need them)
•           Reliability (do what they say they will)
•           Approachability (friendly and polite)
•           Adaptability (willingness to compromise)
•           Affordability (within your budget).

To determine whether a builder will be able to complete the job to your satisfaction, you should:

•           Ask for qualifications (and be sure to check them)
•           Ask for references (which a good builder will be happy to provide)
•           Ask for a detailed quote in writing (reluctance to provide this should ring alarm bells)
•           Ask for a firm start and finish date (a good builder will always be busy, so you may have to wait a few weeks for them to fit you in).

Becoming an owner builder

Many people elect to construct their own kit homes, as this is where the biggest savings can be made. It’s important to be aware though, that constructing any substantial dwelling on your property requires you to become an owner builder, which brings with it a range of costs and responsibilities. These include:

•           managing the building site
•           hiring and supervising contractors (any electrical or plumbing work must be done by a licensed tradesperson)
•           making sure that the contractors used are fully licensed
•           obtaining all necessary building permits and council approvals
•           obtaining appropriate insurance
•           providing a safe work environment by ensuring all OHS standards are adhered to.

If the value of the construction is more than $12,000, you will also have to complete an approved owner builders course.

Approvals

There are normally a range of approvals and permits required before, during and after a build, which you as owner builder will also need to obtain. These include:

•           Certificate of Consent prior to building
•           Complying Development Certificate (CDC) or a Construction Certificate from the council
•           Inspection and approval during construction to confirm that the work conforms to national building standards
•           Occupation Certificate to confirm the building is safe for habitation when completed.

Insurance

You’ll also need the following types of insurance:

•           Workers comp insurance to cover everyone working onsite (including contractors)
•           Public liability insurance to protect against any injury claims
•           Amendments made to your current home insurance if applicable (i.e. if your kit home is being built in the backyard of your existing home)
•           Adjoining property insurance if applicable.

If doing it yourself seems like an onerous responsibility, remember that your kit home supplier is there to help. They will have numerous contacts in the building industry and can usually recommend a good builder to you, or if you wish to construct your kit home yourself, they can often assist you with obtaining approvals and permits as well.

Finding Some Assistance for Your Kit Home Construction is a post from: House Construction & Kit Homes

Soil types

The type of soil on your block will determine the type and strength of slab required. Soil types include:

•           A – sand and rock with little movement due to moisture
•           S – slightly reactive clay with slight movement
•           M – moderately reactive clay with moderate movement
•           H – Highly reactive clay with high movement
•           E – Extremely reactive clay with extreme movement
•           P – soft, unstable, collapsing soil due to moisture and structural changes.

Slab types

There are three main types of slab construction used, depending on soil type and the kind of house being built:

•           Stiffened raft – poured onto the ground with a concrete edge and internal beams (suitable for stable sites)
•           Waffle raft – made up of stiffening ribs formed using polystyrene moulds laid out in a grid pattern and locked together (suitable for highly reactive clay sites)
•           Pier & slab – holes are drilled into the soil and concrete poured in to form piers, which the slab is then poured on top of (helps anchor the site in extremely reactive clay soils).

Laying the slab

These are the basic steps involved in preparing and pouring a concrete slab foundation:

•           Excavate the site down to twice the thickness of the slab and remove any rocks, roots or debris from the soil
•           Compact the soil with a mechanical compactor and level the site with a spirit level
•           Lay down a layer of sand or gravel to provide drainage
•           Put in the form work (a wooden frame that encases the slab)
•           Put in the plumbing and drainage pipes (make sure they are in exactly the right positions, as removing them is a costly and time-consuming job)
•           Lay down a vapour barrier (a damp-proof membrane to prevent moisture from seeping up out of the ground)
•           Put the steel mesh reinforcing in place (either supported on rocks or held in place while pouring)
•           Pour the concrete (make sure beforehand that trucks have access and everything is ready prior to the pour, as time is of the essence once the cement arrives)
•           Smooth and level the poured concrete with a straight-edge and trowels
•           Set anchor bolts into the wet concrete at intervals along the perimeters (these will be used for attaching the walls)
•           Remove the form work
•           Allow the concrete to sit and cure (can take up to 28 days to fully cure).

The slab plays an important role in supporting walls and sealing out damp, so if you’re at all unsure about laying it yourself, have a talk with your kit home provider. They may be able to assist you with any building permits required, or recommend a professional to do the job for you.

Laying Foundations for a Kit Home is a post from: House Construction & Kit Homes

Look Online

The Internet has made it easier than ever before to find building contractors fast, so whether you need a plumber for an unexpected emergency or a carpenter to put the finishing touches on your kit home, look for them online. One of the best things about finding your contractors online is that there is a huge amount of them to choose from, and you will often also find reviews online written by customers who have used those contractors before. So if you have found yourself short a contractor or two without much time to find them, don’t waste time freaking out, instead get online.

Ask Other Contractors for Recommendations

If you are having a large project worked on that requires a number of different contractors, a smart way to find another tradesperson on short notice is to ask the contractors you already have if they can recommend anyone for the job. Your contractors will have worked with a large number of others and will know better than anyone who does good quality work, as well as which ones you can trust, and they are unlikely to give you a bad recommendation as it will reflect poorly on them. So if you are a contractor short for your building project, ask those contractors whose work you like if they know another good tradesperson that is looking for work.

Ask Your Friends

There is no better form of advertising than that through word of mouth, so whether you are having a custom home built or need some last minute work done on your place in preparation for a big event, ask your mates if they have heard of a good contractor that does what you need doing. It is even better if your friends have utilized the contractor’s services themselves, as this way you may be able to take a look at their work before deciding who to hire. If you are able to call the contractor and tell them you got their contact through a friend who was a satisfied customer, you may have a greater chance of them agreeing to work for you on such short notice due to having this connection.

Finding a building contractor at the last minute doesn’t have to be stressful, and if you are looking in the right places you might not have very much trouble at all. Whatever you do, make sure that you aren’t sacrificing quality out of desperation, because there are plenty of good contractors out there who would love to do a great job for you, even on short notice.

How to Find Building Contractors at the Last Minute is a post from: House Construction & Kit Homes

Pros

Make Your Home Exactly the Way You Want

One of the biggest advantages of a knock-down rebuild is that you can have your new home built exactly the way you want, rather than having to settle for a place that is in the location you want but isn’t  exactly the style of home you are looking for. So whether you are dreaming of a grand mansion or a holiday kit home by the beach, if you are having trouble finding that ideal home, the knock-down rebuild route may be just what you need.

Save Time

Some old places are so run down that it would take years to get them back to the point where you could comfortably live in there, which in some cases makes it a smarter move to simply knock them down and start all over again. So if you have found a great location with an old house that needs more work than you are willing to put into it, knocking it down and rebuilding will mean you can be enjoying a fantastic new place sooner rather than later.

Safer

The building standards of homes built in generations past were much different from those of today, with many older homes having used materials and products that are now known to be extremely unsafe. So if the area you want to live in only has older homes for sale, buying an old place to knock down and rebuild may be your best option as far as health and safety goes.

Save Money

While the idea for fixing up an old place can have a certain romantic appeal to it, it can also be an extremely expensive process, so if you don’t have endless amounts of money to pour into your new home it can be less expensive to simply knock down and rebuild. With kit homes these days offering such tremendous value for money, you can save a small fortune by taking the knock-down rebuild route, and if you are on a relatively tight budget you can have that place you are dreaming of for a lot less money than you would believe.

Cons

You Lose That Old Charm

The biggest drawback of taking the knock-down rebuild approach is that you lose that charm that only older places have, because while modern homes can be better in a lot of ways, they can rarely compete with that old style charm.

However you choose to go about finding your new place, make sure that you are carefully weighing up all the options, because whether you knock down an old place and rebuild or renovate an existing home, finding the ideal place may mean you never have to move house again.

Pros and Cons of Knock-Down Rebuilds is a post from: House Construction & Kit Homes

Research

To be any chance of finding the best fittings for your kit home you will need to do plenty of research, so get online, check out friend’s places, or stop by a few showroom kit homes. The more you know about what is available, the more chance you are of making an informed decision, so make sure you know about all of those leading options.

Keep them consistent

There are a huge range of styles and colours of kit home fittings available to choose from, and your choice will have a big effect on the look of your entire place. Regardless of what you choose, try and keep the style and colour of your fittings consistent throughout. If your fittings don’t match it can make your place look and feel disjointed, creating a hectic atmosphere where it is difficult to relax, so give your new kit home a boost by investing in matching fittings.

Get fittings that will last

Unless you can afford to replace your fittings again in the near future, you should invest in items that will last, and considering that some of those fittings will see a huge amount of use it is important that you invest in quality. The best way to judge fittings is by reading the reviews written by those who have used them, so if you are unsure which fittings are your best options, get online and read about some of them.

Make sure they are practical

Considering the important role your kit home fittings will play, it is vital that they are practical, because regardless of how good they look, they need to function well. Especially if you aren’t as dexterous as you once were, make sure your fittings are easy to use efficiently and effectively.

Pick something easy to clean

For the sake of running a healthy household your fittings should be cleaned on a regular basis, and so in the interest of saving time on your cleaning, the easier your fittings are to clean, the better. By avoiding any overly fancy designs for your fittings, you can save a huge amount of time on your cleaning each year, so before you take the plunge and pick out your kit home fittings, be sure to consider how easy each of those options will be to clean.

Finding the best fittings to suit your kit home will make an enormous difference, so rather than rush and risk making a big mistake, take the time you need to make this important decision. While you can always change your fittings again later if you are unhappy with your choice, you will save a huge amount of time and money by getting it right the first time.

Finding the Best Fittings for Your Kit Home is a post from: House Construction & Kit Homes

Why?

Enjoy them straight away — While growing your own plants from seed is a fantastic idea, it requires a lot of patience, so if you’d like to enjoy your garden sooner rather than later, buying already established plants is a smart idea. It will cost you more to buy your garden plants in this way, but if you can’t or don’t want to wait months for the garden to start to thrive, it can be a worthwhile investment.

Privacy barriers — Using plants as privacy barriers can be extremely effective, and has become an increasingly popular element in modern custom homes. Whether you want to introduce a bit more natural coverage around your kit home or along the perimeter areas around your property, invest in some established plants and get the privacy you want right now.

Get a head start — Whether you are trying to get your flowers looking great for a backyard event or just get a head start on your vegetable garden, buying well-established plants is a very smart way to go about it. Especially if you live in an area with a shorter growing season and are looking to grow food, it can be well worth paying for more established plants, especially if you want to get much of a harvest.

How?

Your local nursery — The best place to find well-established plants for your new garden is at your local nursery. They will likely have a good selection of plants that are native to your local area, which are far more likely to thrive. Nurseries are also great places to get advice on caring for your plants, and while you should still do your own research, it helps to have an experienced gardener able to quickly answer your questions.

Online — You can buy just about anything online these days, including well-established plants for your new garden. Regardless of the type of plants you are looking for, more often than not you will find them online. However, be sure that you comprehensively research any plant you are considering bringing in, because it is important that you aren’t introducing a plant that could upset the local ecosystem.

When?

Once the garden is ready — Whether you are moving into a new place or setting up a second garden where you are, don’t buy any of those new plants until your garden is prepared and ready for them. Make sure everything is ready in advance, including having those holes dug, because the less time those plants are out of the ground, the more chance they are of surviving.

Buying Established Plants for a New Garden is a post from: House Construction & Kit Homes

Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)

This is a highly attractive deciduous tree that grows to eight metres and features peeling bark and colourful foliage. You can get them with white, pink, or crimson flowers, which is perfect for coordinating with your custom home. There are a few different varieties you can choose from as well, but they all require some annual pruning to manage their height and flowers.

Swamp Mallet (Eucalyptus spathulata)

This small evergreen tree originates from the south-west of Western Australia and will tolerate even the toughest garden site. It’s extremely fast growing and adds amazing texture to any garden with its round shape and flaky-orange bark. These trees are a lot of fun for children to climb, and are filled with beautiful buds, flowers and fruits.

Willow Bottlebrush (Callistemon salignus)

This large Callistemon grows to about seven metres in height, producing gorgeous creamy-yellow bottlebrush flowers in late winter and bright pink new growth in the spring. If you have waterlogged and compacted soils, this tree will be perfect for your garden.

Escallonia (Escallonia Rubra)

If you’re looking for an excellent drought-resistant hedge plant, the escallonia is for you. It is a dense flowering shrub that grows to about three metres in height and produces dark pink to red flowers over the summer. Its density makes it a fantastic screening plant, and it only requires light pruning after flowering to maintain its form blooming abilities.

Gold Dust Wattle (Acacia acinacea)

This highly durable shrub is a native of south-eastern Australia and can grow up to two metres in height. It produces masses of globular, yellow flowers throughout winter and spring, and only requires light pruning if you want it to be more dense.

Sage-leaf Rock Rose (Cistus salviifolius)

If you have good drainage and full sun, then the sage-leaf rock rose will grow well for you no matter what soil type you have in your garden. It is a small shrub that only grows about one metre high with a one metre spread, but has dense grey-green leaves and produces masses of white-pink flowers during the spring.

Weeping Grass (Microlaena stipoides)

Lawn grass often uses up the most amount of water, making many homeowners wonder if having a lawn is even worth it. By using a native Australian grass, such as weeping grass, it can be! This tufting, fine-bladed grass grows into a very soft, compact lawn but does require some work to get it established. This grass does well when it’s left to grow a bit taller (25-30 mm), and weed control is very important. Otherwise, this grass is very drought-tolerant and will even thrive in the shade.

Best Plants for a Drought Resistant Garden is a post from: House Construction & Kit Homes

Clients not knowing what they want for their home

A lot of people want to build their dream home — something that is unique to them and that is designed and built by them. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t have the skills necessary to dream up a functioning, structurally sound home from scratch. This might cause a lot of delays right from the start of a project, and possibly more wavering down the road. To avoid this issue, encourage clients to look into buying a kit home instead of building from scratch. This is the best way for clients to get a custom home, but one that has already been planned out.

Lengthy inspections

Inspections are the bane of a contractor’s existence. Inspections require a lot of careful planning and time budgeting because calling for one too early, too late, or failing one are all scenarios that would set a project back. To avoid this problem, have a good understanding of how inspections work in the area of your project so that you can get a good idea of when to call for them. Communicating with subcontractors is also a great way to avoid this headache, as they are the best ones to tell you when their part of the work will be ready.

Subcontractor delays

Most of the time, subcontractors have many different projects at once, so a delay in one job will mean an even bigger delay in another. Plus, if your job is less financially lucrative to them than another, then guess who will end up at the bottom of their priority list! To avoid this problem, you need to hire subcontractors you know and trust. If you can’t, you should provide some incentive for them to make your job a priority, such as more money or the promise of more jobs from you later. Communicating with them and treating them well will also land you in their good books, which will encourage them to do a better job.

The weather

Meteorologists do well to predict the weather, but the predictions are often not as precise as a contractor would like. The first way around the issue of weather is to build some extra time into your project timeline. It’s also useful to understand your project well so you will know what type of weather could affect various stages of the project. A great example is to schedule a concrete pour for the least humid, least rainy part of the year.

There are plenty of ways a home construction project could be set back. By being organised, communicating well and making a detailed plan, you will be able to prevent or at least not get thrown off too much by an unexpected event.

Common Delays in Home Construction is a post from: House Construction & Kit Homes

Find something different

If you are hoping for some true inspiration as opposed to more of the same ideas, you need to be willing to step out of your comfort zone, and the Internet makes this extremely easy. Take advantage of the power of the Internet to connect all corners of the earth and look for inspiration is a few different areas to normal, because with the world at your fingertips, you’d be foolish not to at least check out what others are doing with their custom homes.

Follow your favourite designers

If there are designers whose work you are a fan of, you are almost guaranteed to find a huge collection of their works online. Often, these designers will use their website to provide links to others they are fans of, which can mean an absolute goldmine of ideas and inspiration. Next time you see a design you like the look of, be sure to find out whose it is, because by looking them up online you will be able to check out some of the other awesome work they have done.

Search by colour

If you don’t know what you want to do with your interior design but do know what colour or colours you want to use, get online and search all things related to those special colours. Interior design is all about being creative, and by searching for inspiration via colour rather than style, you will open yourself up to an endless amount of possibilities, which is sure to have your interior designs right on the cutting edge.

DIY design

Thanks to the Internet you can not only get inspired by what other people are doing with their designs, but you can also get a step-by-step guide to doing just about any of the work yourself. Whether you see a paving design you like or a style of kitchen you think would work perfectly at your place, search out a DIY guide or two, and you’ll be set to start transforming that inspiration into an awesome reality.

Interactive inspiration

A wonderful way to use the Internet to get inspired is by striking up online conversations with others interested in design, as this way you may be able to get a few ideas, find out about what inspires them and get inspired yourself. This can also be a good way to get advice, so without badgering anyone too much, feel free to ask a few questions, because the better you understand those designs that inspire you, the sooner you’ll be able to work out how to come up with your own.

Finding Online Inspiration for Interior Design is a post from: House Construction & Kit Homes