Common Mistakes to Avoid When Building a Custom Home
Construction mistakes in your new custom home are easier to make than you might think.
Building custom homes in Perth since 1997, our team has seen every trap, mistake and error that can be made when building a dream home. That’s why we know our clients are going to get a great result with us every time, as we steer them clear of the most common custom home-building mistakes.
Wondering how you could also save on regret? Keep reading to learn the most common home-building errors we see when people embark on their custom home-building journey.
- Underestimating Costs and Time Requirements
- Neglecting to Plan For the Future
- Poor Communication with Builders and Designers
- Over Complicating the Design
- Choosing the Wrong Builder
- Choosing the Wrong Location
- Ignoring Energy Efficiency and Sustainability
Underestimating Costs and Time Requirements
The best way to account for the costs of construction is by working with a trusted custom home builder who will provide an accurate and honest quote.
Quotes that seem ‘too good to be true’ on price or time, most often are and may be underestimating, or not accounting for, potential roadblocks which can raise the price.
When building your custom home, ensure that you account for any hidden or unexpected changes in costs or timelines, including:
- Weather delays – Intense heat or thunderstorms can cause project shutdowns and delay your project end date.
- Material shortages – With global supply chains becoming increasingly complex, material shortages can occur unexpectedly.
- Labour shortages – Our team works with a dedicated team of skilled artisans to ensure we minimise unexpected labour delays.
- Temporary accommodation – If your deadline is extended, you may require extra budget to extend your temporary accommodation.
It’s important to have a contingency plan for both the costs and the timeline of your home.
What is a reasonable contingency budget?
Your recommended contingency budget will depend on the size of your home, your exact specifications, your chosen builder and the surrounding circumstances. For our clients, we usually recommend a 10% contingency budget but this can be higher or lower depending on any associated risks with their home.
Neglecting to Plan For the Future
Your dream house today, might not be your dream house tomorrow. One common mistake we see in Perth custom homes? Failure to plan for what’s ahead.
Focusing on the Now: Mistakes to avoid
Getting caught up in current trends
Some design trends are here to stay. The sleek, white, angular modern home design has remained mainstream since the 1950s with no signs of slowing down. When selecting your custom home design finishes, ensure that you hit an adequate balance of timelessness with personality to avoid dating your home.
Not considering aging in place
Without aging-in-place features, you may find that your home has an age limit on it you never considered.
Wheelchair-accessible bathrooms, easy-to-use fixtures and accessible bedrooms and entranceways are crucial to ensure your custom built home is future-proof.
Looking Ahead: Features to include
Multifunctional spaces
Get ahead by giving your rooms the ability to change over time. Including a guest room, or multi-functional living space, is a great way to provide your house the ability to change over time. These rooms can later double as studies, playrooms, studios, or a child’s bedroom.
Not interested in an extra room? Allow yourself flexibility with an open floor plan. Without the constraints of walls, your custom home will have more flexibility in where and how you organise furniture in the future.
Plenty of Storage Space
You might not have a lot to store now but consider how much you might accumulate over a few decades. Efficient and smart storage solutions such as hidden compartments, floating and strategic shelving, and custom-made cabinetry make a world of difference.
Poor Communication with Builders and Designers
Your involvement is crucial to the success of your custom home. To ensure that your home is built just the way you want it, you will want to ensure consistent communication with your custom home builder. The best way to do this is through:
- Maintaining a singular point of contact – A non-negotiable for our team, we ensure that you have a project manager who can help you every step of the way.
- Holding regular meetings (with a schedule) – Regular meetings are the backbone of clear communication and great project outcomes. These ensure your custom home project, is exactly custom to you, at every stage.
- Asking questions – Never shy from asking questions when something doesn’t seem right, or if the construction terms or processes are unfamiliar.
- Clear documentation – Maintain detailed documentation of all decisions, changes, and communications. This ensures that changes to the initial plan are documented so there is no potential for confusion down the line.
- Setting clear expectations – You and your custom home builder should be on the same page, at all times. Ensure they know your expectations around the outcome, process, pricing and timeline of your project.
Overcomplicating the Design
While custom homes provide you the opportunity to add as many custom features and design inclusions as you can dream, it doesn’t always mean you should. Wanting everything packed into one custom home is a home-building pitfall that can be hard to undo once in motion.
Some of the issues you may run into with overcomplicated designs include:
- Unnecessary costs – Excessive custom features can skyrocket costs with few benefits. Focus on incorporating features that add significant value and functionality to your home.
- Added cleaning or maintenance complexities – Details such as difficult roof lines or too many curved corners can make your custom home hard to clean and maintain.
- A noncohesive final design – Including every style, fixture type, and material, can leave your custom home without a uniform look and feel.
- Wasted opportunities – Overly complex floor plans often reduce the available usable space in your home.
Choosing the Wrong Builder
Being stuck with the wrong builder can quickly turn a dream home into a nightmare.
With an inexperienced builder, not only will your custom home be more prone to errors and construction mistakes, but your experience building may become tiresome. To make sure you get the most from your custom home-building experience, take your time to vet and select a custom home-builder you trust.
Not sure how to get started? We wrote a comprehensive guide on how to choose the best custom home builder in Perth to help. The guide covers:
- How to assess a custom home builder on their
- How to assess the quality and price of a custom home builder’s constructed homes.
- What a strong history and industry experience should look like for your home builder of choice.
- How to check if your personality and style matches with the voice of your home builder.
- How to evaluate home builders based on their service and skills.
Choosing the Wrong Location
A perfect home in the wrong location is no longer a perfect home. Thankfully, deciding on location too quickly is one of the easiest custom construction mistakes to avoid. Before building, carefully research which Perth suburb you believe would suit your needs best. This includes needs such as the home’s resale value, the suburb’s community and amenities, and the noise level and safety of your land.
Each suburb in Perth has something unique to offer you, and matching your lifestyle with your suburb is a great way to find the perfect location. To get you started, we’ve placed some suggestions below.
Suburbs for families
Mount Hawthorn and Osborne Park: Close to Mitchell Freeway with a good mix of old and new homes, these suburbs offer great accessibility for school and work opportunities.
Willetton, Rossmoyne, and Applecross: Known for their high-performing schools, these south-of-the-river suburbs are well sought after by families.
Other popular suburbs include Shenton Park, Subiaco and Carine. These areas are all fairly central, with access to family-friendly amenities, cafes, parks and schools.
Suburbs for working professionals
Subiaco and Leederville: With excellent access to the city, these suburbs provide a lively atmosphere with a mix of restaurants, bars and cultural events.
East Perth and South Perth: Bustling with cafes and run clubs, plus easy access to the city, these suburbs are a great option for working professionals who love a view, with both suburbs sitting along the Swan River.
Fremantle: Fremantle offers a unique historical charm and bustling art scene, with good transport options to the city.
Suburbs for retirement
Nedlands and Claremont: With a laid-back atmosphere, good healthcare facilities and easy access to shopping centres, these suburbs offer a relaxing retirement.
Cottesloe: Right near the beach, Cottesloe is a relaxing spot to build a forever home fit for retirement. Enjoy the salty sea breeze and the warm sun all without leaving your balcony or patio.
Ignoring Energy Efficiency and Sustainability
A sustainable, energy-efficient home is the custom home of the future. Leaving out key features such as maximising natural light and ventilation, installing adequate insulation and designing a roof suited to solar panels, instantly dates your home.
When you invest in the energy-efficient design of your Perth custom home, you gain long-term financial benefits as you save money on power, water and heating.
How Trendsetter Homes Helps Clients Avoid These Common Mistakes
We don’t expect our clients to know all the ins and outs of custom construction mistakes. With more than 27 years of experience building custom homes, our team has had decades to learn how to avoid Perth custom home errors. Meaning our clients can be rest assured their custom homes are in safe hands. .
When you work with our Trendsetter Homes team, we future-proof your home every step of the way. Guided by our expertise at every step, you receive a custom home without mistakes and without regret.
Looking to get started on a no-regret Perth custom home?
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