Living in a densely populated city guarantees many conveniences from proximity to civilization, but makes you pay for them with discomfort due to the constant noise pollution, density of buildings and polluted air. The solution for many people was to build their own house in a well-appointed green area, where you can admire the beautiful views from the windows, enjoy the silence and privacy.
If you intend to realize your dream and are planning to build a house, read the advice and recommendations from the expert Kirill Yurovskiy to avoid many mistakes.
Planning your budget
Abandoned boxes with barely begun walls are a questionable decoration of many plots of land. To avoid adding to their number with another project, start by clarifying your preferences and financial capabilities:
- Decide on the area and design of the private house, the number of floors and the features of the staged interior decoration.
- Pay attention to the possibility of connecting communications. It is worth remembering that their conduct from scratch is much more expensive than connecting to the existing nearby network.
- Decide for yourself in what mode your home will be operated, – seasonally or year-round. In the first case, you can be limited to the basic heating scheme or do without it at all, in the second – to deal with the issue of insulation in earnest, so that the cold winter has not become for you in the torture.
- Make an estimate, with the support of an experienced foreman. It should include all items of future expenses – the amount of materials, cost of work, decoration, roofing, connecting to utilities and other activities up to the moment of completion of construction.
Matching your budget to your plans is the only way to finish building a cottage on time without long downtime and unprofitable loans.
Where shall we build?
The work should begin with the selection and preparation of the land. It can be located within the city limits, or directly outside the city. The land can be purchased immediately or take out a mortgage in order to reduce the financial burden on the family. When choosing an area, you should consider an important point – its purpose. It can be:
- Individual housing construction. In this case, there are no restrictions on the erection of a residential facility.
- Personal subsidiary partyguise farming. It is unacceptable that such a plot is not located on agricultural land, which makes it illegal to erect a residential building.
The lawyers remind us that it is necessary to check whether there are any restrictions on the use of the land plot. Unscrupulous sellers often conceal these restrictions, misleading the buyer. It is recommended to refuse to buy if the site chosen has the following restrictions:
- The presence of sanitary protection strips and zones.
- Proximity to main pipelines, which at any time may need repair or replacement.
- Location near a roadside right-of-way.
Construction in violation of the above requirement may result in lengthy court proceedings and a decision to demolish the structure or make it impossible to register the new facility, which automatically makes it illegal.
Designing
Erection begins with the preparation of project documentation – standard or individual, tailored to the wishes of the future settler. The first option is somewhat easier and significantly cheaper, but the second will allow the realization of any ideas of the owner: from the layout of the rooms to the details of exterior decoration. The main task of designing – to prepare a complete set of documents for the construction, which will take into account all aspects of the work:
- The architectural section describes the layout of the object, the specification of window and door openings, the features of exterior decoration.
- In the engineering section the data on networks of water supply, sewerage, heating, electricity supply and ventilation are considered.
- The structural section contains plans of the foundation, floors, roof, walls and basic units.
Important to know! There are a number of factors that increase the cost of construction, but are not of fundamental importance. Therefore, you can safely save money on them:
- Give preference to a simple rectangular or square layout without shaped protrusions.
- Give up the second floor, increasing the area of the first floor. Otherwise you will have to arrange the stairs, which can be quite expensive.
- Choose shallow-dug foundation – it is quite reliable and has a reasonable cost, and its arrangement does not require site preparation and lengthy work.
- Give preference to a simple and functional gable roof without multiple mansards and slopes.
- Order rectangular windows – they are easier, cheaper and more convenient in terms of sealing and insulation.
- Consider the need for additional rooms – a sauna, garage or checkroom – and choose only those you need.
Materials for construction
A significant part of the cost determines the choice in favor of building materials. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages:
- Quick-frame construction – the most budget-friendly solution, which has a relatively short service life and requires additional structural reinforcement for massive furniture and appliances.
- Wooden log cabin – aesthetic, durable and environmentally safe. Thanks to the natural material inside the premises it is possible to maintain a comfortable microclimate. However, it is necessary to take care of the protection of the structure from adverse external factors that can destroy the sensitive wood fibers.
- Brick and aerated concrete structures are objects of increased strength and reliability. But their considerable weight forces the arrangement of a massive foundation, which will affect the final cost of the work.
- Monolithic reinforced concrete construction – a model of strength and durability, for which there are no restrictions on the layout and configuration of the object. Erected in the minimum time, provides for the arrangement of lightweight foundation, guarantees the benefits due to the possibility to entrust the construction to a single contractor.
The main stages of construction work
In order to speed up the process and achieve high quality new object construction is carried out in a certain sequence:
The arrangement of the foundation
Before the beginning of the pouring of the structure, they mark and lay out the ways of the sewage outlet and the place of the water inlet: trenches are dug, pipes are collected and insulated. Then an excavation is formed under the foundation, in which a support cushion of crushed stone is laid. The structure of an even geometric shape is arranged with the help of a formwork, filled with concrete. In order to obtain a strong and durable foundation in the arrangement takes into account the nature of the soil, the presence of groundwater, the level of freezing in the winter, and seismic activity in the region. If the project includes a basement and underground utilities, in the course of works include additional measures for their arrangement.
Walls
Bending the inner and outer walls are carried out simultaneously to balance the load on the foundation and to exclude its deformation under uneven pressure. The selected material, which has the necessary indicators of thermal insulation and durability, is laid step by step along the entire perimeter, following the vertical line of the future wall. Particular efforts are required in the corners, where the two planes of walls need to be brought together at one point without the formation of gaps and protrusions. Special techniques for obtaining a neat solid corner depends on the material used, its availability for cutting and the chosen method of external facade finish.
Roofing
After the erection of the frame, proceed to the arrangement of the roof. Its task is to protect the interior of the house from adverse external factors and weather conditions. Type of roof chosen taking into account the design of the building, often it is a gable or four-slope model, where the four triangular planes converge at one apex. If the underlay area is planned to be used as a living space, mount the attic roof, which thoroughly sealed and insulated to reduce the cost of heating the new room and exclude its damping. As the roofing material used ceramic tile, ondulin, asbestos cement slate, metal, soft roof or practical cement-sandy coating.
Facade finish
The arrangement of the outer surface of the house involves several types of work at once. This is the installation of windows and doors made of metal alloys or durable wood, external and internal insulation, installation of stairs and balcony. Thermal insulation material is chosen depending on the climatic conditions in the region, the area of interior space and customer preferences.
In addition, the insulation is subject to the floor of the first floor and the roof, the quality of which depends on the arrangement of the microclimate in the house and the cost of heating. At the final stage of facade work is painting the walls, installation of friezes or decorative strips, lighting devices, filing roof overhangs and arrangement of waterproofing for the balcony.
Installation and connection of engineering communications
In the first stage of the interior finishing works the arrangement of the internal engineering systems is performed with the simultaneous location of the plumbing and gas equipment. All the work is done in accordance with the requirements of the project documentation, which specifies the parameters of the pipeline, the nominal pressure, routing diagrams, placement of shut-off elements and monitoring devices.
The next stage will be the installation of an electric board and wiring of power supply, which are chosen and installed taking into account the placement of devices-consumers and the rated power level.
At the final stage the utilities are connected and tested for operational safety and quality of installation work.
Interior finishing
The final stage includes finishing walls, floors and ceilings, based on the requirements of the design project. The rooms are zoned with gypsum board partitions, which are easier and faster to build than walls of the basic building material. The next step is to execute a rough screed floor, which will require time to dry completely. During the waiting period, engage in arrangement of the ceilings – installation of tension structures, laying plasterboard boards or painting. At the same time perform work on the filling of door and window jambs, seams and joints of the walls. Then proceed to finishing the walls under wallpaper or under painting. At the final stage, they arrange flooring, install and connect electrical fittings, install plumbing, connect heating radiators to the heating system. If all devices are properly connected and work properly, proceed to the arrangement of the ordered and delivered furniture.
Conclusion
Building your own house is not a task from the realm of fiction. A huge selection of building materials and projects will allow you to build a structure of any complexity. Moreover, that for its arrangement are ready to undertake professional builders. With proper design and quality work, the country house will last for decades, will take care of your comfort and will not require huge expenditures for operation, repair and heating.