House construction is totally different compared with minor things like, sewing, cooking, or cleaning. It is a shelter and you including your loved ones are housed in it. When natural calamities come, you would need something over your head that is rigid enough to withstand that heavy rain. When earthquake comes, you would need a foundation that is strong enough to resist the ground movements. When a fire disaster or any emergency happens, you need a house plan that is safe to be evacuated by the occupants in an instant. These important things are probably not be considered in the DIY house plan you (or your house construction DIYer workforce) are designing.
(Prevent fire from spreading by stacking a handy fire extinguisher here. Car fire extinguisher here.)
Why is DIY house construction bound to fail? Here are some of the reasons.
Final Output is a Responsibility of No One
A risky house practices that Filipinos tend to make is doing a DIY house plan on a piece of paper, with unsure room dimensions and just letting their hired apparent “experienced” laborers to do the rest. Sad as it is, most of these laborers are not even experienced as they claim to be. All the worst, they are not manned or under a supervision of a technical and licensed professional. They lack the license and the expertise to do things properly. You would not know if your house followed the building code and regulation if your house is constructed by these people. If you ask a technical question, all they can give you are shallow answers. They cannot give you in-depth answer of the logic behind engineering and construction principles. And yes, those are red flags.
What is the proper way to go about? Get a professional. Hire an Architect to design your homes. Get a reputable contractor to build it. That way, the final output is a responsibility of someone. Should something unfortunate happens, you will know who to chase after. You are at peace sleeping under your own bed knowing your house followed the building code and that it is built and handcrafted by the professionals.
Time Consuming
It will surely eat away all the spare time you have. You will need to get through that traffic just to canvass the construction materials price of the next Home Depot store. You will have to answer every calls and texts from your workers. They will ask you about when the next materials delivery will be (if you opt to provide your own materials). If you missed to provide the material that they are asking, then you are the sole reason why your house construction is delayed. And, the worst call you would get from them would be – them asking for cash advance, because something emergency have happened. Are you willing to take the risks of handing them cash advance?
“But, what if they don’t return the day after handing them cash advance?”
That is your subconscious asking, we just put it into writing.
These are just some of the stresses you will face if you opt to do your house construction DIY. Do you think it is worth the savings?
This pocket size planner may help you track down your construction progress, it is good as a gift too!
Expensive in the Long Run
Since the final output is not planned and built by the professional, the repairs may be expensive because of hidden mistakes or inadequate workmanship and specs of the materials used. To give you an example which is very common concerns on DIY construction group is the water marks in the ceiling. At first, the ceilings are all looking good, glorious, and superb. But then hiding in those ceiling is a plumbing line that is not leaked-tested. After a few months, the plumbing leaked and the marks can be seen.
How do you repair it? Well, you will need to remove the ceiling, fix the plumbing, leak-test the plumbing, and redo the ceiling including the painting. It would be fine if you are able to find the exact painting match, otherwise, you will need to repaint the entire ceiling. Costly, isn’t it? These extra repair costs should have been avoided if you hired a reputable contractor. In addition, reputable contractors normally have warranties. Just one of the perks of getting one.
Lack of project management adds up to the overhead cost. Since you alone will be the one to coordinate with the suppliers and different trades, it will be likely that you will track its progress inefficiently. Doing another work instead of the scheduled one (because a certain material didn’t arrive on time) must need technical expertise.
There are still a lot of ways to reduce cost when building your home, here are some of them.
Safety Risks
DIY laborers tend to do things heedlessly just to complete the project. Too fast that they tend to disregard safety protocols. To make things worse, these DIY laborers do things without proper trainings and safety equipment. What would happen to your project if someone got electrocuted because of welding works done with improper wirings? You risk your house construction get those unwanted attention that might trigger visits from the building and safety department. Trust us, if that happens, it will be a bother big time.
Another likelihood of peril may not happen during or after the DIY construction but on the months or years ahead. Since most house DIYers are not licensed, they may not be aware of the standard materials and construction practices. Your house may have fragility not visible to the naked eye. At some point after a few months, these defects may come out one after the other making your house feeble and weak. Adding to expensive repair cost.
While some unlicensed people with experience and extensive knowledge in the actual construction, it will still be a challenging thing to put yourself into. So, properly weigh your options. Would it be okay for you to save some bucks to do your house DIY or you want to be on the safe side and have it built by professionals? We hope you choose the latter.
We will always be pro-professional. BUT, sad as it is, there are people in the rural area that is far from technical services that they need. That’s where we come in.
We have house plans for guide. Not signed and sealed for you to still get a professional advise. Student friendly for your assignments. Check our Shop Page.
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