If you wanted to build a country house, collected a certain amount of money and even started choosing the project of the mansion of your dreams, do not think that at this pleasant stage your pre-project efforts are over.. A summary of suburban concerns with a detailed description — read on.
Firstly, why we started talking about choosing a project, I mean — a typical one ‘Perhaps, with the planned average investments, this is the best way to build a cottage, since a house made in a production environment, although cheaper, does not leave you with enough choice in planning decisions and is inferior in quality to individually made, the latter, in turn, will ideally meet your needs, but will not be affordable (the cost of only an individual project can be 5-6 thousand USD). A typical house project costs an average of $ 500-600, it can have several options, and it can always be slightly changed at your request. There are, however, a few, but.
Each site has its own project
After you have decided on an action plan, the second point of the program is the search for a project: where to get it ‘There are several companies on the market that implement standard projects with layouts and facades of houses and their approximate characteristics through their catalogs. These magazines can be bought or found on the internet.
Where do the projects themselves come from? They are developed by architectural workshops, that is, they are born from individual projects, and if copyright has not been redeemed for it, then the house «goes to the masses».
Then you need to understand your own desires and needs: what do you need a house for, what functions it should perform and how it might look
The layout of the chosen project should be as close as possible to the desired one, because any small rework costs money and time (sometimes it is equal to the cost of the project itself or more). If possible, a consulting architect should be involved at this stage..
The most important task at the time of the final choice is to find a house that best of all «lies» on your plot of land (and you have it «according to the terms of the problem») and does not cause further problems, such as: inconsistency in the cardinal points, the impossibility of summing engineering networks, unsuitable terrain, etc..
The documents
The seller of the project has his passport, an explanatory note and cutaway schemes of the internal layout — all this is clearly shown in the project. Watercolor picture and / or 3d model floor drawings, recommended building materials, total area and explanations in 5-6 sentences, cost — on the last page. The set includes architectural and structural drawings, less often — drawings of engineering networks (most often, only autonomous boiler houses are indicated in the project).
Developments in a specific region are important in that they take into account specific climatic norms, such as thermal conductivity, seismic resistance, etc. If the project has already been implemented — you are especially lucky — then there is an opportunity to take into account the «pitfalls» identified during construction. The date of development of the project, ideally, should be as close as possible to the time of its selection, so that the technical norms and rules applied to the project are not outdated.
It is even better to have direct contact with a real project developer, an architect, who can resolve all your documentation questions and, if necessary, carry out field supervision. Ideal for construction — general contracting and architectural and / or technical supervision.
Engineering problems
The closer your land plot is to a developed engineering infrastructure, the less problems and costs you will have with the supply of water, gas, electricity. Perhaps this point is the main one, since it determines the possibilities of operating the future home. The developer should think in advance where he will «pull» engineering networks, what their potential capacity. As we have already said, not all projects have sections of internal engineering networks. But it may even be wiser to develop engineering networks separately, since they will be performed according to your technical conditions and taking into account your wishes. This step should only be performed by professionals..
We calculate the cost of construction
In order for the available financial resources to be enough for the implementation of your plans, you need to calculate all possible costs in advance. No one will be able to draw up a correct estimate for you at the initial stage. Therefore, when choosing a project, try to determine the cost of the «box» (foundation + walls + ceilings + roof) — this is an approximate calculation of the cost of a house without finishing work and utilities: the lowest cost of 1 sq. M. multiply by the total area of the house for the project. The cost of laying engineering networks can be from 20 to 30% of the construction estimate. It should be borne in mind that this is only the lower limit of the cost. It is initially possible to reduce it by choosing the development of the house vertically (several floors) in order to reduce the area of the foundation and roof, since these are the most expensive components of the «box».
In addition, the simpler the «geometry» of the house, the cheaper the future construction work. It is also possible to reduce the cost of a house by choosing inexpensive building and finishing materials, however, it is better to use those indicated in the project or are close to them in terms of characteristics, so as not to violate the technical parameters (for example, loads on supporting structures).
Expertise and approvals
A few words about previous and subsequent approvals, which include: project examination, obtaining initial permits (APZ, ARZ, TU, etc.), performing topographic surveys, geotechnical surveys and, if necessary, special sanitary and environmental studies environment, development and approval of the project of the boundaries of the land plot, approval (examination) of project documentation.
Contractor selection
It should be noted that companies in the suburban housing market that are ready to take on your dream (albeit a typical one) in a complex from the necessary approvals, design development to the commissioning of a «turnkey» object and having the appropriate specialists, experience and guaranteeing the quality of work performed, warranty and technical service — still need to look. As a rule, architects provide a project, builders build, engineering companies fail engineering networks, repair and finishing companies create an aesthetic environment for a design project, each being responsible for his own segment of work and not being responsible for the whole house as a whole. And it’s good that we always have a choice — to learn to bypass design and construction «pitfalls» on our mistakes or to learn how to choose a developer partner.
Based on materials from PETROV SPB
Camilla Nigmatullina
