Every homeowner wants to have a home that’s beautiful, comfortable, and structurally sound. While a high price tag isn’t a guarantee for quality, a big enough budget makes it easier for contractors to build a house that checks all three.
How do you ensure that you have sufficient funds to construct a house without compromising on aesthetics, quality, and market value? You can apply for loans from the bank or borrow money from trusted family and friends. But even if you do secure housing loans, your money is still limited. You may still have to find ways to cut costs on your home construction.
Exceptions for Construction Cost-Cutting
Take note that you can’t just choose the cheapest options available every time. It’s not real savings if your cost-cutting efforts are at the expense of structural integrity and long-term property value.
To ensure the quality of your future home, avoid skimping on the following:
- Structural components (e.g., the foundations, load-bearing walls, and your house’s frame)
- Doors and windows
- Roofing materials
- Insulation
- Gutters
You need these components to be highly durable and superior quality-wise because they are crucial to the overall integrity of your home. Defects in any of these parts can set you up for bigger expenses in the future. These parts may cost a bit more if you’re going to go for quality, but they will pay for themselves in the long run because they won’t need as much maintenance or repairs.
Now that we’ve highlighted all the above as the least priority for cost-cutting, let’s proceed with the methods for reducing construction costs.
1. Build small.
The cost of building a house increases the bigger the structure is. If you really want to keep the costs down, build a small house. Keep your house’s depth to 32 feet only. If you build a more spacious area, you’ll need to erect additional walls or columns to keep the building structurally sound, and those will rack up the costs for labor and materials.
2. Choose aesthetic materials that you can use throughout your home.
The design of your home will factor heavily into the cost of its construction. For instance, if your design plans include having Calcutta marble on the walls and sinks of the master bathroom, you can expect a much higher bill than if you use composite granite on the countertops only.
One way to keep the cost of the materials low is to have a consistent theme in most, if not all, of the rooms in the house. If, for example, you chose white walls and hardwood floors for the main rooms, you can buy paint and engineered wood in bulk. You can take advantage of your contractor’s connections to wholesale hardwood flooring suppliers, for example, and enjoy perks like lower wholesale prices.
3. Repurpose old furniture.
Do you have old bed frames, shelves, or tables that are still in good condition but will no longer fit in your new house? You can repurpose them instead. The carved wood panels in old cabinets, for example, can go above doorways. The posts in four-poster beds can be used in the banisters and upper-story railings. Wardrobe doors can be turned into dining benches.
There are many other ways to repurpose old furniture. For each item you repurpose, your savings increase.
4. Salvage materials from torn-down properties.
Keep an eye out for demolitions and tear-down notices for buildings, establishments, and houses near you. Talk to the owner and ask for permission to look around the house or the piles of debris. You might find pieces of wood or furniture that are still intact and in good condition that you can repurpose for your home.
5. Build a DIY carport instead of custom-made, two- or three-car garage.
A single-car garage can cost around $10,500 to $27,000. Two-car garages can go up to $40,300, and three-car garages can cost more than $57,00 to build. Needless to say, a one-car garage can give you more savings. But if you want to lower the costs, even more, you can build a DIY detached carport instead of having an attached, custom-made garage.
Use these tips to make the construction of your dream home much more affordable.
