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As we have clarified in the previous issue That we will start our journey through the fascinating massive field of construction generally through its main arteries as architecture , contracting , interior design and landscaping. As well as it's other branches, finishing materials and their usage, zones and their finishes etc. Throughout your lives you have at one point or another came across a horrific experience that you have been through or heard of concerning the construction of a building , a renovation project, a finishing and or interior decorating assignment, so we all know how extremely hectic as well as money draining experience that could be. Especially to those of us who are not professional or completely devoted to such dreary experience. The next couple of issues will be extensively informative and could sound extremely flashy less but hoping that you will bear with me to go through them to indulge later on into the more exciting , glamorous departments of this wonderful magical field.

To make these absolutely rich yet dry chapters a bit more pleasing and palatable we will relate it to a live example of a client who owns a piece of land and is planning to construct a residential haven for himself as opposed to the most common examples known here in Egypt of owning a predesigned property in a compound of the various ones sold by one of the real estate development companies that emerged and spread vastly in the last two decades , since that example would eliminate two of the major role players in that field who are "The architect " and" The main contractor" and corner us only with the roles of interior designer, landscaper and other figures that are needed in the case of an already constructed building. There is nothing like building your own home. In this issue I will be helping you organize your thoughts on building your own home from scratch. This starts by selecting a parcel of land and getting the right team together to carry out the work process.

their living are always learning. There's a mountain of knowledge you can acquire before setting shovel to soil. The more you know before jumping into your house building project the greater your chances of things going relatively smoothly.

Financing

Line up Your Team

Begin by assessing how much you are willing to invest in building your dream home, putting into consideration that your expenditure is related to budgeting clarified later in point number 4 , so have some flexibility until you reach your final budgeting.

Choose Your plot

Whether you are building your home in a suburban development or a site with sweeping sea views, you will almost always need to choose the land before you select floor plans or other details. You (and any pros you hire) will need to investigate factors such as soil condition, draining, zoning and building codes in the region.

You'll need a team of experts to design and construct your house. Key players will include a contractor and an architect for the first stage which is constructing the building , you will also need an interior designer and a landscaper unless they are the same entity as your architect, and a finishing contractor unless they are the same entity as your main contractor for the second stage of finishing.

Budgeting

Don't forget when you are planning your budget to put all factors into consideration, consult each pro you are hiring to evaluate their expenses approximately , clarified in the following item list knowing the approximate costs will help you modify your building plans for example or any of the other aspects from the list below to meet your budget 1- Land cost. 2- Any land treatment, needed for construction. 3- Your designer's fee. 4- Building permits. 5- Construction expenses (inclusive main contractor fees). P.S. don't forget expenses needed for electrical and water sourcing whether piping or pumping if needed. 6- Interior designer and landscaper's fees that is if they are a different entity than your architect. 7- Finishing expenses (inclusive your contractor fees). 8- Landscaping fees (inclusive your contractor fees whether hard or softscape). 9- Furnishing expenses inclusive appliances, and fixed furniture. 10- Your house warming party!!!

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Important Pointers before starting the process

Building a new home begins long before the foundation is poured. To avoid costly mistakes during the construction process, start with these four important steps.I can't emphasize enough how critically important this planning phase is. There is so much to know about building even a basic house, that you will never be able to know everything before breaking ground. Even folks who make home building

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Second, be your own architect, but hire a good contractor.

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sub-contractor database? Do you know how to deal with them? There are lots of aspects you need to think about carefully before considering this option. It is doable, but it is a full time job and very stressful. You might end up making lots of costly mistakes in the process. The project will take you longer to complete, but on the bright side you might end up saving some money.

Residential buildings are considered "exempt" buildings and in most jurisdictions do not require the stamp of an architect on them. Which means anybody can design them. If the person has the experience and the ability, then there is nothing wrong with that. Even the homeowner can choose to go out and purchase some software program and design their own home. The contractor will gladly build whatever is on the plans as long as they get paid. Even if it results in something unlivable. However there are times when it is prudent to call in a professional, somebody who has the training and skills to do the job right As for the contracting some people are not meant to be owner-contractors, as it takes a strong personality to manage sub-contractors, as well as extensive knowledge of the availability and pricing of the building materials Again with absence of detailed drawings and material specifications your presence on site will be required on a daily basis to make all the design decisions and supervise implementation. This is definitely a much better option than doing everything yourself, but doable if you are up to it. Divine, our contracting company had a couple of experiences with this option with a client. The client, a retired businessman and design enthusiast was on site all day everyday with our contractor for the entire 16 months it took to complete the project. It was a stressful experience for him, but he thoroughly enjoyed being on site and preparing his own designs. You need lots of time on your hands, dedication and patience not to mention a professional contractor to work for you . Again in this method the issue of admitting official drawings and documents for the permits need to be handled as mentioned earlier in the prior method.

HIRE PROS TO DO PRO JOBS

The four methods of construction

Well you have four options to construct your house whichever option you choose depends on many factors as will be discussed below. Having said that, I have organized the options for you starting with least stressful to the most.

First, be your own architectcontractor.

But an important point has to be taken into consideration in this case is that to get the governmental permits for the building , architectural and civil stamped drawings must be prepared , together with some letters of recognition of supervision responsibility has to be admitted , which basically means that you have to draft these drawings via an official architect and civil engineer which will cost you some sum of money ( not as much of course as performing the design procedure all together)

Third, hire both the architect and contractor.

The stunning homes you see in glossy magazines are almost always customdesigned by licensed architects. They are the unique creations of men and women with the skill and the know-

how to explore new and unexpected possibilities. The architect's fee is a tiny fraction of construction costs, but their complete services usually results in overall costs savings to a client

In this option you play architect and contractor, make the design selections yourself and hire the relevant subcontractors and suppliers as and when you need them. You also have to plan and manage the entire process. It sounds easier than it actually is. Look at it this way your project is one big project involving several projects some running concurrently and others overlapping each other so careful planning is a must to avoid making costly mistakes. How strong is your

Watch out for some possible problems when acting as owner contractor:

Construction cost overruns Managing contractors to finish on time

or to show up for work

Depleting your personal savings Being taken by unscrupulous

contractors

This option you are hiring all professional role players to make sure the job is done right abided by contracts These contracts will include the scope of work, delivery dates, fees and payment terms. In general the scope of work for the architects will include sets of drawings and material specifications as well as supervising implementation. It is standard practice that the designer will make site visits till project completion. In the next article , I will extensively explain how to deal with architects, choose them and calculate their fees .On the other hand contractors contracts will include what is known as BOQ "bill of quantity" , as well as materials' specs and delivery dates. All of this will be explained fully as well in future articles , when I elaborate on the role of contractors and ways to deal with them, types of contracting models as well as different contracting payment ways . But to all honesty this method is definitely less hassle for you as an owner than the prior two, since as it is known "hire pros to do pro jobs"
You can reach me at my email

askdalia@ask.com

Useful terms
1- Architecture - the art and science of designing and making buildings, its the style in which buildings are made 2- BOQ - an itemized list of materials, parts, and labor (with their costs) required to construct, maintain, or repair a specific structure. 3- Building process - a term used to express every step of a construction project from its conception to final acceptance and occupancy.
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4- Contracting - it's when a client (or project owner) selects professional service providers to bid and execute construction or finishing of a building (project)

5- Finishing - a decorative texture, appearance, or installation of a surface (or the substance that gives it its final appearance) 6- Furnishing - to supply and provide furniture in a room

7- Interior design - multifaced profession in which creative and technical solutions are applied within a structure to achieve a built interior environment and a lifestyle enhancement

8- Landscaping - is both science and art , it's the study of modifying the visible features of an area of land through living elements as in plants (softscape) or constructed elements as paving, platforms, water features , buildings, sheds , fences (hardscape)

9- Scope of work - The division of work to be performed under a contract or subcontract in the completion of a project, typically broken out into specific tasks with deadlines.

10-Specifications/ Specs - written to supplement working drawings, a narrative list of materials, methods, model numbers, colors, allowances, and other details which supplement the information contained in the drawings.