The topic of the article is important for everyone who has decided to approach the construction of their home. After all, you won’t get a house for free, and it would be good to understand what you fit into before construction begins. And it is very easy to be deceived. And because of advertising that convinces you that you can build an excellent house on 200 m2 for a couple of million rubles, and because of the lack of information and understanding of what is hidden behind the concept of “building a house.” And in general, because of people’s love of self-deception.

Surely, when you travel outside the city, you come across houses that are abandoned at some stage of construction or have been under construction for years or even decades - in most cases, the reason for this is an overestimation of your capabilities and an underestimation of the upcoming task. The price of a mistake with the cost of building a house can be very high - lost money, nerves, destroyed family relationships, health and much more.

Do you want to get into this situation? No? Then read the article to the end. We will consider the issue of cost comprehensively, not only regarding the cost of building a frame house.

In general, my opinion is to paraphrase the popular expression about vacation - “ when planning to build a house, halve your wishes and double your budget“.

Before we continue, a few important points:

• The article is largely designed to analyze the cost of building a house for permanent residence(permanent residence) with a modern level of comfort and housing requirements. Although modern dachas are often no different from permanent residence houses.
• If you are interested in the cost of building a summer cottage, you will also find useful information. The pricing principle itself will not change.
• The article does not take into account “individual perception of comfort” - for some it’s heaven in a hut, but for others a palace with turrets is too small.
• The article is primarily intended for those who are building a house near cities with a population of over a million, and primarily St. Petersburg and Moscow. The farther you are from these cities, the prices can vary greatly. Although I repeat, the principles for forming the total cost will remain unchanged.

Where to start building a house? Mysterious “turnkey house”

Very often, from the very beginning, people begin to be interested in a “turnkey house,” but in fact, each person understands something different by this.

I personally immediately remember “Heart of a Dog”

“Say counter-revolutionary things, Philip Philipovich.
“Oh, nothing dangerous.” No counter-revolution. By the way, here’s another word that I absolutely can’t stand. It is absolutely unknown - what is hidden under it? God knows what.

It’s the same with a “turnkey house”. The understanding of what it is and the “cost of a turnkey house” between the contractor and the customer can differ dramatically. Moreover, when answering the question “ how much does a turnkey house cost?” the options can be very different:

Example 1: The contractor says that a turnkey house will cost 1 million rubles. At the same time, in his understanding, it is just a box without facades, communications, decoration, but with installed windows and doors. And in the client’s understanding, he is already mentally bringing the furniture there. The client happily agrees, then problems will naturally begin.

Example 2: The contractor says that a turnkey house will cost 10 million rubles. At the same time, in his understanding, this is a house where all that remains is to bring in the furniture and place the barbecue in the “barbecue area”. And in the client’s understanding, for that kind of money they are offering him a “bare box with a door.” He flees in horror to another company, possibly refusing a good offer.

Therefore, the first rule. Try to avoid the concept of a “turnkey house,” either clearly find out what they are offering you under this sauce, or explain yourself what exactly you mean by this concept. This will help you reduce your time and get a quote that meets your request.

If, speaking about a “turnkey house”, you think about a house already interior decoration, electricity, water supply - then ask yourself a question. What tiles will you have in your bathroom? How many sockets will there be in the living room? How many lights are on the ceiling? Will there be laminate or linoleum or parquet on the floor - if so, which one, for 300 rubles/m2 or 1500 rubles/m2?

Can you answer these questions yourself? No? Has the “manager” already told you the cost of a “turnkey house”? How does he know what you want if you don’t know it yourself or haven’t told him? Does he have telepathy and read the future?

Therefore the second rule. Do not trust an offer to build a “turnkey” house if you have not found out all the details of what you want. Otherwise, the probability that you will not get what you wanted, or the amount will increase upward in the process, is 100%.

What does the construction of a house consist of?

Let's take a global approach. After all, you won’t live in a house where there is no finishing or even electrics? Therefore, the issue of construction costs is actually much broader.

While at the Asuntomessut exhibition in Finland, I came across an interesting sign where the costs of building a house were outlined. Naturally, our amounts will be different, but the percentage of the cost of the house will be approximately the same. At some points we will have more, at others less.

Cost structure for building a house in Finland

The cost of building a house here in Russia will consist of the following components:

• The cost of land and initial investments in it
• Cost of connecting basic utilities
• Design cost
• Cost of a “box” of a house
• Cost of utilities inside the house
• Cost of interior decoration of a house
• Cost of landscaping
• The cost of furniture, appliances and other benefits of civilization.

My personal opinion is that this is what it is in the end.” turnkey house" That is, when all that remains is to bring in your personal belongings and start settling in.

Now let's take a closer look at these points.

Cost of land and initial investment

Naturally, a house must be built somewhere. You can buy an empty plot in a new village, or an old house in a garden. It’s difficult to talk about price here - there are a lot of options for every taste and color. We will consider something that is not directly related to the price of the site, but is very likely required, will cost additional money and cannot be avoided.

• Demolition and removal of the old house, if any.
• Organization of arrival at the site
• Organization of “rough” parking – for the entry of equipment, delivery and storage of materials
• Fence and gates (often these costs are left for a later date, but nevertheless they will be)
• Possible additional fees are typical for new villages. Collection for roads, for a common well, for the installation of electricity poles, etc. Sellers do not always warn about the presence of such fees in advance. And the amounts can be very decent.
• “utility payments” - for example, in many new villages they charge extra money for the passage of cars with building materials, concrete, etc. This will all fall into your construction budget.
• Initial preparation of the site - backfilling, drainage, drainage and other earthworks. Naturally, everything will depend on your site.

By the way, there is a very common problem with roads in new villages. The site seems to be your property, but the road leading to it belongs to the developer or even some private person. As a result, when all the plots are sold and the houses are built, “suddenly” fees for maintaining roads and their maintenance begin to rise. Sometimes at times. And you won't be able to refuse. The road is not yours - you may simply be prohibited from driving on it. Please go on foot, but by car – no problem.

Cost of basic utilities

Communications at the border of the site, gas in the future, electricity power of 3 (5) kW is included in the price of the site, it is possible to increase the power…. – familiar phrases?

Remember that you will pay money for all this. If not right away, then later.

Communications at the border of the site do not mean that you can easily connect to them. Firstly, it will not cost a couple of thousand rubles. Secondly, it may turn out that you simply won’t be able to connect.

Find out how much it will cost to connect communications and the availability of specifications for connection

For example, with electricity, you can run into the banal “not enough power.” And you will wait for your email for several years, even if you are ready to pay a hefty sum for it.

To live a full life in your home you need

– Electricity, at least 10 kW

– water, if not drinking water, then at least industrial water. Accordingly, a well, a borehole. It’s good if there is a central water supply, although the connection will either be paid for or will initially be included in the cost of the site.

– sewerage. In 99% of cases you will have to do local

– gas connection for heating (not available to everyone and not everywhere)

For construction, it is highly desirable to have at least 3-5 kW of electricity and process water.

Naturally, it is possible without this, but the time of axes and hand saws is over. Typically, construction sites involve a fair amount of power tools. Naturally, you can work with a generator. Just keep in mind that renting a generator and fuel costs will be included in your bill, either explicitly or implicitly.

The presence of water is required for some construction technologies, and workers are also people who sometimes want to wash themselves, unless of course they go home every day. Accordingly, if there is no water nearby, it will either be imported (at your expense), or you will have to invest money in it before construction begins.

By the way, another small scam by developers - for example, the price of the plot includes 10 kW of electricity and running water, but connecting this electricity directly to your plot will cost you extra money. Moreover, the management company will most likely put out such specifications for connection that you will either have to run a lot to fulfill them, or turn to the services of the management company itself, which with a 90% probability will be overpriced.

Project as a gift or design cost

The design process in private housing construction has traditionally been forgotten in our country. In most cases, the project refers to the layout and appearance. And often in a poor, primitive form.

It is believed that this should be enough for “good builders”. It’s just from here that the legs of incomprehensible, ugly, inharmonious houses grow, built in such a way that essentially the whole house is one big construction mistake. And what the customer imagined will remain his fantasy.

Often contractors offer, and customers actually demand, “a project as a gift”

A “gift” project may turn out to be a primitive architectural sketch

Remember, normal design costs normal money. Design is time-consuming and no one will work “for thanks.”

Therefore, a project “as a gift” can only be in three cases

• There is no project as such. A project is understood, at best, as a quick architectural sketch with plans and a couple of sections, or generally a primitively drawn layout and appearance. - This is the most common option.
• The “gift” is neatly spread across the estimate. Also a very common option.
• You are building a house according to a standard design. Which was purchased once by a contractor, say for 100,000 rubles, and then built 10 times. Naturally, each house has a small share of the cost of the project (10,000 rubles) and it can be “gifted” as a gift. Although, again, most likely the gift will be “smeared” in the estimate. But such a scenario is quite rare. In the “economy” segment with construction according to “standard projects”, this option never occurs - in 99% of cases there will be point 1 - by project we mean, at best, the layout and appearance.

Do you want to check whether there is a project or not? Ask to see it. If you start making excuses like “this is our property,” rest assured, there is no project.

Ideally, you will need such a set of projects, preferably even before the house begins to be built.

• Architectural (sketch) design - it actually shows how the house will look, what the layout will be
• The constructive design (detailed documentation) is the project that is responsible for how exactly the house will be built. What structures, components will be used, etc.
• Engineering communications projects – primarily power supply
• Design project for interior decoration
• Landscape project - even if you do not plan to make fountains, alpine slides, and other breeding of peacocks - a landscape project will help you correctly and conveniently place on your site both the basis of the house and all subsequent secondary zones and buildings.

With good quality workmanship, all these projects cost far less than 5-10 tr. Do not be guided by the fact that “standard projects” are sold on the Internet for 15-30 rubles. Firstly, often this is only an architectural project. Secondly, what I wrote about above - they did it once, paid 100,000, then resold it 100 times for 15,000. But, if we are talking about individual project- no one will make it for you from scratch for 15-30 rubles.

Cost of the “box” and foundation of the house

A very extensive point, in a good way - a separate article. Now I'll try to be brief. By “box” I mean a house that is completely ready for engineering work and interior decoration - that is, with windows, entrance doors, roof facades, etc.

There is the most important catch in the cost of the box, which, like a rake, people continue to step on.

Remember how Our Father is a box at home≠ fully built house!

To avoid having to place an advertisement for the sale of “unfinished” buildings, remember that a house is not just a “box”

After all, everyone wants to build cheaper. Demand creates supply. And they get it cheaper. Having rejected one, the second. Then, when you sign the contract and ask “where is this,” it suddenly turns out that this is an additional option that costs money.

Therefore, study the proposed “packages” very carefully - see what exactly they offer you. The larger and more detailed the estimate, the better you understand it, the more chances you have that you won’t have to look elsewhere for money for what you didn’t have.

Most people, even after receiving a detailed estimate, most often look only at the “total” line. This is mistake. It's understandable that you don't want to get bogged down in details, but that could cost you.

There are a few pitfalls to watch out for

• There is no estimate at all or just a couple of lines “the work is so much, the material is so much” - this is captivating. They offer you an “easy solution”; indeed, why do you need an estimate if you don’t understand it anyway. But by doing this, you are actually buying a pig in a poke. A potential contractor, even if he is honest, has many temptations. For example, he initially thought about installing a good quality window profile. Then I realized that it did not fit into the stated amount. And he will have 3 options - issue you an additional invoice, replace it with something cheaper without informing you (you weren’t interested anyway) or pay extra from his own pocket. What option do you think he will choose? I assure you that the last option will be chosen only as a last resort.
• General phrases in the estimate. For example, “metal tiles made in Russia”, “two-chamber PVC windows” - what is hidden behind these phrases? The quality of the material and, accordingly, the price can vary greatly.
• Price guarantee - very sweet gingerbread. It is clear that this is an ideal option, we would all like to clearly understand the cost in order to calculate our finances. But there's a catch to the price guarantee. Nobody wants to lose their money. And in construction there are many unpredictable situations. Therefore, the “price guarantee” will very likely contain a good reserve for possible risks. The risks did not occur - great, we earned more money. An interesting observation is that “price guarantee” is usually clearly related to the previous 2 points. When there is no precise understanding of what specific materials will be used. Why do you think? It is possible and necessary to guarantee the price, but this can usually be done either after design and detailed estimates, or if construction is carried out according to a standard project that has already been built more than once, and everything is known “down to the last nail”

Therefore, the main moral is to study carefully what exactly they are offering you for your money. What is included, what is not included. What specific materials will be used, etc.

If you are choosing from several contractors, compare estimates carefully. What does one have and what does the other? For what money? To what extent?

Remember - when building the same house, from the same materials, using the same technology, with the same quality, there will be no dramatic difference in construction costs between different companies. If the proposals differ significantly, then these are completely different proposals and the houses will also be different, although they may look the same.

Engineering Communication

A multifaceted topic that receives little attention. Engineering communications that you will need in the most minimal version (not counting any bourgeois excesses in the form of built-in vacuum cleaners, solar panels, smart homes, etc.)

– Sewage – wiring throughout the house, installation of a septic tank or local treatment plant (VOC) and its connection

– Water supply. Wiring around the house, connecting to a central water supply or installing a well/borehole with associated equipment, which may be a significant amount. For example, if the quality of water in a well or borehole is poor, you can “get” quite a lot of money for a water purification system. Do not forget that you will not have central hot water - you will have a boiler. It is possible that water distribution will be added to the area, for example to a bathhouse.

– Heating. Warm floors, radiators - boiler equipment, boiler room piping, automatic heating control

- Electrician. This includes both entry into the house and wiring around the house, installation of a panel, electrical points, and possibly wiring throughout the area...

- Ventilation. A traditionally forgotten topic in our country, because contrary to the whole world, we believe that houses breathe on their own

- Weak point. At least it's TV. In general, here you can add video surveillance, security systems, intercoms, elements of a “smart home” and many other modern “goodies”

Engineering equipment and work on it costs a lot of money. All the “engineering” for the house can easily amount to 15-20% of the cost of the “box”.

The finishing is done, what about the engineer?

The closest attention should be paid to the engineering content of the house even before the construction of the “box” begins or simultaneously with it. Otherwise, you could end up with significant additional costs that could have been avoided if you had thought about it in advance.

Unfortunately, very large companies also suffer from “forgetfulness” regarding engineering, especially in frame housing construction, where hidden engineering is easily done at the “box” stage. You have been handed over the “box”, perhaps even with a rough finish, and the question arises - how to install the electrical wiring now? Either openly, or disassemble what has already been done, or make an additional frame...

Cost of interior decoration of a house

Surprising but true. When approaching the construction of a house, people take the issue of the cost of interior decoration of the house very lightly. Like, yes, it’s clear, but we’ll figure it out later. For some reason, many people think that rough and fine finishing of a house costs little.

Perhaps this is due to the fact that at the time of making the decision to build, few people have any idea what the finishing will be like and what they want. It is possible that having experience in renovating a two-room apartment or three-room apartment, this price is automatically transferred to the house, despite the fact that it is probably several times larger than this apartment.

To better understand the “scale of the disaster” the following example helps very well. Finishing a house will cost no less than finishing an apartment of the same size. Are you going to build a house on 300m2? Well, imagine that you bought an apartment of a similar size and you need to renovate it. Decorating the house will not cost less. Why?

It seems like a simple analogy, but for some reason it escapes the attention of most people.

The cost of putting the site in order

When people hear about landscape design, they often immediately imagine something exotic and expensive that they 100% will not need. This is often true. But still, if you bought a plot of former agricultural land with grass about your waist, you are unlikely to live in this field. You will want to level an area somewhere, raise something, make a lawn, make paths, a packing area, a playground - you can do a lot of things without “alpine slides with fountains”.

Even if you do all this on your own, you will still spend money on materials.

By the way, this same point can include a fence, gate, gate - you may be unpleasantly surprised when you find out how much the simplest fence made of corrugated sheets with sliding gates costs for a plot of 10 acres.

Cost of furniture, appliances and other goods

Probably the shortest section in the article

You won't live on the floor, on a mattress, will you? Although often, new settlers live like this, and for a long time.

The same as with interior decoration - imagine that you need to furnish an apartment of 100-200 m2, buy household appliances, toilets for 3 toilets, sinks... Do you have a 20m2 kitchen? Have you already looked at how much a kitchen set will cost?

Therefore, think about how much furniture and appliances will cost for your home.

Conclusion

Building a house is an expensive undertaking. Perhaps someone, after reading this article and estimating how much it will all cost, will even give up construction. But that is not the purpose of the article.

about the author

Hello. My name is Alexey, you may have met me as Porcupine or Gribnick on the Internet. I am the founder of the Finnish House, a project that has grown from a personal blog into a construction company whose goal is to build a high-quality and comfortable home for you and your children.

Building your own home is not an easy task, and it’s not for lack of significant savings. This is an objective reason.

Many people are stopped by the fact that they do not know where to start building a house on their site. The variety of types of work, costs, documents, time, the risk of making a mistake and its possible consequences are scary. Our goal is to provide information on how to step by step complete all stages of building a private house with your own hands. And the final decision is yours.

Individual housing construction - what is it?

Decoding the abbreviation individual housing construction- This is individual housing construction. Individual housing construction involves the construction of a residential building on a privately owned plot of land.

Individual housing construction objects are: residential building, extension, superstructure, garage and other permanent buildings. Those. those buildings the construction of which requires permission from local authorities and, in some cases, the consent of neighbors.

Land plot is a territory that has clearly defined boundaries. At the same time, the surface layer of the earth is also considered private property. The depth of the layer is not prescribed at the legislative level. But it is worth remembering that when you are going to dig a well, you are acting within the framework of your interests. If you plan to drill an artesian well, then you are encroaching on state property, which means that its drilling must be agreed upon and documented.

Plot for building a house

To start construction, you need to have a certain budget and land. If there is no plot, and the budget allows, you can buy it.

What you need to pay attention to when choosing a site to build a house:

• personal interests. First of all, set the direction for the search. Perhaps there are memories associated with a certain place, or you want a plot near the water, or in the forest, etc.;

• location. More in demand are plots located within the city or at a distance of 10-15 km from it;

• plot dimensions. Affect the scale of construction. In construction, the proportion is 1:10. That is, on a plot of 6 acres it would be appropriate to build a house of 60 square meters. Whether or not to follow this recommendation is up to the owner of the plot, but in the event of a sale it significantly increases the liquidity of the property;

• availability of infrastructure. Even if complete privacy is planned, it is desirable that there be several more buildings located on the development territory, a medical center, a store, a school, etc. This is especially important if the house is intended for a family with children and is planned for year-round living;

• proximity to transport. It is important for car owners to evaluate the quality of access roads and the presence/condition of asphalt pavement. So as not to end up in a situation where, in order to get home, you need to change your car to another one with a higher ground clearance. For those who do not have a car, proximity to public transport is desirable;

• availability of communications. Is it possible to connect to central heating, water supply, sewerage. Are power lines connected to the site? Owners of plots in newly created satellite villages often face this situation;

• state of ecology in the area. It may turn out that living here is fraught with negative consequences (proximity to hazardous production);

• soil type. The choice of foundation and the possibility of constructing a well depend on it. In practice, it may turn out that this soil is generally not suitable for the construction of heavy objects. That is, it is possible to put a summer house or a small dacha on it, but to build a two-story house with an attic is unrealistic.

• market value of the plot. It is determined by all parameters together. The final price will depend on the owners of the site and your ability to bargain reasonably.

Advice. Having decided on a plot, do not be lazy to check the legal purity of the documents and the compliance of the actual dimensions of the plot with the dimensions indicated in the cadastral passport. You may be sold territory that actually belongs to someone else.

The situation with the site can develop according to two scenarios:

Firstly, permanent buildings may already be located on the site. A fairly common situation is the acquisition of a plot of land with an already built house. Now we are talking not about its restoration, but about demolition. The advantage of such a site is that the main communications are connected to it. In this case, in addition to the above parameters, you need to check the legality of communications.

Secondly, the site may not be developed. We will pay attention to this option.

Where to start building a house on an empty lot?

1. Decide on the style of the plot/house

The appearance of the building, its location, the choice of material, etc. will depend on the design.

The size of the house depends on the number of people permanently living in it. The house can be made into several floors, thus it is possible to obtain sufficient space, but not at the expense of developing the site.

Note. If you plan to dig a well, you need to immediately call the experts who will tell you where the water is. Perhaps the only place on the site where the aquifer is close to the surface will be exactly the place where it was planned to place the house. By the way, in this case, you need to talk with your neighbors and find out what quality the water is in the area.

Independent construction of a country house will be easier, since there is no need, for example, for heating.

2. When to start building a house?

It is better to start construction work as soon as it gets warmer - i.e. in early spring. There will be six months of good weather at your disposal. In practice, the best time to start construction is late spring. More precisely, the period when the night temperature does not drop below +5°C. At this time of year, not only will the snow melt, but also the water will leave, interfering with digging a pit or making a foundation. In addition, in warm weather, labor productivity is much higher.

Note. You should not expect to complete the construction of a house in one season. According to standards, only the foundation must survive for 1 year. And, for example, the construction of a brick house differs in time from the construction of a frame house. So, conservation of unfinished construction is inevitable (with the exception of prefabricated houses).

3. What material should the house be built from?

The choice will be influenced by: the period of operation of the house (for permanent residence or only in the summer), budget, environmental requirements, fashion, the ability to complete the work quickly with the involvement of specialists or with your own hands. Let's consider several options:

• . A common material for construction. The undoubted advantage of a brick house is its time-tested service life;

• . In terms of price/quality ratio, foam concrete occupies an advantageous position. A foam block made of durable cellular concrete, due to air bubbles, has good thermal conductivity and low weight;

• . This material is durable, lightweight, has high thermal conductivity and breathability, and is easy to process. Construction with aerated concrete does not impose any special requirements on the construction of the foundation;

• . It is practiced less frequently due to the high cost of the material. Arbolite blocks are a type of lightweight concrete, consisting of a mixture of cement and crushed wood (chips). Characterized by low water absorption and high thermal insulation properties;

• frame or modular construction. A special feature is the availability of modular designs. They are cheaper, and the work is completed in a short time. This structure is lightweight and therefore does not require significant foundation costs;

• construction of a wooden house. In terms of cost and manufacturability of work, it belongs to the category of luxury construction:

Do not forget that any building material has both advantages and disadvantages that need to be eliminated.

What to build a permanent home from?

Brief comparative characteristics of materials for cottage construction in the table (approximate prices for 2016-2017). Which one is better is up to you to decide.

Material	Arbolit	Frame construction	Beam/log
Cost, rub/m3	from 000	From 000 sq.m. area	From 8 000
Construction period	4-6 months	1-2 months	3-4 months
Construction start time	End of spring	all-season	The beginning of spring
Advantages	- speed; - reliability; - thermal conductivity.	- speed; - no shrinkage; - light weight.	- speed; - environmental friendliness; - no need for finishing.
Flaws	- price; - need for finishing; - presence of counterfeit.	- price; - additional finishing; - risk of fire; - low noise insulation.	- shrinkage is possible; - drying of wood; - the need to attract specialists.

4. Who will build the house?

The solution to this issue involves choosing from three options:

The work is entrusted to the general contractor

This is a company that undertakes to deliver a turnkey project. The set of services includes everything from site assessment and project development to finishing work. Searching and delivering material is also their responsibility. The general contractor may involve subcontractors. But he must invest within the agreed time frame and budget.

The work is done entirely by hand

It is worth mentioning that it is almost impossible for one person to build a house. This implies the involvement of assistants from among friends and relatives, at least one of whom knows the procedure for performing work of a certain type. This option allows you to save up to 20% on the cost of materials (often contractors include their interest in the cost of the purchased material), as well as up to 100% on the cost of work. In addition, full control over the construction process is exercised.

Disadvantages of the do-it-yourself approach:

• increase in construction period;

• lack of knowledge and experience in performing this or that type of work;

• difficulties in obtaining design and permitting documentation;

• responsibility for the result of construction.

Some are done in-house and some are done by subcontractors.

The most common and realistic way. In this case, the owner performs independently that part of the work that he is able to do, and specialists are brought in for the remaining tasks. At the same time, the customer, being on the construction site, can quickly assess the quality of work.

But this approach is fraught with disadvantages:

• searching for highly specialized companies takes a lot of time, and the cost of their services is higher. As a rule, they turn to handicraftsmen (shabashniks), but there is no confidence in the quality of the work;

• complete control over the progress of work. If the owner unknowingly missed some point in the construction, no one will point out the mistake. Hired people do their part of the work and leave;

• violation of deadlines. There may be some part of the work that was not completed on time. Because of this, the construction of a cottage with your own hands will have to be suspended, which is fraught with additional payments and loss of time;

• shared responsibility. When a marriage occurs, it is difficult to find the culprit. For example, tilers will blame the mason or plasterer for crooked walls, or the floor was poured incorrectly. And there are many such examples.

Note. Users advise hiring craftsmen who will do the next stage of work and evaluate the work of the previous ones. This way they take responsibility for their part of the work.

5. Budget for building a house

After all of the above, it makes sense to reconsider the construction budget.

What increases construction costs:

• individually developed project;
• complex structure configuration;
• the presence of balconies, basements, winter garden, garage, swimming pool, sauna, etc.;
• a significant number of rooms;
• broken roof;
• use of unreasonably expensive materials in construction.

What reduces the cost (what to save on):

• ready standard project;
• simple form of structure;
• refusal of the second floor in favor of the attic (subjective);
• the presence of a significant number of windows;
• reduction of partitions;
• reasonable choice of foundation type;
• reasonable thickness of external and internal walls;
• choosing a roof configuration that allows rational use of lumber and minimizing waste of roofing material.

Cost ratio for building a house

Work cycle	Contents of the cycle	% of total costs
Preparatory	- preparation of documents; - search for contractors; - purchase or development of a project.	0-1
Null	- digging a pit; - pouring the foundation.	15-35 (depending on the type of foundation)
Elementary	civil works: - construction of walls; - installation of rafter system and roofing; - conservation of unfinished buildings if necessary.	35-50 (depending on the number of partitions, roof configuration and cost of roofing material)
Final	- filling window and door openings.	5-15 (depending on number, area, material)
Engineering work	- laying of intra-house communications and their connection to central networks; - installation of electrical wiring; - plumbing work; - heating and insulation.	15

At this point the planning stage is over, it’s time to move on to direct action.

The beginning of work on a site with dilapidated buildings includes the demolition of old buildings and clearing of debris from the area. The demolition of the building must be reported to the local BTI and a document must be obtained confirming the exclusion of the demolished house from the federal register.

If the house was connected to communications, you need to coordinate their disconnection before demolition with the relevant services, for example, the gas service. It's easier when the site is empty.

In this case, the sequence of work can be presented step by step:

Step 1 - Private house project

As already mentioned, there can be three ways to acquire projects.

Firstly, buy a ready-made project. The cost of a house project depends on its complexity and uniqueness. The price starts from 3,000 rubles.

Secondly, contact an architect. The cost of developing an individual project starts from 20 thousand rubles. At the same time, carrying out the project and author’s control over its implementation in practice is paid additionally.

Third, develop the project yourself. How to develop a house project yourself without sufficient knowledge? Based on the example provided below.

You can use different materials to make the exterior and interior walls of your home. All of them differ in technical and operational characteristics. Since the choice of material for the walls determines not only the strength and durability of the home, but also the degree of its sound and heat insulation, ease of finishing and the cost of maintaining the house, it is very important to know which materials are best to build a house from. It’s worth noting right away that there is no universal material for wall mounting that can definitely be called the best. Each of them has pros and cons and they are good in certain conditions for buildings of different price ranges and purposes. Our article will help you choose the best building material for your home.

Factors to consider

Since the cost of arranging the walls of a house takes up ¼ of all construction costs, it is very important to correctly decide where it is better to build a house. If you choose the wrong material for building a house, you may end up with serious expenses in the future. That is why, when deciding which material to choose for construction, it is worth considering the following factors:

1. Price aspect. The costs of installing walls can be reduced if you use lightweight building materials. By choosing such products, you reduce the weight of the entire house, so you can build a lightweight foundation.
2. Thermal insulation properties. Heating a building with cold walls will be too expensive. That is why, having decided to build Vacation home, it is worth calculating the wall structure taking into account local climatic conditions. In some cases, a good thermal insulation effect can be obtained by using insulation, but this entails additional costs. If you make a country house from a material with good thermal insulation qualities, you can do without additional insulation.
3. A house built from small wall materials (bricks) will cost more and will take longer to build. Masonry from large blocks is faster (3-4 times) and will cost less. The fastest way to build a house is using frame-panel technology.
4. When deciding what is the best way to build a house, it is worth taking into account the costs of finishing the walls. Modern materials make it possible to obtain a beautiful smooth wall surface that does not require additional finishing. You can save a lot of money on this.

Material selection

• Traditional brick most often used for home. Moreover, all bricks can be divided into separate types: silicate, ceramic, ordinary and facing.
• In Europe they believe that the best material for building a house is ceramic block. This material has also appeared on our market, but they do not build from it so often.
• The warmest house made of gas blocks. This modern material is appreciated by private developers.
• A house built from wood is still popular today. In many regions of our country, when deciding where to build a house, owners choose wood.

Let's consider the features, advantages and disadvantages of each material.

Brick

If you ask what material is best to build a house from, many people will answer brick. This traditional building material is divided into two types:

• Ceramic brick red, made from red baked clay. This is a very durable environmentally friendly material that is not afraid of frost and moisture. Ceramic bricks are divided into hollow and solid. The thermal insulation characteristics of hollow products are higher.
• White sand-lime brick made from a mixture of sand, lime and special additives. It can also be hollow or solid. The thermal insulation characteristics of a silicate product are lower than those of its ceramic counterpart, but its sound insulation properties are higher.

The cheapest way to lay walls is to use ordinary bricks. Externally, such products do not look very good, since they may have chips, cracks and small irregularities, but this does not affect the strength of the elements. But the external decoration of walls is best done from facing bricks. Facial products have an impeccable appearance, correct geometric shape, and there are no defects or cracks on the surface. There is a large selection of colors and surface textures of facing bricks.

Specifications

When choosing what material to build a house from, you should take into account its strength. The strength of a brick is indicated by its grade, which can be in the range of 75-300. The brand characterizes the load that a square centimeter of a product can withstand. The higher the grade and strength of the brick, the higher its specific gravity.

Important: to build a two- or three-story residential building, it is better to use bricks of grade 100 or 125. To lay the base or plinth, you should take more durable products with grade 150 or 175.

It is equally important when choosing a material to take into account its frost resistance. This is the ability of a product to withstand alternating cycles of freezing and thawing without reducing strength by no more than 20% and obtaining visible defects. The frost resistance of bricks is indicated by the letter F and can be in the range of 15-100 cycles. For the construction of houses in warm regions, you can use products with a frost resistance of 15; for cold regions, F 25 brick is suitable. For cladding, it is better to use products with a frost resistance of 50.

Advantages and disadvantages

Thanks to the following advantages, you can choose brick:

1. The material has an attractive appearance.
2. The durability of the structure is an additional plus in its favor.
3. This material is suitable for the implementation of the most complex architectural projects.
4. Brick is not susceptible to damage by mold, fungi, or insects. It is not subject to corrosion and does not burn.
5. Brick walls protect the premises well from noise from the street.

The disadvantages of brick include the following:

1. The product has a high specific weight, which makes it difficult to transport and install.
2. Brickwork is done rather slowly due to the small size of the bricks and is relatively expensive.
3. Under brick walls you need to build a solid buried foundation.
4. Brick retains heat in a room relatively well, but in most cases the walls need to be additionally insulated.

Ceramic block

The choice of material for building a house in Europe often falls on ceramic block. These products are made from a mixture of clay and sawdust and fired in a kiln. After combustion of sawdust, isolated voids are formed, which increase the thermal insulation properties of the material. The dimensions of the ceramic block make it possible to speed up the pace of construction, and a house built from this material will last for a century and a half. In addition, multi-storey buildings can be built from blocks. There are grooves and ridges on the side surface of the blocks for hermetically sealed joining of elements without mortar. Inside, each block has voids that reduce its thermal conductivity.

Specifications

The height of the ceramic block is designed so that it can easily fit into the brickwork, so construction from this material can be carried out according to a standard design designed for brick. The remaining sizes of ceramic blocks may be different, but in any case their weight is much less than that of brick. For example: one block measuring 500x238x248 mm weighs only 25 kg. It is equal to a masonry of 15 bricks, each weighing 3.3 kg (15x3.3 = 49.5 kg). In addition, laying one block is faster and easier, and much less mortar is needed.

Dimensions of ceramic blocks:

• long side with lock – from 250 to 510 mm;
• The width is 230 mm, 240 mm, 250 mm.

To lay load-bearing walls, a block with a long side of at least 300 mm is used. In this case, a wall with a thickness of 380 mm or more made of ceramic block does not need to be insulated. The thermal conductivity of a ceramic block can be in the range of 0.14-0.29. Thick blocks with a long side in the range of 380-500 mm have a strength grade of at least 100. If you need to make thinner walls with high strength, then you can take a block with a grade of 150.

Advantages and disadvantages

If you are deciding what is the best way to build a house, then you should pay attention to the ceramic block, which has many advantages:

1. Since one element has low weight and sufficiently high strength with significant dimensions, even a multi-story building can be erected from this material in a short time.
2. Vertical seams with grooves are joined without mortar, so when making masonry, cement mortar is noticeably saved in comparison with traditional brickwork.
3. The high degree of frost resistance significantly expands the scope of use of this material.
4. Good fire resistance - the block can resist burning for 4 hours.
5. The porous structure contributes to the high heat and sound insulation characteristics of the material.
6. Walls made of ceramic blocks create a comfortable indoor microclimate for humans.
7. The thermal insulation qualities of the house do not decrease throughout its entire service life, which can reach up to 150 years.

Despite such a large list of advantages, ceramic blocks also have their disadvantages:

1. Since this material is relatively new in our country, it is quite difficult to find a specialist who can perform high-quality masonry.
2. These products themselves are quite fragile, so they must be handled very carefully during storage and transportation.

Aerated concrete

If you are looking for materials for the construction of a private house that retain heat well in the house, then aerated concrete is exactly what you need. A wall 30-40 cm thick made of aerated blocks does not need insulation. In addition, the material resists rot, humidity and temperature fluctuations in the room. It is quite durable.

The block is easily cut with a hacksaw and installed without the use of special equipment. Thanks to the smooth surface of the block, the walls do not need to be leveled before finishing. The significant size of the material and its lightness significantly speed up the construction process.

Specifications

• The density of aerated concrete is in the range of 350-1200 kg/m³.
• The weight of one block of standard sizes (60x25x20 cm) is 18 kg.
• For the construction of walls, products of brands from D 500 to D are suitable

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of gas blocks:

1. The laying speed is 9 times higher than that of brick.
2. Smooth surface of walls that do not need leveling.
3. Good compressive strength.
4. Low thermal conductivity.
5. Fire resistance.
6. High frost resistance and good vapor permeability.

Disadvantages of aerated concrete:

1. Low bending strength.
2. The material is susceptible to cracking.
3. The products are hygroscopic, so they must be well protected from moisture.

Wood

Since ancient times, people have associated wooden houses with comfort and coziness. And this is no coincidence, because in a wooden house a special microclimate that is optimal for people is created. This house is comfortable in summer and winter. You will spend less money on heating a wooden house than on a brick house.

Important: to build a wooden house, you can use laminated veneer lumber or logs.

Advantages of wood:

1. Environmentally friendly material.
2. The cost of a wooden structure is lower than that of a brick building.
3. The thermal conductivity of wood walls is lower than that of brick.
4. A house made of timber does not require external or internal finishing.
5. You can build a lightweight, inexpensive foundation.
6. Impressive service life.

Flaws:

1. Susceptibility to rot, damage by insects and flammability of the material.
2. Long-term shrinkage.
3. Possibility of cracking.

There are more and more people wanting to build their own home. Surely you are one of them, since you visited our site. The desire to cope on your own is commendable. But, nevertheless, we must give advice - specialists are people who have spent several years of their lives learning construction. And it is extremely easy for them to build a house of the required quality in the optimal time frame.

Specialists know all the intricacies of the construction process, rules and sanitary standards, will make sure that problems do not arise in the future, will give the necessary recommendations, and will save time. That's why We do not recommend saving on hiring craftsmen from a successfully proven company in the construction market of your city.

Regardless of who will carry out the construction process, you need to know what tasks will require solving before you start pouring the foundation. Let's talk about this now.

Buying a plot

So, you need to buy the plot on which the house will be built and properly formalize the legal transaction. I think there is no need to say that it should be located close to other existing residential buildings, because utility networks will have to be installed. And “dragging” them from afar is unprofitable.

It is important to correctly correlate your financial capabilities, the size of the plot and the approximate size of the future home. The ratio of the area of ​​the house to the total area of ​​the plot should be 1 to 10.

Remember that an area that is too large is difficult to care for, and a small area will not allow it to “expand” in the future.

However, even before purchasing land, you must hire specialists who will conduct a geological survey of the site and topographic survey of the area. They will take soil and water samples, conduct laboratory soil tests, advise on the type of foundation, and draw up geological sections of the site. All these efforts will be aimed at finding dangerous places that will bring many problems in the future.

Many experts advise conducting geological research precisely at the time of site selection.

Also, before purchasing, you need to collect as much information as possible about the site. Chat with your neighbors. They are the ones who often tell a lot of necessary things. If the plot was already owned before you, cadastral data about it can be obtained from the administration.

Avoid areas:

• Close to garbage dumps
• Close to wastewater treatment plants
• Near the swampy area
• With the impossibility of access for construction equipment there
• Located far from social infrastructure

Project

The second step is preparing the project. You need to either download a ready-made one available on the Internet/purchase from a construction company, or contact specialists to develop an individual one together with them.

It is not recommended to design a house yourself, just like designing a house. Due to the lack of necessary experience, you cannot predict all mistakes in advance. And it will be too late to redo something at the moment when the foundation is erected, part of the house is built. Any adjustments made to the project directly at the construction site will inevitably entail an increase in cost and time.

A standard project is convenient in that you can quickly begin construction, bypassing design work.

You must understand that the house is built to suit your living conditions. You must know exactly:

• How many rooms do you want
• Will there be a second floor?
• Number of permanent residents
• What will be located in the rooms
• What area should they be made of?
• What size should the kitchen and living room be?
• What budget do you have?
• Will you be able to make additional payments, etc., if necessary?

If, for example, you often invite guests, then it is better to make a spacious living room. If relatives come to you from time to time, then there must be a separate room for them, etc. You must also decide on the construction material, the shape of the house and roof, and the presence of additional buildings in the yard.

After taking into account all the features of your future residence, you need to contact a designer (you still need to find a good specialist). He will take into account all your requirements and wishes, your available budget, develop a project, and also make the necessary adjustments.

Linking the project to the area

If the site research was carried out immediately, all that remains is to carry out the full-size design of the house. This process is aimed at taking into account the influence of climatic factors, determining the most optimal position of the house on the site for comfortable living, and determining the boundaries of your territory.

Construction permit (approval)

Why build a house without coordinating the process with local governments? After all, they can demolish it later. Obtaining a building permit will help you avoid problems.

1. Get permission to build a house. To do this, prepare a package of necessary documents: a passport, documents confirming that you are the owner of the site, an application to the head of the administration in which you ask to give the go-ahead for construction, a copy of the house plan, a copy of the license of the company that developed the project for you. In each region of the country, the list of documents may differ, so visit your city administration and check all the details.
2. Receive a site inspection report. To do this, contact the geosurveillance department and provide them with a topographic survey plan, as well as an act of delineating the boundaries of the site and setting out the axes of the building. If you continue the construction of a house abandoned by the previous owner, you must provide documents for the land and a site plan
3. Prepare a construction passport for the facility. To do this, prepare the necessary documents again: passport, land title, site plan, application for a building permit, a notarized copy of the design company’s license, site survey report
4. Contact the sanitary-epidemiological and fire inspections in order to agree on the development plan with them. Additionally, the energy and gas schemes must be coordinated with the fire inspectorate
5. Once permission has been received, you need to contact the architecture committee, submit the agreed plan there and receive a construction passport

Or maybe you are choosing between a frame and timber house? Then it will help you make your choice.

Choosing a construction company

The last stage of preparation for construction is choosing a construction company (if you hire specialists). If you plan to do the construction yourself, then you can skip this point. Building a house with your own hands reduces costs by 15-30 percent. But sometimes it’s better not to skimp on convenience.

Construction of a house

The construction of the house is carried out in five stages:

1. Excavation
2. Laying the foundation
3. Construction of walls and ceilings
4. Installation of roof truss system
5. Laying roofing material

Excavation

Excavation work begins with leveling the area and digging a pit for pouring the foundation. Excavators and bulldozers are used for this purpose. The bottom of the pit is cleared manually. It is better to start pouring the foundation immediately after preparing the site. Otherwise, the earth may crumble, fill the bottom of the pit, and you will have to clear it again, wasting time and money.

Pouring the foundation

The site is ready - it’s time to build the foundation. A layer of crushed stone, ten centimeters thick, is poured into the prepared pit, on top of which bitumen is poured. Next, formwork is made, a concrete foundation pad is laid, and reinforcing elements are installed.

Construction of foundation walls

When the concrete has hardened, construction of the foundation walls begins. Concrete blocks can be used for this purpose.

Construction of walls and ceilings

Immediately after laying the foundation, they begin to erect walls and install floors. This process is labor-intensive and we will look at it in a separate article.

The final stage of building a house is the installation of the roof truss system and laying of roofing material. When choosing a roofing material, you need to take into account issues such as rain noise and fire safety. If the choice falls in favor, then during the rain you will be able to sleep peacefully. Many articles have been written about other roofing materials on the pages of our online resource.

One of the most airtight roofing materials is. The coating is hermetic, since the sheet joints are fastened using the seam method, that is, without nails, screws and other devices.

And if you have already made a choice in favor of an onduvilla, then you should familiarize yourself with the rules and sequence of installation of an onduvilla.

Or are you a supporter of tiles? Then we suggest reading the article about installing ceramic tiles. But keep in mind that its installation is a complex process.

As you can see, before starting to build your own home, you need to solve a lot of problems, which you now know about.

Video about where to start building a house