Building a new home is an exciting time with many decisions to be made.
Tiles, flooring, light fittings & landscaping (just to name a few) will all need to be decided on so expect to be busy throughout the building process. To ensure handover day is all that you dreamed of, consider our 5 Must Knows Before Building Your Greatest Asset and experience the joy of walking through the front door of your new home knowing you ticked all the boxes.
1. Consider engaging an Independent Building Certifier.
Now this is an extra cost but if this is your first time building a home then you have a lot to do already and ensuring your builder is doing the right thing is hardly something you’re qualified to oversee. For the money invested, having someone watching your back is not only comforting but keeps your builder on their toes ensuring quality workmanship and attention to timelines. The investment in engaging an independent certifier could well save you a lot of stress during the build and help you avoid ongoing storage costs or break lease fees should you be currently renting a property.
2. Have an allocated budget for your landscaping = 10% of your build.
There are always blow outs and if you end up with money left over then hey being able to go on a holiday after you’ve moved in would be just wonderful. Most residential building packages will include a landscaping component for the front garden but if not, you may be governed by time restrictions under a covenant to have the landscaping completed. Often the back garden is not included leaving you staring at an empty canvas. The cost of installing fencing, retaining walls, water tanks, garden sheds, garden beds and turf all add up and having a garden design plan, once your house plans have council approval, will save you money.
3. Have a plan but be prepared to be flexible.
Expect the unexpected and your landscaping process will be a lot less stressful. When you have many contractors working on the one build often communications can fail meaning you having to deal with a situation that you didn’t anticipate. Pipework having been laid where the pool was meant to go is a perfect example and when the machinist digging your pool months after you’ve moved in, discovers this and a concrete truck is booked for the next day it can be easier to be pushed into a quick decision. One important thing to remember is that 99% of errors can be corrected, most things are not set in concrete as such… it just costs money. Calling a plumber to relocate the pipework so you can position the pool where it’ needs to be to allow the other components of your design to work, will be money well spent.
4. Don’t rush in and lay thousands of dollars of turf.
One of the biggest mistakes I see new homeowners do is lay thousands of dollars of turf only to see it dug up when the garden design is implemented. Having that allocated budget allows you to implement your garden design promptly ensuring turf is only laid at the end of the landscaping process in the areas left over after garden beds, sheds, pool etc have been installed. That said living long term with a mud or dust pit is no fun either so plan carefully and budget wisely.
5. Choosing the right plant selection will save you time & money.
Getting the plant selection right for your garden design could well be the hardest thing to do successfully and again investing some money to get the right advice will save you time & money in the long run. Establishing the garden of your dreams takes time and needless setbacks from choosing the wrong plants for the various positions within your garden design, can be avoided. You can spend hours of your time researching plants on the internet, engage a landscape designer or, DIY with garden bed plans that show you what to plant and where to plant it in the garden bed area.
Ezyplant.com.au provide a range of garden bed plans with full plant selection for your Australian garden and with Landscaping Packages now available, you can access added benefits and valuable support. If the thought of doing the hard yakka yourself is making the blood drain from your head, then choose the plans you want with the plants you want and engage a landscaper to do the rest for you.
Save time & money – Get it right the first time with Ezyplant’s Garden Bed Plans.
**The points above are indicative and not exhaustive of everything that you need or may want to take into consideration.**
