Avoid these cardinal mistakes in house construction, save time and money

Spending all the savings accumulated since starting to work on a single house. Malayalis are slowly starting to forget that spending excessively on a house is wasteful. A house sufficient for a comfortable living is what's needed. But what others should understand is that when looking at a house, it's not the size of the owner's wallet that matters, but the size of their brains.

1. Remember the rooms in your current house and how they are used. If there's any room that isn't used, you can be sure it's unnecessary. As much as possible, arrange rooms to serve more than one purpose.
2. If there's only one room on the upper floor, building it as a mezzanine floor is more economical. The room can be constructed with iron pillars bearing the weight. Many products like ferrocement boards and fibre cement boards are available for wall construction. These can be removed later if needed.
3. Furnishing is where most of the wasteful expenditure occurs. Many beautiful and convenient building materials are available in the market. Check if the material you like fits within your budget. The justification "I liked it and didn't check the budget" won't help control costs.
4. When choosing building and furnishing materials, the final decision should be the homeowner's. Neighbours, relatives, and friends might offer many opinions. Remember that other people's opinions are for them to implement when they build their own houses.
5. Flooring is a very expensive category. To reduce costs, you can use tiles that are leftover stock from the store. The drawback is that you won't get the same pattern in all rooms. You can use one pattern for one room, or a combination of two patterns in a room.
6. The only way to reduce costs in wall construction is to simplify the design. Building extra facades and overhangs in the name of enhancing the exterior's beauty will increase costs. The thought might be that it's just a small amount of building material. However, no one remembers that the labour cost will be equal to or double the cost of the building materials. Even 100 rupees counts during house construction.
7. Sloped roofs are usually constructed by first creating a flat surface and then installing trusses. Constructing an iron frame and placing tiles on top without plastering will reduce costs. Reasons like reduced heat and increased storage are given, but the space created by trusses often becomes a haven for birds and other small creatures.
8. Be careful when handling electrical and plumbing work. Homeowners tend to lose out more on things they don't understand. Many insist on installing two-way switches, plug points, and points for future appliances in all rooms. But, an increased number of plug points often necessitates a three-phase connection.
9. Those who want wooden items in their house should budget accordingly. If the owner's eye isn't on the wood during cutting and storage, there's a chance of wastage. Also, ensure that the moisture content in the wood is completely gone. Polishing is another expensive affair, just like buying wood itself. Good polishing is necessary for wooden items to last.
10. Some believe that long staircases in the sit-out enhance the house's beauty. But do you know that this 'small' desire can make a 'big' difference in the budget? The building materials required for a long staircase will significantly impact the budget. Granite isn't cheap. Remember that if you increase the area by five square feet, it will cost an extra 500 rupees (at 100 rupees per square foot), plus the labour cost for installation.