Usually, when preparing to build their first house, people can't help but be confused because they don't know where to start? There are so many problems and questions such as: Do I have to apply for a construction permit? What is the procedure for applying for a license? Should I hire a design architect? Where to find a construction contractor? Which unit of materials to buy to ensure costs? And many other situations arise that are unforeseen.

Here, we would like to share some experiences to help you avoid being surprised and embarrassed when building a house for the first time (the landlord's plan to hire a design architect)

We would like to mention the option of the landlord hiring an architect to design.
 

1. Setting up design tasks

The first step, everyone should make a design task, have a clear purpose of use, that is, follow the daily needs of everyone in the family.

To avoid incurring costs, clearly determine the size of the house. For each house, how many rooms need to be arranged, what functions are included, and the aesthetic style is suitable for the context. Thanks to these steps, people will also easily determine a reasonable budget, reducing the burden of incurred costs.

2. Survey of current status and geology

After making the design task, we conduct a geological survey and the current situation. This step is taken to avoid choosing the wrong foundation structure option leading to damage and subsidence of the house in the future. Architects and geodetic parties can survey, measure and draw at a scale of 1/200 because of the advantages:

Have an accurate drawing of the current state of the land to hand over the architect, avoiding wrong measurements and drawings later matching to the wrong drawings

• Know whether the soil and ground are weak if it is necessary to have a plan to reinforce the ground to avoid the house from sinking and cracking the structure in the future
• There are parameters of elevation, serving the calculation of the volume of earthwork
• In addition, it is necessary to re-check the exact boundaries of the land, construction setbacks and red line boundaries in the planning to avoid later disputes and enforcement.

3. Construction dossier

• The drawings must contain information on the date of issuance of the dossier, must show in detail all parts of the work, full of structures, dimensions, material details and technical parameters in order to be able to construct the most accurately, fully qualified conditions to be able to estimate construction costs for construction works.
• The explanation will be presented separately, directly and fully on the construction design drawing, fully explaining the contents that the drawing shows so that the person directly constructing the construction according to the design for them to implement.
• Drawings must be delivered with at least 3 sets of hard-copy printed dossiers (1 set of investors, 1 set of contractors, 1 set of reservations) and PDF soft copies.

4. Work with a contractor

4.1. Criteria for selecting contractors

• The contractor has experience in construction and reading drawings. If the technician does not know, he can do more training.
• Come to see the construction work (just go directly to the toilet to see the details of plastering, paving the mortar circuit and installing careful cleaning equipment).
• Must be bound by contract.
• Electrical and water contractors are very important, if they are weak, the consequences are extremely serious (poor wiring, wrong layout, lack of switch sockets, electrical shorts, lack of aesthetics, weak water, clogged toilets,...)

4.2. Forms of contracts and advantages and disadvantages

•  Contracting materials: The advantage is that the homeowner does not need to worry much because there is a contractor who takes care of from A to Z, turnkey, no worries about incurring costs due to the agreement all from scratch, saving time and effort in choosing materials.

However, the disadvantage is that the product may not satisfy all the wishes of the homeowner, may be eaten up by the contractor as well as change cheap, low-quality materials. This option should only be applied when working if the contractor is a design company that has agreed on materials in advance.

• Rough contracting and finishing labor: According to the process of building a civil house in this way, the homeowner chooses finishing materials according to his wishes, preferences in materials, shapes, and colors,... In return, it will take time and effort to learn and buy materials and may delay time due to poor coordination with contractors between construction and supply of materials.
• Labor contracting: This method will be the most cost-effective, but the landlord has to put the most effort into it, which may not be very efficient. The homeowner will be proactive in providing all materials for building the house.

In this way, the homeowner must be a person who is very knowledgeable about construction to be able to direct and supervise the construction. There will be difficulties in managing costs, excess materials, and easy to arise. Bad management will slow down the schedule, taking a lot of time and effort for the homeowner.

4.3. Construction contracts

A basic construction contract includes:

• Information about the parties to the contract
• Content and workload.
• Quality and other technical requirements of the work.
• Implementation schedule and deadline for completion of work.
• Construction contract price; construction contract advances; payment of construction contracts; adjustment of construction contract prices.
• Rights, obligations and responsibilities of homeowners and contractors in managing the quality of construction works, acceptance of completed works; warranty of works; environmental protection, labor safety and fire and explosion prevention; electricity, water and construction site security; handling for errors.
• Suspension and termination of the contract by the landlord and the contractor.
• Reward and penalty for breach of contract.
• Dealing with risks as well as force majeure; settlement of construction contract disputes.
• Settlement and liquidation of construction contracts.

5. Construction process

5.1. Steps in construction

• Foundation: digging soil, embankment, processing formwork, reinforce, pouring concrete, water tank, septic tank.
• Hull: Processing of reinforced, reinforced, pouring concrete, columns, floors, beams, building bowls, foundation lamination,...
• Waterproof
• Roof: Erecting wooden beams, roofing, trusses or pouring concrete.
• Install the door cover frame.
• Piping systems, electricity, water, networks, cables,...
• Matite bait, water-based paint, oil paint
• Assembling and finishing wooden, steel, aluminum doors
• Installation of railings, stair handrails, façade railings
• Plaster ceiling closure
• Decorative stone tiles
• Stone cladding for stairs, kitchen tables, lavabo
• Floor paving, WC, yard
• Install electrical equipment, switches, sockets...
• Installing the Lighting
• Install sanitary equipment, install mirrors, faucets, hang towels
• Interior installation, decoration
• Planting trees
• Industrial Cleaning

5.2. Some notes during construction

• Items related to the structure of the house (Inspection of steel fastening, steel joint specifications, pouring concrete, etc.) must comply with absolute technical drawings and have strict supervision and inspection by the supervising engineer.
• Waterproofing must be in accordance with the technical process and tested carefully before handing over (because leakage phenomena may take a long time to know.
• The electrical system must follow the correct technique, do not take shortcuts, cross paths, do not connect wires inside the wall, must use specialized pipes to avoid wiring to avoid short-circuits during use.
• The water system must be technically correct, the inclination of the drain pipe must be good, and the pipe pressure must be tested after completion.
• The paint item must first test the paint color before proceeding, save the code and sample for later use if necessary.
• Items that need to be produced independently can be produced as soon as they are sized to shorten the time
• Gypsum items for areas with hot and humid climates need to use the right type of gypsum
• Decorative tiling and installation of sanitary equipment need highly skilled workers, specifications must comply with technical drawings, and the floor drainage slope must reach
• Industrial cleaning needs a specialized unit because chemicals can be used, if the homeowner handles it himself, it is necessary to refer to the online procedures in advance
• Additional cameras can be installed at the site to manage materials and construction progress when not present.
• It is recommended that contractors are available locally to reduce shipping costs and convenience during the warranty process later.
• Happy with workers, difficult with contractors.

In addition, for ordinary house construction families, it is recommended to save the phone numbers of all subcontractors because they understand the project. When the warranty period expires, a problem can be contacted directly to be easily handled.

"Building a house is a lifelong job", building a house is almost the most important thing in everyone's life. Home is the place where the family gathers together, the place where we return at the end of each day after a hard day's work, where we live, rest, relax,...