Building Your Own Home: The Foundations

Are you looking to build your own home? Building a home can be an exciting process. Watching the land develop into your dream place of residence, or investment, makes it a highly fulfilling project – but it’s also a challenging one which calls for skilful management.

There are two main ways to build a home yourself. The first, and more common option, is to contract a builder. This builder will design your home based on your specifications, and will then build it on the selected land. They will subcontract out to tradespeople, such as a screw piling company, to then build the structure.

The second option is to build the home as an owner builder. An owner builder is a person who themselves builds or renovates a building on land that they own, who is not themselves a builder. For the process of constructing the home, they take on the responsibilities of a builder – obtaining permits, supervising, and subcontracting out the work. This will involve selecting tradespeople, such as a screw piling subcontractor, to complete the tasks at hand to a construction schedule.

Typically to work as an owner builder, you must obtain relevant permits and approvals from local and state government regulators.

What is the first step in the construction process?

Before a home can be built on a piece of land, the surface on which that home will be based first needs to be made sturdy and secure. Preparing the site and subsequently the foundation, are the first steps in construction of a home whether you are going through a builder or are working as an owner builder.

This process may include demolishing a home that exists on the premises, or starting from scratch on new land. It may include flattening land and installing retaining walls. Once the necessary land preparation has been undertaken, it is then time for the foundation subcontractor in Sydney to establish the foundation.

At this point of time the builder or owner builder will be able to elect multiple different types of Sydney foundation subcontractor, with their judgement likely to be based on the ground type and who they typically partner with. However, there may be benefits for certain methods of foundation setting that ought to be considered in deciding.

After all, the frame or building shell that will follow as the next step will depend on the foundation. Looking a little forward, once lock-up has been completed, all windows and doors will be lockable, allowing plumbers, electricians, and other tradespeople to come in and undertake the fit-out, prior to painting, detailing and final touches. In other words, all of this, the entire home, will be dependent on the foundation. It’s essential to get it right.

Why residential screw piling may be an appropriate option

The appropriate foundation will always depend on the land type and other considerations, and may be determined during the land survey stage; but the below observations about the benefits of screw piles are worth considering in determining the correct foundation type:

• Screw piles are fast. Their installation can be undertaken quickly, allowing the construction of your home to proceed at a good pace in line with the schedule. They are also fast in the sense that screw piling equipment is highly mobile and can fit and operate in small spaces. As well as being fast in the sense that once installed and any concrete inserted into them is dried, they are read to support your structure.
• Screw piles are versatile. They are appropriate for many different soil types, including sand, clay, and black soil. This means that they are appropriate whatever is uncovered during the construction process. It makes screw piling contractors a dependable foundation contractor who can service most or all building jobs. Screw piles are also versatile in the sense that they can be rated to various different levels of weight bearing, meaning they can adapt to your structure.
• Screw piles are less impacted by water. Rain or water below in the water table are less likely to impact screw piles during the installation phase, as well as being less likely to impact costs.
• Screw piles cause minimal mess and site disturbance. Screw piles do not generate a lot of dirt or mud that is displaced, which must subsequently be removed. This small difference may keep the site cleaner and more workable, and even potentially reduce waste disposal or storage costs. Screw piles are also less noisy than other types of piles – talk about a good way to get off on the right foot with the neighbours!

Deciding on a screw piling contractor for home building

For a high quality and approachable screw piling contract, look no further than Piling Experts. We offer screw piling Sydney, and are based in Auburn but work across New South Wales. For more information, contact us on 0411 693 100 or info@pilingexperts.com.au.