The prolonged crisis has forced many developers to look at solving the housing issue from a different angle. The desire to save money and at the same time acquire their own home has led to a surge of interest among users of our portal in topics dedicated to self-construction. As practice shows, our users undertake both the construction of change houses and the construction of cottages using a method that is not very common among private developers.

Any practice begins with theory. To avoid making mistakes when building a house yourself, we recommend listening to the advice of experienced FORUMHOUSE users who have real experience in self-building. In today's article we will answer the following questions:

What are the benefits of self-building.
What is better: buy a house project or make it yourself.
What materials do self-builders prefer to build houses from?
How to avoid mistakes when building yourself.

Benefits of self-building

“It’s impossible to build alone, but it’s very possible to build on your own.” This motto has become a catchphrase for many self-builders. So, a firm decision has been made - to get your own home. How to do it? Any developer immediately faces four solution options:

Order turnkey construction of a house from a reputable company.
Find a foreman with a team and completely rely on him.
Hire workers yourself and, supervising their work, build a house.
Build a house entirely on your own.

We’ll immediately leave the first option, as the most expensive, outside the scope of this article. The second option at first glance seems profitable, but if you dig deeper, it turns out that someone must supervise the foreman. This may be a specially hired technical supervisor or, if the developer is confident in his construction knowledge, he himself. In any case, it turns out to be a long chain: workers-foreman-technical supervision-customer, and these (the first three links) are additional money expenses.

If you completely rely on the foreman, without really delving into the construction processes, then the result can be disastrous. Funds (and considerable ones) have been spent, but what and how was built is unknown.

Therefore, developers are often faced with a dilemma: what to prefer - the third or fourth option. Many choose the third, considering it the most cost-effective. But is this really so? You need to understand that in this case, in addition to construction knowledge (at least theoretical), you will have to become a supplier, a technical supervisor, a jack of all trades (since, most likely, you will have to show the workers how to work correctly) and, most importantly, most importantly, as an overseer over the “builders” you hired.

It is not by chance that this word is put in quotation marks. Anyone who has ever built something knows that if you loosen control a little, the worker will start doing everything his own way, without following technology, in the way that seems easier and better for him. As soon as you point out a mistake, you will hear in response: “We always build like this, and nothing has fallen apart yet!”

Opinion of FORUMHOUSE user Viktor Borisov (nickname Victorprofessor), who independently built a house from aerated concrete.

Victor Borisov User FORUMHOUSE

I think that the option “your own foreman + a team of workers” is the most ineffective way of construction. Because you will have to constantly be on the construction site and, in fact, stand behind the backs of all the workers you hire. Solve problems independently and do the most responsible work. At the same time, you constantly make sure that the workers do not shirk from work, do everything efficiently, constantly customize them, and all this for your own money!

In order to control workers in a conditional “24 hours, 7 days a week” mode, you will have to take vacation or constantly ask for time off from work. You can install surveillance cameras at the construction site, allowing you to remotely monitor the progress of work. But even these half measures do not guarantee quality.

FORUMHOUSE Consultant Dmitry Kalinsky(Nick Dimastik25), independently built a house from aerated concrete.

Dmitry KalinskyFORUMHOUSE Consultant

From my own experience, I can say that during construction you have to monitor literally every movement of hired workers. I once asked my friends to spread the inch onto the slats, but they couldn’t come up with anything better than laying the boards on aerated concrete and sawing the boards with a chain saw along with the blocks!

FORUMHOUSE member Vladimir Egorov (nickname Bobahina). On one's own .

Vladimir Egorov User FORUMHOUSE

Due to life circumstances, I set a goal for myself - on my own for 1 million rubles. and live in it. Of course, it is difficult to build a stone house measuring 10x7.5 m for this money, but to build a house for no more than 1.5 million rubles. - is quite real.

Let’s say right away that Vladimir managed to solve the problem. He, together with his father-in-law and one laborer, built a house in about six months and finished the first floor for his wife and two children to move into. This allowed us to get rid of spending money on renting rental housing.

Vladimir appreciated the benefits of self-construction by making a simple calculation and realizing where the money goes on a construction site and where savings can be made. This is a payment to builders for their work.

Vladimir Egorov

Let me give you an example from life. 2 km from my village, in neighboring SNT, a house measuring 9x9 m was built, made of aerated concrete, with 2 full floors. The house cost the owner 3 million rubles, and about 40% of this amount went to pay for the work of the builders. That is, approximately, such a house could be built independently for 2 million rubles.

A fair question arises - why would someone pay money for work if, without your direct participation, the construction will stop, or the workers will become slackers. Of course, when building a house yourself, involving relatives in the process, or periodically using hired laborers for simple work, the construction of the house may take longer. You will have to devote all your free time and effort to the construction site, but both the result and the quality of the work will be at a completely different level. After all, you are building for yourself!

Victor Borisov

I’ll say right away that before starting to build the house I had no construction experience. I had absolutely no understanding of construction technology. I had to learn everything.

For reference, here are the main characteristics of the house built by Victor:

house dimensions - 8.5x10.5 m;
height - 4.2 m;
total area - 72 sq. m;
ceiling height - 3 m;
foundation - slab reinforced with composite reinforcement;
walls - aerated concrete D400, 375 mm thick, plastered on both sides;
ceiling - prefabricated monolithic reinforced concrete with insulation;
the roof is flat.

The total construction budget: including the purchase of furniture, installation of a heating system, water supply, sewerage, construction of a summer kitchen and landscaping of the site amounted to 2 million rubles.

At first glance, it seems that the announced amounts in modern life realities are fantastic, but with the right approach, everything will work out. This requires:

Choose a suitable cottage project.
Understand what material is best to build a house from.
Find out what kind of soil is on the site (this is necessary to calculate the design of the foundation).
Calculate the estimate and estimate your strength.
Think about which physically difficult stages (for example, digging trenches, pouring reinforced belts, installing a rafter system, lifting boards onto the roof) should involve help or hire laborers.

Often, for excavation work, it is more profitable to hire equipment and do everything in 2-3 hours than to pay larger sums and spend more time doing manual labor.

Understand where and how you can save additional money, for example, by ordering building materials in winter with seasonal discounts, or find out what wall materials are produced in your area.

So, having decided to build a house ourselves, we eliminate the weakest links - hired workers and a foreman and, thereby, reduce the construction estimate. Those. - the main driving force behind such a decision is the financial issue and at the same time obtaining a quality result.

Features of independent house design

Our portal has already described in detail. Therefore, we will concentrate on practical advice for self-builders. Most often, an independent developer, due to a limited budget, chooses a standard house design on the Internet or designs it independently, mastering special programs.

To simplify your task, you can use the following “trick” - take a project you like on the Internet and adapt it to suit yourself. For example, mirror the house plans, change the layout, room sizes, entrance area, location of the house on the site, etc.

Having a base, we simplify our work and gain design experience.

When designing a house yourself, you should give preference to simple building forms and avoid complex geometry - protrusions, bay windows, turrets, etc. The optimal shape of the house is square. This will simplify the calculation of the amount of materials, the construction itself and will reduce the amount of waste, which means it will reduce construction costs. We also make a simple roof - a gable roof, and not a complex broken one. Of course, such an approach affects the overall architecture of the house towards its simplification - minimalism, which may not suit everyone, so you will have to compromise between your desires, real construction possibilities and the financial side.

As a start - a trial option, on which you can “get your teeth in, not your bumps” - our users recommend building a utility block using frame technology. Moreover, a change house is one of the most popular things during the development of an empty site. Those. We go from simple to complex. First, we do a simple project, calculate the estimate, import building materials, and learn how to work with tools. And only then we use the experience gained in the construction of a large house.

Also, do not chase a large area of the house. One of the options could be a one-story building, because... (which many people forget) requires competent calculation.

Victor Borisov

Before starting construction, I looked at the houses of my friends, estimated the area and realized that building “palaces” of 200 square meters. m is not an option. It is expensive, expensive to heat, and difficult to clean. This is how the concept was born: “a second apartment in nature” - a relatively small one-story house for a family of 3-4 people with an area of 80 square meters. m. I refused the stairs and, accordingly, the second floor. You don’t have to rush back and forth, and it takes up a fair amount of space.

In addition, by “removing” the second floor, Victor got rid of the need to carry out construction work at height.

Vladimir Egorov

When I sat down to design my house, I adjusted the entire internal layout to suit me. The kitchen was made corner, one side should face the entrance to the site and the area in front of the house, the second - towards the bathhouse and the area in front of the bathhouse. This makes it easier for the wife to look after small children and cook at the same time.

Having thus set the base, Vladimir drew the rest of the layout, starting from the kitchen. Having designed the first floor, he moved on to the second, where he planned 3 full rooms and a second bathroom. The self-builder did not build an attic, reasoning that a full floor + a cold attic was simpler and more economical. But in the future (for this purpose, the design is thought out in advance), the cold attic can be insulated, turning it into a residential attic space. Those. The house is being built gradually.

First, the first floor is prepared for occupancy, then, after moving in, as time passes, the second floor is finished. Thus, by breaking the construction of a house into stages, you can save money by investing it gradually, which is especially important for self-builders on a limited budget.

Selection of wall material and foundation design

The choice of wall material and technology for building a house is one of the most important stages of any self-builder. You need to clearly know your strengths, skills, experience and even inclination to work with this or that material. If we summarize the construction experience of our users, we can say that most often they independently build houses from aerated concrete or using frame technology. Each method has its adherents.

Dmitry Kalinsky

I chose aerated concrete for building a house because... The masonry can be carried out independently, practically without the use of auxiliary force.

The size of the aerated concrete block is optimal for laying by one person, and its large format speeds up the construction of the house. The walls are literally growing before our eyes. The technology is well established. There are a lot of house designs on the Internet that are optimized for aerated concrete and, importantly, aerated concrete is simply processed. The block can be cut, sawed off, or sanded at the construction site without resorting to the help of expensive tools. The blocks are laid using glue; the masonry seam is thin, which minimizes the number of cold bridges.

Fans of frame houses are attracted by the opportunity to build almost alone. Our users have accumulated extensive experience in construction using this technology.

FORUMHOUSE user Roman Moskvin (nickname nekorsakov), independently built a house using frame technology.

Roman Moskvin User FORUMHOUSE

I chose frame technology because... it allows you to build yourself without resorting to outside help.

The advantages of “frameworks” include the high speed of building a house, the absence of the so-called. “wet processes” (there is no need to fill armored belts or dilute masonry mortar). Construction can be carried out all year round, even in severe frost.

Roman Moskvin

I worked down to -25°C, but I just need to be well insulated.

In order not to overstrain themselves when raising frame walls on their own, our users advise resorting to this trick - erecting a frame by placing one post vertically at a time, fixing them with temporary jibs and nailing them to the bottom trim.

What is needed to build your own home? Project documentation, budget, materials, equipment and, of course, performers - builders. You can build your home yourself, without resorting to outside help, or use the services of construction workers. About, how to hire builders to build a house, and the conversation will begin.

Decide on the type of construction

To begin with, when starting to build a house, you must already clearly define what problems need to be solved and what opportunities your budget provides. For example, you want to build a turnkey house, starting from the design and ending with landscaping, or carry out only individual construction work, or build the house in parts, in stages, hiring different contractors, or you need a comprehensive team. Consider whether you are ready to organize and monitor the construction process on a daily basis or whether you need the services of a foreman, a supply manager and independent technical supervision over compliance with the construction according to the project. Based on these goals, you must understand who you need.

There are only three main options in ascending price of services:

Wild brigades, guest workers, “shabashniks” and other unskilled workers.
A team of two or three people (on the recommendation of those familiar with an oral agreement, often without a foreman), private teams with a foreman, possibly registered as an individual entrepreneur (IP), etc.
Construction companies (LLC) with a package of necessary documents.

Who to hire is a different question that deserves a separate article. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The simplest and cheapest way of construction is a household one - hiring a team of migrant workers and organizing all the construction yourself. In this case, all responsibility for the decisions made will rest with you. And what you end up with is also your responsibility.

Let’s say you are confident in your abilities and are ready to act as a foreman, manager, purchaser of materials, etc. Further, your responsibilities will include:

search for and select people for your team within the limits of your financial capabilities;
low cost of services implies an appropriate level of qualifications (without claims from the customer);
purchase, deliver construction materials and monitor their safety, prevent theft;
independently control the construction process;
perform independent technical control over compliance with the parameters in accordance with technical documentation;
provide construction equipment and tools

Teams consisting of skilled workers who can be found through recommendations are already more expensive. Even more expensive are such teams with a foreman, since his services will have to be paid, or teams of individual entrepreneurs. And finally, the services provided by the company are more expensive than the crew. The same house can be built for different prices. The larger the budget, the wider the possibilities in choice.

Of course, in the construction market, among firms and individual entrepreneurs, there are unscrupulous contractors (as well as customers), who recruit the same migrant workers from the street as workers, engage in fraud and deceive customers, etc. A professional won't work for food, but that doesn't mean a hack can't be expensive. Therefore, you need to approach the search for good builders with the utmost care. Below are a few simple tips and rules that will help you weed out unreliable contractors.

Search for offers

So, you will have to spend effort and time searching for good builders, regardless of who you need: highly specialized craftsmen, private teams or companies. You will not use the services of unknown people based on the first ad that comes up. It is necessary to hire masters of their craft for construction. It doesn’t matter whether they work themselves, privately, or are employees of a company.

Finding qualified and ethical contractors who are committed to doing their jobs conscientiously is a difficult and painstaking task. You need to start your search in advance, several (4-6) months in advance. Good builders have orders for the season ahead for various projects. And if you have missed time, and you need to build this season, finding suitable specialists will be very problematic.

The main source remains reviews and reputation, regardless of whether it is a company or private individuals. A recommendation from a satisfied client is the best advertisement for smart builders. Serious contractors value and care about their reputation. Look for them on the recommendations of established friends, acquaintances, neighbors. If you need local builders, find out which ones are in your region, who built with their help, and if they are being built, visit the construction site.

A construction team or firm may be considered as a potential contractor based on recommendations received from several previous clients. On the other hand, you should not trust the advice of strangers or people who do not understand construction.

There are other resources to use. Visit contractors' websites, discussions on forums, arrange an online tender. The contractor’s website should not contain beautiful photographs purchased from a photo bank, but real photos of their work.

It is advisable that the construction organization has permission from a self-regulatory organization, because joining a self-regulatory organization of builders already means that this construction company is serious in the market and can be trusted.

If you find it difficult to determine the level of professionalism of builders or do not want to waste time figuring out how to hire builders to build a house, work with a foreman or construction expert - someone you can trust in this matter. Later, this person will be useful in drawing up estimates, studying the contract and supervising construction. To put it simply, it’s to find an intelligent friend or relative who has construction experience, both as a builder and as a customer who has gone through the stages of construction.

Select builders from your list whose reviews satisfy you, and they themselves made a convincing, adequate impression. Then you can get to know the contractor better.

Selection and narrowing down the choice

When it comes to the final selection of a contractor, it is important to have several conversations and meetings with potential contractors whose candidacies you are considering. Be sure to visit the site together. By doing this you achieve three main goals.

Firstly, it will help the contractor understand what type of housing and where the client wants to build, on what terrain, in what time frame, etc., that is, decide whether he will undertake construction.

Secondly, the client will receive more information about this contractor, his experience and reputation, possible budget and construction time frame. It is recommended to consider the following details:

Explore the portfolio of completed projects. What kind of houses, what complexity? Ask for addresses of previous jobs where the contractor worked, and contacts of clients who ordered them. Visit these facilities to evaluate the quality and talk to previous customers. Honest builders have nothing to hide; they themselves can offer to visit their sites.
If this is a team with a foreman, is this specialist a good one? Or just an intermediary?
Who will work and on what basis? Students, migrant workers, skilled workers? What specialty does each employee have?
How long has the company been in business? The presence of a company in this market segment for more than 3-5 years is considered optimal.
Does the contractor guarantee the required level of quality of work, warranty period?
The preliminary cost of work (with some error), provision of building materials, tools, equipment and additional services - all this is agreed upon in advance.
Discuss the terms of the future contract, as well as the terms of reference, preliminary estimates for all services and how the work schedule will be carried out, the form and time of payment, the delivery and acceptance procedure.

Thirdly, you will personally get to know the contractor, and answer your question - will you be able to see and collaborate with this person every day for a long time? Therefore, choose workers with whom you can maintain a formal relationship at a minimum. After all, it’s not very pleasant to communicate with an unceremonious person.

If hired workers for some reason do not want to look at the site, determine the scope of work, agree on an estimate, or draw up a contract, this is a reason to doubt their competence.

Once you collect this information, this will give you the opportunity to select the most suitable 2-3 performers, and make the final choice in favor of the one that suits you best in terms of budget, estimate, terms, and terms of the contract.

After the final selection of the contractor, a contract can be concluded.

Conclusion of an agreement

Once you make your final decision, it is important to have a detailed written contract that spells out all the terms and conditions of construction. In addition to the contract, all necessary documentation is drawn up, an estimate is drawn up, controversial issues are discussed and all this is signed before the work begins. The contract does not relieve you of risks, but it is a guarantee for both the client and the contractor. In the future, you will use the contract and accompanying documents when monitoring the work throughout the entire construction and paying for it.

Typically, the contract specifies the details of the contractor, specific types of work, payment terms, deadlines, responsibilities of the parties, and quality assurance issues. It is important to discuss all issues regarding specific construction work and record this in detail in the contract, so that later you do not have to pay extra for the required work.

When considering how to hire builders to build a house, the owner of the site has to choose, as was written above, from individual workers, construction teams or companies. The contract is concluded with a construction company, an individual entrepreneur, or, if it is a recommended team, with each specialist individually, indicating in the contract the amount of work and paying for it only after the completion certificate is issued. With unskilled workers, as a rule, only verbal agreements are made.

Strictly adhere to the payment schedule. Remember: you only need to pay for work done on time with guaranteed quality. It is highly advisable to include a clause in the contract regarding penalties for failure to complete work on time. If this is done, it will be much easier for you to control the construction process.

Of course, one article will not cover all the aspects of searching and hiring builders. And it is impossible to take into account all the moments and unforeseen situations that are sure to arise. This is just general advice on how to hire builders to build a house. To agree with them or not is everyone's business.

Problems can be very diverse, one such problem, although insignificant, is the problem of choosing which house to live in, buy an already built one, build a house on your own, or hire a design and construction company.

Build a house yourself

Let’s say right away that it’s unlikely to be possible to build a house on your own; you’ll still need to call friends, relatives, and acquaintances for help.
Pros:
You can proudly declare that the house was built with your own hands.
The house is built exclusively for oneself, therefore, the best building materials that the builder can afford to buy are selected. Hackwork is completely eliminated during work, every little detail is taken into account, the right place is glued, a nail is driven in, a screw is tightened, etc.
A person knows his house completely, from the foundation to the canopy on the roof.
With this choice, the monetary costs are minimal; only building materials are purchased.
Minuses:
Only a person with at least minimal experience can make a cottage for themselves.
Even if a person is an experienced and professional builder, he cannot avoid mistakes associated with the design and construction of a house, he may not take something into account, and all responsibility will be his alone; there is no one to blame for mistakes (although some manage to do so).
Only those people who have a sufficient amount of free time can start building a house.

Hire a construction company

The option that occurs most often. Hiring a construction team consisting of guest workers can also be classified in this category.
Pros:
The construction of a house begins with the selection of a location; for future housing, you can choose the one that best suits the tastes and needs of the future homeowner (the same applies to the option when the house is built independently).
You can build your dream home even without any construction experience. Choose or create a project yourself, take some image you like as a sample.
A good construction company will do everything, from the design to the turnkey delivery; there is no need to waste time, only monitor the progress of construction and current issues.
If the contract is drawn up correctly, the company will bear responsibility for its mistakes.
The likelihood of errors during construction is minimal, unless of course it is a good company.
Minuses:
This option is the most expensive; you need to purchase not only building materials, rent equipment, but also pay for the labor of workers involved in construction, from the designer to the assistant. Naturally, the construction company must also have some kind of profit from its work.
The disadvantages also include choosing a high-quality and professional construction company; when searching, you can make a big mistake; this is unlikely to have a positive effect on the quality of your future housing.

Buy a ready-made house

This means a turnkey house, with finishing and at least some communications. New or recycled makes a difference, but that's a topic for another comparison.
Pros:
There is no need to wait for the house to be built, for it to shrink and for repairs to be made. You can move in immediately after completing all the documents. Repairs and furniture are optional (unless, of course, you bought an unfinished house, or just its walls).
Minuses:
It is possible that you bought a pig in a poke. The house may leak, the site may flood in the spring, there were shortcomings during construction or a banal defect. This had to be taken into account when choosing and inspecting before purchasing; it’s a good idea to ask your neighbors before making a choice.

Dec 19

How to hire a construction team correctly

Are you going to do some renovations, but you don’t have any experience communicating with builders? Well, it's a pretty typical situation. Where to look for masters? How to negotiate payment? When to make the calculation? These and many other questions haunt novice customers. Now we will try to dispel all your doubts and suggest the procedure for hiring a construction team.

Reconnaissance in force

If this is the first time you are faced with the need to carry out repairs by someone else, we advise you to start by collecting the necessary information. Here newspaper advertisements will come to your aid. Open the page with offers for apartment renovation and call the first one you come across.

It’s not worth choosing too much, because the information in them is often not true. Instead of the promised comprehensive team, one and a half people will come to you. And you shouldn’t pay any attention to the phrase “fast, high quality, not expensive”, since everyone writes them. Even those who do the repairs very badly, take a very long time and are expensive)).

At this stage, the phone number indicated in the ad is important. Dial it and introduce yourself as a potential client. Briefly outline the situation and you will be given prices for the planned work. Of course, the numbers will be conditional, but you will still get a rough idea.

Take them as a guide and make a few more calls. In an hour you will have a whole list with completely different prices. Your task is to weed out overpriced and suspiciously cheap options. After this, you can move on to the next stage - getting to know each other.

First meeting

The main thing is not to worry. Remember that builders are interested in the order and will try to make a good impression. In the end, it is up to you to decide whether the collaboration will happen or not.

If the workers do not inspire confidence, you should not contact them under any circumstances. You should be wary of evasive answers to questions, stories about the complexity of the upcoming work, and attempts to bargain for money before the repairs begin.

Nowadays, staged payment is common. Money is paid upon completion of a certain type of work. If the repair is small, the calculation is made at the very end.

This scheme is remarkable because it is beneficial for all participants in the transaction. A small amount of work performed is paid for with a not too burdensome amount of money. If one of the parties fails to comply with the agreement, cooperation is immediately terminated.

Budgeting

Please read the proposed prices carefully. If the builders do not have a written price list, create one yourself by writing down the announced prices in a notebook. You will need it for the final payment.

For example, find out how much it will cost to lay one square meter of tiles on the floor, and how much on the wall. Does this price include priming and leveling of surfaces, grouting joints between tiles and installing plastic corners.

Some builders calculate additional operations separately, as a result of which the final amount may be one and a half to two times too high. Most conflicts between customers and contractors occur due to omissions when discussing the cost of work. Therefore, do not be afraid to seem overly persistent in your inquiries. As practice shows, this is the best way to avoid misunderstandings when paying.

Well, that's where our advice ends. Now that you have a rough action plan, it's time to start repairing. Theory is good, but practice is still better!

In contact with

What is a suspended ceiling? This is a structure consisting of a frame lined with a finishing coating. For example, plastic or wooden lining, plasterboard, metal panels.

By choosing the profession of a finisher, you have embarked on a slow but sure path to fabulous enrichment)). The income of construction workers often exceeds the wages of people in jackets and ties.

Often, the owners of a one-room apartment have the idea of remodeling it into a two-room apartment. The reasons that prompt them to take such a step can be very different: a growing family, the need to improve their living conditions.