Stages of Building a New Home with Oak & Orange

If there is one thing that we’ve learnt in all our years of building and designing homes, it’s that first time new home builders want to know the stages of building a house. And we’re ready to give it all away. Getting your hot hands on your new home construction schedule is priority one, right? We got you.

We’re going to take you through all the stages of building a new home and help you understand what to expect when expecting. Because if you’re like us, you hate surprises and want some foresight in what’s to come, each step of the way.

As builder’s wives and avid travellers, we often liken the experience of building a brand-new home to planning a killer holiday. You know what you want to achieve but you don’t know the best way to get there or how it’s going to look and feel until you experience it yourself. That’s where the experts come in. Travel agents and other travellers know the keys to planning the perfect trip just as your builder knows all the stages of building a house to make your new home a success. #upgradessoptional

We’re not going to lie, building a new home can be daunting! You spend months getting every detail right from the floor plan through to your skirting board profile. There are loads of decisions to make before your new home construction schedule begins, but time spent wisely here can make the whole journey a lot more….dare we say it, enjoyable.

So, what if we told you there was a simpler way? If you are considering building a new home, it’s worth looking into project home builders like Better Built Homes, as it’ll save you time, money and stress. They follow these exact seven stages. You choose your floorplan, façade and internal selections and hand it over to them to take care of the rest. And then you just wait for the keys. There may be an opportunity for a pre-handover snoop too.

Knowing the stages of building a new home isn’t going to make you an expert but it helps make the journey a whole lot better when you know what to expect! So here it is…the seven stages of building a house in bite size pieces. Word of warning: start praying for good weather! No matter how good your builder is, they can’t control the weather #bummer

Your complete guide: 7 stages of building a house

Stage 1 – Slab

The all-important foundations of the home are prepared including site excavation and piering. The drainage is complete, and the slab is poured. This is when you get that first sense of the size of your new home.

Stage 2 – Frames

Now we are ready for the frames to go up. This happens quick, and the windows are installed at the same time. Believe it or not, the power is even turned on ready for more action ahead. The first few stages are knocked over the fastest…that’s if the weather holds out of course.

Stage 3 – Roof

From here on out, we enter the construction phase. First up, the external cladding is placed and the plumbing rough takes place. Plumbing rough is completed before the cladding to ensure the carpenters can fit cladding around external junctions.

P.s. ‘Rough In’ in the construction phase refers the various electrical, plumbing and mechanical lines being brought in. This is when they are laid out, but final connections aren’t made until the final building stage.

Stage 4 – Bricks or in this case cladding

We’re well into the build by Stage 4 and it’s time for the roof to go on. This stage can feel slow and boring but trust me, it’s all for good reason.

Here, scaffolding is absolutely vital to install cladding, roof eaves and complete external painting. This all takes place in 2 stages: ground floor then first floor. This is also when the electrical, AC and smart home rough is all done. A bit of trivia: scaffolding is an important cost due to safety but is the largest cost of the build that is not actually a finished product.

In Dream Home 6, we had a lot of rain at the start of this build. Getting the roof on was a big relief. It meant we were one step closer to lock up where the rain won’t be such a bother.

Stage 5 – Linings

After all the rough in is complete, we ‘ve finally reached the halfway mark, wahoo! At this point in the build, there are a lot of inspections to check everything is on track. Once those

all-important checks are complete, the walls are sheeted with plasterboard. We can finally start to get a true feel for the home and size of the rooms.

Stage 6 – Lock Up

It’s lock up time baby. Here you’ll find plenty of carpenters on site fixing skirting boards, doors and architraves, ready for the home to be securely locked up. It’s all hands-on deck to get this project wrapped up. The bedrooms and living areas are almost complete. Next up is the wet areas next with waterproofing and tiling.

Stage 7 – Completion

Practical completion is what we like to term the home stretch. So much happens at this stage: cabinetry, benchtops, splashbacks, showers and mirrors and all the fixtures, plumbing and electrical fit offs. Every step in the process is quick to complete but critical.

And then comes the final inspections and quality checks before the keys are handed over to the very excited new owners.

There you have it, the seven stages of building a brand spanking new home. And we were going to leave it as a surprise but couldn’t wait! In our upcoming Dream Home 7 series we’ll be showcasing the exact seven stages throughout our Coastal Farmhouse build. That way it’ll leave less to the imagination for those interested in starting their new home build journey. You’ll be able to follow along the stages of our build from floorplan and façade right through to the final house reveal.

For the first sneak peek of our upcoming project Dream Home 7, make sure you’re subscribed to our email list. You’ll be the first to know about it all.