Hyderabad: A house of one’s own is the ultimate dream for many in society. A house reflects an individual’s financial status, taste, and personality. At the same time, it gives you a sense of security and stability.
Owning a house can be of two types: buying an apartment or an individual house already built, or getting a house constructed.
Building a house of one’s own has always been a challenge, which is why it is one of the two big deeds listed out, besides performing a marriage. Apart from maintaining a constant flow of financial resources, the construction of a house involves many other challenges. Building a house by constantly monitoring and facilitating the work is an experience and learning process.
It helps you learn to maintain good relations with the builders, contractors, and even the neighbours. Thanks to the tarpaulins and blue sheets that prevent construction rubble, cement flakes, or other material from falling into neighbours’ premises, Yet, there will be some inconvenience caused due to the constant disturbing sounds of the drilling and grinding tools. Construction work involves a lot of fine dust settling on the premises. All this could be a cause of trouble for the neighbours, for which the owner or builder may need to apologise to keep the work going on. An amicable atmosphere is most needed for the continuity of the project until its completion.
Any construction project begins with drilling a borewell, as water is the most important component to keep the project moving. The slush and mud coming out of the ground spreads to the gateways of neighbouring houses, which can be a cause of complaint for others.
Working in a confined space is never possible during construction work. As the outcome of the project is a visible structure with sizeable dimensions, the work involved also flows out of the demarcated space. While laying the slabs, the bricks, sand, iron, and gravel required in extra amounts occupy space on the road too, causing inconvenience to commuters and neighbours. Some belligerent commuters can get irritated even at the slightest aberration, during which those helming the works need to ward off the problem by being patient and tactfully submissive.
The workforce at the construction site also puts in their best effort and helps us cut down the cost and arrive at exclusive structures, along with good output, only when the owner and builder maintain friendly relations with them.
Finding skilled labour for projects in various departments is itself a tough task. Once they begin the work, the builder or owner should ensure that everything is in place for a smooth flow. Argumentative and arrogant attitudes towards the labourers would only lead to disruption and low-quality work.
At times, the workers even abandon the work halfway through, which leads to further inconvenience as half-completed contracts would not find takers due to the ethical ties contractors have among themselves.
If work stalled once, it would lead to a delay in the completion of the project under construction, as it would affect workflow in other areas due to the Domino effect. Works in various areas, including electricity, plumbing, masonry, flooring, etc., are interdependent and would contribute to the structure under construction as a whole.
Building a house also makes the owner understand that he can only move ahead and can never revert to the vacant site once the structure takes shape. Proceeding with the work, even if it means making compromises with respect to the quality of materials and designs, is the only option available during the activity. Else, the work should be stalled, but the owner can never get back the money he spent on the construction activity as it takes the form of bricks and walls, which would only turn into rubble if demolished or destroyed.
In some instances, the owner would love to have an impressive and eye-catching finish, which would cost a bomb that he cannot afford. In a few cases, such interior elevations cannot be given shape in the limited spaces available for construction. All these would teach the owner to live with compromises in his dream house.
A wide washbasin with a big counter cannot fit into a small space in a congested bathroom or even at its entrance because some room has to be left to enter the washroom.
At times, the owner will also have to compromise with a simple design or elevation due to fund constraints. The cost of the product is a very big issue that the owner has to look out for, as there is a heavy chance that the project will exceed the estimated budget. It is necessary that the owner take a right and wise decision, weighing all the options existing in the market.
In some peculiar cases, there could be a communication gap between the builder and work contractor, the owner and builder, or the owner and work contractor, which could also lead to some friction in their relationship. Yet, both parties should observe restraint and take the project to completion, burying the differences and proceeding with an understanding.
The owner would want a certain type of grills for the windows, but due to poor internet connectivity at the time when the discussion was being held over it, the builder and work contractor might understand something else. Once the grills have been readied for fixing in the window slots and brought to the construction site, the owner has to accept them and give his nod for fixing them, as the contractor would not rework the customised material. At best, slight modifications can be carried out to make the design more appealing, of course, at an extra cost.
With the high amount of money invested in the construction, the owner of the building also learns to become a more responsible and vigilant individual. Life skills like multi-tasking and time management also get imbibed in the process. The entire activity would make the owner strong mentally given the stress due to delays in work, disappointment with the work quality, and maintaining a constant flow of funds.
