A House Construction

Musab Alotaibi

AMS 490

4-27-18

Introduction

With the rising mortgage costs, I decided to construct my own home to reduce on the

costs building and construction. I found it as the only alternative to become my own home

manager by owning a home that was built according to my demands and desires. First of all, I

made sure I have enough financial resources before I went looking for professional contractors.

All I wanted was to construct an affordable house, one I would be proud of and one that would

be constructed according to my general requirements. I would have loved to go for a mortgage

but given the fact that I am not an already established individual who could afford paying back

the huge monthly installments, I chose to go the long way, do it from my own savings. I knew

that building my house would mean quality assurance and following the current upsurge of new

modern-day building technologies, I found the cost of putting up my own house much cheaper

than having to buy one already constructed. I knew that I would need enough money to complete

my house, so I had to make sure that I save enough money so as not to be affected financially

during the process of construction. By building my own house, I knew I was erecting an asset

that would be there for many years. That was reason enough to do it in my own way.

In accordance to Abram (1964), “a house is not just a shelter, but it is also a section of

the overall neighborhood fabrication of life and social being.” Owning a house touches upon our

economical facets in various ways. It creates a sense of development in us and those around us.

Owning a house provides essential social contacts, presentable images and acts as an indicator of

social status. Owning a house highlights major family budget portions and gives us a sense of

belonging since the house becomes our tangible asset material. It is because of such reasons that

I decided to build my own house and own it with a sense of pride.

Research Review

The issue of house ownership has become very important in today’s world. Creation of own

homes has become a driving force to all the most fortunate and the least. Everyone wants to own

a house. In order to achieve this, many are putting in mind the most important aspects stated

right from the onset of the idea to understand the significance of erecting and owning a home.

Primarily, home building is quite critical more so in low cost housing areas due to lack of enough

space. So for one to put up a good home, space must be put in focus. It is because of lack of

space that many people are finding it hard to build homes in areas they value most. Putting up a

home in a high density residential area is taken to be as an extension of neighborliness and this

promotes some form of attachment, attention, and speculations (Brunson, Kuo, & Sullivan, 2001;

Cloutier-Fisher & Harvey, 2008; Mee, 2007). House ownership is a fundamental process that

generates important components of social existence. It generates and promotes vital social

existence. House ownership satisfies some of our humanistic desires by providing us with good

shelter. It also satisfies our psychological wellbeing, promotes our social status hence giving us a

sense of self-actualization. (Israel, 2003).

As human beings, our needs are influenced by our personal, cultural, and societal backgrounds,

our values, and styles. Such are the reasons that determine the goals that we set when thinking of

our ideal homes. (Festinger, Schachter, & Back, 1950; Israel, 2003; Priemus, 1986). The only

major problem that affects the desire to own a house is the lack of resources and space. Not all

people are blessed in equal measures.

A home is notably a process of establishing oneself in a manner that befits his or her own

physical and social wellbeing. The process involved is basically referred to us home making

(Steel, 1981) and place experience (Cloutier-Fisher & Harvey, 2008). Home owning affords one

the space in the manner of self-development and maintenance of social wellbeing. It creates good

relationships and advance of social ties due self-identification that comes with home ownership.

Territories are identified and personalized due to the appropriation of home ownership.

Research methodology

I started the idea of constructing my own house by saving enough money for it. The most

important thing is that I had some viable piece of land given to me by my father. After I realized

that the money was enough, I did engage a contractor for the technical part. All I wanted was to

have the best that my financial powers could afford and with some good advice from various

people, opted for structural insulated panel technology. I found it convenient since it allowed for

more flexibility of designing a house according to my taste using an effective technology that

would cut down housing costs. I also went ahead and did more extensive research on various

latest design models and after finding the one that was appealing to me, I shared it with my

chosen architect who later designed it according to my desires.

I did also decide on reading various literature materials from building and construction

fields that would contribute to my final decision on the kind of house I would want to be built. I

had to read more on the environmental issues concerning my area since this would affect the end

product if caution is not taken. I had to also read more on geographical concerns in relation to

landscaping, urban planning literature since my site of construction was located in an urban area.

All I needed was to end up with the best putting in mind the administrative demands.

I did do a consultative meeting with various people connected to building and

construction. I met the area engineer just to be sure that I am abreast of with administrative

requirements. Went further to meet various plumbers and other constructions people so that I

could compare their prices before embarking on those that I would find affordable and

trustworthy. I checked on various building materials and the providers and came up with a viable

number that I could rely on. After all that, I decided to hand over the forthcoming steps to the

contractor and the architect so that they could carry on with the work but under my supervision. I

wanted the best and to get the best I had to be sure of each step of progress.

Research findings and results

In the modern day, the construction of a house needs exclusive research on high quality building

materials. This will ensure that the house constructed is secure to live in and also strong for a

longer life extent. After thorough research of building materials of a decent house, I came up

with a list of all the vital materials needed for the construction of a modern home. The materials

are not specific to any company as the same quality of materials maybe produced by several

companies. Some of the materials maybe omitted in my list which means the list maybe subject

to change at present or in the future.

Services and products Requirement COST

Equipment Drills, concrete mixers,

wheelbarrows, spades

$9,000

Materials Sand, steel, cement, ballast,

wood among others

$35,000

Transportation Needed for material delivery $3900

Software resources Required to design the house $2,000

Project process asset Contains the standards,

templates, policies to guide

the project process to ensure

better and efficient

utilisation of time and

resources

$1100

Human resource To provide labour for the

project

$40,000

TOTAL $91,000

cost

Equipment Materials TransportationSoftware resources Project process asset Human resource

Comparing the rate at which houses are being rebuild in the United States to those in the old

Europe, I found out that many houses in the United States were being built with CMU blocks and

wood. This is because wood is a locally available construction material which is inexpensive. On

this research I found that concrete houses are long lasting than the wood ones. The concrete

homes are however more economical on the long run and have several advantages. They are

easily modified to suit the desires of the owner even after the construction of the home is done.

They are also hardy and can withstand most elements of destruction.

There are several materials used for floor construction of a house namely; cement and lime,

bricks, ceramics, marble, glass, and plastic mud among others. These floors differ in terms of

construction cost, beauty, and durability. For instance, the mud floor is cheap and easy to

construct but when finished is less presentable than other expensively constructed floor like that

of glass or marble. In my case I prefer use of ceramics which is moderately expensive to

purchase and construct with, it is durable, and it is beautiful to the eye when finished.

Construction of a firm wall is inevitable when constructing a home for a few generations to come

and a modern one at the same time. I found that the most appropriate technology for this

particular construction is using cement and concrete blocks or stones. This will produce a strong

wall which will stand off against destructive elements for instance the termites that eat wooden

constructions thus destroying houses. This wall will be constructed in such a way that any color

or home décor will be easily installed.

Metal bars may be used to design the roofing of the house. There exist other materials like the

wood which is locally available at a cheaper price. The wood however is not long lasting and

may also not be able to withstand destructive agents as compared to metal bars. The choice of the

correct size and material of the metal bars will allow for easy installation of a roofing material

and design. This will also enable for easy finishing and decoration of the interior.

On the roofing part, there are many different roofing types to consider. These types are; solar

tiles, asphalt shingles, metal roofing, stone coated steel, green roofs, rubber slate, clay and

concrete tiles among others. The choice of these types will depend entirely by the owner’s choice

and preferences. For instance, one may consider installing metal roofing to asphalt shingles or

one may decide to install the stone coated steel roof. In this particular research I found the

advanced solar collectors which integrate seamlessly into shingles that already exist most

suitable than other types of roofs. The solar tiles serve the purpose of roofing and act as a source

of energy. These tiles are capable of generating up to 1 kilowatt of energy per 100 square feet.

The solar tiles cost more than traditional solar options but in the long run they help in offsetting

the energy costs. The roof may also be designed in such a way that it can harvest rain water

which will be made possible by installation of tanks which will also lower water bills in cases

where water tariffs apply.

At the entrance, what matters most is the type, the design and the color of the door. There exists

several types of doors and doorframes made from different materials. Some of these types are;

fiberglass, wood which maybe softwood or hardwood, vinyl and aluminum doors. These doors

come in different designs and for this report I decided to pick two types namely, fiberglass and

wooden doors. Fiberglass is a classy door made to withstand years without scratch. They come in

different colors and it is also possible for it to be painted to match with any home décor. This

type of door is suitable as the front door since it has two layers of glass which conducts

minimum heat and cold. The wood door on the other hand will be suitable for other interior

doors which will be painted to match with the home décor. These doors will be of hardwood

material for a long lasting service.

The compound is another crucial part of any home. I found out that blocks which are

interconnected to produce a nice compound are the best compared to the complete cementing of

the compound. This will allow for infiltration of a considerable amount of water in a rain event

which will reduce surface runoff thus avoiding flooding. The interlocking blocks provide an easy

way of making the compound floor and come in different colors for decoration. This will save on

the purchasing of paint.

Conclusion.

The house constructed by the above findings is not complete and therefore needs a little work for

it to be complete. This will involve the installation of a security system e.g mortion sensor, safety

measure e.g fire alarms, decoration of the interior and also the compound among others.These

finding are therefore not limited and therefore are subject to addition.

My assumption when doing this research was that all materials exists at one place. However, in

real life this is not the case. The cost of all the above-named materials may also differ according

to where a person decides to purchase from. Transport cost of the material may also make a

difference in overall cost of the house.

Task Start End Durati

on

Novem

ber

Decem

ber

Janua

ry

Februa

ry

Mar

ch

Apr

il

Contrac

t

writing

3/11/17 4/11/17 1

Contrac

t

signing

5/11/201

7

6/11/17 1

Secure

financin

g

6/11/201

7

9/11/17 3

Obtain

permit

10/11/20

17

11/11/20

17

2

Site

work

14/11/20

17

15/2/18 89

Plumbi

ng

18/2/201

8

28/2/18 10

Electric

al

1/3/2018 5/3/18 4

Roof 6/3/2018 24/3/18 18

Inspecti

on

26/3/201

8

30/3/18 4

Move in 5/4/2018 15/4/18

References

Brown, B., Perkins, D., & Brown, G. (2003). Place attachment in a revitalizing neighborhood:

Individual and block levels of analysis. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 23(3),

259-271.

Brown, B. B., & Werner, C. M. (1985). Social Cohesiveness, Territoriality, and Holiday

Decorations: The Influence of Cul-de-Sacs. Environment and Behavior, 17(5), 539-565.

Brunson, L., Kuo, F., & Sullivan, W. (2001). Resident Appropriation of Defensible Space in

Public Housing: Implications for Safety and Community. Environment and Behavior,

33(5), 626.

Cloutier-Fisher, D., & Harvey, J. (2008). Home beyond the house: Experiences of place in an

evolving retirement community. Journal of Environmental Psychology, In Press,

Corrected Proof.