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The most common mistakes made when building a house

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Learning from mistakes does not always bring tangible benefits. Some simply cannot be repaired or it is very expensive. This applies, m.in to the construction of a house, which is our largest investment in life. We often build on credit, we decide to make financial commitments for many years. Therefore, we expect that the built house will also be a safe asylum for the distant future. However, mistakes when building a house can effectively thwart our plans.

Most mistakes are still made when building houses using the traditional method. The advent of prefabricated houses has made it possible to eliminate several of them.

Incorrect demarcation of the building and incorrect excavation

What mistakes should you avoid when building a house? Let’s start with the start. Something can be done incorrectly at the beginning of the work. The first works on the construction site concern the delineation of the outline of the building and the excavation of the foundations. This can be done in any order. If the excavation is made after the building has been laid out, there is a high probability that the repetitions made by the surveyor will be moved.

Before the foundations for the house are poured with concrete, it is necessary to check all the guidelines, so we will be sure that the house will be placed in the right place. If the building is incorrectly delineated, complications may arise and the design will need to be changed.
Mistakes when building a house - excavation

No protection against moisture

The ground is a source of moisture in the house, so the lack of protection of the building against this phenomenon results in unpleasantness after just a few years. Dampness of the walls and basement adversely affects the durability of the building and causes a significant increase in energy consumption, which translates into higher operating costs of the house. It is recommended to use solid insulation of foundations and foundation walls. Vertical and horizontal waterproofing is highly effective in this regard. The first provides protection against moisture from the ground, while the second against capillary rise of moisture

Not so easy bricklaying walls

Can you make any mistakes when bricklaying walls? It turns out that they do, and they happen relatively often. What happens most often is filling the vertical joint with polyurethane foam. It will seal the joint, but will not connect the masonry elements. It is necessary to fill them with mortar.

This is one of those mistakes that we will not encounter when we build prefabricated houses. The walls are made of ready-made panels, produced in factories. Building a house from ready-made elements not only speeds up the work, but as has already been proven, it reduces the number of possible errors.
Mistakes when building a house - bricklaying

Insufficiently reinforced ceiling

Mistakes in the construction of a house are also related to the ceiling. Among the ceilings in traditional construction, we distinguish: wooden, reinforced concrete and densely ribbed ceilings, there are also semi-fabricated ones. Densely ribbed ceilings are the most frequently chosen. However, the work is not always done correctly. Ensuring proper rigidity and reinforcement of the ceiling in those places where partition walls are present is forgotten. Otherwise, the ceiling will bend and cracks will form. In the case of reinforced concrete ceilings, it is worth remembering about the proper preparation of the formwork and the arrangement of reinforcing bars. In each of these cases, it is necessary to take care of the concrete properly for the first weeks to keep its moisture at the correct level.

The most common mistakes when building a house

Installing windows and doors can be a challenge

It seems that the most difficult part is behind us, only finishing works remain, which are less demanding than laying foundations, walls and insulating the building. Meanwhile, it is not difficult to make mistakes at this stage as well. Window and door joinery is very sensitive to deformation. If the structure is more forcefully affected, the windows and doors may deform, which is a serious mistake when building a house. In addition, these openings must be as tight as possible to ensure not only thermal comfort for residents, but also to reduce the costs of energy necessary to heat the building.

What mistakes should you avoid when building a house? The help of professionals is invaluable when building a house. If possible, look for alternatives to traditional construction methods. The more modern the solution, the greater the chance of avoiding mistakes, as in the case of modular houses.