Below is a COMPLETE, PRACTICAL, START-TO-FINISH GUIDE to help you thoroughly understand everything before building a house.
It covers what to focus on, materials required, and step-by-step work flow in simple, logical order.
BEFORE BUILDING A HOUSE : COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE GUIDE (STEP BY STEP) :::-----
PART 1: WHAT YOU MUST FOCUS ON FIRST (MOST IMPORTANT) ::----
1. Budget & Purpose :-
A. Total budget (construction + interiors + contingency)
B. Type of house (single floor / duplex / villa)
C. Self-use or rental
D. Future expansion planning.
2. Legal & Land Checks :-
A. Land ownership documents
B. Zoning & building permissions
C. Local building by-laws
D. Setbacks, height limits, FAR
E. Water, sewer, electricity availability.
3. Design & Planning :-
A. Architectural plan (rooms, sizes)
B. Structural design (columns, beams)
C. Electrical layout
D. Plumbing & drainage layout
E. Ventilation & daylight planning.
👉 Mistake to avoid: Starting construction without final drawings
PART 2: MATERIALS YOU SHOULD KNOW (MAJOR CATEGORIES) ::----
A. Civil / Structural Materials :-
1. Cement
2. Sand (river / M-sand)
3. Aggregate (20mm, 40mm)
4. Bricks / Blocks (AAC, red bricks)
5. Steel (TMT bars)
6. Binding wire
7. Shuttering materials.
B. Plumbing Materials :-
1. Water supply pipes (PVC / CPVC / PPR)
2. Drainage pipes (UPVC / SWR)
3. Valves, traps, fittings
4. Water tanks (UG + overhead)
5. Pumps.
C. Electrical Materials :-
1. Wires & cables
2. Conduits & boxes
3. Switches & sockets
4. Distribution boards
5. Earthing materials.
D. Finishing Materials :-
1. Tiles / stone / flooring
2. Doors & windows
3. Paints & primers
4. Sanitary fixtures
5. Lighting fixtures.
PART 3: STEP-BY-STEP HOUSE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS ::-----
STEP 1: SITE PREPARATION :-
1. Site cleaning
2. Marking layout on ground
3. Temporary electricity & water
4. Soil testing (very important).
STEP 2: FOUNDATION WORK :-
1. Excavation
2. PCC (Plain Cement Concrete)
3. Footing reinforcement
4. Foundation concrete
5. Plinth beam
6. Anti-termite treatment.
Focus on :-
✔ Soil bearing capacity
✔ Steel quality
✔ Concrete curing.
STEP 3: PLINTH & BACKFILL ::-----
1. Backfilling with soil/sand
2. Compaction
3. Plinth protection
4. Underground plumbing lines.
STEP 4: SUPERSTRUCTURE (FRAME) :-
1. Column construction
2. Beam casting
3. Slab shuttering
4. Slab reinforcement
5. Slab concrete pouring
6. Proper curing (7–14 days).
STEP 5: BRICK / BLOCK WORK ::---
1. External & internal walls
2. Lintels over doors/windows
3. Proper alignment & curing.
STEP 6: ROUGH-IN SERVICES (VERY IMPORTANT) ::----
Plumbing (Concealed) :-
1. Water supply lines
2. Drainage lines
3. Vent pipes
4. Pressure & leakage testing.
Electrical (Concealed) :-
1. Conduit laying
2. Switch & DB boxes fixing
3. Earthing system
4. Draw wire only after plaster.
👉 Golden Rule :-
❌ Never plaster before testing plumbing & electrical
STEP 7: ROOFING / TERRACE ::----
1. Waterproofing
2. Slope for drainage
3. Rainwater down-take pipes
4. Parapet walls.
STEP 8: PLASTERING ::----
1. Internal plaster
2. External plaster
3. Curing (minimum 7 days).
STEP 9: FLOORING & TILING ::----
1. Floor leveling
2. Tile/stone laying
3. Bathroom & kitchen wall tiles
4. Skirting.
STEP 10: DOORS & WINDOWS ::----
1. Door frames
2. Window frames
3. Shutters & hardware
4. Safety grills (if needed).
STEP 11: FIXING ELECTRICAL & PLUMBING ::----
1. Plumbing Final Fix
2. Sanitary fixtures
3. Taps & mixers
4. Water tanks & pumps
5. Testing.
Electrical Final Fix :-
1. Switches & sockets
2. Lights & fans
3. DB connections
4. Load testing.
STEP 12: PAINTING ::----
1. Wall putty
2. Primer
3. Interior paint
4. Exterior paint.
STEP 13: FINAL WORKS ::----
1. Kitchen cabinets
2. Wardrobes
3. Staircase railing
4. Cleaning & polishing.
STEP 14: TESTING & HANDOVER ::-----
1. Electrical safety test
2. Plumbing leak test
3. Waterproofing check
4. Snag list correction
5. Final handover documents.
PART 4: THINGS YOU MUST MONITOR PERSONALLY ::----
✔ Quality of cement, steel & concrete
✔ Proper curing (most ignored)
✔ Plumbing slope & traps
✔ Electrical earthing & DB layout
✔ Waterproofing (bathrooms & terrace)
✔ Bills vs material delivered.
PART 5: COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID ::-----
❌ Starting work without drawings
❌ Using cheap steel or cement
❌ No soil test
❌ Skipping waterproofing
❌ No testing before finishing
❌ Not planning future expansion.
PART 6: SIMPLE HOUSE BUILDING CHECKLIST ::----
1. Drawings approved
2. Budget finalized
3. Contractor agreement
4. Material quality list ready
5. Stage-wise payment plan
6. Inspection at every stage.
FINAL ADVICE ::-----
1. Building a house is 70% planning + 30% construction.
2. If planning is correct, problems reduce automatically.
