Seven Common Home Construction Delays
Building a house is quite exciting, but it’s also more complicated than buying a house. After all, you must make many decisions and rely on others to bring your dream home to life. Unfortunately, several common home construction delays can make this process even more stressful.
Home construction delays often occur due to permit delays and problems with the site, such as poor grading and soft soil. In that case, extra work may be necessary to prepare the site to accommodate your home and its foundation. Poor weather, supply chain shortages, and change requests can also delay construction.
It’s important to finalize your vision before construction starts, as making changes during construction can delay everything. Look for reputable, experienced contractors with strong portfolios to ensure a smooth process. Follow along as we explore seven common home construction delays.
Seven Reasons Why Home Construction Delays Are Common
1. Supply Chain Problems
Everyone knows that supply chain issues can be devastating for many businesses and industries. However, you may not expect these issues to impact your future dream home. It’s impossible to build a house without the necessary materials, and that may explain the delays.
Supply chain issues occur due to everything from extreme weather events and pandemics to economic disruptions and political conflicts. These problems can stop suppliers from sending construction materials to other countries. In some cases, supplies can get stuck on ships at sea due to bottlenecks and geopolitical conflicts. The worst-case scenario is that supply chain problems arise right before breaking ground on your house, or even during construction. When this happens, there’s nothing you can do about it except to be patient.
2. Permit Delays
Without a permit, you begin digging to build a new house. You’re at the mercy of the local officials who issue permits, and they don’t always approve them fast enough. This can happen in highly populated municipalities that receive many applications per month, and a backlog can form.
Even if they aren’t backlogged, you may experience delays due to problems found during the inspection, which you must address. This is why it’s so important to hire a reputable contractor with lots of experience. Experienced contractors know what is needed to pass an inspection, which can help prevent delays. They also understand the importance of applying for permits early to ensure timely construction.
3. Change Orders
Understandably, many people go back and forth about what they want their dream house to look and feel like. After all, building a home is a big financial investment, so it’s important to ensure everything meets your needs. However, continually changing the plan can naturally delay the process and even inflate the budget. This can become a major problem if these changes broaden the scope of the project. That’s especially true if the changes involve increasing the home’s square footage. The budget will increase along with the scope, which can cause long delays.
That’s why it’s so important to clearly articulate your desires for your dream home long before construction begins. No contractor can read your mind, but they can help you reach a dream design and ideal home size. Don’t lock the design in until you’re happy with it to prevent late-game changes.
4. Poor Weather
Building a home is a serious undertaking, and it only works well when the weather is ideal. Most of the work required to build a house takes place outdoors, and doing so in the rain isn’t typically safe. Rain, snow, and ice can delay construction until the weather becomes more pleasant.
Similarly, the construction crew may need to take some time off due to extreme temperature fluctuations. Working long hours in extreme heat or cold isn’t safe, so work may be paused and there’s no way to know how long delays will last during bouts of extreme weather, rain, and snow.
While contractors can plan for such delays, they can’t force their crews to work in unsafe conditions. Experienced contractors often build weather delays into their construction schedule estimates, especially in rainy and snowy climates. That’s partly why early summer is a popular time for home construction.
5. Inexperienced Contractor
Building a home is expensive, and that’s why some people try to save money by hiring a cheaper, inexperienced contractor. It may seem like a good idea at first, but you should never cut corners when building a house. That said, you can save money when hiring a contractor during the off-season, which is from November to May.
Even then, you should only look into contractors with proven track records and lots of experience. Experienced contractors know the process, have good crews, and understand the inspection process. They can also give more accurate time estimates and are better at budgeting than fledgling contractors.
Ideally, you should do some intensive research before choosing a contractor to build your house. Look at businesses with positive reviews, strong credentials, and lots of experience. It’s also worth getting references from people who have previously worked with that contractor.
6. Delivery Problems
Building a house involves buying many materials, both for your home’s exterior and interior. Things can get lost in translation throughout the process, and incorrect items may arrive. In many cases, the material is correct, but the color is wrong, especially for interior materials, like cabinets. Not only is this frustrating, but it means you must wait until the correct materials arrive. Luckily, this is a small construction hiccup, as the crew can work on other things in the meantime. However, every time loss adds up and contributes to some of the many stresses associated with construction.
7. Construction Site Problems
The land you plan to build your future home on has a lot to do with how smooth the construction process will be. Naturally, problems can arise if the soil is compacted or if it’s too soft due to poor drainage. In that case, extra excavation may be necessary to remove the problematic soil. Uneven topography can also cause problems, and extra site preparation is necessary. None of these problems should prevent you from building a house on that site. However, you may need to spend more money preparing the land.
How To Prevent Construction Delays
The best way to prevent construction problems is to work with well-established architects and contractors. They have the experience, skills, knowledge, and connections it takes to build a house. Working with experienced contractors can help you save time, money, and unnecessary stress caused by delays. It’s important to know exactly what you want before locking in a design. Not only does this ensure construction can start soon, but it will also prevent pesky delays. Be as decisive as possible to expedite the process and help the architect and contractor.
Most people who have houses built for them rely on financing to complete the project. That’s perfectly normal, but you must make sure you take care of everything so you can ensure the financing is set in stone before construction starts, and you can pay everyone on time.
Summing It Up
The most common construction delays include supply chain issues and permit delays. Construction delays also occur due to extreme weather and site problems, such as soft soil or soil compaction. You can inadvertently delay the process by requesting changes regarding the floorplan and materials.
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Nick Durante is a professional writer with a primary focus on home improvement. When he is not writing about home improvement or taking on projects around the house, he likes to read and create art. He is always looking towards the newest trends in home improvement.
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