House Construction Steps

1. Location
Locating land for constructing your dream home is very important. Identify the Land
according to your choice. Always take the advice of an architect preferably with sound
knowledge in Vastu and Kerala building rules to check and verify the plot which you
have in mind. The Architect should be able to guide you considering Vastu Principles,
soil conditions, and the latest building rules applying to your plot of land.
Verify with local authority office like Panchayath/municipality/Corporation whether there
is any objection in building a house in that specific plot with respect to the survey no of
your said plot. Also, make a point to check that your plot has no legal complications.
2. Design Process
Before finding/meeting up with an architect make a rough requirement list for your home.
This process should cover the basic concepts of your home, such as living space, no: of
bedrooms you want, Guest bedrooms, Hall, kitchen, Bathrooms, where you want the
stairs, car porch, Garden/landscaping/Pond etc.. You should involve your family also,
ask their likes and suggestions. Visit your friends, talk to neighbours about pros and
cons of their property and what they would like to improve. Stages of work at a glance.
3. Funding/ budgeting
How much will a house cost you to build? There has been a tremendous increase in the
cost of house construction in Kerala. These days the normal running rate per square feet
is anywhere between 1800 - 3500 + Rs including materials and labour. One should
always make a note on the available cash at hand and also you may approach banks for
loans ..in that way you come to know how much you can spare.
4. The Architect
Arrange a meeting with the architects. Talk through design goals and then fix an
Architect, he will draw up schematics for consideration coupling functionality, room-by-
room layouts, finding the best furniture positioning and use of space. Recommending
structural changes where this seeks to make space work better. A 2D sketch is
developed, which is then further refined and made to a 3D model, you can consult with
the architect and his team to develop the final 3D Model of your house as well as an
elevation. An approved architect will develop drawings for Panchayat /City municipality /
Corporation to approve.
5. Building Permits
Permit to build your home is issued by the local governing bodies such as Panchayath /
Municipality /Corporation which is normally validity for 2 years.
6. Building Contractor
Finding a good building Contractor is the next biggest task. And ideally, you have to
identify a builder, plumber, mechanical, electrical contractor. But if you can find a good,
reliable and reasonable contractor you can save your time and money. Always ask his
method of working and check how reliable he is. You may visit and see some of his
previous projects and speak with his previous clients. If he has good
You may visit and see some of his previous projects and speak with his previous clients.
If he has good credentials, technical know-how and is also good at giving a quality work
output then you can consider him as your Contractor.
7. Construction Process
Site Clearance -- Before starting any construction work it becomes necessary to clear
the place from the unwanted grass, boulder etc. In case of any hill like appearance on
the ground, that too needs to be cleared of the excess earth and if there is a pit, it is
required to be filled up. This total job is called site clearance.
Break Ground & Excavation-- After the site clearance, the layout of the structure at the
site can be planned with respect to the given foundation plans. Begin earth excavation
and take trenches accordingly.
Foundation-- A foundation is the lower portion of building a structure that transfers its
gravity loads to the earth. Foundation work is done according to drawings provided by
the Architect. i.e. the size of foundation, depth, length and breadth etc. and type of
foundation (Rubble Packing or Raft and beams etc ..)
Superstructure -- Super-structure is to provide support in the construction of the
building as per designed plan and various members of super-structure such as columns
and beams are designed to provide strength for carrying the dead load and live load
expected to come on the various parts of the structure in a safe and well-distributed
manner. After casting the roofing slab necessary waterproofing coatings shall be done.
Stairs -- Vasthu instructs and recommends to have rising stair steps going up in North-
South direction or West-East direction if it is spiral stair steps going up in clockwise
direction. But due to constraints on building design, it is not always possible to follow
Vastu recommendations. Latest Handrail Designs.Stairs made of Wood and Glass.
Boundary Wall and Gates -- Compound walls should be built ideally just before
beginning major construction activities, it is to protect the site and the material stored in
the storage shed, from the outside environments and from thieves.Latest gate designs.
8. Roof / Heat Protective Coatings -- truss work roofing, Weather Resistant
Barrier, Waterproofing coatings, Rain screen, Green roof are some of the applications
you can implement to reduce heat.
9. Electrical And Lighting - works can be done after the masonry work has been
completed. Tips on Electrical Wiring.
10. Interior Design -- works can be executed according to the working drawing provided
by the architect.
11. Plastering
Plastering work can commence after the initial lighting and electrical plumbing work has
been completed. Cement plasters generally used with 13 mm thickness and sometimes
it can be of 20 mm thickness. On completion of brickwork, plastering is to be done.
(a) to make the building structurally strong
(b) to protect it from the effect of weather, and
(c) to give it an attractive look.
12. Initial Plumbing -- Once plastering is done for bathroom walls, it is okay to start
plumbing works.
13. Painting-  Is done with cement primer once initial wiring work and plumbing works
are done.
14. Flooring
Flooring works can commence after the initial wiring works and primer coat is done to
the interior walls. There are many types of floors according to their uses, economy and
required the level of finishing. Ceramic tiles, Vitrified tiles, Clay Tiles, Granite, Marble,
Wood, Epoxy flooring are some of the options you have in flooring.
15. Cabinets, Interior works, Crockery Shelves
Interior works can commence after the initial wiring works and primer coat is done to the
interior walls. Cabinets, shelvesand kitchen can be done using a variety of materials
which are currently available in the market such as Wood, Multi-Wood, MDF, Plywood,
ACP, Stainless steel..etc
16. Finishing Plumbing Works  - Can be done after tiling works are completed.
17. Finishing  Electrical and Lighting works are done just before the application of
final finishing coat of paint.
18. Completion Certificate
At this stage, one can apply for completion certificate from the respective authorities.
After completion of construction Architect/Licensee will have to apply for a completion
certificate in the prescribed format along with completed building drawings to the Issuing
Authorities. The local authority will check completion documents for compliance with
building rules and will assess building tax for the building. Once you have received the
completion /occupancy certificate you can apply for water connection.
Read More about the documents required for building permits.
A temporary electrical connection can be applied any time once you have an active site
which can be converted to a permanent connection later on when all the necessary
papers are at hand.
19. Hardscaping and Landscaping
Once your builder has completed your home, there’s still the “hardscaping” to be done –
the driveway, patio and walkways, and then the “landscaping” plan can be put into action
– the irrigation system, laying of grass bed and planting of trees, as well as outdoor
lighting, to be considered.
20. Final Cleanup
There will always be debris left over from the construction process on the interior and
exterior of the home that you’ll want to have removed/cleaned.
21. Moving In

Construction of residential building required following paper work before the start of actual
construction. These steps are;

1. Preparation of drawings as per requirements of consumers.

2. Estimation of material cost, labor cost & contingencies.
3. Approval of drawings & estimates from Client.
 4. Approval of drawings from City Development Authority. It is most important because
residential building drawings should meet the authority defined rules.
5. Start of construction work either through contractor or labor hired on daily basis.
6. Marking of plot boundaries.
7. Cleaning of plot.
8. Preparation of site layout as per drawing.
After the completion of documentation work, the actual construction on plot begins.
Following are the steps;

EARTH WORK
Generally excavation is carried out for the construction of wall foundations. Excavation
should be carried out as per the drawings defined lengths & widths. After excavation, layout
the foundation and backfill the remaining excavated area around foundation with soil.

Floor levels of residential buildings are higher than the natural ground level. Fill the area with
soil up to floor levels and compact the soil. Now earth work of residential building is
finished.

CONCRETE WORK IN FOUNDATION

It is very necessary to check the levels of foundation before concrete work. There are patches
where excavated depth slightly exceeds and vice versa. Level the foundation base to same
level. Now pour the concrete as per drawing specs. Generally concrete of ratio 1:4:8 is used
for foundation. Sometimes it is even 1:5:10 or 1:6:20.

Here 1:4:8 means;
1 part cement per cubic
4 parts of sand per cubic
8 parts of coarse aggregates
Depth of foundation varies from 9” to 18” and normally for most of the cases it is considered
as 12’’ depth. Keep foundation width equals to its depth.
DAMP PROOF COARSE (D.P.C)
To protect walls from moisture, a layer of damp proof coarse material is laid down at floor
level. Thickness of this concrete layer is 0f 1 inch. Material of damp proof coarse layer
consists of concrete ratio 1:1.5:3 with a mixture of water proof material 1kg/bag.

MASONRY WORK
Masonry work is carried out with cement mortar. Cement mortar is a mixture of cement &
sand. Ratio of cement mortar varies from 1:4 to 1:6. Here (1:6) mean, 1 part cement and 6
parts of sand. Dampen about 25 bricks with a hose pipe and clean away all loose dirt from the
top of footing and moisten about a meter of surface at one end of the foundation with the hose
pipe. Throw a mortar line just behind the threaded level line and lay bricks on the mortar bed.
Make sure bricks exactly follow the threaded horizontal level line.
LINTEL
Masonry work of buildings is carried out in one go till roof. Openings for windows & doors
are left during masonry works. Reinforced cement concrete beams are laid down on the top of
openings. So, those loads of structure above openings not directly come on to the door
frames.

ROOFING
Roof slab of building is poured after completion of masonry works. Now a days, roofing is of
reinforced cement concrete slab. Slab thickness & reinforcement details should be according
to approved drawings.

PLASTERING & POINTING

Form work is removed after 14 days of slab pouring. Now plaster work begins. Mortar for
plaster work is generally of 1:3 or 1:4 is used. Thickness of plaster layer should not be more
than 0.75inch. Cure the surface about 7 days. So that, plaster gain proper strength.
Generally, internal walls of buildings are covered with plastered layer and external walls with
pointing. It is better plaster the external walls rather than pointing.

DOORS & WINDOWS

Traditionally, doors and windows of woods are used. But, steel & aluminum is also not a bad
choice. In case of wooden doors & windows, frames are fixed in walls during masonry work.
Panels are then fixed with hinges after plaster work. Steel and aluminum doors are fixed after
completion of paint work.

SERVICES
Services are very important for every single house. Different types of services are provided
during construction. These are Electricity supply, gas supply, water supply, sanitary etc.
Conduits for electric supply are fixed in walls before plastering. Similarly water supply and
sanitary lines are also laid before pouring of building floor. Note that gas lines are not fixed
in walls or slabs. Gas line remains open in air.

Floor Space Index (FSI) is the ratio between the total built-up area and plot
area available allowed by the government for a particular locality.
Floor area ratio (FAR) is the ratio of a building's total floor area to the size
of the piece of land upon which it is built. The terms can also refer to limits
imposed on such a ratio.