Home Build Checklist

Check out the David Reid Homes 10-Step Building Process for guidance and assurance during your build

Getting your ideas down on paper is the best way to refine plans for a new home or a major renovation.

And part of that process should be compiling a checklist that will take you through the process from start to finish.

Kim Maitland from David Reid Homes Taupo says putting your ideas on paper helps firm up ideas important to you, while keeping you on top of the mind-boggling array of steps involved in the building process.

“One of the first things we do with our customers is sit down with them to fill in a checklist – that we call a wishlist, which gives us a rough idea of what they want in their new home,” Kim says.

‘‘The best houses are created as a result of the best preparation and the David Reid Homes wishlist aims to achieve this through prompting our customer’s thoughts and feelings relating to their future home.’’

Organising your finances and knowing your budget is part of that first step, which will give you an idea of the sort of section you want and the size and style of your home.

“At this stage it’s also good to begin compiling a list of must-haves – such as the number of bedrooms or an oversized garage – and a list of things that are expendable if your budget blows out.”

The cost of the section you intend building on will have to be factored into the budget and allowances made for any extra costs depending on factors such as its contour, ease of access and the provision of services.

Remember that a tricky design with a lot of curves, a high stud or a complicated roofline will cost a lot more to build on a per metre rate than a simple home. A complicated home will also cost more in design fees.

Choice of building materials also greatly influences the cost, as will the fixtures and fittings – and don’t forget to allow for any new appliances you might need.

As you can see there are a huge array of decisions to make when deciding to build your own home, which is why we’re committed to making the process easy.

Our 10-Step Building Process guides customers through the build, which is overseen by our experienced teams from the design stage, until the keys to the home are handed over.

We work with our customers from the get go to determine exactly what they want in their home, while managing all the nitty-gritty details and delivering a quality home, built to last and to a pre-determined fixed price.

Custom-made – A Case Study

Custom-made: This 168 sqm, three-bedroom home in Taupo has been designed to maximise family space & accentuate indoor/outdoor flow

When Carol Townshend from Taupo wanted to build a contemporary home that focused on outdoor living and made the most of its beautiful setting, she approached David Reid Homes Taupo.

Living out of town and tied up with her business, Carol says it could have been easy to get overwhelmed by all the details that go into building a home, but the David Reid Homes Taupo team made the whole experience stress-free.

“Working with DRH was really great. They project managed the whole job and kept us up to date with progress.”

David Reid Homes takes care of the business end of the build, leaving you to focus on the finishing touches to make your house a home

While David Reid Homes managed the build, Carol had the freedom to decide on all the elements to make their home unique, such as light-filled open spaces, tasteful pops of colour and texture and a sheltered deck to enhance its bach-house aesthetic.

The 10-Step Building Process helped break down the project into manageable-sized steps.

“They took care of all of the day-to-day requirements, and the communication and high level of project management ensured that the building process went smoothly.”