Building a house can be one of the most exciting and fulfilling experiences of your life! But do you know what happens after you’ve paid your deposit and once construction begins? If you’ve chosen Hamlan as your builder, you’re in the safest hands. We’ve streamlined our process and we are there every step of the way through the construction of your home.
As a builder with more than 35 years’ experience building homes across the Geelong region, we have overcome almost every building challenge.
We want your building journey to be enjoyable and to make things simple to understand we have consolidated all the construction steps into five main stages.
First things first — meeting a Hamlan new home consultant
Before we get to building your home you will need to meet one of our new home consultants who will help you choose the right floorplan to suit your lifestyle. Hamlan’s new home consultants are friendly and knowledgeable. They will guide you through the list of options to personalise your home and are available to answer any questions before a proposal for your build is prepared. Our team is thorough and can help you avoid pressure points which may cause costly delays.
Between signing contracts and the start of construction, you will need to obtain formal finance approval. In the meantime, our team will be busy finalising the building permits and ordering all of the materials for your new home.
Getting ready for construction
Now that we’ve received enough details on your new home, we can start seeking information on your block of land to determine site costs. Your initial $2000 deposit allows us to perform a soil test, survey the land and produce your preliminary plans.
While we do this, you get to have some fun with your colour consultation. This is where you get to work with our style consultant to make your colour and material selections for your internal and external finishes. This is everything from the roofing, cladding and brickwork through to paint, flooring, cabinetry, tiles and window finishes.
We believe that truly great results are achieved through communication and personal service. The building journey is a partnership between us and your site manager is your point of contact throughout the construction of your new home. Prior to commencing construction of your new home, you meet with your site manager at our head office. This is where we run through everything with you and answer any questions you may have.
Our experienced site team understand how important building homes are for our clients and strictly follow our Quality Assurance checklists. Our Quality Assurance involves numerous checks in addition to supporting photographs that we keep on record before construction can progress to the next stage.
There are many milestones and details that go into constructing your new home. Once construction commences your site manager will provide you with weekly updates on how your new home is progressing. In addition, we provide you with regular emails and access to our client portal so that you can keep track of the progress.
To make it simple to understand the process we have consolidated everything into five main stages which are explained below.
1. Base Stage
Now that your deposits are paid and your colours are selected and you’ve met with your site manager — it’s time to get building!
Step one is the Base Stage. All of the stages within construction are vital but there’s no room for error when laying the foundations of a home. Our team of trades prepare the concrete slab by boxing out the house plan according to the structural plans of the home. An independent building surveyor then visits the site to check that the footings are the same as our working drawings and meets the engineering supplied in our contract. Once we get the approval and an inspection certificate from the building surveyor, we pour your slab.
Following this stage, you will be invited by your site manager to meet on site to see the progress.
We then move onto the next stage — the frame stage!
2. Frame stage
Once your slab has been approved, we begin building the home’s frame. Once we’ve constructed the frame, the building surveyor returns to check the frame meets the building code and once it’s approved, we start preparing for the lock up stage.
Following this stage, you will be invited by your site manager to meet on site to see the progress.
3. Lock up stage
This stage might be one of the more exciting stages — as you’ll really be able to see your home come to life!
Once the lock up stage is complete your home’s external wall cladding and roof cover will be fixed, the flooring will be laid and the external doors and windows are fixed (even if those doors and windows are temporary). This means your home can be safely secured while the internal and external work by tradespeople is completed.
Following this stage, you will be invited by your site manager to meet on site to see the progress.
4. Fixing stage
This is when the tradespeople come in and start working on some of the finer details of your home. At this stage, internal cladding, architraves, skirting, doors, built-in shelves, tiling, baths, basins, troughs, sinks, cabinets and cupboards of a home are fitted and fixed in position.
Following this stage, you will be invited by your site manager to meet on site to see the progress.
5. Completion
We take pride in the homes that we build and want every client to be confident that their home has been built to the same standard as our display homes. Our commitment is to build our homes free of defects so that when we hand over the keys you can move straight in and enjoy your new home.
On completion of your new home you will attend a pre-handover, where you will walk through the home with your site manager to check the finish of the home. If there’s anything you need to query, this is your chance to get it addressed before the official handover. With our weekly updates, usually any issues that are raised should be addressed before it gets to this stage — but we want to make sure you do love your new home!
The building surveyor also returns for a final inspection to cross check the home against its building plans, make sure the home meets the building code and is fit for human occupancy. And once we get the certificate of occupancy we can arrange your handover!
Hamlan General manager Andrew Carroll says handover day is one of the most exciting days a family can experience.
“Once you open that door and let the family inside, the kids are already running around the home and planning what they are going to do with their bedroom,” he says.
“To experience that excitement with our clients is a really special moment that we can’t replicate. It’s why we’re in the business of building homes.”
In summary
In summary, the five stages are:
- Base Stage: Once your site is prepared and approved, the slab is poured.
- Frame Stage: The frame is constructed.
- Lock up stage: All external wall cladding, roof, windows and doors are fixed so you can secure your home.
- Fixing stage: Tradespeople complete work on internal cladding, architraves, skirting, doors, built-in shelves, tiling, baths, basins, troughs, sinks, cabinets and cupboards of a home are fitted and fixed in position.
- Completion: Once we get the certificate of occupancy, it’s time for your handover!
Throughout each stage our experienced site team strictly follow our Quality Assurance checklists. And once construction commence your site manager will provide you with weekly updates on how your new home is progressing. We have it all covered.
