Where do I start with building a new home?

So you’re ready to build your new home in the Gippsland region? 

Building your dream home is a huge endeavour – it’s a multi-faceted project that has a number of moving parts and complex stages. With so much going on, it can be hard to know where to start, and how to take that very important first step towards your brand-new forever home.  

At Olsson Building, we base every residential construction project on a clear framework, which has been tried, tested, developed and refined over the last 20 years.  As design and build specialists, we’ve seen and heard it all before, and have designed our processes to ensure a fantastic building journey and most importantly, an outstanding final product. 

Here’s how we recommend you start with your brand-new home. 

Step One: Initial Meeting  

Any experienced builder will reply to an enquiry with a meeting to find out more about you and your project. At Olsson, we ask you to fill out an email questionnaire, which we then discuss in person, along with your requirements and options. This is your opportunity to explain what you’re looking to do, as well as our chance to explain our services and our process. 

We also conduct an obligation-free meeting on site to make a preliminary assessment of your block of land, taking into account slope, orientation, views and planning requirements. 

Step Two: Initial Design

At this stage, we ask you to commit to a Preliminary agreement. This allows us to organise a site survey, soil testing, a planning report and concept design. These documents are yours to keep, so if plans change or you decide to look elsewhere, you can take these with you. 

With those figures in hand, we can provide you with an estimated costing so you can start to get an idea of budgets. 

Step Three: Planning 

Your vision will start to come to life in this stage, as we review the concept plan and costing together and compare this against what you want to achieve and your budgets. It’s now that we’ll also explore fixtures and fittings, incorporating design and lifestyle requirements into your home. 

Once you’re happy with the plans, we finalise documentation for construction, including planning approvals, working drawings, engineering design and energy assessments. We’ll use these documents to prepare a detailed cost estimate so that you have a clearer idea of how it fits into your budget. If we’ve done our job correctly, there shouldn’t be any surprises. 

Step Four: Ready to go!

You should now have plans and a clear indication of how much your dream home will cost. It’s time to make your decision! If you’re happy to proceed, you can sign the building contract and we’ll organise building approvals so we can commence construction. 

Step Five: Building 

Sit back and relax, it’s time for us to transform your vision to reality. We’ll keep in regular contact throughout the build, with frequent email updates and site visits so you can watch it come to life. 

Step Six: Handover of keys 

Before you move in, we carry out a detailed inspection of the completed works, and fix anything that needs attention. With that, your brand-new home is now yours to enjoy!

That’s not the last you’ll hear from us though. We carry out a mandatory 3-month maintenance check and a final onceover at 12 months, just to make sure everything is as it should be. We know a home needs to live through all four seasons before we give it the final tick, giving you the confidence that any issues will be rectified. 

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Ready to take that first step to your dream home? Get in touch with our team at Olsson Building today.