For many prospective homeowners, a slow construction schedule could translate into several more months of dealing with an unpleasant landlord and paying hefty sums as rent. Apart from ensuring that building materials are bought and delivered on time, there's more that you can do to speed up your construction project.

This article discusses two things you can do for a relatively faster construction project.

Choose "Faster" Alternatives

Some building techniques take much longer than others, and you can use this to your advantage. For example, using tilt-up construction for the walls instead of installing a traditional stone/masonry wall might save you some valuable time.

The installation of tilt-up walls is likely to take a significantly shorter time than the installation of stone/masonry walls. Tilt-up walls are "made" on site. Concrete is poured into tilt-up panels that have been made according to the required wall dimensions (e.g. height and thickness), before they're allowed to cure. The tilt-up wall is then lifted (using a crane) and installed in its final position. The described process is likely to be faster than having to install layer after layer of stone for each of your walls.

You could also use screw piles/helical anchors for your foundation instead of the traditional concrete-poured foundation. When concrete for the foundation is poured, you'll have wait for it to cure before the construction of the house can continue. But you might not have to wait if you choose to install a screw-piled foundation.

Ask About Buffer Time

Buffer time is the difference between the amount of time needed to complete a section of a building project and the actual amount of time it takes during construction. Buffer time is included in nearly all phases of the construction exercise because factors such as harsh weather conditions may delay construction activities. However, these factors don't always create the need for the additional time allocated.

If a builder allocates five days for the installation of a tilt-up wall (including buffer time for weather-related complications), it might be possible for the wall to be installed on the third or fourth day if the weather remains fine.

It might be a good idea to ask your builder about the amount of time included as "buffer time" in each stage of the construction process. Once you have this breakdown, you can closely monitor each stage of the process to ensure that buffer time is eliminated whenever possible.

Share