i'm currently in the midst of constructing our house and in order to control cost, the first thing (planning) you have to do (i did it personally) is to come up with a detailed cost estimate of the materials that you will be using ... the more detailed the better, start with the most important materials needed for the structure ... rebars, CHB, cement, sand, gravel, coco lumber, etc. most of the info you need in computing the needed materials are in the plan of your house. once you have the list, get the latest prices and the will serve as your initial benchmark for controlling cost. once the construction started, keep a record of all your expenses and once a week, review the progress of the work against your estimate (this really takes a lot of analysis) ... concentrate on 2 areas, the materials critical and will really be use in your house (e.g. rebars, cement, etc) and the materials that will be needed in the construction of your house but will not really be use in the house (e.g. coco lumber and plywood for formworks, etc) ... if your spending too much, it could be your estimate is wrong (review your formula in calculating your estimates), it could be your workers are creating a lot of waste (e.g. cutting the rebars creates a lot of unused materials, etc), or the price your getting the materials are quite high than you expected (e.g. look for other brand that are cheaper but offers the same quality).

take note ... you cannot control your cost if you don't have something (accurate and realistic) to compare it with from the start to the finish of the project. this is true whether you are the one managing the construction of your house, as in my case, or you have a contractor doing the job for you. in my case, i'm on a tight budget which is why i decided to do it on my own.

another thing you need to do if you are on a tight budget, is to review your house plan and see where you can save on cost without sacrificing the integrity of your structure or the safety of your family once you start to use the house ... there are a lot of ways of doing it, and if your a DIYer at heart, you'll analyze things and ask your self, does it makes sense to use that materials based on the specs or what? ... a good example for my case recently was the electrical wires needed for all the outlets in the bedrooms. based on plan, i have to buy THW #10 (36/meter), the next smaller wire, THW #12 cost 22/meter. I ask my archi friend who prepared the plan, why? and he said that's because there is an aircon outlet in each of the rooms. I told him, i have no plans of installing aircons in each of the rooms, can i use the #12 instead and he said no problem as #12 can handle all the other gadgets that i need to plug in the outlet 🙂 ... the savings looks little, but after doing the math, it's a lot ...
another example of some savings ... the plan calls for using 7 pcs of 20mm rebars for the 10 columns of the 2-storey house (all concrete), not only is it too expensive, but it's so hard to get it because no one is using it for their houses here in our place. i ask my archi friend again, why? :-). he said, it's in case i plan to built a 3/F in the future and in case of a major earthquake 🙂 he he he. i told him, i have no plans for a 3/F in the future and there are no faults here in tampakan (i already checked in the internet) so the probability of having a magnitude 7 earthquake here is quite remote :-), so can i use the 16mm instead of 20mm? he said no problem for the 6 columns at the side of the house, but for the 4 major columns in the center of the house he said better stick to the 20mm specs. i said that's great. i did save a lot on the cost of rebars just by making this change without sacrificing the integrity of the house 🙂 ...

you just need to use a lot of common sense in looking for ways to reduce the cost of your construction ... but never use sub-standard materials for your house just so you can save on cost, it's not worth it as you and your family will be the one living in it ... safety comes first when it comes to your family ... i really learned a lot these last 10 weeks in managing the cost of our house construction ... so many experiences to tell over a bottle of beer with my friends 🙂 he he he ... cheers

Boo!

One of the ways of reducing costs is to pay attention to phone codes. After all, we deal via phones pretty often and if we mix codes it can lead to expenses. So, check this site https://areaphonecodes.com/france/ before making intercity or international calls. There's not only France but all the countries.