With this being the third house that we’ve built, Nate and I have learned a thing or two about building a house. We also have learned some tips and tricks along the way.
Keep reading for one of the biggest homebuilding tips I tell people who are in the process of building or remodeling, especially if you will be completing a DIY project or even hanging a picture on the wall. We just completed our electrical walk-through a few weeks ago with Jordahl Custom Homes; more on that here.
Knowing What’s In Your Walls
When your home is between the rough-in phase and drywall, take photos of every single wall. When I say every wall, I mean every single wall. By doing this, you’ll know what lies within your walls, including all of the plumbing and electrical. There’s nothing worse than hanging a picture frame in a newly completed space and nailing into a plumbing tube full of water.
A few weeks ago, Nate and I walked through our home and took photos of each wall, as well as a video walk-through. Once we got home, I uploaded the images to a shared Google Drive and renamed each image with the name of the room and location, i.e. ‘bedroom 2, east wall’. Keeping them ‘in the cloud’ makes it so easy to reference the images later when we’re in the middle of a DIY project.
We have been lucky to have been involved with all three of our home building processes. We have a folder for each home full of images that we can later reference. This time, we took it a step further and brought a tape measure. We measured exactly where the plumbing is within the wall and took photos.
This wall is located in my future office and shares a wall with our laundry room, which means lots of plumbing. Eventually, I’d like add cabinets to this office space. When we do, we’ll feel more confident screwing the cabinets into the wall, knowing where the plumbing is. Please note, you will have to account for the non-existent drywall if you use a tape measure. We took close up photos, but the below image gives you an idea.
There you have it. My biggest tip that you should be utilizing if you are building or remodeling. Do you have any suggestions or tips to share? Drop them in the comments below; I’d love to add them to this list.
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