Generally, verandahs are considered as a luxury. Most of the times adding a verandah is considered to be an expensive venture. However, the story is not all the same. You can get cost-effective verandahs that look as elegant as high-cost ones and boost the overall appeal of your home multiple folds. Most of the cost is attributed to building material and labor. If you can manage to adjust with these two costs without much compromise with quality, you can get a wonderful looking verandah without causing any havoc to your budget. Here are some tips which you can follow to curtail the construction cost of an impressive verandah.
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Go for ground level
One factor that can bump up the cost of a verandah is the location. You can construct a verandah in two ways, either at the ground level or at an elevated level. If you wish to get a verandah at a lower cost, you should always go for the ground level option. This saves a considerable amount of material that would be required for supporting and have no balustrade.
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Timber flooring
Using timber flooring is ideal for the verandahs at the ground level. You can choose the timber wood from different types according to the cost and longevity. You can also get enough boards of good quality timber from recycling units.
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Concrete finish for floor
The concrete finish should be used if the floor is built at ground level. This is the strongest finish and is preferred by many for being durable with low maintenance costs. If you are planning to use steel support for durability reasons, the concrete finish is the ideal choice.
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Roof material
Roof material is also a factor that is often confusing for low-cost construction. You should look for a material that has excellent spanning ability. This will allow you to ease on the supporting framework. For such installations steel is often considered a good choice for roofing.
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Choice of cladding
Cladding is an optional feature. Not all verandahs are built with a cladding. However, some people like cladding as this fills in the ends. This is done to keep the wind and rain from entering the verandah. If you are running low on your budget you can skip this part. Even if you want to have cladding, opt for low-cost material.
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Self contribution
Building a verandah is not that difficult. Anyone with average skills can do it. If you can contribute in some way to build your verandah, it will reduce your labor cost and will reduce your overall expenses considerably. If any of your friend or known person has the skills, you can arrange with him by offering help in other work that could be beneficial for both.
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Find used goods
You can search for used goods to furnish your verandah. You can easily find old chairs and tables online. You can customize these goods with little repair and painting and they will look as good as new.
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Call quotations from several builders
If you are giving the contract of construction to a builder, you should always call for multiple quotations. This will give you a quotient to compare the price and quality and select the most affordable one.