AADHS Construction and Interiors | aadhsconstructionandinteriors.com
A house build runs in a fixed order — prepare, found, frame, service, finish, snag — and each step has a duration and a typical way it goes wrong.
Step one is site preparation and foundations, opening the 8–16 week shell. The classic failure here is stripping slab formwork before 7 days, before the concrete has reached roughly 70% of its design strength.
Step two completes the shell: load-bearing walls, floors and roof. Full concrete strength arrives at 28 days, and loading slabs earlier — with stacked materials or heavy plant — is the failure that hands weeks back to the programme.
Step three is first fix: socket circuits on 2.5 mm² copper with 16–20 A breakers, lighting on 1.5 mm² with 10–16 A breakers, and water pipework. The gate is the pressure test — 1.5 times working pressure held for at least 15 minutes; any drop means a leak to find before walls close.
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Step four closes the building: metal-stud partitions finished at 95–125 mm, then plaster. Fixing boards before first-fix tests are signed off is the failure that forces finished walls back open.
Step five is second fix and finishes: doors of 800–900 × 2,040 mm hung in 900–1,000 mm openings, kitchens set at 850–920 mm worktop height, and two coats of emulsion at 10–14 m² per litre — 14–20 litres per 100 m² of wall.
Step six is practical completion and snagging: typically 10–30 items, cleared within 2–4 weeks, after which the house is handed over. The durations for each step are tabulated in the build timeline, and the room dimensions in the fit-out standards guide.
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