Home construction

Home construction or residential construction is the process of constructing a house, apartment building, or similar residential building generally referred to as a 'home' when giving consideration to the people who might now or someday reside there. Beginning with simple pre-historic shelters, home construction techniques have evolved to produce the vast multitude of living accommodations available today. Different levels of wealth and power have warranted various sizes, luxuries, and even defenses in a "home". Environmental considerations and cultural influences have created an immensely diverse collection of architectural styles, creating a wide array of possible structures for homes.

The cost of housing and access to it is often controlled by the modern realty trade, which frequently has a certain level of market force speculation. The level of economic activity in the home-construction section is reported as housing starts, though this is contrarily denominated in terms of distinct habitation units, rather than distinct construction efforts. 'Housing' is also the chosen term in the related concepts of housing tenure, affordable housing, and housing unit (aka dwelling). Four of the primary trades involved in home construction are carpenters, masons, electricians and plumbers, but there are many others as well.

Global access to homes is not consistent around the world, with many economies not providing adequate support for the right to housing. Sustainable Development Goal 11 includes a goal to create "Adequate, safe, and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums". Based on current and expected global population growth, UN habitat projects needing 96,000 new dwelling units built each day to meet global demands. An important part of housing construction to meet this global demand, is upgrading and retrofitting existing buildings to provide adequate housing.

While homes may have originated in pre-history, there are many notable stages through which cultures pass to reach the current level of modernization. Countries and communities throughout the world currently exhibit very diverse concepts of housing, at many different stages of home development.

Two methods for constructing a home can be distinguished: the method in which architects simply assume free choice of materials and parts, and the method in which reclaimed materials are used, and the house is thus during its entire construction a "work in progress" (meaning every single aspect of it is subject to change at any given time, depending on what materials are found).

The second method has been used throughout history, as materials have always been scarce.

In Britain, there is comparatively little demand for innovative homes produced through radically different production methods, materials, and components. Over the years, a combination of trade protectionism and technical-product conservatism all round has also stymied the growth of indigenous producers of housing products such as aluminum cladding and curtain walling, wall tiles, advanced specialist ironmongery, and structural steel.

Civil Site Plans, Architectural Drawings and Specifications comprise the document set needed to construct a new home. Specifications consist of a precise description of the materials to be used in construction. Specifications are typically organized by each trade required to construct a home.