The key rule: every decision has a deadline
When building a house, every decision has to be made before a particular stage: the layout before the design, slab openings before the pour, sockets and lighting before the walls are closed, windows before the openings are finished. After that point a change is still possible, but it costs money and time. Below, stage by stage, is what needs deciding and by when.
This list does not replace our articles on each stage, which exist separately. It covers only what the owner needs to tell the team while it is still cheap.
Before the design: plot, brief and budget
Plot checks: what planning rules allow on it, a topographic survey, a geotechnical study, access and utility connections. The room brief: which rooms, at what sizes and in what relationships, what is essential and what can wait. A budget guide and the level of finish.
At this stage changes cost nothing but discussion time. That is exactly why it deserves more attention than seems necessary. Every hour spent on the brief saves weeks of redesign.
Design and permit
The basic design is submitted to the Ajuntament for the building licence; timescales and fees are confirmed with the Ajuntament or a gestor. Once submitted, changing the volume, height or position of the house on the plot is difficult, because it means amending a design already in process.
By then the layout, facades, roof, pool if there will be one, and the main systems must be decided: heating and cooling, hot water, solar panels, ventilation. The construction design develops all of that, and it is where openings, structure and service routes get fixed.
Earthworks, foundations and frame
Before earthworks, decide whether there will be a pool and where. It pays to dig it together with the house excavation, while the machines are on site. Drainage and utility connections also go in at this stage.
Before each slab is poured: openings and sleeves for drainage, ventilation and air conditioning, the stair opening, exposed concrete if you want it, feeds for outdoor lighting and rooftop equipment. On our house with a pool, which we ran from 2022 to 2024, the solar panel fixings and cable routes were planned at the frame stage so the finished roof would not need puncturing later.
Facade, windows and roof
Windows are made to fit the openings, and quality systems can have long lead times, so they are ordered early, as soon as the openings are final. Before ordering, decide the profile, colour, glazing, opening type, shutters or blinds and how they operate. Motorised shutters need a cable to each window, and it goes in before plastering.
The facade material and its junctions with windows and roof are settled before cladding starts. A roof with a terrace or solar panels needs waterproofing, falls and fixings coordinated before it is built.
Services before walls close, then finishes
Before walls and ceilings are closed: furniture positions in every room, sockets and switches, lighting scenes, points for TV and audio, home automation, alarm, cameras, an electric car charger, water feeds for the fridge or an outdoor shower. Anything decided after plastering will run in surface trunking or through chases in a finished wall.
Finishes come last, but their decisions are needed earlier than you would think. Floor thickness sets the screed level, sanitaryware models set the positions of the water points, and joinery dimensions set where sockets go. The kitchen and fitted wardrobes are designed alongside the services.
Completion, and how we run the process
At the end the paperwork is processed: the certificate of completion from the site supervision team, certificates for the building services and the first-occupancy cédula de habitabilidad. Without them you cannot properly connect permanent utilities or live in the house. The order and timescales are confirmed with the technical team and the gestor.
We build houses in Barcelona, the Garraf and the Maresme with one person in charge of the site, who reminds you in advance which decision is due before each stage. We work in Spanish and Russian, with our own crew plus trusted subcontractors for specialist work, and stage payments under the contract. Send us the plot or the project, and we will reply within an hour.