Things can be done after construction.

Hi,

I'm in the process of building a home in Canberra. I've already selected a builder, and almost finalised floor plan. I understand that it's always better to do things during the building period, but given the limited budget we might need to give up some items and save it as things-to-do later on. For instance, foundation can not be modified or re-done once the house is built, but adding additional down lights or fan would not be difficult to do later. So with my limited budget, I'm more inclined to spend more on windows, insulation, and heating system. On the other hand, I would not mind tiling half heigh in the bathroom instead of full height. It's my first time, so I may do things wrong. Do you have any general advises based on your experiences? What sort of works can be done later on after construction.
Thanks.

Downlights after is sometimes a pain to be honest. If you don't get the location you want because of a truss or blocking it becomes a compromise. They typically don't back block a batten so fitting a fan means going into the roof. Tiles to, if you dont do full wall initially, they might use gyprock for the border tile, but you can't use that as a substrate for the tile to a ceiling. Have a good chat to the builder. Don't hide what you want to save as a simple change now can help in the future.

Thanks for your kind advice.

Depends what you're current inclusions are, but we're not including wardrobes and will just use second hand ones until we can save later on to get them built. Also have a walk in pantry where we've left out all shelving and will DIY ourselves. We've decided to only install AC provisions (power, pipes, condensate) and will have 3 split systems installed down the track as well.

Time will tell if these are good ideas, but given prices have gone up 30-40% since we started the process, we've had to make cuts as well.