It all starts with the plot. Whether it can be built on depends on the commune's plan local d'urbanisme, the local planning code: zoning, building footprint, set-backs, permitted heights. You also need to identify any easements that limit the use of the land.
A geotechnical survey tells you about the nature of the ground and guides the choice of foundations. It is a modest outlay compared with what it prevents: unsuitable foundations are expensive, and for a long time.
Good design starts from the site, not from a standard plan. The shape of the plot, its orientation, its access and its neighbours guide where the house sits and how the rooms are arranged.
Around Narbonne, the Mediterranean climate brings its own constraints: keeping out the wind and the summer heat matters as much as capturing the winter light. New build is also subject to RE2020, the French environmental regulation, which governs the energy performance and carbon impact of new houses.
Be wary of budgets built on general averages: every plot, every brief and every level of finish produces a different cost. Studies specific to the project, from drawings and a soil survey to detailed quotes, give a far more reliable basis.
The works are then organised in broad phases: earthworks, foundations, structural work, making the building watertight and airtight, then second-fix works and finishes. A realistic programme, set before the start, avoids a good deal of tension along the way.
MCI Construction is a building and masonry company based in Narbonne. The structural work is carried out by its own teams, and the works are covered by the French statutory warranties: décennale, dommages-ouvrage, parfait achèvement and biennale.
Every project depends on the plot, the budget and the brief: there is no single answer. MCI Construction will assess your project and draw up a free quote, in Narbonne and the Grand Narbonne, the Corbières, the Minervois and along the Aude coast, as far as Béziers.