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A New Construction Checklist You'll Need When Building Your Dream Home
This is the second article in our 10 point checklist for building a custom dream home. If you missed the first four tips, you can read them here in our article, "4 questions to answer before interviewing a homebuilder." Let's jump right in with number 5.
5. Choosing a Builder
Once you determine your desired location, wish list, and target budget, it's time for one of the most important steps. You are ready to start having intelligent conversations with various builders: interviewing them, as they interview you. And you might start by simply asking yourself, "do I require a builder who can build me a custom floor plan specific to my needs and desires, or should I find a builder who has a stock set of 5 or 10 plans I can choose from to have built on my land?"
Whichever option if right for you, you'll want to choose a professional builder who has the talents and the team to build your dream home on time, and on budget and who had a network of trusted professionals and relationships with the local township officials to help smooth over any hiccups which will occur throughout a normal home-build process. Prioritize this item on your construction checklist. You want to find a home builder who can meet your expectations and create your dream home and who has the skill to help make the process comfortable and enjoyable for you as their client. When exploring different options, make sure to check each professional's:
- Reputation
- Track record
- Portfolio
- Financial stability
- Reviews
- Follow-up warranty and public Court Records for any outstanding lawsuits or judgements.
In addition to their public reputation, you might consider speaking with permit officials in local townships and asking if they've had any problems with the builders you are interviewing.
Consider what features each builder includes with every home they build, and where the list of upgrades begin. Don't forget to look back on your Target Budget as well. You don't want to exceed your price range before you get started.
Take the time to review different types of builders as you explore your options. Check out this blog post on interviewing and screening contractors for more ideas.
6. The Land
Once you choose a location and a builder and you have some ideas about floor plan and general size and layout, it's time to choose a lot or land for your home. Consider:
- Trees
- Topography
- Size
- View
- Costs
Ask a lot of questions as you explore different lots. Discuss standard and premium lot pricing, tree placement, the floor plans, and any setbacks you need to know about. Consider soil ratings, too. You'll need to compensate for sandier or clay-like soils, and verify you aren't in any flood planes, wet lands, or on top of an endangered animal species. Next, take a look at "small lot" codes. Some restrictions apply with smaller lots, including safety standards. You'll need to meet these requirements, which could lead to additional expenses.
7. Reading the Contract
Each home builder and general contractor will handle this different and some may have Letter of Intent with a 10% deposit required to start the design process. The Contract or Agreement, in conjuction with the blue prints and floor plans, are the best tools that you and your home builder have to ensure you both share the same understanding of the project and vision for how this new home will look when completed. It is imperative that clients read and understand the entire agreement before signing, and that you refer to it, and the plans frequently during construction.
Once the agreement is signed, and the plans are finalized, any additional changes become very expensive very quickly. These changes are referred to in the Trades as "Change Orders." Moving a wall 12 inches looks simple on paper, but if framing lumber, duct work, trusses, and electrical and plumbing subcontractors have all been quoted and scheduled using the original plan, that 12 inch change after the agreement is signed could add thousands of dollars to the cost of the home. Some change orders are necessary for unforeseen circumstances, like problems discovered during excavation. But waking up at 2 AM with a new brilliant idea for the layout of the bathroom that involves moving the toilet, and adding a linen closet will require countless hours of plan revisions, township approvals, and getting details out to all of the subcontractors from framing to plumbing to flooring, and even the drywall crew which will add exponential cost to the final bill for your project.
8. Construction
The construction phase is when you'll see all of your hopes and dreams as a homeowner come to life. You'll see the foundation as it's poured, first sill plates and floor joists going in, the first walls standing up. Some days, it will look like nothing is happening, and other days, you'll wonder how "that" got done so quickly. Once the roof is on, the windows are in, the siding is up, and the house is "dried in," then you'll begin to see the real magic happen. Over time, pipes and hvac will appear, white and yellow wires will run through stud walls, the sheetrock, cabinets, flooring, and fixtures will appear, too.
There is a big difference between looking at blue-print of the floor plan, or the architect's model of your new home and actually standing inside the four walls. As individual rooms are framed, you might realize something doesn't feel right. This is another common time that in the process, where future homeowners initiate change orders. Change orders are almost always going to increase the cost of the project and your total out-of-pocket investment in your custom dream home, however, making a change the day you realize it needs to be made, will often be much cheaper than waiting until the middle of next week to discuss it with your builder.
Talk to your builder before this process starts. Ask them to explain their process for how they will communicate with you regularly throughout the construction phase, when you'll have pre-planned opportunities to inspect the project onsite and do occasional walk-throughs with the foreman or project manager.
9. Unexpected Delays
As you work through this construction checklist, be intentional about choosing to remain realistic. A few unexpected delays are bound to pop up throughout the process. It might take longer than you expected. Deciding to "keep a level head" before you start building your home will help you remain calm and relaxed through any unexpected hiccups which may occur. Challenges pop up in EVERY home build process. The deciding factors in whether or not those challenges escalate into crisis events include the overall attitude and expectation of the client, and technical skill and timely communication of the project manager, or home builder.
10. I've got the keys, lets move in the furniture.
Towards the end of the process, your builder, project manager, and job foreman will take you on a walk through of the property. They will have already created their punch-list of touch-ups and finishing touches or repairs that need to be made. This is your opportunity to point out any specific concerns before you make final payment. Often, residential home builders will require final payment at the completion of this punch list walk-through. They will complete the list in the following 7 to 10 days. Once that is complete, there will be one final walk through before they ask you to sign off on the completed project and they hand you your keys. At which point, just like Ty Pennington on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, you two will proudly get to shout, "Lets move in some furniture." And now you and your interior designer get to have fun making your new custom dream house, into a Home...
With this new construction checklist, you can build your dream home from the ground up! Discover the only construction and renovation team you'll need. COPE Construction and Renovation is a full-service, renovation team local to West Grove, Kennett Square, Lincoln University and the Southern Chester County area of PA. Our skilled craftsmen renovate kitchens, bathrooms, basements, create open concepts, rework existing spaces; and build additions, garages, and custom dream homes.