So you want to build your dream home…

Congratulations! Building a custom home, designed to match your unique lifestyle, tastes, hopes, and dreams can be one of the most rewarding projects you can take on. You can create the perfect place to live, work, play, grow, heal, entertain, raise your family, and whatever else you can imagine.

Before you jump in, there are a few big questions you’ll have in order to know if, what, where, and how you can bring your vision to life. The biggest ones are: How much will it cost, and how long will it take? We’ll get into cost in a different article. Let’s explore what you should expect for your timeline, and all the variables and factors that impact how long it will take to build your home.

First, the basics: What’s a custom home?

It may or may not surprise you to know that most homes built these days are not unique designs done by architects for their specific clients. The majority of building is done by builders and developers based on plans that get repeated many times in a new neighborhood, often with minor tweaks to the exterior to add a bit of variety. There are benefits to these so-called ‘cookie-cutter’ homes. They can be done more cheaply and quickly than a custom design, across all stages of a project. The quality of the design can vary from ‘not great’ to ‘pretty good’ depending on the developer’s goals and the team they hire.

The biggest drawback is that it’s not unique to you.

A custom home is anything that is designed and built from scratch, just for you. You’ll be working with an architect or designer and finding a builder that can build to the style and quality you want.

As you can imagine, this is going to take longer, but when you move in, it will have been worth the wait.

Various factors, such as design complexity, location, and material availability, can influence the length of the project. Let’s look through the stages of the project so you can better understand how each one affects your timeline.

Estimated Timeline for a Custom Home Build

The timeline for building your custom home varies depending on factors such as size, complexity, location, red tape, availability of materials project management, and the efficiency of the construction team.

From start to finish, the process can take one to two years to complete, sometimes more if you live in an area with an extensive permitting process. This includes the design process, permitting and approvals, the pre-construction phase, the construction phase, and the final inspections.

Each stage is important. Understanding the complete process can help you manage expectations and prepare to make the decisions necessary to move through the phases.

Additionally, following key tips for building a custom home—such as engaging in the design process and selecting a reputable team—can help streamline the process and minimize delays.

The Design Process

The architectural design process is a significant part of your overall timeline. It can happen more or less quickly depending on how ambitious your goals are, how efficient you are with feedback and decision-making, and how well your architect manages the project. The important thing to know is that it can’t really be rushed. You want the design to not only be amazing but be complete. Your architect needs time to work out all the details, coordinate all the information coming in from consultants and engineers, and put it all together into a package that the contractor can use as their set of instructions to build with.

In terms of the timeline, we can look at it by phase.

The Predesign Phase: This includes initial research, feasibility studies, preliminary budgeting, code studies, collecting surveys and site info, and the conceptual design phase. This phase can vary quite a bit, depending on your project and the complexity of the site. It can happen in a couple of weeks or take a couple of months.

Schematic Design: This is where things start rolling architecturally. The info collected in the predesign phase and the initial concept design take shape into the design of a building. By the end of the design phase, you will have floor plans, elevations, and possibly some 3D renderings that will show what the final building will look like. This is all very exciting, but don’t make the mistake of thinking you are farther along than you really are. All of the details still need to come together in order to make it into a real building. This phase is about 15% of the design process and will usually take 2-3 months.

Design Development: In this phase, your architect will start coordinating with structural and MEP engineers to get their work incorporated into the design. There are often minor tweaks that will need to happen to accommodate structure or ductwork. It’s the architect’s job to develop the design so that it sticks to the original design intent.

Materials and finishes will start to be chosen and some of the finer details will get added to the design. This phase is about 20% of the process and should be done in 3-4 months.

Construction Documentation: As we mentioned, now it’s time to put everything together and get it ready to hand it over to the contractor. Every detail needs to be drawn and described in a way the contractor understands. Every material gets specified, every fixture selected. This is about 40% of the process and can take 3-6 months.

The remainder of the architect’s work takes place during the Construction Observation phase, where they make regular visits to the site to check in with the progress of the build and answer any requests for information from the contractor. They act as your agent on the site, assessing for quality, making field reports, and checking that the invoices from the contractor match the work completed. This is about 25% of the design budget, but overlaps the construction phase and doesn’t affect the timeline.

For more info on this, you can read a more in-depth article about the architectural design process here.

The Bidding Process

The standard project structure includes a bidding and negotiation process that happens after your architect has finished the construction documentation phase. This is where the drawings are sent out to a number of potential contractors and they calculate how much it will cost them to build the building. This can be a several-month process. Essentially they are figuring out costs and quantities for everything in the project, every piece of wood, every nail, every can of paint, and so on, so they can give an accurate estimate.

In our projects, we prefer a delivery model where you choose the contractor early in the design phase. Having a head start on the pricing process not only saves time, but having their input to raise questions and contribute ideas as the design is being developed brings efficiency to the construction phase that can outweigh any savings you might have had from the competitive bidding process.

Permitting and Approvals

Copy: To build or renovate a building, you need approval from the local jurisdiction (town or county) to make sure the design meets all building and zoning codes.

The process varies from place to place. Your architect will handle the drawings and documentation required to get your permits approved. They will give you the rundown at the beginning of the project. The permit applications will be major goals in the timeline.

In some remote places, you can get a building permit approved in a day, or a week. In more restrictive cities, it can take six months or more.

Construction

The construction phase is where the vision becomes a reality. This stage involves several tasks, including:

  • Site prep: Any clearing, grading or excavation to get the site ready. Bringing in underground utilities. Any cleanup or remediation that needs to get done to make the site safe to build on or live on.
  • Foundation and Framing: Laying the foundation and building the frame can happen relatively quickly. In a few months, it will look like a house, with all the frame and structure in place.
  • Mechanical Systems Installation: Installing plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems needs to happen before the walls are covered up and finished.
  • Interior and Exterior Finishes: This includes installing drywall, flooring, cabinetry, and exterior finishes.

In total, the construction phase can take anywhere from 10 to 18 months. It’s important to note that weather conditions, supply chain delays, and other unforeseen factors can impact the timeline.

What Factors Can Increase the Time to Move In?

Several factors can affect the timeline for completing a custom home, potentially delaying the move-in date. While some delays are unavoidable, understanding these factors can help in planning and making informed decisions. Here are some common elements that can increase the time to move in:

Weather

Weather conditions play a significant role in the construction timeline. Inclement weather, such as heavy rain, snow, or extreme temperatures, can halt work and delay progress. For example:

  • Rain: Can delay foundation pouring, framing, exterior work, and landscaping.
  • Snow and Cold: Can make it challenging to work on roofing and outdoor finishes. In cold climates, builders can work through the winter on warmer days, and inside once the envelope is sealed in. But you’ll want to get the site prep done and foundation poured before things freeze, or the whole project can be delayed until the following spring.
  • Heat: Extreme heat can slow down workers and delay the curing of materials like concrete.

These weather-related delays are often unpredictable, making it essential to have contingency plans in place.

Problems Getting Permits

Securing the necessary permits and approvals is a crucial step in the construction process. Delays in obtaining these permits can significantly impact the project’s timeline. Factors contributing to these delays include:

  • Complex Regulations: Some areas have stringent building codes and regulations that require extensive review.
  • Backlogged Departments: Local government offices may experience high volumes of applications, slowing the approval process.
  • Incomplete Applications: Missing or incorrect information can lead to further delays as corrections are made.

To avoid these issues, your architect will start the permitting process early and gearing the process around the application deadlines, and will do an extensive study of the local regulations before starting the design, wanting the building to be compliant from the outset.

Adding Consultants

In a custom home, you can add all kinds of things to make it your own happy place. Spa, fitness areas, home theaters, elevators are common in a large home. In many cases a special consultant will come on board to bring their expertise to the team. Adding a spa consultant, and home theater specialist, a lighting designer, and interior designer, an art consultant, and an acoustics engineer will elevate your design, but can also add time, while the architect coordinates all of these elements.

How to Reduce Delays in Your Home Build

Reducing delays during the construction of a custom home requires proactive planning and effective communication. While some factors may be beyond control, there are several strategies that homeowners and builders can implement to keep the project on track. Here are key approaches to minimize delays:

Timely Decision Making

Making timely decisions is crucial to maintaining the project schedule. Delays in choosing materials, fixtures, or finishes can lead to significant setbacks. To streamline the decision-making process:

  • Prioritize: If your architect is waiting a couple of weeks for feedback or a decision from you, it means a couple of weeks they aren’t working on your project. If you want to stick to your timeline, it’s important to prioritize your schedule so you have time to look at the design, put thought into it, and give timely responses.
  • Stick to the Plan: Once decisions are made, try to avoid changes unless absolutely necessary. Changing your mind can result in additional costs and delays. Your architect will need to sort out the design changes and re-coordinate everything with engineers and consultants. It’s ok to have new ideas, just realize that changes will add time and cost.
  • Communicate Clearly: Maintain clear communication with the builder and design team to ensure everyone is aligned with the decisions made.

By being decisive and organized, you can help prevent delays caused by indecision or last-minute changes.

Participate in Design and Construction Meetings

Participating in meetings is helpful to keep the project moving. These meetings involve you, your builder, your architect, and other key stakeholders. The objectives of these meetings include:

  • Reviewing the Design: Giving feedback and asking questions in a meeting where everyone is present can bring up potential issues and align your team with your goals.
  • Setting Expectations: Clarifying the roles and responsibilities of each party. Clarity on deadlines and deliverable requirements.
  • Finalizing Decisions: Sometimes you can approve an idea in a meeting. Sometimes you need to take time to think about it. Either way, participating in the meetings and having conversations with your designer and your contractor can make it easier for you to give confident answers and decisions.

Hire an Owner’s Rep

Alternatively, if you are too busy, travel frequently and have gaps in accessing messages, or otherwise don’t have the capacity or interest in being involved in the process, you can hire an Owner’s Rep to act as your agent throughout the design and construction process. Often an Owner’s Rep is a former contractor with tons of experience in all parts of the process.

They can oversee everything and take the burden off your shoulders.

DELIVERY METHOD

Your Custom Home Build is in Our Hands

Building a custom home is a significant investment, and choosing the right partner for the job is crucial. Our experienced team is dedicated to delivering high-quality craftsmanship and personalized service.

We offer a comprehensive range of residential services, including architectural design, project management, and interior design, to meet your unique needs.

Our residential services extend beyond just building homes; we focus on creating spaces that reflect your lifestyle and preferences. From the initial consultation to the final walkthrough, we prioritize clear communication and meticulous attention to detail. Whether you’re looking for a modern, minimalist design or a traditional, cozy aesthetic, our team has the expertise to bring your dream home to life.