The Custom Home Building Process

In the nearly three decades that I've been building homes, I've seen many variations in the way that homeowners come at the home building process. There are, however, a number of fundamentals that can be broken down to help demystify the process for anyone choosing to have a custom home built for the first time.

Choosing land for your custom home

By the time I first talk to you, your land will undoubtedly have already been chosen or identified. You will have a location selected for your new custom home and be at the stage where you are ready to look at designing and building that home; you may even already have the house design in hand, but more on that below.

Siting your custom home

I have long experience of helping clients - particularly those with larger plots of land or else some latitude in the positioning of their new home on a smaller plot - in deciding where to site their new home.

Choosing a site for your home can involve many variables, some of which have an impact on project costs and building permission (eg site access and driveway length, conditions for drilling a well), and some of which have an impact on how your home’s design and envelope will function (eg positioning for solar gain).

Still other factors – less tangible to consider when the site is empty – will affect how you will enjoy your new home when it is complete (eg views and other environmental factors). I can help you to consider all of these factors in parallel and to make the best decision for siting your new home.

Designing and costing your custom home

There are several different ways to approach the design of your new home, all of them good options depending on your particular requirements and dreams for your home.

Not surprisingly, many clients looking to build a custom home begin with talking to and engaging an architect. Choosing to meet with both the architect and a custom home builder such as myself early on in the process will provide an opportunity to flush out a lot of questions and issues that will benefit the project if discussed at the beginning. My long experience in implementing a diverse range of building technologies and solutions complements design discussions, informs the development or refinement of a project budget, and can help to ground the process overall.

A good number of clients come to the table with plans of their own or find an existing house plan that they wish to have modified. I have also shared house plans that I have used with clients who end up changing and tailoring the original plan to better suit their needs. For instances like these I work with a designer.

In all cases, developing an accurate set of costings for you new home will rest on major elements such as the building technologies required by the project, construction materials (including major items like windows, roofing, etc.) and the quality of interior cabinetry and finishes. It is at this stage that I work closely with homeowners on balancing their wishlists with other project realities, such as budget or related elements.

At the end of the design process and once a final project specification and costing has been agreed, the building contract is finalized and includes the construction and delivery schedule.

Construction of your custom home

During the construction process homeowners are welcome to visit the site for regular walk-throughs. These site visits are very often useful for reviewing any fluid site elements, such as grading decisions, details around custom built-ins in the interior and the electrical plan for the home.

There will be many decisions to be made throughout the construction process, particularly in the run-up to the midway point in the schedule when typically there are many selections to be decided for interior and exterior doors, bathroom fixtures, cabinetry, flooring and so on, and these can be handled either remotely (ie through email and phone calls) or by reviewing options onsite. These decisions are made easier for many homeowners by being able to walk-through the unfinished house to visualize and discuss different options.

Completion and Warranty

The pre-delivery inspection takes place approximately one week prior to closing. Together, we record any unfinished items, including any touch-ups or repairs required, along with notes about when these items will be addressed. At this time the homeowner is asked to sign a Certificate of Completion and Possession (CCP), listing the home's Tarion enrollment number and date of possession. Upon completion of the pre-delivery inspection and CCP the home is officially enrolled in Tarion's New Home Warranty program. For more information about this program and the protection it provides, please visit www.tarion.com.