From Start to Finish: Your Complete Guide to the Home Building Process
Your home is the largest investment you’ll make in your lifetime.
Under current market conditions, it takes seven to nine months to build a new home from contract to closing.
The custom home building process can seem like a daunting and confusing process. Here is a step by step home building guide to help you better understand the homes building process.
Defining Your Vision
Determine your overall vision, including the style of your home, lifestyle considerations, budget, construction requirements, and location.
Gather all the details about your home, discuss any further requirements, evaluate time frames, and put together a proposal, including a rough estimate of construction. Once a final plan has been defined, you’ll develop a detailed list of all the items.
Getting Started
Your project coordinator will contact you to schedule a one-on-one meeting to go over the building process and discuss timelines. Your project coordinator will be your leading contact throughout the remainder of your project. Together, your project coordinator and site supervisor ensure all details are relayed, and any issues are properly addressed.
Bench the Lot
Construction is underway, and the home site is being prepped for plumbing, undergrounds, and any electrical floor plugs. A vapor barrier is placed on top of the soil, and rebar is strategically placed for the post tension foundation.
Various soil conditions will require a different type of prep work during stage zero of the construction process and will be well explained during the pre-construction meeting with the community construction manager.
Pour the Slab
City municipalities will dictate the pounds per square inch that builders must adhere to while pouring the foundation. Some builders utilize a post tension foundation, which is common in slab-on-grade construction.
Framing
When it comes to framing, most people utilize the Dow Sill seal system. Dow Sill helps prevent moisture and air infiltration into your home by placing a Styrofoam-like layer between the foundation and wood frame of the home.
Also, you can utilize finger-jointed studs, which are made by bonding shorter sections of lumber into longer pieces using structural adhesives. Using shorter segments reduces warping and adds strength.
City Inspections
Once the framing is complete, electrical wiring, low voltage, HVAC, and plumbing racks are installed. At this stage of the construction, homeowners will undergo the pre-trial meeting with their construction manager so that they can ensure all electrical and plumbing options have been properly placed.
City inspectors will be seen on site ensuring that city building codes are being followed and that nothing is being overlooked.
Installation
When it comes to installation, most people go for attic insulation and radiant barrier tech roof shield. In addition to the insulation value, Styrofoam provides a water-resistant barrier, which keeps the wall cavity dry.
Drywall, Tape and Bed, Texture, and Brick
Once all the behind the wall insulation is complete, it’s time to hang the drywall. This is when the home starts to take shape, as rooms can now be easier to find. Once the drywall is hung, the seams will be taped, and bed and texture will be applied to the walls.
While this is being completed on the interior of the home, the exterior brick and stone masons will also be working to complete the outside of your new home.
Trim, Paint, and Cabinets
Trim is now being installed in the home, which includes the baseboards, window sill detail, crown moldings, and interior doors. Once the trim is complete, interior paint is next.
Trim moldings and doors will be given a separate paint color than the walls and ceilings. The home starts to look complete at this point as you’re more than halfway to the end.
Cabinet installation is next. Preparing for cabinets happens once the framing is complete. The cabinet company comes out to measure each home so that the proper cabinet widths may be built.
In preparation for cabinet install, you can use a technique called blocking for cabinets.
By placing horizontal two by four studs in the walls for cabinet blocking in the kitchen, you can ensure that the cabinet installer is hanging in the cabinets in the most secure manner possible. Most home builders do not block for the kitchen cabinets, which in time will cause the cabinets to pull away from the walls if the installer missed the studs during installation.
Countertops
Once the cabinets are installed, the countertop company will come out to measure.
Each countertop is cut to meet your kitchen requirements and takes roughly ten days to prepare for installation.
Final Mechanicals
Final mechanicals is important as the electricity is turned on in the home for the first time.
Here, you will test the system to make sure that air is flowing evenly throughout the home and that you do not have any leaks in the system. Depending upon the type of flooring being installed in your home, final mechanicals can be used to acclimate the home for installation.
Carpet
To ensure that your carpet has minimal construction traffic walking on it, the carpet is installed after flatwork has been poured and all other major construction items have been completed. This is an exciting step as you are just a short time away from closing on your new home.
Quality Assurance
The role of a quality assurance manager is to ensure the quality of the home meets strict guidelines of the construction company.
Once inside the home, the QA manager will take detailed notes on items to be evaluated and completed.
Possession and After Care
Your home is complete. A walkthrough will be arranged to inspect all the details and show you how everything works.
A walk through ensures that all final touch-ups are done and you are happy with the work.
Trusting the Home Building Process
Every family is unique, and we believe your home should be too. A home with exceptional standards of construction will maintain its quality for generations.
To find out more about our detailed home building process, please contact an Owner Managed Homes representative today.
