How Do I Build My Dream Home?
A guide to designing and building your custom home.
Blog / How To Build Your Dream Home
Almost everyone I know has imagined what their dream home would be like at least once in their lifetime. Some people imagine their custom home in great detail, others imagine the feelings they’ll get when living in their own custom home, and some people’s dream home changes with the seasons. Most children’s dream homes include a slide in lieu of a staircase. Most men’s dream homes boast a man-cave with a fully stocked bar to satisfy any and every taste. Most women’s dream homes center around a kitchen that is perfect for hosting family and friends. While the nature and specifics of each person’s dream home vary, the one thing that is common to most individuals is that their dream home never becomes a reality. This is in large part because most people don’t know where to start. With that in mind, we’ve crafted this blog as a guide to help more people turn their dreams into reality. How do you start building the custom home of your dreams? Read on to find out.
Step One: Assemble Your Team
Yes, we all love the movie The Notebook. And yes, we all love Ryan Gosling. But in the Greater Houston Area, in the year 2023, building a custom home by hand as he did in that movie, one stroke of the saw at a time, is a work of fiction. Has it been done before? Sure. Throughout history and throughout the world most of the homes built were constructed by the people who would ultimately occupy them. To this day in many parts of the world people are still building their own homes by hand. The current and local practice of hiring a team of professionals to build a home is relatively new and has been driven by many historical events. But history is not my passion, so I’m trying not to digress too far here. The point is, if you want to build a custom home it’s highly unlikely you’ll do it alone. You need a team of people. That’s where we come in.
Hiring the Right Architect
The architect is the client’s project manager, designer, and therapist throughout the custom home design and construction process. We are here to help you find and manage all the people needed to make your dream home come to life. To learn more about the value an architect brings to a project, see our post entitled Do I Need an Architect?
Hiring the Right Builder at the Right Time
For whatever reason, in the Greater Houston Area, most people think the builder is the first person they should talk to about building a custom home. There’s nothing wrong with approaching a builder first, but the builder can’t build your custom home until he has a set of plans to build from, and with a few exceptions, most builders don’t have in-house architects who can design those plans, so what often happens when a homeowner approaches a builder first is that the builder will either introduce the homeowner to an architect, or tell the homeowner to find an architect and then contact them once the plans are ready. Whether you start with the architect first or the builder first, the important thing is to assemble your whole team early.
Find a KNowledgeable Realtor
Unless you already own the land you plan to build on, a realtor will be important to engage with early. There are many online platforms that allow you to browse real estate listings without the help of a realtor, but when it comes to getting the inside scoop, a realtor is a valuable asset. Realtors also often have access to off-market and pocket listings, which will never show up on a Zillow or Redfin search, and which can often be better deals than the more easily available options.
Engage the Right Engineers
In addition to the architect, you’ll need a few different types of engineers to have a full set of construction documents to build from. These include a structural engineer, geotechnical engineer, and sometimes a civil engineer.
Structural Engineers
The structural engineer will work from the architect’s design to create a supplemental set of framing and foundation plans and details, which will show the contractor, quite literally, the nuts and bolts of the home.
Geotechnical Engineers
A geotechnical engineer will perform what is called a soils boring, which is a process of drilling down into the earth on your property and extracting a sample of the soil. They then take these samples back to their laboratory and perform a series of tests on the soil to determine things like elasticity, potential vertical movement, and water table depths. The geotechnical engineer’s findings are summed up in what is called the “soils report”, which is given to the architect, structural engineer, and contractor. The soils report includes vital information pertaining to the type of foundation suitable for the specific site, the site preparation required prior to forming and pouring the slab, and any additional information the engineer finds necessary for the proper construction of a home on the in-situ soils.
Civil Engineers
In some cases, a civil engineer may be necessary for a custom home. In general, a civil engineer’s role in a custom home is related to the design of any site-related paving and utilities. Most custom home projects are not complex enough to require civil engineering, but when things like on-site water detention are required, then a civil engineer would be needed to calculate the size and details of the stormwater detention solution. This may involve an actual pond on site to collect the rainwater runoff before slowly releasing it into the public storm sewer system, or it could be a system of underground pipes which collect and detain the rainwater.
Find an Interior Designer to Complement the Architect
There is much confusion regarding the roles of architects, interior designers, and interior decorators. A common misconception is that an architect is not a designer. The way I like to explain it is like this: all architects are designers, but not all designers are architects. An interior designer focuses on things like interior finishes, furnishings, and even spatial planning in some cases. Where interior designers become really valuable in a custom home project is when it comes time to select counter top materials, plumbing fixtures, paint colors, accent wall materials, and the like. While an architect is trained in and capable of doing these things, it is often the case that the architect’s focus is on the overall design and project management aspects of a custom home, and doesn’t have the capacity to focus on the finer details. Architects and interior designers complement each other well, and make great teams on custom home projects. An interior decorator, in contrast to an interior designer, is focused primarily on things like furniture and décor. Think of throw pillows, window treatments, and perfectly positioned pieces of art. These are the types of things an interior decorator will help with.
What Specialists Do You need?
In addition to the key players listed above, there are several other “specialists” who are often engaged in custom home projects early on. One type of specialist is a building performance specialist, who would do a holistic review of the homeowners’ energy performance desires, and prescribe specific equipment, construction materials, and methods to achieve the homeowner’s performance goals. Another type of specialist that may be involved would be a home automation specialist, who would design a smart-home system that is integrated into the “bones” of the home.
Step Two: Cover the Basics
Before the pencil hits the paper, or the mouse hits the mouse-pad, we need to gather the right information to ensure we are designing your dream home, and not somebody else’s dream home. The thing that makes a “custom home” truly custom is that it is tailored to fit your specific needs and wants. We can’t design a custom home that fulfills your vision if we don’t know things like your budget, your timeline, where you want to live, and what features your dream home will have in it.
What’s Your Budget?
Most of us have champagne taste on a beer budget. Or at least that’s the joke I hear most often when discussing budgets with our clients. Whether that joke applies to you or not, it’s important for your team to understand your budget from the very beginning, because the budget will inform many of the decisions that we make.
What Is Your Timeline?
A typical custom home takes about 24-36 months from the start of the design stage to the day you move in. Many people are surprised by how long it takes. It’s best to know your timeline from the very beginning, because if you need to move into your new home in 6 months, a custom home might not be the best option. On the other hand, if you must move into your new home in 12 months, there are ways to fast-track a custom home project. However, fast-tracking a home requires sacrificing in other areas. The quality of the design may not end up being what you hoped for, the craftsmanship may be less-than-stellar, and the cost may be higher. Knowing what is important to you up front helps us guide you in the right direction.
Where Do You Want to Live?
Finding the right piece of property for your home is important. Families with school-age children are often making real estate decisions based on school district zoning, but there is much more to consider when building a custom home. First off, you’ll want to be sure the neighborhood you’re buying land in will allow the type of custom home you’re dreaming of. Most subdivisions have a set of deed restrictions that define the acceptable architectural styles, and it would be wise to know that information prior to signing the contract for the land. A good realtor can help with this process, and at Moment Architects we know several well-respected realtors in the Greater-Houston area that we can refer you to.
What Will Your Dream Home Be Like?
In the architecture industry we call this “Programming”. We want to know how many bedrooms and bathrooms you want in your custom home. Will it be a one-story or a two-story home? Is the kitchen the focal point and main gathering space in the home, or does your family typically get together around the pool, in the game room, or somewhere else? Do you prefer an open concept living area, or do you like the benefits of having clearly defined spaces? Roughly how many square feet do you hope your custom home will be? These are just a sampling of the many questions we ask during the Programming stage, and your answers are what help us move your dream home from your head to our computers.
Step Three: Acquire the Land
Some people approach us after they’ve already purchased their land, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, if you haven’t purchased your land yet, don’t feel like you must buy the land before talking to an architect. We can assist you in your land-buying process on an hourly basis, review different properties with you, provide conceptual site plans to see if your dream home will fit, and research things like deed restrictions and flood plain issues to help you purchase with confidence.
Step Four: Design and Engineering
So you have your team, you have your land, and you have your vision. What now? Now the fun begins. The architect and engineers are ready to start their work, and the architect is usually the first to move.
The Schematic Design phase
This is where the architect works to develop what we call the “schematic design”, which is a fancy way of saying a preliminary set of floor plans and elevations that communicate the basic spatial layout and exterior design of the custom home. The schematic design phase usually includes a lot of meetings between the architect and the homeowners, multiple revisions, and a general discovery of what the home will be like, which neither the architect nor the homeowner could have fully envisioned before the schematic design phase began.
The Design Development phase
Once the schematic design phase is complete, we move into the “design development” phase. This phase starts typically when the homeowners have given their approval of the basic design of the home, and the architects then begin the process of further defining the systems and structures that make that home come to life. It is during the design development phase that engineers and other specialists often get started.
The Construction Documents Phase
The “construction documents” are the final set of plans issued by the architect and engineers, which describe in great detail exactly how the house should be constructed. The construction documents are often referred to as the “blueprints”, although this is a name that does not properly apply anymore. Blueprints were called blueprints in the past because of the process by which they were “printed”, which made them be blue in color. Construction documents are no longer created using the same technique, and therefore are no longer blue, so the term “blueprints” is no longer accurate.
The Permitting phase
Depending on where your property is located, a building permit may be required prior to the start of construction. An architect will often guide the homeowner through the permitting process, by filling out the necessary paperwork, compiling the full set of construction documents, and issuing all the required documents to the governing authority. This process can be quick in more rural areas, but in urban areas it is often a lengthy process. The City of Houston permitting process, for instance, can easily take three to six months from the first date of submittal to the day when a building permit is finally issued.
Step Five: Construction
Once the construction documents are complete and the building permit, if required, has been issued, the actual construction can finally begin. Hopefully the general contractor has been involved through all the stages of the design and engineering process, so they are well-versed in all the decisions that were made along the way, because this eliminates most of the confusion and mistakes that can take place during construction.
How Long Does it Take To Build A Custom Home?
The length of time required to build a custom home depends on a few things. The size of the home, the home’s location, the budget, the weather, and the materials being used will all impact the schedule. In general, though, construction of a custom home will take a minimum of six months to complete if the home is relatively simple, being built outside of the city limits and therefore not requiring many city inspections, the weather conditions are optimal, and the materials being used are readily available. However, most custom homeowners should expect the construction process to take more than six months, and a range of twelve to twenty-four months is more realistic in most cases.
The Punch List Phase
At the end of the construction process, an architect will typically perform what is called the “punch list” inspection. During this inspection the architect goes through the home and does a complete inspection of all the final elements and makes note of any items that are either incomplete, in need of repair, or that do not meet the original specifications. The contractor then works from the punch list to make the necessary repairs and/or completions, so that the homeowners receive their home in exactly the way it was intended to be.
Congratulations On completing your dream home!
As you can see from the steps involved in the custom home process, there is a great deal of work that goes into it. Therefore, when the home is finally move-in ready, a celebration is appropriate. The whole process, from start to finish, can easily take up to three years to complete, if not more, but it is totally worth the time and effort required. There is nothing quite like living in your dream home, and at Moment Architects, we hope we can assist you in making your dream home become your next home.