Let’s say you’ve made the big decision to build a new custom home. If so, congratulations are in order! But your journey has just begun. It takes time to build a custom home. But the question is, exactly how much time does it take?
The answer can vary slightly. The ballpark answer is that it could take anywhere from 10 to 16 months depending on the size of the home and assuming that everything goes according to plan. This timeframe applies only if the land is already cleared and ready, and if there are no construction delays due to weather conditions. There are other factors that can slow the process as well.
Things That Can Slow the Process
One of the biggest obstacles that home builders face when building a new home is the customer. There are many decisions that have to be made in order to build the home, and if they are not made efficiently, the residential home builder can lose time during the build process. In addition, change orders will extend the build time and can cause extended delays if they occur later in the build process rather than at the beginning.
It takes time to build a custom home. You will need to account for design time and make sure to have the plans approved by the local building department. When an architect designs a custom built home, the design process can take three to six months, plus an additional month for permitting. If you are modifying purchased plans that will then be approved by an architect, the timeline will be considerably shorter, but can still take two to three months, including permitting.
Other Variables
Other than the type of home being built, the environment and region of a build also affects the construction timeline. The averages calculated – 10 to 16 months – are for new home construction projects, from the start of construction through final walkthrough. In other words, pre-construction (including the permit approval process) is finalized and complete, so it’s not included in the averages.
The last key component that causes high variance in the time it takes to construct a new home is unplanned changes by a home buyer. When a home buyer insists on additional features or functionality that were not scoped out during the planning phases, delays in the process are almost always the result.
We’ve identified the most common cited factors influencing construction time such as customers being available for decisions, permits, home style, environment, and unplanned changes. Although knowing what to expect may not speed up the process, it might just help you maintain your sanity.
When you are looking to build a custom designed home in the Nashville, Tennessee area, turn to the professionals at Vesta Homes, LLC. We work with a hand selected team of vendors, subcontractors, architects, and designers that come together to provide an elite product. We’ve been custom designing homes for years and would love to have the opportunity to show you what we can do.
