The Home Building Process: A Step-By-Step Guide

Building a home is a very exciting time, and is the perfect opportunity to create a home that is entirely unique. Individuals who opt to build their own homes get to select their own floor plan, have everything within the home be brand-new, and get to fully customize all of their home features. When someone says that they are building their own home, they are typically referring to a fully custom build where they have a say in just about everything that goes into the creation of their home (with the exception of local laws and zoning ordinances).

But before a home can be built, there are a lot of different steps that need to be taken. In today’s blog, we will be going over the main steps in the home building process. If you have any further questions about residential new construction or plumbing services for your new home, give our Lexington plumbers a call at Plumbing Solutions today!

1. Check Your Financing Options

Once you have decided that you are going to build a custom home, the first step you will want to take is figuring out how you will pay for it, because a traditional fixed-rate mortgage is not an option right away for custom home construction.

Unless you plan on paying for the entire build with cash, you will want to get a construction loan. These are also often called self-build loans or construction mortgages. Getting these types of loans is often more difficult than getting a traditional home loan, as you are borrowing money for an idea/concept rather than a physical house. You will likely need to provide your lender with a budget, timetable, floor plans, needed materials, and extensive details regarding the home building process in order to be considered for a loan.

2. Locate the Right Lot for Your New Home

Next, you will need to shop around for the right lot to build your home. Real estate agents are a great resource for helping you identify lots for sale in your area.

As you begin to narrow down your list of potential lots, you will also want to loop in an architect and builder in order to ensure that your desired lot fits the needs of your home’s specific floor plan and design. They will also be able to help you check with zoning laws and restrictions in order to help ensure that the lot is a good fit for your home.

3. Plan and Design Your Home

Here comes the fun part — planning and designing what your dream custom home will look like upon completion. During this step, you will need to figure out the size, style, and layout of your home. While this is a large task, it can happen before or after your lot is selected depending on your individual needs and plans. When you are in the process of designing your custom home, the world is your oyster — although you will want to keep your budget in mind and any limitations of your lot.

Your team will also be able to help you with honing in on the right style and layout for your home if needed, but it is wise to drive around your area and get a good feel for the homes that you like. Keep an eye out for interior design inspiration online (Pinterest is an excellent resource) and spend some time researching the latest smart home features to determine whether or not you think they will be worth the added investment. A few important design considerations that need to be determined early on are:

  • The number of bedrooms and bathrooms your home will have
  • Whether you want a single-story, two-story, or multiple-story home
  • How much outdoor/yard space you would like to have
  • Whether you want your home to have a more open or closed concept
  • What aesthetic you want your home’s exterior to have
  • How you want the interior design of your home to look
  • If there are any other additional features you would like your home to have
  • The home’s possible future resale value

When building a custom home, ensure the plumbing is properly installed with a professional team of plumbers. Give Plumbing Solutions in Lexington a call today for exceptional plumbing services in South Carolina.

4. Hire a Professional Team

Unless you are incredibly knowledgeable and skilled in all areas of home design and building, we highly recommend hiring a team of professionals who will work with you to help ensure that your custom home is constructed with the highest quality tools and methods possible. Your team should include:

A home builder

Your home builder can make or break your custom home experience, which is why it is crucial to do your research and find someone who is not only a licensed general contractor but also has a solid portfolio of custom homes and success stories.

To do this, do online research, ask for referrals from friends and family, or ask your real estate agent for recommendations. A quality, professional home builder will help you with:

  • Budgeting your build
  • Zoning laws
  • Acquiring permits
  • Infrastructure needs such as utilities and sewer

An architect

In most places, you will need architectural plans in order to even simply apply for permits. Be sure to discuss things such as square footage, layout preferences, functionality, and the number of stories, bedrooms, and bathrooms your home will have with your architect before they create the blueprints for your custom home.

An interior designer

It also is not a bad idea to hire an interior designer who can assist you with the finishes once the framing and structural elements of your home are in place. There are many different design choices that need to be made, and it can get to be a bit overwhelming. Interior designers are an excellent resource to help play off of your ideas and provide you with valuable insight regarding bath times to fixtures and furniture to paint, and much more.

A plumber

The plumbing systems for your home is something that you will need to consider early on in the home building process, as your new construction plumbing will need to be installed prior to the walls and ceilings being covered. The plumbing of your home is not something that you should take lightly — if not installed properly, leaks can cause a variety of issues including serious structural damage to your home. If you are in South Carolina, be sure to give our new construction plumbers at Plumbing Solutions a call. Our highly knowledgeable and experienced team of plumbing technicians specialize in new construction plumbing services, and would be more than happy to take the burden of plumbing off of your shoulders.

An electrician

A professional electrician is also a key player in your custom home construction and helps to set a solid foundation for all electrical units that will be running throughout your custom home. This includes all outlets, lighting fixtures, appliances, internet connection, and so forth. Electricians also help with the planning of outlet locations for maximum efficiency, have knowledge of the wiring system you will need, consider energy efficiency, and more.

Other professionals

In addition to these important players, there are other professionals who should be involved in the custom home-building process. Many of these are hired by your home builder and include

  • A land clearing crew
  • A structural engineer
  • A surveyor
  • An inspector

5. Understand the Home Building Process

Upon approval of the designs, blueprints, and building permits, the construction will start and your custom home dreams will begin taking shape. The home building process generally follows these steps:

  1. Preparing the land by clearing the area, digging trenches, and ensuring utilities are installed.
  2. Footings and foundation installation
  3. House framing, including floor joists, subfloors, and studs that form the walls and roof trusses
  4. HVAC, electrical, and plumbing rough-in service installation
  5. Insulation installation
  6. Drywall hanging
  7. Interior finishes, including doors, baseboards, window sills, kitchen counters and cabinets, bathtubs, and so forth
  8. Exterior finishes such as the driveway, patios, and landscaping
  9. Installation of fixtures such as light switches, toilets, water heater, air conditioning, etc.
  10. Final inspection, which gives you the green light to move in
  11. Final walkthrough with your builder to identify any potential damages that will need repair

As you can now see, there are a lot of different aspects that go into building a home. If you are ready to start planning your home, give our new construction plumbers at Plumbing Solutions a call today for high-quality plumbing services in Lexington.