Homeowner or home builder, if you are building a new custom home, the more you know about the homebuilding process, the more enjoyable your experience is likely to be. We regularly add new information about the various phases of construction described in the following pages of this article. Like the rest of the B4UBUILD.COM Web site, this section is a continuous work in progress.
If you are trying to decide on a particular house style or house type, you are welcome to browse our collection of home plans to compare exterior elevations and overall floorplans. As you gather ideas for your own home, be sure to focus on individual design features like kitchen and bath layouts, bedroom sizes and locations, closet and storage space, traffic patterns and room flow, roof pitch, dormer sizes and locations, window types, and any other individual components of the design that might fit your needs or wants.
Since it is our goal to assist you in finding relevant information and learning about all aspects of new residential construction and home improvement, please feel comfortable sending us your comments, questions, suggestions, or requests.
Good luck with your project, thank you for visiting B4UBUILD.COM and have fun building!
Regards,
Greg Susman
President, B4UBUILD.COM
Do Some Research B4UBUILD
The first step in any major project is to learn as much as possible about the subject at hand. Building a custom home is no exception. However, a surprisingly large number of people seem to think that anyone can design and build the home of their dreams without first spending the time to thoroughly learn what is involved. This is all too often a recipe for disaster.
Designing and constructing an appealing, comfortable, safe and well-built structure that fits the needs and wants of you and your family is not an easy task. Yet for those who take the time to familiarize themselves with the entire process, the construction of a new home is a memorable and very gratifying experience. So, whether you will be hiring a homebuilder, acting as your own general contractor, or building for someone else, you need to ask and answer many of the same questions B4UBUILD.
- Are you sure?
- What is your budget?
- How much house can you afford? (Housing Publications on USA.gov)
- Where do you want to build?
- How are the schools in the area?
- What do you want to build and why?
- Are there covenants or restrictions?
- What building codes must be followed?
- Do you entertain others frequently?
- Will you have enough storage space?
- Do you work from home?
- How long do you plan to live there?
- Do you need any special accommodations?
- Will elderly parents be staying with you?
- How involved do you want to be?
- Who will be running the project?
- What is your time frame?
- Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera…
Of course, these are only a few of the things you will need to consider as you first start thinking about building a new home. As part of the early stages of your research, we highly recommend that you head to your local library and read a few books about planning your new home and the homebuilding process. Then, ask as many other people as you can about their experiences. Almost everyone who has built a new home has a few stories, which they are more than happy to share with others.
The more you know about the task you are about to undertake, the better your homebuilding experience will be. Depending upon the size of your project and the degree to which you want to be involved, building a new home can consume a major portion of your time for several months or several years. If your expectations are unrealistic, you will almost certainly be unhappy with the results. Building a new home should be part of the “American dream”, not a nightmare.