How Long Does it Take to Build a House? Here’s What You Need to Know
Tens of thousands of people build their own homes every year to ensure that they get the customized home they’re looking for. The first question to ask is “how long does it take to build a house?” While there’s no prescribed schedule, taking some preparatory steps ensures that the process goes smoothly.
Here’s everything you need to do to ensure that your home is built as efficiently as possible.
START BY GETTING YOUR FINANCES IN ORDER
Before you think about building your house, you need to have some money put away. By budgeting out the expenses that you’ll have to incur and coming up with a plan on how you’ll save money, you can turn your dream home into a reality.
Dreaming is nothing if you don’t take action. All you’ll end up with is a home that you wish you had built. However, if you come up with a plan to cover the costs and draw the limits of what you can afford, the dream will be easy to grasp.
You need a concrete number. Research how much homes like the one you want cost before you start drawing up any plans. If you’re dreaming of a million-dollar home and can only afford a hundred thousand dollar one, then you’ll need to adjust your expectations.
Consult architects, civil engineers, and even local licensing offices. All of these costs will have an impact on how much house you can afford to build. When you have enough to finance the project, that’s when you should start the process.
DESIGN AROUND YOUR NEEDS
The needs of your home will be dictated by your lifestyle. What you do and how you enjoy your home will determine what you need to be comfortable in it.
While for some people, a lot of space is essential, others need a pool, a sauna, or a backyard space for entertaining. Consider what’s most essential to your home to set some minimum limits for design.
Once you have the bare minimum laid out, you can see how much room you have for flourishes or additional rooms. More rooms mean more hosting and entertaining. For others, it can mean more cleaning, maintenance, and unnecessary decorating.
A good designer for your home can take those concepts and ideas from you, turning them into a livable space. Professional home designers might seem like an unnecessary expense, but they consider things that the rest of us don’t. When designing a room, you need to think about where outlets are, where the plumbing will be, and even how thick the walls are.
Look at someone’s portfolio before you hire them. Looking at their previous work can give you some insight into what you can expect before you start paying them. Previous work can also help you to choose a few concepts that you might want to implement in your new home.
MATCH SITE WITH DESIGN
Before you finalize your design, you need to ensure that your site can handle that home. You need a lot before you can even begin to build.
Decide on the region you want to live in terms of ambiance, amenities, and demographics. Finding a region that you’ll be happy in is essential to find more than a house, but a home.
That site can vary once you’ve found your community. You’ll have to consider whether or not you want to be at a high elevation, whether there’s a sewer entrance nearby, and where you can get the kind of sun or shade you’re looking for.
Now you can start finalizing the design for your drawing. Once you have your site, you can decide where windows will go, whether you’ll build a basement, and how high you want your building to be.
Design for the site you’re looking at rather than trying to get the site to match your design. Not only will your home fit in with the landscape better, but you’ll be much happier in the end. It’s hard to fight nature and always better to fit with it.
PUT YOUR PLAN INTO ACTION
The above parts of your plan can take as long as you want to spend on them. You could decide within a week, have your design in order, and know the designer you want.
However, it will take a few weeks to create the blueprint. You need to have all of your design wants and needs hammered out. Then, you’ll review different drafts with your designer and finalize the home.
Your blueprint will be the guide to determine what you need when it comes to materials and location.
Get your consent to build from your local building authority. Depending on the size and scale of your project, you may have to get approval from a local board or community association. Make sure you’ve got a firm handle on what you want in concrete numbers.
Then, you’ll need to have a contractor in order. Different communities have different demands for how contractors are hired for a project. Find someone who has insurance and who is experienced in building the kinds of homes you’re looking for.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO BUILD A HOUSE?
When determining how long does it take to build a house, you can be best served by a few definites, despite the inability to know for sure. You should leave at least six months from start to finish if you’re not in a hurry. If you need to get a simple home up quickly and have an unlimited budget, it could be done in three months.
If you’re on the fence about acting now, here are a few reasons to buy a home right now.