Timelines are often the factors worrying anyone considering a custom home. At Schar Construction in Eugene, Oregon, clients frequently ask how long the home construction process will take. Building your dream home will take time—but it will be worth the wait.
Custom Home Construction Timelines in a Perfect World
Many factors affect how long building your custom dream home might take. We can’t guarantee an exact timeline. However, we can offer an estimate assuming that everything will go according to plan. In a perfect world, you should expect the following timelines:
· Pre-construction: Before building, we’ll assemble a team, acquire the site, complete all necessary designs, and wait on permit and loan approvals. The pre-construction process usually takes three to 12 months.
· Construction: Construction includes preparing the site, gathering documents, prepping the foundation walls, installing carpentry and HVAC, adding plumbing and electricity, finalizing roofing and exterior surfaces, installing the drywall and painting the interior, and adding finishing touches like appliances, cabinets, hardware, etc. Construction usually takes ten to 24 months.
· Finalization: After completing construction, we finalize the project through cleaning, punching, and closing. This last step takes about a month, though it may happen during the final construction phases.
Factors That Affect the Timeline
The factors we list below will impact how long it will take us to complete your construction project. Use these considerations to determine how much your project may vary from the averages above.
Square Footage
The most significant factor determining home construction timelines is the physical structure size. A small 1,000-square-foot home takes less time than a 20,000-square-foot estate.
Smaller properties with modest design features usually offer the quickest timelines. To construct a multi-story home with a complex house plan and detailed design requirements, you should budget for longer than 24 months of construction time.
Note that larger projects usually require more team players. When we scale up our construction team size, we can complete larger projects in a reasonable timeframe, though it still may take longer than your average home.
Design Complexity
Design complexity refers to how you want the layout of your home to flow and appear. For example, a simple floor plan with a living room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom won’t take as long as a unique configuration with oddly angled walls and features.
When designing your home, remember that you chose a custom home so you could create it according to your vision. While complex designs may take longer, they will also help your home stand out.
Pre-Construction Requirements
Before touching the property, we always finalize the architectural plans and building permits. Making blueprint changes after construction increases time and costs, so you must feel confident before starting. Some clients go back and forth with design changes for quite some time before finalizing the design, while others feel satisfied with the initial draft.
However long it takes for you to agree on the plans will impact the total construction time. The time it takes to acquire building permits may also vary based on the site location and features.
Your Contractor’s Schedule and Expertise
The company working on your house is usually also juggling other construction projects for family homes. If you select a contractor with a packed schedule, you may experience delays when they get hung up with other projects.
Picking a contractor with expert scheduling, coordinating, and project planning skills can help your project move faster. At Schar Construction, we have ample experience managing client projects and know how to streamline the process as much as possible.
Weather
The Pacific Northwest’s climate is fairly mild year-round, with heavy rainfall and manageable temperatures. Our team can operate rain or shine all year long, though certain weather events could push back progress. An occasional winter snowstorm may delay construction or material deliveries.
While rain won’t affect our interior progress, it could create issues when working on the exterior. For example, home construction teams usually need fairly dry conditions to start the foundation. It may take a while to start the process if your location suffers extreme rainfall.
Permits
Building a home requires jumping through many hoops. Aside from the building permit, we also must obtain various project-related inspections, HOA approvals, and more. For example, certain neighborhoods restrict home colors, sizes, fence types, and driveways.
Approval times vary on many factors, like the issue at hand or how busy the county is. We can submit all necessary paperwork according to the deadlines, though we can’t control how long it will take to hear back.
Decision Changes
Many future homeowners agree to a design up front but quickly have second guesses throughout the process. You’re spending a lot of money to build your dream home, so it’s only natural to want to make it as perfect as possible.
For example, you might agree to a separated kitchen and dining room until you step inside the space and decide you want an open concept. Design changes during the construction process are perfectly understandable but do add time and often increase your expenses.
Occasionally the design changes could come from our end as well. For example, if a specific product runs out of stock and can’t arrive within your time frame, we may shift to an alternative option. Such shifts can impact timelines, depending on the materials.
Help From an Interior Designer
Interior designers have decades of experience selecting products that elevate homes in appearance and value. New homeowners often spend days or weeks deciding between various products and finishes, while an interior designer may immediately know the best answer.
Often, people don’t realize how many decisions they must make when building a home. You must plan everything from door knobs, trim colors, and window sizes to room layouts and roofing materials. If you hire an interior designer, you may expedite the decision-making process.
Material Availability
Material deliveries get delayed far more often than you may expect. According to the Producer Price Indexes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for materials rose 27.5% from July 2021 to 2022. Prior years show a similar influx.
Increased demand signifies price gouging and delayed deliveries. Since January 2020, construction material prices have risen 31.3%. The more people that want your luxury home finishes, the more you have to pay and the longer they may take to arrive.
Homeowners who choose generic and widely-available design options often enjoy faster timelines, though this isn’t always the case. Sometimes necessary components, like foundational materials, also get delayed.
How To Expedite the Process
While you can’t control your project’s timeline, you can make the right decisions to speed up the process. Here are some tips:
· Select an experienced home construction company: Home builders with decades of experience know how to plan and complete projects as efficiently as possible by meeting all appropriate deadlines.
· Opt for an interior designer: Interior designers help you make informed decisions to reduce wasted time.
· Keep your budget flexible: Budget restrictions often delay projects. While we try to stick to your budget as much as possible, road bumps occasionally occur. Remaining flexible will help us progress through construction.
· Make quick decisions: Interior designers can help you pick furnishings, though you still must decide on various critical aspects like building materials, room sizes, etc. We recommend going with your gut and trying not to overthink these decisions. Often, our team can offer advice based on our experience to help you through the process.
· Regularly walk through the site: Find a contractor who keeps you in the loop throughout the process so you can make any changes before it’s too late. With regular walkthroughs, you can decrease delays from decision changes.
· Stick with your initial plan: We understand you may change your mind on certain aspects of the house, though sticking with your initial design as much as possible will help you adhere to the estimated timeline.
· Start sooner rather than later: Many clients contemplate custom home building for months when they could have already begun the pre-construction phase. If you’re considering custom home construction, we recommend speaking with a contractor about your options as soon as possible.
Start Building Your Dream Home Today With Us at Schar Construction
Building your dream home takes time, so why wait? Contact our team to discuss your needs when you’re ready to begin the home construction process. We offer home renovations, additions, and custom builds in and around Eugene, OR.
Call us at Schar Construction today at (541) 229-6270 to discuss your project!
