Understanding the Timeline of a House Project
When building a home, it takes a lot of time to design it in your mind – to imagine the lifelong memories that will be made there. When it comes to construction, however, the reality of actually building your dream home can be frustratingly slow! It’s important to understand the timeline of a house project so you can plan accordingly.
Getting Started
Your contractor should provide you with a detailed, personalized house construction timeline prior to breaking ground. This will give you an idea of the expected duration and costs for your project. You will likely need to pay for the cost of clearing the land, laying out and pouring the foundation and obtaining permits for the construction. This can take anywhere from a month to a few months, depending on the size of your home and the area where it is being built.
After the foundation is poured, your contractor will build the frame or “skeleton” of your new house. This includes the exterior walls, floors and roof rafters. It is then covered with sheathing, which acts as a protective barrier to keep liquid water out while allowing water vapor to escape. This is a very expensive portion of the estimate and requires a skilled crew. Once the initial framing is complete, an inspection will take place.
Once the skeleton of your home is complete, your contractor will begin installing plumbing and electrical systems. This includes running wires, pipes and sewer lines as well as installing HVAC systems. There will be a number of inspections as these systems are installed to ensure everything is up to code and working properly.
Almost at the halfway point, your contractor will cover walls and ceilings with drywall or plasterboard and apply the first coat of paint. At this point, you may also choose to add insulation and trim work around doors and windows.
When the house is fully insulated and wrapped in sheathing, a plumber will run water and drain lines to each fixture in your home. This can include toilets, showers, sinks and dishwashers. Then the electrician will hook up all of your lights and outlets and install the breaker box.
During the final month of construction, you’ll be able to move in and enjoy your home! You’ll enjoy all the amenities you’ve been dreaming of and imagining in your mind’s eye for so long. Hopefully, this will be the best part of the whole project! Be sure to make a list of any special requests you have so that your contractor can incorporate them into your timeline and budget. This will help prevent surprises down the road. It’s also a good idea to allow for a 10% buffer for unexpected expenses. Time-saving, accurate estimating software can be a valuable tool to help with this. It can also be used to generate an initial estimate for a customer’s project before the actual bidding process begins. This will ensure that your customers have realistic expectations of the cost of their project.
