What to Ask Yourself before You Start Building

With the start of a new year we often think about what we want to achieve in the coming months. If building a custom home is one of your 2016 goals, this article will help you think about some of the questions you’ll want to answer before committing to the project.

What are you looking for?

This may sound pretty simple but it’s a very important question. Many of the clients that we meet and work with have dreamed about building a timber home for years. They know which specific attributes they want the home to have and they already have everything mapped out from the square footage to the color of the curtains. Other clients have a brief concept but have so many ideas they don’t really know what will look best or work with the land that they have. You want to have a clear plan before you start building your home so that you can avoid any future changes to the project once production starts.

If you want to know how to choose the right log home design, check out one of our recent articles that walks you through some of the key things to consider.

What are your expectations with the builder?

Not all builders are the same so it is important to understand what type of relationship you want to have with your builders and contractors to ensure you have a great experience. If you are the type of person that wants to be involved in every aspect of the build, you will want to find a company that will keep you in the loop, invite you down to their log yard and share all the latest progress. Or you might want to have a hands-off approach so find a company that you fully trust and just get updates now and then. A good builder and design can make or break a project, so make sure you spend some time having those detailed conversations. Price isn’t always the most important factor if you can’t communicate or trust the team you have working with you.

To help you with selecting the right builder check out our article “6 Key Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Home Builder”.

How do you handle stressful situations?

This question relates to the above questions in that building a custom home of any size will always have some stress associated with it. You need to discuss this with your family and be prepared for some ups and downs along the way. By being as clear as you can with the expectations you have for your home and the expectations you have for your builders, a lot of this stress can be avoided. It’s important to hope for the best but plan for the worst; even if you prepare as much as possible there will likely be a few things along the way that require a little extra attention.

If you are considering building a custom home this year or the next, we encourage you to learn and understand as much as you can to prepare you for the process. Check out our Log Home 101 section, visit our plans and galleries section and look through our blog. We want to help you understand what to expect when it comes to building a home, so if you don’t see the answer to your question feel free to contact us and we can answer it for you.

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Designing Your Perfect Custom Home

One of the most exciting parts about building a custom home is the design process. It’s the part where you get to dream and be creative about what you would like to see in your home. Designing your home is one of the first steps in the process. If you already have a design, perfect! If you don’t, our award-winning designers will walk you through some of the steps.

Discovery and Inspiration Phase

The first step is to have our designer sit down with you and learn a bit more about your lifestyle, tastes, likes, dislikes and any special features that you may want to have in your home. You are a critical part of this stage as this is where we begin to map out what you have been envisioning. For this meeting feel free to bring other designs, layouts ideas or sketches that you have and would like to incorporate. It’s also a good time to help identify the elements that you don’t want in the home so we can truly design the perfect custom home.

Creative and Development Phase

Next, after we have a sense of what you would like, and consider your budget and any land constraints, we can start to bring the ideas into reality. A complete floor plan will be designed along with a 3D rendering to help you visualize the space. For us this is an exciting time as clients can finally see what they have been thinking and planning for years.

Refining Phase

After the initial creative and 3D renderings are presented, we encourage you to spend some time looking it over and thinking about each of the rooms and their elements and how everything will flow. Together we will revise and adjust the layout and design to make the space exactly what you want. This phase can consist of numerous emails, calls and meetings to help ensure everything is perfectly designed.

Budget Verification Phase

Next, once we have the final design approved by you, the designer will contact the builder and confirm all the specs and details for a final budget. This is where we can also talk about what additional support you might need with your package including general contractors, other trades, transportation and shipping.

Construction Begins

Once everything has been signed off we can begin to select the timber and begin construction. Sometimes during this phase there are some last minute changes. If you realize that you need some extra space, a wall moved, or you want some additional feature timber, we will work closely with you and the designers to adjust and adapt the design as we build.

Once we have the design completed in the log yard we will disassemble your home, ship it to your location, and build it on site.

The overall timeframe for this process can take as little as 6 months and up to a year or two depending on a number of factors. No matter the project and how long it takes, know that we are here to help you every step of the way and answer any questions that you have.

If you would like to learn more about how to get started building your log home, visit our Log Homes 101 section or check out our plans and galleries pages for some additional inspiration.

As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you have or for a quote. We would be happy to help!

 

 

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