One of the first steps to building a new house is establishing a comprehensive and accurate timeline for completion. And if you’re planning a new custom home, you should think high-performance from the start.
With all of the new, green, sustainable technology available, you have an incredible array of options for building a new home that will greatly reduce your energy costs and water use . Plus, high-performance homes are healthier, smarter for the environment, and a great long-term investment.
There are two distinct phases to consider when establishing a homebuilding timeline: pre-construction and construction. High-performance homes present unique challenges and require greater consideration and specific expertise from your builder and design team.
You may be surprised how much work has to happen before construction. Pre-construction components like budgeting, financing, property selection, topographical surveying, permitting, planning and design require a significant amount of time.
Planning and design are especially rigorous for high-performance projects. During this time, your builder and design team will lay the course for your custom home, analyzing site characteristics and developing a waste-efficient construction plan.
Below is a typical timeline for the days leading up to the construction phase for a high-performance home:
The exact amount of time it takes to construct a custom home will depend on the size of the home, the quality of construction, the amount of specialty or custom features, and the proficiency of your builder.
Your builder should have experience with high-performance projects, and be able to communicate a plan for ensuring that your new home is healthy and eco-friendly. A builder that’s familiar with the nuances of high-performance construction will help you navigate the vast array of options including sustainable construction materials, solar electric power systems , rainwater catchment systems , energy star rated roofing systems , energy efficient windows and on-demand tank-less water heaters.
Every custom home building project is unique and will be subject to its own set of challenges, but you can expect the construction phase of a high-performance home to take about 1 year to complete.
Most importantly, choosing a high-performance home builder with a deep understanding of local building practices and weather conditions will ensure that your timeline most accurately reflects the construction process.