Building a Custom Home in Dallas | A Step-by-Step Guide
Building a custom home in Dallas is both challenging and exciting. What sets a custom home apart from ready-made constructions is that you can design your house according to your needs.
Not only can you design your home the way you like, but you’ll likely get a higher quality, more durable and long-lasting result.
When you plan to build your custom home in Dallas, the most crucial thing that you should do is to find the best architect or custom home designer and a builder you can afford. (We’ll shed light on the things you should consider before you hire a custom home designer and a contractor in a separate post).
Once you have found the architect/designer/builder to work with, you can officially start your custom home building project.
This step-by-step guide will help you build your dream house with an efficient, controlled, well-planned approach so that you can enjoy the process and minimize stress.
Step 1 – Develop Your Budget Range
The first step to building a custom home in Dallas is to develop your budget range. Many things can go wrong if you aren’t sure about how much your house should cost in the end.
Since there are so many unknowns involved in the house building process, it is practically impossible for a homeowner to finalize the budget in the initial stages. But you must at least have an estimate.
Consult with your financial advisor or accountant to understand your available funds, credit lines, mortgage rates and all the other financial considerations, and set your budget accordingly. Then add 20% and hold in reserve for unexpected costs.
Step 2 – Know What You Can Build
Before you go any further, you have to know about any restrictions that may apply to the lot or land on which you want to build. Deed restrictions, HOA restrictions and various municipal and governmental restrictions might have an impact on what you can build on a particular lot or in a particular area.
Visit your city planning department and discuss all of the above to see if they are applicable. Bring your address and real property report that could help the authorities gauge the feasibility of your plan.
Alternatively, you can get a site feasibility review done by a professional custom home designer who will provide you with a detailed analysis report of what you can or cannot build on your lot.
Step 3 – Document Your Wishlist
There are so many details that go into the custom home building project. So, make sure you spend some time and document a wishlist as you’d not be able to remember everything you have discussed with your designer in the first meeting on your own.
Apart from that, you also need to have a collection point that could either be in the form of a file or a digital folder where you can save images, videos, and design examples of different constructions that you would like to follow for your project.
Step 4 – Develop Your Final Design
This is the most exciting part of your custom home building project. Once you have finalized a designer, have a rough budget estimate in hand, and also checked the feasibility of your project with your local city planning department, it’s time to develop your final design.
At this point, your custom home designer will show you the final design plan based on your discussions with them in the initial meetings. Make sure you check every detail carefully. Discuss floor plan concept, exterior design concept, the amount of space you need for your backyard or parking, and other essential things you want in your custom home building project.
Step 5 – Finalize Your budget
You already had a rough estimate for your project that you developed in the first step of the process. Now that you already have everything you need to get started, you can finalize your budget to avoid post-construction regrets.
Your builder will now give you the final budget estimate that you need to complete your custom home building project in Dallas.
You need to ensure that you’re comfortable with the final budget before you proceed further.
Step 6 – Finalize Technical Details
A house building project is not just about having brick and mortar. It’s a tedious process that involves many technical details as well.
For example, you may have to consult with an energy advisor and construction engineer to help you decide the intricate construction and lighting details for your home in Dallas.
If you’re not handling your project independently and have hired a custom home designer and a contractor, there is nothing to worry about. But yes, you must keep an eye on every detail to know whether everything is going in the right direction.
Step 7 – Secure Your Permits
The most exciting part of the project is where you seek permits and start the construction process to turn your dream project into a living reality.
Depending on your location, there might be one permit or multiple permits that you need to start the actual construction process.
Make sure you have all the permits at hand before you get started.
Step 8 – Start Construction
That’s pretty straightforward. After having permits, you’re all set to start the construction process.
At this point, you can arrange a pre-construction meeting to have your custom home designer and builder on board. Clear all your doubts, ask many questions, and have a quick look at every detail to see if you need to amend anything.
Custom House Building Checklist
✓ Buying land
✓ Review documents and prepare specifications sheet
✓ Hire a designer and a builder
✓ Buying materials
✓ Site and foundation
✓ Framing
✓ Exterior Masonry
✓ Roofing
✓ Siding
✓ Plumbing rough
✓ HVAC
✓ Electrical rough and insulation
✓ Wallcovering
✓ Trims and cabinets
✓ Interior paint/wallpaper
✓ Final finishing
✓ Final clean up
✓ Move-in
There you have it – a step-by-step guide to building a custom home in Dallas. The steps we have explained above are crucial, and you must follow all of them to get the most of your house building project.
For more questions or to drop your feedback, you can always reach out using the comments section given below. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Good Luck!
