What should a custom home planning timeline include?

While framing out a custom home is where big delays happen, most schedule problems on residential projects occur during the planning phase of a project. And by planning, I mean the decisions a designer or contractor makes before actual construction begins. These decisions can impact both cost and time if not handled correctly and can be affected by delays in other decisions. So create a planning timeline that outlines all the decisions that need to be made and assigns someone to make each decision and by when a delay in a prior decision would start to cost money.

Set the budget framework before anything is drawn

It’s also very important to note that a target number for a custom home is not a budget. Rather, a good budget will include hard construction costs, site development costs, soft costs, costs to connect to utilities, costs for finishes that are above the base allowance for those finishes, costs for landscaping, and a contingency. Your clients will treat every change along the way as an error on the part of the builder if they initially were led to believe that one number would be their total cost to build.

Budget planning, Allow 4-6 weeks to plan for the budget. Output would be a list of all costs (hard and soft), a financial plan to meet these costs as they become due, and an agreement regarding bids over the budgeted amount.

How to structure contingency

It’s also important to note that you should have two contingencies. Your design contingency would be approximately 5% of the cost of the design to allow for changes prior to permit issuance. Your construction contingency would be 5% to 10% for unexpected site conditions that are discovered as you start to construct the home. By keeping these two separate, you’ll be sure to not accidentally scope up the cost of your sub-surface work early on.

Finish site due diligence before the first floor plan

Until the Due Diligence has confirmed the site conditions (setbacks, easements etc.) and design options (soil bearing capacity etc.) against the assumptions in the design, the design is going to change. Style preferences are easily accommodated in design development but site conditions control the design in the planning stage.

Boundary and topographic survey, including existing trees and utility locations
Geotechnical report where slope, fill, or expansive soils are suspected
Zoning verification covering setbacks, height limits, lot coverage, and any overlay districts
Septic feasibility or sewer tap confirmation, plus well yield testing where applicable
Homeowners association or architectural review requirements and their meeting calendar

Review the Board of Review calendars. The frequency of meetings (i.e. Monthly) and the amount of time that is allowed for submittals (i.e. 2 weeks) can add 6 weeks to a seemingly ready permit plan.

Develop the floor plan in stages with defined freeze points

Design should progress through three phases of design. Schematic Design outlines space relationships and overall massing for a project. Design Development refines structural form and outlines major systems such as mechanical and routing through spaces as well as defining overall ceiling height and window placement. Construction Documents create the detailed drawing sets for builders to price as well as to obtain necessary construction approvals from local jurisdictions.

Identify a “freeze point” for each of the design phases. This is the point at which design will no longer change for structural aspects. For example, once the structural layout of the home is “frozen” (locked in place), walls can no longer be moved without impacting the foundation, framing, and mechanical design elements, and the cost of change will be greatly impacted as the designer transitions into the Construction Documents (CD) phase.

Price the plan twice

By the time we get to the Preliminary Estimate for your new home at the end of Schematic Design we will have a good indication of whether the scope of your new home is within your budget. If you are weighing builders for custom homes in Lafayette, ask to see how each one handles that first estimate before you commit. By the time we get to the Firm Price Quote for your new home, near completion of the Construction Documents at about 90% completion, we will have detailed information to establish the contract number and confirm that allowances are few and very specific.

Sequence selections against procurement lead times

Do not look at selection of finishes as a single event but group them in the order that the builder will need them. This is not in the typical order that clients typically think.

Planning stage	Typical duration	Decisions locked	Cost of delay
Budget and feasibility	4 to 6 weeks	Scope, financing, contingency	Redesign to a lower cost target
Site due diligence	3 to 8 weeks	Buildable area, utilities, approvals path	Plan rework after survey findings
Schematic and design development	8 to 14 weeks	Footprint, structure, elevations	Structural and mechanical revisions
Construction documents and permit	8 to 16 weeks	Specifications, final pricing	Resubmittal and review restart
Long lead selections	Overlaps prior two stages	Windows, appliances, cabinetry, tile	Framing or trim schedule stalls

What to decide early regardless of lead time

Window and exterior door packages, because they affect framing openings and often carry the longest lead times
Appliance specifications, since they set cabinet dimensions, ventilation, and electrical loads
Plumbing fixtures, which determine rough-in locations before slab or subfloor work
Stair and railing design, which interacts with framing and floor openings

Treat the schedule as a live management tool

Most valuable to the homeowner, however, is the “tracker” for the planning timeline that lists each major decision required, lists the owner of that decision and sets a date by which that decision must be taken or updated. As the date for each decision passes then track the delay and its effects to record subsequently.

Remember that the longest delay in your residential construction process is often the permit review process and the sequence of inspections. Clients can often come to terms with a longer construction period if they are told honestly from the outset rather than it creeping on week after week.