Your Building Schedule

Next on the home building checklist is determing your schedule. The home building schedule consists of four phases:

1. Planning: Selecting a building site and compatible floor plan that fits within your budget parameters are the pieces of the planning process.

2. Design: Finalizing the floor plan, choosing post and beam or log construction, placing your deposit and confirming your financing will net you final construction drawings so you can move onto the production phase.

3. Production: Your final construction drawings will help you receive accurate contractor bids, obtain building permits and prepare your foundation.

4. Construction: This step begins with the arrival of your home building materials. The steps to building your own home finally become reality; finishing work and landscaping are completed.

So, how long does this whole process take? Three key elements that play an important role in your schedule are:

1. Choosing the right floor plan. It can take hours or weeks, but it is important that you choose—or design—the floor plan that you want. Depending on your decision process, this stage can often take longer than you had planned. To minimize design time, choose one of hundreds of Lindal floor plans and personalize it.
2. Obtaining financing. Most banks suggest that you allow one month between mortgage application and commitment, and perhaps another for closing.
3. Receiving building permits. Regulatory procedures vary so much that the time it takes to obtain a building permit can range from a couple of weeks to many months. Make sure you take this into account when setting your timeline.

Other factors that affect your timeline that you will want to take into consideration range from the the local building permit process to the weather and availability of local builders and subcontractors and whether you decide to customize one of hundreds of available Lindal designs or custom design your home.

One final tip

Post and Beam construction is often thought to take a longer time frame than conventional stick building. However, that is not the case. Most post and beam construction projects take the same amount of time.

What About You?

What is your schedule for moving into your new home? January February March April May June July August September October November December 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Continue with Step Four: Personalize Your Home