How Long Does it Typically Take to Build a Custom, Luxury Home?
At Mehus Construction, we are the luxury home builder that has been bringing our clients’ dreams to life in the Los Gatos area for more than 45 years. Whether you have plans to build a custom estate home or a gorgeous bungalow, you understandably want to get settled into your new space as soon as possible. Our clients often inquire about the average timeline for a custom home construction project.
As an established home construction contractor, we pay attention to the fine details so that each home is precisely customized to suit the client's preferences. This extends to our home renovation and building extension projects as well. Because no two projects are the same, the timeline for each project is unique. We will tailor a timeline for your project upfront so that you can plan accordingly. We always strive to deliver results on time and that live up to our clients’ expectations.
The Average Timeline for Custom Home Construction
The typical custom home construction project will take between 8 to 24 months, although some smaller homes and home renovation projects may be completed more quickly. Clearly, this is a large window of time that must be refined for the nuances of each project. Numerous variables must be carefully analyzed by our team as we prepare a custom timeline. Because we focus on quality and customer satisfaction, we never cut corners to save time. Instead, we provide our clients with a realistic, detailed timeline upfront. What are the many factors that we take into account when creating a timeline for a home construction project, a building extension or a home renovation?
The Size of the Project
The most obvious factor that affects the start-to-end timeline for a project is the size of the structure, but this factor may not have as much of an impact as some of our clients believe. As an experienced home construction contractor serving the Bay Area, we can effectively scale up efforts on larger projects by bringing more skilled labor to the site as needed. This can partially offset the impact of project size on the timeline.
The Detail of the Design
The complexity of the design must be taken into account in conjunction with the size of the project. Consider that a large home construction project with elaborate details throughout will require significantly more time to complete than the construction of a smaller home with modest accents or with some prefab components.
The Pre-Construction Steps
Numerous critical steps must be taken before ground is broken at the construction of your home. For example, you will need to work closely with your architect to finalize the perfect plan for the home. Keep in mind that changes to the plan after construction has started can dramatically add on to the timeline in some cases. The process will flow more smoothly when all of the details are finalized upfront. The architect’s schedule as well as the timeframe for obtaining all building permits also must be taken into consideration when planning for this aspect of the project.
The Expertise of Your Luxury Home Builder
Whether you connect with us as your home construction contractor or your home addition contractor, you will benefit from our extensive project management experience. While we consistently focus on the work at hand, we also look ahead to anticipate and thwart potential delays. We also have exceptional relationships with skilled, reliable subcontractors who consistently deliver results that meet our high standards and our deadlines.
The Force of Mother Nature
Weather conditions impact the timeline of all home construction and extension projects, and these conditions can be particularly problematic at key stages in the process. For example, excavating the lot and laying the foundation generally must be done during relatively dry conditions. Concrete will not set properly in rainy conditions. Until the house is framed and sealed, Mother Nature can continue to impact the timeline. Even when the interior is sealed, exterior paint, masonry and other aspects of the project are subject to weather delays. From outdoor temperature and humidity to earthquakes and other natural forces, some aspects of the timeline are subject to delays. Through our experience, we factor in a reasonable amount of time for these potential delays.
Inspections and Permits
Pre-construction permits are only part of the red tape that impacts construction projects. In addition to the numerous permits that must be obtained, various inspections must be completed and passed throughout the project. In some cases, HOA approval and other bureaucratic matters must be addressed. At Mehus Construction, we are a luxury home builder with extensive experience dealing with the many departments and agencies that play a role in a custom home project. Through our expertise, we can navigate through these processes while minimizing their impact on the timeline.
The Client’s Role
We work closely with each client throughout all stages of their project to ensure full satisfaction with the end result. While our clients in the Bay Area generally are not at the construction site daily, they collaborate with us frequently. As a result, the client’s accessibility throughout the project can be instrumental in completing the project on time. The client’s decisiveness upfront with design decisions, architectural details and other matters can prevent the need for our subcontractors to double back and make changes after different aspects of the project have been completed. This decisiveness is essential for staying on budget as well. Nonetheless, a custom home construction project is complex with many moving components. As a result, we recommend that our clients prepare for unexpected expenses with a contingency fund.
Our Team’s Role
The home construction contractor that you hire has significant control over the timeline. Most aspects of a construction project have expected timelines, but the contractor’s expertise in coordinating schedules and confirming the quality of work that has been completed at every stage of the process affects the overall completion time. In addition to coordination, matters like ordering materials on time, ensuring the timely delivery of those materials, troubleshooting and more are significant factors that the contractor has direct control over. One minor delay in the delivery of materials or in the completion of a subcontractor’s work can throw a wrench in the process. By choosing us as your luxury home builder, you can feel confident that our planning, coordination and communication skills are superior.
The Interior Designer
Hiring an interior designer for a custom home construction project or a home renovation is not required, but many of our clients prefer to utilize a designer’s expertise. An experienced designer will help you to make critical design decisions in a timeframe that aligns with the construction schedule. These decisions range from selecting the cabinetry hardware and paint to picking out the bathroom tile, the counter material and more. In a basic home design, potentially hundreds of decisions must be made. This number increases dramatically with a larger and more detailed project.
The Availability of Materials
In many custom homes throughout the Bay Area, handcrafted accent pieces and premium materials are incorporated with great care. While many mass-produced and common materials are readily available to ship today, custom designs and premium materials may have a much longer lead time. Planning ahead to firm up your design plan and working with an experienced designer who has excellent knowledge of suppliers and craftsmen are in your best interest. However, some premium materials simply take more time to create, to deliver and to install than others.
At Mehus Construction, our expertise extends from luxury building extensions and premium home renovations to exquisitely customized home construction projects. We consistently provide our clients with individualized attention, and we tailor our efforts to meet each client’s needs and expectations. We would love to learn about your ideas and will happily guide you through each stage in your project.