Congratulations on deciding to build your own home! One of the first decisions you will have to make is if you want to build your home before winter sets in.
Remember, if you live in a part of the country where buildings cannot be constructed during the winter, you are not alone in this decision. Before you can narrow down the if question, it can be helpful to figure out how you want to build your new home.
There are several options, which can each impact your timing question:
A team of construction workers descends on your building lot, carrying supplies and a blueprint that they quickly get to work assembling. With a stick-built house, you have to be concerned about the weather, labor availability, and possible cost overruns.
This method involves constructing an entire home in a factory environment, then shipping it to the building site. As a result, the home’s size and shape are fixed, and it won’t be as customizable as a home that is assembled piece by piece or in panels.
In this home construction method, wooden walls and roof trusses are constructed in a factory and then transported to the site in pieces. The house is entirely customized, and it is engineered for maximum efficiency.
The first thing to remember is that the best time to build a home is during the traditional construction season, which starts in mid-April. The two biggest factors in determining when to build are the weather and your personal schedule.
If you plan to have the help of a construction crew, you will have to coordinate their availability with the weather. The other big factor is the type of build you plan to do. Stick-built homes are most often built in the traditional construction season because of their labor-intensive nature.
If you plan to build your own home, take your time deciding on the best time to build. Selecting too quickly and without proper consideration can lead to severe problems. For example, you could end up with a too big or too small house.
Also, if you don’t understand the process, you may not be able to build the home you envisioned, which means you may have to rebuild later. It is not uncommon to find the perfect location and then give it up due to these reasons.
While many homebuilders are still using old-fashioned framing techniques, a panelized or modular home comes to the construction site in pieces where it can be assembled rapidly and professionally.
The walls can be weather-tight in as little as three days with a panelized home. Starting a project late in the season or the middle of winter is not a problem either because construction crews can assemble the structure from the inside out.
When taking on a project in the fall, there’s no guarantee of finishing it before the winter—there’s always the first snow. Even if they can get through the initial flurry of snow, there’s no guarantee of being able to finish the project, such as:
Of course, you can get materials and complete site preparation during the winter. That does include pouring a concrete foundation in the snow. And with the right equipment, clearing/grading a site or installing utilities isn’t as hard as you might think during the winter months.
Whether you decide to hire a builder or take on a project yourself, keep these tips in mind for timing the construction of your new home.
At Technick, we build inspiring commercial and residential spaces in Irvine, CA. We specialize in a whole house remodel and are proud to offer an award-winning interior designer for the entire home, kitchen, bath, and surfaces like floors, counters, and walls. We will provide you with the best work you can dream of! If you’re looking for reliable custom home builders in Irvine, call us at 888-900-6009. We’re excited to work with you!
