As you plan your new home, one of the first questions to ask is whether a custom or production builder is right for you. As a Construction Management Company, we will help take you through the process. The decision will rest in whether you want to highly personalize your new home using a builder's floorplan or design your home from scratch. A build on your lot allows you to design and build a house you love on land you select. You and your builder can select a home plan (and even modify it) to reflect the unique nature of the land or lot your dream home will occupy. Here's what you need to know to get started on a build on your lot home.

One of the amazing things about American homes is that the huge majority of them are built using completely standardized building practices. One reason for this consistency is a set of uniform building codes that apply across the country. Another reason is cost -- the techniques used to build homes produce reliable housing quickly at a low cost (relatively speaking). If you ever watch any house being built, you will find that it goes through the following steps:

• Building permit process
• Grading and site preparation
• Foundation construction
• Framing out
• Installation of windows and doors
• Roofing
• Siding
• Rough electrical
• Rough plumbing
• Rough HVAC
• Insulation
• Drywall
• Underlayment
• Trim Painting
• Finish electrical
• Bathroom and kitchen counters and cabinets
• Finish plumbing
• Carpet and flooring
• Finish HVAC
• Hookup to water main, or well drilling
• Hookup to sewer or installation of a septic system
• Punch list

Many of these steps are performed by independent skilled trade crews known as subcontractors. For example, the framing is generally done by one subcontractor specializing in framing, while the roofing is done by a completely different subcontractor specializing in roofing. Each subcontractor is an independent business. All of the subcontractors are coordinated by a Construction Management Company who oversees the job and is responsible for completing the house on time and on budget. At ADG, we will lead you through these different stages so that you can see what is involved, understand all the steps and learn about the different materials used in the construction process. We will use a typical three-bedroom home as our example.