A new home is a long conversation between lifestyle, site, budget, and code. The process is predictable even when the design is unique.
Before schematic design
Confirm lot constraints, utilities, HOA rules, and a real construction budget band. Wishful budgets create painful redesigns.
Schematic through CDs
Options become a single direction; then systems, structure, and details densify into permit and builder documents.
Builder involvement
Some owners design then bid; others choose a builder early for pricing partnership. Both paths work with clear roles.
Common new-build pitfalls
- Designing square footage you cannot afford to finish
- Ignoring orientation and energy until too late
- Underestimating site work
- Skipping geotech on questionable soils