Plans and Design | Custom Home Building Cost Guide
Hey everyone, Brian Freeman here with Freeman’s Construction. Today we’re going through the second episode of our custom home building cost guide series. We’re going to discuss plans and design. This is super important as well as a very exciting step in the process. One of the most common questions we receive at the beginning is “What does it cost?” Well, when you work with a design build contractor, customers usually come with a basic concept in mind. This commonly includes certain finishes, general home size, and parameters that meet the needs of your family. Many customers come to us with a budget in mind that we work with from the very beginning. With the budget in mind, we enter into what we call a Design Agreement, or a Letter of Intent, to get that home design to meet your budget for build according to the selected specifications.
Typical Costs
That process on the front end typically equates to about three to five percent of the overall build cost. For instance, if we had a $500,000 build cost for your home, that’s going to roughly cost between $15,000 to $25,000. The difference in price comes from a couple of things. One cost comes directly from working with a draftsman versus an architect. Draftsman rates run a little more than architect rates. A draftsman might run you $2.50 a square foot whereas an architect might be $4.00 to $5.00 a square foot. These are basic numbers, but the prices vary. Another cost comes from structural engineering during that process. Once the home completes the design step, we must work out the structural with an engineer, and a good structural engineer can design things that are economical to build.
Working through this process with your contractor, draftsman, engineer, and interior designer, who knows the budget can help you put together a package that results closely to the original price point. These are the front-end costs to complete the plans and design. This time frame usually takes 60 to 90 days to finish, but sometimes you can expedite it to 30 days. This process can also take longer depending on the needs of the client, the size of the home, and how extensive the project details become.
Build Time
Once the plans and design are complete and we have all the pricing, then we’re ready to submit the application for a permit to the county or the city. The typical time frame to get those plans back with a permit takes approximately two to three months. Once the permit is issued, we can build. A basic 2,200 square foot home will take about six months to build. When the house size increases, the build duration increases, for example, a 4,000 square foot home now takes a year or maybe even longer. Therefore, each job has a different time frame along with different complexities that also extend build time.
That’s an overview of the plans and design process. Our third video will cover what costs go into the permits and fees, so I hope you check back in for that review. See you in the next video.
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Freeman’s Construction, Inc. has been building new custom homes and completing whole house remodeling projects in San Diego County for over 37 years. To schedule a project consultation, please call us today at 760-788-6846 or fill out a request form.
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