Building a House: Your Start-to-Finish Guide

This is it — you’re finally making the move to build your very own house, and you couldn’t be more excited! It’s a huge decision, and it’s not one you’ve taken lightly. But do you know what goes into a new construction home, start to finish?

If not, don’t worry — we’ve got you covered. We’re going to break down all of the steps of building a house.

We have a lot of ground to cover, so grab a snack!

Steps 1-7: Finding, acquiring, and preparing the site

Step 1: Find and purchase the lot

The very first step to building a house is buying the ideal plot of land for your new dwelling.

Think about where you’d like to build. Do you want to live in the country with a large yard? Do you want to build a house in a growing development with a developer? Does the land already have access to utilities like water, sewer, and electricity?

Unfortunately, you can’t buy any old vacant lot — it must adhere to zoning ordinances where you want to build. Common zoning designations include:

• Residential: Areas designated for single-family homes
• Commercial: Areas designated for businesses like restaurants, retail shops, and so on
• Industrial: Areas designated for factories
• Rural: Areas designated for farming
• Historical: Areas designated for the preservation of historical landmarks or buildings
• Environmental: Areas designated for the protection of natural habitats
• Aesthetic: Structures must adhere to a certain “look” as outlined by zoning codes

Step 2: Research the type of house you want

There are three types of builds available; spec homes, tract homes, or a fully custom home.

Spec (speculative) homes

Spec homes are single-family homes that are built in a development with no particular buyer in mind.

If you go under contract early enough on a spec home, you may be able to choose some features like flooring, paint, kitchen appliances, and other finishes.

Tract homes

Tract homes are when a developer buys a large plot of land and divides that land into individual lots. They’ll then construct homes from specific architectural options planned for that community.

Tract homes could include single-family homes, condos, or townhomes.

Custom homes

A custom home is where you have your own plot of land and hire a builder to build a house exactly the way you want it.

Russell Wing, a top-selling agent who has sold 83% more single-family homes than the average agent in Union County, North Carolina, shares insight on the benefits of a custom home.

“It’s easier to build a custom because you have more choices. You can build the house from the bottom up and in the way you want — you’ll have to pay accordingly. With a spec home, your options are limited. Contractors may only offer shades of white or certain cabinets. They’re basically cookie-cutter homes.”

Regardless of which type of home you want, you’ll want to look at the different floor plans available. Consider things like:

• Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
• Open floor plan or not?
• The layout of the home
• Number of levels or floors

Step 3: Research and hire the building team

Building a home is a huge project, and the average build will involve 22 subcontractors working on the home.

The first person you’ll need to hire is the general contractor or a custom home builder. They will oversee the construction of your home from start to finish. Their duties include:

• Getting estimates for labor and materials
• Vetting and hiring subcontractors (some will have a team of subcontractors they generally work with and will hire an outside subcontractor for electrical and plumbing work)
• Assigning tasks to subcontractors
• Making sure the team meets deadlines

Note: Custom home builders and general contractors are not the same thing, but they are very similar. A custom home builder draws up blueprints for the home and specializes in custom homes, whereas a general contractor does not.

Step 4: Get the required permits from the township

Before construction can begin, your contractor will contact your municipal office and discuss your plans. They’ll know what permits are necessary and they might already have a relationship with the municipality, which could help speed up the process.

Permits you will need could include:

• Building permit ($1,200 to $2,000)
• Electrical permit ($10 to $500)
• Plumbing permit ($50 to $500)
• HVAC permit ($250 to $400)
• If a grading permit is needed ($100 to $1,000)

If you’re on a budget, you could get the permits yourself, but then you’ll be considered the contractor, and you would be liable if there’s a problem during construction or inspections.

Warning: Do not, under any circumstances, begin construction before obtaining permits! If the city learns that you do not have a permit, you could face increased fees to obtain the proper permits, and you could have to shut down construction until the permits are obtained, or even tear down work you’ve already completed.

Step 5: Clear the property

During this step, a professional land-clearing team will remove any debris, vegetation, trees, brush, and rocks within the intended build site.

When trees, shrubs, and bushes are removed, the team will also begin removing stump and root systems to prevent re-growth.

Note: If there are a lot of trees that need to be removed, you may have the option of selling the trees to a commercial logging Bonus new member company so they can be repurposed and turned into lumber.

Step 6: Level the site

Once the land is cleared, the clearing team will fill in any holes and level the ground. Then, the team will put up wooden stakes to market out where the foundation should be poured.

If the land has dips or hills, these will be graded to make sure there’s a flat surface to accommodate the house and driveway.

Step 7: Prepare the land for the foundation or basement

Using the wooden stakes as a guide, the team will dig holes and trenches for the foundation, utilities, and septic system if applicable.

Steps 8-14: Building the envelope

Step 8: Install footings

Footings can be made from concrete or brick masonry and are most commonly used with shallow foundations because it distributes the weight of vertical loads directly to the soil.  Footings are generally wider than the foundation itself and sit one foot below the frost line (the typical depth at which the soil freezes in your climate).

Footing drains will be constructed so that water drains away from the house and protects the drains from damage.

Step 9: Pour the foundation

With the footings in place, your home will have either a slab foundation, a crawlspace, or a full basement poured or constructed.

The concrete will go through a curing process to reach maximum strength. This can take anywhere from 28 to 60 days, but depending on weather conditions, the building can resume after one week.

Regardless of the type of foundation your home will have, it will have to be waterproofed.

Step 10: Install drains, sewers, taps

Once the foundation has cured, drains, sewer lines, water taps, and other plumbing that is needed on the first floor will be installed. Then, the contractors will fill in the trenches surrounding the foundation with excavated dirt.

Step 11: Have an inspection done on the foundation

After the footings, foundation, plumbing, and electrical basics have been laid, there will be an inspection to make sure the foundation was done correctly and follows local code requirements.

Some things the inspector will look at typically include:

• The footing’s width, depth, and condition
• Waterproofing
• Grading
• Reinforced bars

Step 12: Build the frame of the house

Once the inspector gives the project the green light, next comes the framing.

This is where you’ll finally see your home take shape. The framing crew will erect lumber for the walls, flooring, ceiling, and roof trusses. This step could take between one and two weeks to complete.