Building a custom home takes a year to two years from the first conversation to the keys, and most of that time is decided before the foundation is poured. Here is the whole process, in the order it happens, with the timelines we actually see.
Stage 1. The conversation
You fill out our questionnaire. Seth reads it and, if the project looks like a fit, calls to talk through scope, budget, land, and timing. No charge, no pitch. If you do not yet own land, this is the moment to say so, because the land decides more about the house than most people expect. We do not find land for clients, but we work with agents who do, and we will walk a lot with you before you buy it.
Stage 2. Pre-construction. One to two months
This is the stage most builders skip, and it is where the money is saved. Over forty to sixty hours we design the house with you in 2D and 3D, write a scope of work for every line item, get current pricing from every trade and vendor, and produce a complete budget and schedule. You choose finishes during this stage, from any supplier you like, because every undecided item is a cost that will arrive later. We charge $100 per hour for pre-construction and credit the full amount back when you sign a construction agreement.
What you decide here: the plan, the materials, the finishes, the systems, and whether the house is built to healthy-home or Vastu standards.
Stage 3. Engineering and agreement. One to three weeks
An architect or engineer reviews and stamps the drawings. If the budget came in above your number, we redesign until it fits. Then we sign a cost-plus agreement with a guaranteed maximum price and a payment schedule tied to milestones.
Stage 4. Permits and site work. Four to ten weeks
Permit, survey, and any soil or environmental work. Then clearing, excavation, utilities, and the foundation. Site work is the largest unknown in any build. A ledge where the plan showed soil, a spring where the basement goes, a wetland line closer than the survey suggested. The budget carries a visible contingency for exactly this. In the Farmington Valley, lots that touch wetlands or wildlife protection zones add review steps at the building department, sometimes months. We plan for that from the first site visit.
Foundations cure before framing begins. Concrete is not rushed here.
Stage 5. The build. Six to twelve months
Framing, roof, and exterior first, so the house is dry. Then windows and doors, siding, and roofing. Then the rough mechanicals: plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling, ventilation. Then insulation and drywall. Then the finish work: flooring, trim, cabinets, tile, paint, fixtures. Then landscaping and the driveway. Each phase is done by a specialist in that trade, selected and supervised by Seth, and scheduled so one hands off cleanly to the next.
You walk the site with Seth at every stage. Progress reports arrive from the field with photos as the work happens, so you never wonder what was done this week.
Stage 6. Walkthrough and keys. One to two weeks
You write the punch list with us and every item is closed before the handover. Then a full orientation of the house and its systems: where the shutoffs are, how the ventilation works, what to maintain and when. Then the keys.
Where schedules slip
Three places, in our experience. Undecided selections, which stall the trades that need them. Permit review, which we cannot control but can prepare for. And site surprises, which the contingency exists to absorb. The owners who finish on time are the ones who decided everything they could before the ground was opened.
Plan a year or two ahead
We keep a quarterly schedule and take on a small number of projects at a time. Most builds begin three months to a year after the agreement is signed. The best projects start with a conversation before the land is bought. If that is where you are, start here.