Building your own custom home in Raleigh, NC, is an exciting and rewarding process! With every single detail handpicked by you, you are finally going to have the home you have always dreamed of. However, your custom home will also be the biggest investment in your life, so you have to make smart, focused decisions.
It goes without saying that much thought and planning go into building a custom home. After all, there is nothing pre-designed or pre-selected in a truly custom home. Everything is personally selected by the homeowner. This means that you need to face a slew of options coming at you all at once when building a home from the ground up. Instead of doing it all on your own, you will find that the most efficient path to building a custom home is with a general contractor in Wake County, NC, like Glasgow Design Build.
Regardless of whether you choose us for your building project, there are a plethora of factors you need to consider when building your custom home in Raleigh, NC. Let’s go over some of the most important ones:
1. Budget
The first thing you need to consider before building your custom home is your budget.
With the average custom home costing slightly over $300K, building a custom home is not really cheap. It is in your best interest to crunch the numbers to make sure you can afford your brand new home in Raleigh, NC.
It is also a smart idea to have a contingency reserve in place—keep about 10% of your budget to offset unforeseen expenses during the building project. Many Wake County homeowners get too excited, get caught off guard by a sudden expense, and end up drying their funds way too quickly. You don’t want to be stuck in a situation like that.
2. Design
After you have set your financial plan, now comes the fun part: Designing your dream home.
The possibilities are virtually endless. That’s why developing an architectural program—a list of goals that you want your Raleigh custom home to achieve—is important. Keep the following tips in mind when creating your architectural plan:
- Identify what works and what does not work in your existing home.
- Research different design styles.
- Compile design ideas and architectural elements.
- Separate the needs from the wants—how high is “building a porch or deck” on your list of priorities?
We admit that the options you have when designing your custom home can be a bit overwhelming, but this is where we step in. At Glasgow Design Build, we can refine your vision and turn it into a 3D model to help you visualize what your dream home looks like.
3. Floor Plan
Since you are building your Raleigh home from scratch, you can also decide your own floor plan. You need to be tactical here. Keep in mind the following things when designing the floor plan in your new custom home:
- Location of the kitchen and bathroom
- How much space does each room need?
- Window orientation and placement in regards to sunlight
At Glasgow Design Build, we believe that every room in your home should have a purpose. Therefore, we will work with you to ensure space optimization in your custom home.
4. Location
Although a large chunk of time is spent on the actual design and construction, finding a location to build your Raleigh custom home on is a critical step in the entire process. After all, the location dictates the parameters and constraints of your custom home, both structurally and aesthetically.
For example, if you wish to build in a historic district in Raleigh, NC—Blount Street, Boylan Heights, Capitol Square, Moore Square, Oakwood, Prince Hall, Glenwood-Brooklyn, and Oberlin Village—there are almost always design guidelines that your design and construction team must adhere to when designing your home and floor plan.
Furthermore, the quality of the land itself will impact how you build: zoning, wetlands, and septic connections are all considerations in the design-build phase down the road. This is why it is critical to ensure that the land you are about to buy is viable for your custom home project.
At Glasgow Design Build, we will analyze a plot of land and advise you on its design implications and constraints. We will take into account everything from the size of the lot to local building codes to the quality of life in the neighborhood to enrich your custom home building experience.
Choosing the Right Custom Home Builder
When you are ready to begin building your custom home in Raleigh, NC, you will need to find a custom home builder. Now, it is easy to find a builder. However, it may take some time to find a builder who meets your wants and needs.
For starters, look for a builder that has similar design aesthetics to yours. Second, always check their references—customer testimonials, previous work, and so on. Do not be afraid to approach it like an interview and ask each builder a couple of questions before entering into a contract or beginning the building project.
You want to work with a team that makes you feel at ease. Do not put your dreams of building a custom home in the hands of someone you do not trust. Meet and get to know the face behind the company that will be working with you. And only sign on the dotted line if you are sure.
Related Blog: Questions to Ask When Hiring a General Contractor
For most people, custom home building is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The more informed and prepared you are, the smoother the process would be. Good luck with your planning!
If you are looking for reliable, quality, and cost-effective custom home building services or home renovations in Raleigh, NC, trust Glasgow Design Build. No matter what your vision of a dream home looks like, we can turn your home dreams into your home reality. Call us at (919) 244-2979 to learn more about our services.