
HOME DESIGNING AND BUILDING PROCESS WITH DAVID & GOLIATH BUILDERS
At David & Goliath Builders, our professional building team strives to make the home designing and building process fun and exciting! We operate under the philosophy that everyone deserves a home that reflects their own unique sense of design. After all, it is one of the largest investments you will make in your lifetime. We work to spark your creativity as well as our own creativity. It will be fun, exciting and most of all enjoyable. We want everyone to have a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when we turn over the keys to your new dream home. In order to do this, we believe it is very important to set the expectations ahead of a time. The following is an outline of our unique Home Designing and Building Process.
DESIGN AND BUDGET
The first meeting with clients will include an extensive discussion about all the design and budget considerations. We also spend a great deal of time going over the standard building material specification (i.e. type of windows, siding and shingles, etc.) The following information is necessary for this meeting: lot information including subdivision deed restrictions, a survey of your lot or a plot of the subdivision, an idea of what you can spend on building your new home, an idea of what your time frame is for beginning construction of your new home, and design ideas which may include pictures of things you like. Often at this meeting the client looks at the floor plans of homes David & Goliath Builders has already designed to help them focus on their needs and desires. The goal is, that by the conclusion of this meeting, David & Goliath Builders has obtained enough information to begin a rough floor plan so the architectural design department can begin drawing.
EXECUTION OF A DESIGN AGREEMENT
By the second meeting, David & Goliath Builders' architectural design department will have proposed floor plans prepared. At this meeting a Design Agreement is drawn up outlining the customer's goals and budget. Upon the execution of this Design Agreement, David & Goliath Builders will proceed to draw further more detailed drawings, on our state-of-the-art, three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) system.
REVIEW OF MORE DETAILED DRAWINGS
As the house begins to develop, it may take several meetings to refine the plans. These meetings are crucial. The customer will begin to see their house evolve with each meeting. Things that will be worked on include, but are not limited to, the exterior elevations, refining the floor plan with many details, placement of windows in relationship to your furniture placement and other factors, cabinet layouts, floor coverings, building materials to be used, placement of plumbing fixtures, etc. The drawings will be analyzed along the way to be sure they are meeting your needs. Especially so budget decisions are being met.
WORKING DRAWINGS AND SPECIFICATION REVIEW
By this meeting the house plans will be finalized. A detailed specification document will also be completed. This document will outline the price of the home and exactly what is included in that price. This document is so detailed it lists for example, model numbers of plumbing fixtures, the type of cabinets, the kind of furnace, etc. At this meeting everything will be discussed in great detail in preparation for drafting a Building Construction Contract.
IF YOU CHOOSE A MODEL WE HAVE ALREADY DESIGNED
It should be noted, that if a model is chosen that we have already designed, this process may not be as extensive. It is rare that a client doesn't make any change at all to a floor plan, but it does occur once in a while.
EXECUTION OF THE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT
At this meeting, the plans and specification will be gone over for the final time in detail to make sure that everything is exactly the way the customer wants it. The final working drawings will also be complete. All of these documents will be signed and executed. They are necessary to begin the construction loan process and they will need to be submitted to the loan officer. In many cases, this information will also need to be submitted to the developer of the subdivision where the lot is located for final approval and in some rare cases to the municipality where the home is being built.
CUSTOMER SELECTION SHEETS
At the execution of the Building Construction Contract, David & Goliath Builders will give the customer our New Home Construction & Maintenance Guide. This guide will hold all the information on your new home and guide you through the process. It includes a very thorough and extensive system to help make the construction process easy and exciting. There are many choices to be made, from colors of exterior building materials to carpet, vinyl, tile and countertop choices. In addition, we provide the professional design services of Cindy Gear, owner of Gear Interiors, to help with making these decisions. Many of these items can be picked out right in the sample room at our offices. Other items, such as light fixtures, will require an appointment with our material suppliers.
CONSTRUCTION LOAN PROCESS
After a contract is signed the customer will proceed with the construction loan process. Usually the customer has already begun this process by getting a pre-approval so they know how much money they can spend on their new home. At this point, the bank will need a copy of the blueprints, building construction contract and specification document. They will then order an appraisal on the proposed new home and a loan application will be submitted. This will include ordering of a title commitment, obtaining a certificate of builders risk insurance and running credit checks on both the customer and the builder. Please see the section titled "Links" of our website for financial institutions that are available for construction loans.
BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION
After the construction loan has been closed, David & Goliath Builders will then proceed with the following:
Survey: A survey of the customer's new home plotted on their lot will be ordered. This is a required and necessary legal document. David & Goliath Builders will consult the customer to be sure their new home and rough driveway cut are where they would like them. After these decisions have been made we will have the new house staked out on the lot.
Lot Developer Approval: Once we have obtained the final survey it will be necessary, in some cases, for several copies of the survey and blueprints to be given to the developer of the subdivision. The developer will approve these items by stamping them. In some cases, the developer may request some modifications. If this is an issue it will be promptly addressed. This step is only necessary if the new home is being built in a subdivision.
Septic Permit: If the home requires a septic system, David & Goliath Builders will need to apply for a septic permit.
Heat Calculations: Calculations on the heating system in the new home will be done by the manufacturer of the furnace system. This step is necessary to apply for the building permit, because the building inspection department needs to see that the home is in compliance with the Uniform Dwelling Code for the State of Wisconsin.
Application for Building Permit: When all the above items have been completed we will have all the necessary materials to apply for the building permit. Once we take this information to the building inspection department and apply for the building permit, it may take anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks before we get the permit. In the mean time, we will schedule the hole to be dug.
Application for Electrical/Gas Utilities: With our assistance, the customer will apply for installation of electric and gas utilities to be installed at their new home.
CUSTOMER SELECTION SHEET COMPLETION
Once the basement is scheduled for excavation it is at this point it will be necessary for the customer to concentrate on completing the following selection sheets.
1. Windows
2. Plumbing
3. Cabinets
4. Fireplace Unit
5. Exterior Selections
6. Masonry Selections
7. Paint/Stain Color Selections
8. Electrical Switch/Plug/Plate Color
9. Electrical Layout
10. Light Fixtures
11. Doors/Millwork and Hardware
12L Countertops-Laminates Only
12S Countertops-Solid Surface Only
13. Carpeting and Vinyl Flooring
14. Ceramic Tile
15. Wood Flooring
16. Appliances
17. Mirror and Shower Doors
18. Cabinet Hardware
BASIC ORDER OF CONSTRUCTION
With some variations depending on jobsite and weather conditions, the following is a list of the basic order of construction:
- Hole Dug
- Footings Poured
- Basement Constructed
- Steel Beams Set in Basement
- Watchdog Waterproofing Installed on the Outside of Foundation
- Backfill Foundation
- Rough Carpentry Construction of Home
- Utility Install (gas, electric, water/sewer laterals, septic or well)
- Roofing/Shingle Install
- Mechanical Rough-in Completed (Heating, Plumbing and Electrical)
- Basement and Garage Slabs Poured
- Siding Installed
- Insulation Installed
- Drywall Installed
- Millwork Delivered and Painting and Staining Conducted
- Finish Carpentry Crew Installs Wood Flooring, Cabinets and all Finish Millwork
- Underlayment Installed at Vinyl and Ceramic Tile Areas
- Countertop Installed
- Vinyl and Ceramic Tile Installed
- Built in Appliances Delivered and Installed
- Light Fixtures Delivered and Installed
- Finish Heating, Plumbing and Electrical Completed
- Wood Flooring Finished
- Carpeting Installed
- Appliances that are not Built-in are Delivered and Installed
- Finishing Touches Completed
- Occupancy Scheduled
- At the time of final occupancy David & Goliath Builders will conduct a thorough walk through inspection with the customer to be sure that all expectations were met. We will also answer any questions the customer has about their new home and show them how everything operates.
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