Pros warn against these 4 common mistakes that slow down your project

We polled a few trusted pros about the avoidable mistakes that knock schedules off track, cause budgets to overrun, and lead to other less-than-ideal results. Learn from these mistakes, and you’ll have a better chance of getting the home of your dreams (without extra heartburn).

If you want to know the secret to avoiding all these mistakes, you don’t even have to read the rest of the article; we’ll tell you right now: Trust the people you’ve hired. We know it’s easy to say but harder to practice, but every pro we spoke with shared the same underlying message: We want to use our skills and experience to make our clients happy.

“How much does it cost for a bag of groceries? It depends on what you have in the bag,” said Heather Tankersley, Co-Owner and Vice President of Operations at Sacramento, California-based Tankersley Construction. The price per square foot is similar. It can be a useful ballpark early in the process when you’re trying to understand if it’s in your budget to build. As your design unfolds, however, the cost will shift to reflect what it’ll actually take to construct your home’s custom design.

“A lot of people come to us with plans already drawn, and they had no parameters for what they wanted to spend,” Tankersley said. “They’ve spent all this money on an architect, and they’ve designed a home that’s now going to cost three times what they thought it would cost.”

Both architects and builders tell us successful projects are built around a team including the homeowner, architect, and builder. One thing you might not realize if you haven’t been through a custom home-building project or major remodel is the earlier you involve the builder the better. This is because the builder, as the pro in charge of labor and purchasing materials, is the expert on cost.

TAKEAWAY: Build a good team by hiring the best architect and hiring the best builder for you. Then bring them together around the same table.

“Building the project on paper” is how Nick Schiffer, founder of Boston-based NS Builders, describes pre-construction, or the services and deliverables that builders provide during the design phase of a project. “As the design is unfolding, we’re weighing in on constructability and pricing.”

Typically, that’ll include:

• Design assistance: Sitting in on meetings with homeowners and architects to remind them of the target budget, and sharing their expertise on how the design might be built.
• Budget: Once drawings are complete, they’ll figure out how much it’s going to cost to build the project.
• Estimated schedule: Sequencing out all the phases of construction and landing on a target date for completion.

“We’re making sure you’re not leaving opportunities by the wayside, asking the good questions, and really understanding what it’s going to take to execute the project before starting,” said Schiffer. “It also gives you the chance to ask yourself, ‘Do I want to work with this person for the next two years?’” he said. 

Engaging the builder in pre-construction gives you the best chance of ending up with a design that’ll be reflective of what you can afford. It also positions the builder to work most effectively when it’s time to start construction.

TAKEAWAY: Bring your budget to the table during pre-construction, and you’ll position the team to prepare the full plan, not just the floor plan, in advance of breaking ground.

“Some clients think they’re managing costs by having separate conversations with consultants, but there ends up being a lot of redundancy in terms of who’s handling what,” said Christopher Strom, AIA, founder of Minneapolis-based Christopher Strom Architects.

As the homeowner, you must remember everything is in service of your vision, but you’ve hired experts to do specialized work. That means they need to talk to each other as well as you. “The risk in not having everyone around the table at the same time is that they’re going to be paying people to look at things two or three times. If everyone understands their scope and their role, it’s a better process.”

Just as it’s best to involve the builder early, it’s also ideal to keep the architect involved through construction. They can play an important role here by helping the builder translate the drawings, providing details where needed, and ensuring the original design intent is preserved, even as changes may need to be made.

TAKEAWAY: Keep your team together from start to finish for the best possible results.

“Decisions don’t have to be immediate, but dragging your feet for 3–5 weeks is going to delay the construction schedule,” said Michael Conneely, founder of Chicago-based Greenside Design Build.

There’s no doubt about it: Decision fatigue is real when you’re building a custom home or taking on a major remodel. The coordination required to make finish selections is cumbersome from a design and logistics standpoint.

Both the builder and designer can play a role in easing the process. For example, Conneely breaks decision-making down into three distinct phases and provides his clients with a robust list of resources, including how to make the selection, who’s the right pro to help, where to see samples, and more. His projects always include an interior designer. On other projects, the architect might be consulting on finish selections.

A good builder will be guiding the timing of decisions, and a good designer will be weighing in on the selections themselves. Both pros will have the big picture in mind — the construction schedule, the budget, and the overall design.

TAKEAWAY: Know what you want and lean on the experts to help make decisions that align with the big-picture plan so you can move in on time.