Here's a secret about the custom home industry that many people don't realize: No house is going to be perfect. Yes, you read that right. It doesn't matter how experienced your home builder is, even the most experienced builders won't build a perfect house. Here's why.
Your one-of-a-kind home
By definition, a custom home on your land is one of a kind, just like you. It's designed to fit your needs, wants, and budget. It's the manifestation of your dream. If there were a hundred other houses that looked like it, it wouldn't hold the same place in your heart.
There are, of course, other things in life that get built and need to be perfect or pretty close to perfect. We want airplanes to be pretty perfect when we get on them to take a trip, right? Imagine Boeing building the latest and greatest airline. They draw it up on paper, tweak it multiple times, and then put together a prototype. Do they load the prototype up with paying passengers for its maiden flight? Absolutely not. They go through multiple rounds of plans and prototypes to get it exactly right.
But with a custom home, multiple rounds of prototypes aren't possible. It's a one-of-a-kind custom home that's only going to be built once. That means when it gets to the end of the process, either you or your builder are going to wish some things had been done differently.
Benefits when working with an experienced builder
Now, an experienced home builder has certainly learned a lot from the many, many custom homes they have built in the past. And those lessons absolutely carry forward to future homes that they build, so it's not like they’re starting from scratch every single time in terms of knowing what to expect. But there are inevitable new lessons to learn with each custom home.
Here's what your builder CAN do to get your custom home closer to perfect and minimize the number of things you find yourself wishing were different.
1. Review the house plan several times with you to make sure you've thought of everything within reason.
2. Give you time with the preliminary design so you and your family can review it at your own pace.
3. Have the contractors review the plans to find problem areas, such as:
- -Any space issues related to running ductwork, wiring, and pipes.
- -Door swings that interfere with each other.
- -Access to mechanical and plumbing components.
- -Layouts that cause particular structural issues that might cost extra money to fix, like a large family room with vaulted ceiling that could cause problems with bracing rafters.
- 4. Build your house several times on paper before building it in the real world.
That last one is really important. Be absolutely sure your builder intends to build your house several times on paper before building it in the real world.
You can't build a prototype, but building it multiple times on paper (and having contractors review the plans) can help prevent both little and big issues when it comes time to build.
Even with these steps in place, a perfect custom home isn't likely to happen, but you can certainly get closer to perfect. When it's finished, focus on finding the joy in your new custom home and don't worry about all the little things you would have done differently.
Learn more: Download our free guide to building your forever home on your land.
