The average amount of time it takes to build a house is seven months, but this is an average.
It takes some people much longer than this; however, it’s rare to build a house in less than seven months when you include the preparations and the construction. If you want to build a new house, you might want to ask your contractor, “how long does it take to build a house?”
A building contractor can give you a time frame estimate for the house you want to build and explain the factors that affect the construction process time frame.
As you start preparing to build a house, here is a guide that can help you understand how long it takes to build a new home.
The Preliminary Steps Affect the Time Frame
The first thing to understand when you plan to build a house is that you must complete many preliminary steps before the contractor begins constructing the home.
Here are some of the primary preliminary steps that must occur before the construction begins:
Find the Right Land
Building a home requires buying land. You can purchase the property yourself or purchase it from a contractor, but you’ll need land to build a house. Spend enough time searching for the right land because you can’t change the location once you buy it.
Choose Blueprints for the Home
You’ll also need blueprints for the home you want the contractor to build. Finding the right home plans is a vital step that might take weeks or months. If you can’t find the perfect plans, you can hire an architect to create custom home plans.
Hire a Contractor
Another preliminary step is hiring a local home builder. You might want to interview several building contractors before hiring one, and you should consider viewing some of their homes to find out more about their work before hiring one.
Get Approved for a Loan
To build a house, you’ll need a loan. While you cannot get the loan until you close on the house, you must get preapproved for a loan if you want a builder to agree to construct a home for you.
Make All the Necessary Decisions for the Home
Finally, you’ll be required to make decisions for the home before the contractor begins. You’ll have to decide siding options, roof colors, and more before the process starts.
When you add up the time it takes for all these preliminary steps, it might be a month or a year. It depends on how quickly you move through them and how motivated you are to make decisions.
The Demand and Condition of the Market Affects the Timing
The second factor that affects the time it takes to build a house is the current market conditions. If builders are swamped with building homes right now, you might have to wait for them to begin yours. If the market is slow and they have no work, they might be able to start right away.
The House You Build Plays a Role
When you’re building a house, the house itself affects the time it takes to build it. A simple, smaller home will take less time to build than a large, complex home. If you’re interested in speeding up the building process, talk to a contractor about choosing a simpler house to build. The contractor can help you understand the differences in homes and the time it takes to build them.
The difference in house plans can add or subtract time to the construction process.
Your Decisions Affect the Amount of Time
A significant aspect of the time it takes to build a house is your ability to make decisions. Building a custom home provides you the opportunity to choose the house plans and all the building materials in the house. How good are you at making decisions? Do you already know what type of cabinets you want in the house and the flooring types you desire?
If you have trouble making decisions, it can lead to delays in the process. It takes time for a contractor to order building materials, and your home builder will expect you to make decisions by specific dates. For example, it often takes at least four weeks to receive kitchen cabinets after ordering them. If you fail to choose your cabinets by a specific date, the building process might come to a halt while waiting for your cabinets to arrive.
Changes Cause Delays
Another thing that causes delays is the changes you make during the process. If you want to speed up the building process, you should follow two key rules:
- Make all the decisions ahead of time
- Avoid changes in the construction process
Anytime you make a change, it can create a delay in the process. The contractor may have to fill out a change order request with every change you make, and you might have to pay a fee for each one.
You Should Plan for a Total of Two Years
If you want to be safe when estimating how long it takes to build a house, you should consider planning a total of two years. Two years might seem like a long time, but it could take this long. If you do your part, you can easily speed it up and cut time off the two years.
In fact, if you get everything done quickly, you could have a brand-new house in around seven months. Seven months is the minimum amount of time it takes to build a house, and many homeowners achieve this when building.
“How Long Does It Take to Build a House?” More Details
So, how long does it take to build a house? As you can see, it depends on many things. You can speed up the process by making decisions faster and avoiding changes. Proper preparation is vital when building a home if you want to build it faster.
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