When building or remodeling a house, there are lots of big decisions and thousands of micro decisions to be made along the way.
Since I am going on the journey of building a new home, I thought I would bring you along for the ride.
Over the coming months, I will describe my experience making selections for a variety of building and decorative materials. Hopefully sharing those insights will be helpful (or at least interesting) to you!
In my experience there are a few pain points along the way that can bog down the process–the big four are plumbing fixtures, decorative lighting, tile and stone, and paint. But for now, let’s talk first about the process and all of the choices ahead…
1. Set a schedule, and stick to it
Right at the beginning, you want your design/build partners to set a schedule for construction. As much as that timeline may waver in this climate due to forces outside of your control, it’s important to set a framework for decisions and hold everyone accountable for making those decisions.
My house will be about 18 months in the making, but the decision process needs to happen much faster–ideally within the first 10 months of the project.
2. Select the essentials, ASAP
Months 1-3
The first block of picks should be completed in the first two to three months of the process. This is the busiest time, and not all of the choices made now are super sexy – toilets, gas lines, shower drains – eew. Not very fun. But to set the house and contractor up for success, you can’t put off making those decisions, because they matter as early as when it comes to pouring the foundation.
And, bear with me here, if you don’t have a strong foundation of decision making, you’ve got nothing to build on. Windows, for example, need to be ordered many months ahead of time. You want them ready to be installed when the time comes so as to not hold up the project.
Besides windows, that first few months should also include decisions for plumbing fixtures and appliances.
Exterior finishes, electrical plans, and audio visual plans, which have all been in development during the designing of the house, will need to be approved NOW. Yes, you need to decide where the tv’s are going and whether or not you are using a lighting system in the first few weeks and months of the process.
Tile and stone selections are also best made at this stage, especially if there will be material coming from Europe and beyond, or if there are complicated tile details and custom designs.
Months 4+
After a couple of months break from all that hard work, at about the fifth month of construction, the second round of choices kicks in.
The cabinetry and flooring will need approval.
Hardware of all types need to be chosen–for doors, cabinets, and bathroom accessories.
Why do you need to pick a toilet paper holder when the house is only partially built? Because you want blocking between the wall studs, and that has to happen before the drywall goes up!
Now that all that’s done, it’s time for interior paint and hardscape on the outside.
Questions to ask yourself:
How do the decking and plantings lay out in relation to the house?
What does the driveway look like?
The good news is that when your designer wants to talk about the shower enclosures and shower door hardware, you are only about 6 months away from moving into your new (or newly renovated) home.
Selection Recap
Month 1-3:
Toilets
Gas Lines
Shower Drains
Windows
Plumbing Fixtures
Appliances
Tile & Stone
Months 4+
Cabinetry
Flooring
Hardware
