Preliminary Steps
Your Dream Home
The best way to end up with a house that satisfies your needs and fulfills your dreams is to build the home you want from scratch. In most cases, building should cost less than buying a comparable existing home, possibly much less. However, doing it right will require some planning and a lot of hard work, and you can expect a few headaches along the way. Once you know where you are going to build, you will need to find out what restrictions, if any, that community imposes on new construction because this can influence the type and size home you can put there. A professional general contractor will have experience dealing with these issues, but if you manage your own project you will need to investigate them yourself (see Managing the Project). We've listed a few examples below.
A Crestwood 4 with its distinctive three functional dormers
An Aspen starts taking shape
An Autumn View with steel siding and roof
An Autumn View with gable siding over brick
An Autumn View with matching garage
Permits
You will probably need a building permit and may have to pass one or more inspections during construction. You may need other approvals like occupancy permits before you can move in. You also might have to meet the requirements of a planning commission, property owners' associations, or other regulatory bodies.
Building Code and Design Loads
Your permit office will adhere to a particular code (IBC, etc.) and require that your home meet certain minimum engineering specifications like wind load, seismic factor, roof load, etc. (see our code and load specs here). You need to find out the steps in the permit process, what the required specifications are, and how you must demonstrate that you have met them. In particular, find out if you will need to submit drawings for the permit office to review before granting a permit.
Product Approvals
Builders in a few places, notably California and parts of Florida, may be required to use only products and materials that have been pre-approved and registered with the state. In this case, you may have to supply product-approval numbers for all but the most commonly known components (Kodiak can supply approvals for most of our products).
Setbacks and Structure Limits
Most cities and towns will limit the size and design of your house and the portion of your lot it can cover. For example, they may require your house to be "set back" a certain distance from the street or lot line.
Design Restrictions
In urban areas, planning commissions and development regulations may limit or specify certain design elements. For example, some neighborhoods may require or forbid some materials like brick or siding, and many will have various restrictions on the size and location of driveways, detached garages, and even mailboxes.
Landscaping and Improvements
Again in urban areas, you may be required to add particular landscaping elements, and you could have some responsibility for features like curbs, sidewalks, etc.
Utilities and Services
You will need to determine where and how you connect to the various services you will need like water and electricity.
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