Building a custom home is a major undertaking. It's your opportunity to get exactly what you want from a home. However, custom home building can also come with some pitfalls, including construction delays. Luckily, there are some steps you can take to help keep your construction project on schedule. If you want to avoid costly construction delays, read the list provided below. You'll find four tips to help you stay on schedule.
Choose a Local Contractor
When it comes to building your custom home, and staying on schedule, it's important that you start with a local contractor. You might not realize this, but choosing an out-of-town home builder can increase your risk for construction delays. This is especially true where winter home building projects are concerned. When winter weather gets bad, your out of town home builder might not be able to make the trip, which can cause delays. To avoid the travel-related weather delays, choose a local contractor.
Have a Realistic Timeline
If you're worried about construction delays, be sure to start with a realistic timeline. Starting the project with a realistic timeline can help you avoid delays associated with confusion. Whenever there's confusion relating to construction timelines, problems can arise. To avoid those risks, sit down with your home builder to create a realistic timeline for the entire project. It's also a good idea to generate a construction checklist. That way, you can keep track of the construction process, throughout the project.
Maintain Communication
If you want to avoid delays during the construction of your custom home, one of the best things you can do is maintain communication with the builder. This is especially important when issues arise. The longer you take to bring up issues, the harder it is to get back on track, especially if changes need to be made. That's why it's important that you make contact with your home builder throughout the process.
Avoid Change Orders
Now that you're starting the construction project for your custom home, you want to keep the project on the right timeline. One easy way to do that is to avoid change orders. When you request changes that aren't in the original contract, a change order needs to be created. Not only do change orders delay the project, they also lead to increased costs. Luckily, you can avoid the delays, and the extra costs, by sticking to the original contract.