Once you make the decision to build a new custom home in Connecticut, you’ll probably want to get into that home as soon as possible. It’s an exciting adventure! But if you’ve talked to friends or acquaintances who have built homes, you’ve probably heard a horror story or two about building projects that take longer than expected.

Sometimes there are delays that simply can’t be avoided. Weather can have an impact on the schedule. Unavailable materials can cause delays.  Even things such as permits and inspections can cause things to fall behind schedule a bit. Most builders, Sunwood included, allow for a certain amount of that when they give you a schedule. Some of those things are out of your (and their) control.

There are things, however, that you can control. And the truth is that homeowners often can cause the delays (even if they don’t mean to). Here are some things you can do to make sure that you don’t delay the building of your new home. 

• Order Your Materials in Advance: If there are materials that you’re responsible for ordering (it could be cabinets, sinks, countertop material, flooring, or hardware for your cabinets) you’ll want to make sure you order them (or at least make the final decisions if your builder is ordering them) well before they are actually needed. You don’t want the builder waiting for these things to show up. And if you order early, you can often avoid problems when something is temporarily out of stock.
• Familiarize Yourself Thoroughly With Your Floor Plan: You don’t have to memorize the exact dimensions or anything like that, but you should have a pretty good feel for the relative position of rooms and features. You really don’t want to tell your builder that you thought the staircase was on the other side of the room after he’s built it!
• Make Peace With Your Plan Before Construction Begins: There are times when you may want to ask your builder to make a small modification to your plan. But if at all possible you’ll want to avoid significant changes (like moving the stairs, or changing the location of the sink in the kitchen). Not only will these things delay your construction, but they’ll add significant cost to your home. This doesn’t mean you can’t make changes—but significant alterations to the plans can keep your home from being completed on schedule.

One good way to prepare yourself ahead of time is to glean ideas from existing custom homes before you begin construction. We invite you to take a look at our CT Custom Homes Gallery and use some of the ideas you see here as a springboard for creating the home of your dreams. The better prepared you are, the better the chances are that your home will be completed on schedule—and to your exact specifications!