The New Construction Home Building Process

Home Building Process

Building a new home is a really exciting experience, especially when you understand how the home building process works.

To help you prepare for and understand your new home’s construction, we’ve outlined the typical steps Comerio Homes takes during the construction of a new home.

Breaking Ground

Staking your home on the homesite (Plot Plan): (1 Day)

We will hire a survey company to draw a plot plan to show how your new home will fit on the homesite. This is needed for the permitting process, so the excavator understands where to dig and how deep. The elevation of the home will be determined at this point and approved by the city permitting department.

Obtaining the building permit: (1-3 Weeks)

The plot plan and final blue print will need to be submitted to the city permit review department for approval.

Excavation & clearing: (3 Days)

The excavator will dig according to the plot plan and direction from Comerio Homes. The excess dirt will be placed to the side and used during the backfill and grading process.

Footings: (City Inspection) (2-3 Days)

The foundation sub contractor will install the footings using trenches or forms. This item will be inspected for proper size and reinforcement according to approved blue prints.

Foundation: (City Inspection) (10-14 Days)

The Foundation walls are poured into forms. The walls are poured on top of the footings. Foundation walls are reinforced with rebar per local building codes and inspected before concrete is installed. The foundation must cure for 7-14 days before backfilled depending on outside temperatures.

Damp proofing: (City Inspection) (1 Day)

This is the process of installing a water proof product to the exterior foundation walls. At this time drain tile and gravel will be installed around the base of the exterior walls and connected to the sump pump pit in the basement.

Utility hookup: (3-5 Days)

The subcontractors working on your home will need a power source, so a temporary electric meter is installed for this purpose.

Ground rough plumbing: (City Inspection) (2-4 Days)

The plumbing sub contractor will install all sewer and water lines on the ground in the basement area prior to concrete. The pipes will be secured, and gravel will be installed around the pipes. This is inspected for proper sizing and to ensure the proper drainage will occur. The location of these pipes is determined mostly by the plumbing layout for the upper levels of the home.

Backfill: (1 Day)

The excavating sub contractor will place dirt around the foundation walls and fill in any areas such as the garage and front stoop to prepare for flat working. Excess dirt will be removed from the site if needed.

Trenching: (City Inspection) (1 Week)

Sewer, water, gas and electric lines will be installed underground to a depth required by local building codes.

Flat working (basement, garage) (City Inspection) (3 Days)

Concrete will be poured over the exposed underground plumbing in the basement and over the garage floor area. These areas are engineered to ensure that the proper amount of gravel base and steel reinforcement bars is used.

Framing: (City Inspection) (2-6 Weeks)

This aspect of the home varies in time depending on the size of the floor plan and weather conditions. Exterior doors and windows are also installed at this time. Depending on the type of siding being used this could be installed as well. If there are areas that we could frame out for an art niche or a possible arched opening this is the time to do it. Our superintendents will meet with you to point out any areas that we could utilize.

Roofing: (City Inspection) (2-5) Days

The roofing will be installed directly after the house has been framed. The first thing installed is the felt paper then ice and water shield followed by drip edge and other flashing. After the entire roof is on it is a lot easier to protect the house from the elements moving forward.

Exterior siding, stone, brick, veneer: (City Inspection) (1-3 Weeks)

This area of work is normally being done at the same time as other things are being done on the inside. It is typical to only install stucco after the drywall has been installed. The reason is when the drywall installers are hammering the nails to the studs this could crack or damage the new stucco.

HVAC, plumbing, electrical: (City Inspection) (1-2 Weeks)

HVAC commonly referred to as Mechanical is installed at the same time as the plumbing and electrical. These subcontractors work next to one another so that that they can share and utilize spaces inside of walls and ceilings. After these components are installed the framing contractors will come back and perform their fur downs. This is the process of building around exposed duct work or plumbing that was not able to be installed in a wall or ceiling. At this same time the framers will install fire blocking to prevent air movement in the event of a fire. After these items are completed a Rough in Inspection is performed. At this point the house is around 50% complete.

Insulation: (City Inspection) (1-3 Days)

After the rough in inspection is passed the wall and ceiling insulation is installed. The blown insulation on flat areas will be installed after the drywall is installed.

Drywall: (City Inspection) (1-2 Weeks)

All of your change orders pertaining to items that need to be behind walls need to be completed at this point. The drywall will be hung, taped and mudded, sanded and then texture applied to ceilings typically and occasionally some walls if buyer desires. Depending on the time of year, size of home and temperature, this process could take longer due to longer drying times.

Hardwood floors: (1-2 Days)

Hardwood floors get installed before cabinets so that the cabinets can sit on top of them. The floors do not get finished at this point because they would get damaged. If installing prefinished floors, they would be installed later in the process to avoid damage.

Cabinetry: (1-3 Days)

Even though it will take at least 3-4 weeks to get your custom cabinets built; it will only take a few days to install them. Some counter tops will be installed at this point also.

Interior trim: (1-2 Weeks)

Interior trim around base boards, doors, windows and fireplaces will be installed. Shelves will be installed in closets also.

Painting, staining: (1-2 Weeks)

The interior and exterior of the house will receive paint or stain.

Tile, counter tops and flooring: (1-2 Weeks)

If not already installed the remaining counter tops for bathrooms, bars and the kitchen will get installed. The tile around the backsplash and floors will be installed along with other tile areas.

Finish HVAC, plumbing, electrical: (2-4 Days)

This is the stage where the HVAC, plumbing and electrical subcontractors come back to install the light switches, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures and wrap up their portion of the job.

Hardwood finish / carpet: (1 Week)

After the major construction is completed its time to get the hardwood floors finished. This can take 2-4 coats depending on the finish and color. Each coat will take a day depending on the size. After the floors are finished the carpet can be installed.

Hardware / spindles: (1 Week)

After the flooring is done our trim carpenter will return to install the new door knobs and base shoe around hardwood floor and tile areas. Railing and stair spindles will be installed at this time also.

Drywall & paint touch ups: (1 Week)

Our drywall contractor will repair any divots or issues in the drywall after everything has been installed. Our painter follows after for a final touch up.

Flat working (driveway, patio & sidewalks) (City Inspection) (3 Days)

Sidewalks, driveway and patios will be installed after all the exterior work has been completed.

Final grading: (City Inspection) (1 Day)

The final grading can take place any time after all the flat working and utility trenching is done. The excess dirt is removed from the site along with any construction debris.

Final clean: (1-3 Days)

A final clean is performed to remove paint and dirt from windows, floors are cleaned, and the entire house gets a once over to remove any dirt or dust from the construction process.

Landscaping / sod: (1-5 Days)

The sod and landscaping can be completed as soon as the final grading is done.

Certificate of occupancy: (City Inspection)

When the house is completed per building code the building inspector will perform a Final Inspection to make sure everything is to code and habitable. Sometimes there are things they want to see done differently so they issue a list of things to address. Once those issues are corrected the building inspector will issue a Certificate of Occupancy. This is the final document that states the home is built to code and safe to occupy.

Pre-closing walk-through with home owner:

A pre-closing walk-through will be performed with the buyer and the builder representative to go over how everything works. This is an opportunity for the buyer to point out areas that need attention. These items will be put on the Punch out list.

Punch list Repairs: (1-3 Days)

The builder will take care of the items on the punch list within a few days of notice depending on the repair. These are normally small items like paint touch-ups.

Considerations

The following time allocations and schedule are for general purposes only. There are many factors such as size and location of your home, weather, change orders and inspection issues that may affect the building process. There are also hundreds of small things that go into build a home that are not mentioned above. At any given time, there may be several different subcontractors working on your home at the same time or days with no one onsite depending on what is happening. Comerio Homes continues to clean the jobsite throughout the building process to keep the area safe and accessible for everyone. Some cities don’t perform all of the inspections noted above.