How Long Does It Take to Build a Custom Home?

Building a home from the ground up is a time-consuming process, and it can take even longer if you’re not following pre-set building plans. So, how long does it take to build a custom home? On average, you’re looking at 18 months from start to finish, but there are many things that can affect the timeline. Let’s take a look at those factors to ensure you’re prepared for your project timeline.

How Long Does It Take to Build a Custom Home?

It takes an average of 18 months to build a custom home, including the planning and construction, and most aspiring homeowners wait for between 12 and 24 months for their new home to be done. We can break down the timeline into three critical phases to give you a better idea of what to expect along the way.

Phase One: Planning and Pre-Construction

The first phase of your custom home build involves planning and preparing the land. This phase should take a minimum of six months, but most homeowners are in the planning and pre-construction stage for an entire year, and some are here for one and a half two years. The following is a quick breakdown of what this phase entails.

• Buying land: Simply finding a suitable plot of land for your new construction project could take months on its own, depending on where you live.

• Having plans drawn up: You’ll need to hire and work alongside an architect and a structural engineer to develop plans to bring your vision to life. This step could take as little as a month or up to six months or more, depending on the complexity.

• Permitting: Once you have plans, you’ll need to get permits for the project. If you work with a local custom homebuilder who has a good sense of what your municipality requires for permits, this could take just a few weeks. However, you could face delays and have to make changes to the plans, which could take several months.

• Clearing the land: With permits approved, you can prep the land for construction. This could take just a day or two to excavate, but it could take a week or longer if you need to clear and grade the land.

Phase Two: Construction

This is the main part of the homebuilding process and will take between six months and a year. The actual timeline depends on the complexity of your build and how organized the home builder you hire is. Below is a breakdown of what to expect during this phase.

• Pouring the foundation: Pouring the foundation is a quick process that shouldn’t take longer than a day, but building forms for the foundation can add a day or two to the timeline.

• Foundation curing: Concrete foundations need to cure for seven days before construction can continue. Some builders may wait 14 to 28 days for a full cure.

• Framing: Framing takes one to two weeks and includes the construction of exterior and interior walls, roof structures, and flooring supports.

• Drying in: Drying in takes an additional one to two weeks and includes installing sheathing, siding, roofing, windows, and doors.

• Roughing in utilities: Installing water and drain lines, electrical wiring, and HVAC ductwork takes a minimum of a week, but the process could take two to four weeks, especially if you need to install a septic system and run utility connections from the street.

• Insulation and drywall: Putting in insulation, installing drywall, spackling, and painting will take one to two weeks in most cases, although the timeline depends on the size of your home.

• Flooring: Installing flooring throughout the interior takes one to two weeks, as well, depending on the type of flooring and how long it needs to acclimate to your indoor conditions.

• Kitchens and bathrooms: Custom kitchens and bathrooms will account for a large portion of the construction process. Installing flooring, wall tiling, and backsplashes should take just a few days, but you’ll wait anywhere between two and six months for custom cabinetry and countertops to be made to your specifications.

Phase Three: Finishing Touches

The last phase of construction includes interior and exterior finishes. You can expect this phase to take between a week and a month, depending on what’s left to do. Some common items tackled during this phase include the following:

• Installing interior and exterior trim

• Installing a gutter system

• Installing plumbing and electrical fixtures

• Installing energy efficiency equipment

• Seeding the lawn

• Tackling hardscaping projects

• Final clean-up

Factors Affecting Your Timeline

Building a custom home takes an average of 18 months from start to finish, but there are some key things that can extend the process and make it take much longer.

• Design process: Designing a home from the ground up can easily take a year or more by itself, even when you work with pros.

• Land testing and prep: Perc tests, soil tests, environmental impact studies, and more can add to the timeline for the first phase.

• Weather: Weather can delay foundation pouring if it’s too cold, hot, rainy, or humid for proper curing.

• Permitting: Permitting can take months for custom builds, especially if your building department is backed up.

• Organization: Coordinating multiple pros takes experience, so you could run into delays if you’re acting as your own GC or your pro is less skilled.

• Change requests: Making changes to the design during the build can put you back in the design phase and set you back months.