standing New House Building Stages for Construction of a New House

1 Choose Your New House Building Site

When prospecting for a building site to build your new house choose the site with the assistance of a general contractor, real estate agent, architect, or engineer.

2 Have Your Designer Design Your House Plans

The architectural team will draw up your home plans to meet state and local regulations.

3 Review the House Plans

The architect reviews the home building plans and schedules with the clients.

4 Obtain Permits

The architect or home builder applies for the necessary building permits

5 Land Clearing

The excavator uses heavy equipment to clear the land of trees, shrubbery, and brush and a driveway access is created to your home building site.

6 House Layout

A general contractor or engineer layouts out the home location.

7 Installation of Septic, Well and other Utilities Begins

Utility installation often begins now although your project coordinator may leave these items toward the end of the home construction.

8 Excavation

Excavators and heavy equipment begin the excavation preparing the land for the footings.

9 House Footings

The general contractor or the mason contractor pours the footings. In heavy populated areas your footing contractor may be a subcontractor for the foundation wall contractor.

9 Foundation Walls

Two common foundation wall types are block foundation and poured concrete foundation walls. Your concrete floor is commonly poured after the forms are stripped for the foundation walls.

10 Back-fill

The excavator back-fills after the foundation walls are poured. Some contractors prefer to have the floor joists set prior to this back-fill to tie the walls together.

11 House Floor Framing

Carpenters or a framing crew frame the floor joists and apply decking material to the floor joists.

12 Wall Framing

Carpenters or framers build exterior walls. Interior walls are often constructed at this stage although the interior partition walls may also be built after the roof is framed.

13 Roof Framing

The carpenter now frames the roof complete with sheathing. The walls may also be sheathed at this point if they were not sheathed during the wall framing stage. Decorative rakes and fascia boards may be added at this stage if adding a little extra style to your home is desired.

14 Framing Inspection

Your building inspector inspects all phrases of construction at this point. Be sure to review the inspection schedule with your local building inspector as there may be many additional inspections required prior to this.

15 Roofing

When the home is ready for the roofing, the general contractor or the roofing contractor apply the shingles. Asphalt, fiberglass, cedar, and slate shingles are options with metal shingles and metal panels becoming increasingly popular.

16 Window and Exterior Door Installation

Carpenters now install your windows and exterior doors. If you choose to go with an exterior (rigid) insulation to increase the R-value of your home this will be installed after the window and exterior door installation.

17 Siding Installation

The builder or siding contractor now applies the siding for your new home. Popular options include vinyl, aluminum, and cedar siding. When incorporating vinyl and cedar siding adding a decorative shake style siding for the gables is becoming increasingly popular.

18 HVAC Work

HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) is now installed. In some areas the HVAC contractor may be the same as the plumbing contractor.

19 Plumbing Installation

At this point in the construction process the plumber installs the rough plumbing.

20 Electrical

The electrical contractor now installs the rough electrical work including the breaker panel, wiring and boxes.

21 Insulation

The insulation contractor or the general contractor insulates the walls. The ceiling is also insulated in vaulted areas if there is no attic access to this area. The ceiling is more commonly insulated after the drywall stage with blown in insulation.

22 Drywall Installation

A drywall contractor which may be your general contractor now installs your drywall. Drywall is also commonly referred to as Sheetrock or gypsum wall board.

23 Drywall Finishing

The drywallers tape the joints with drywall compound after the drywall is installed. They then apply up to 2 additional coats of drywall compound over the tape and corner beads.

24 Painting

Wall painting may be accomplished at this stage, or be completed after the finish trim installation.

25 Cabinet and Finish Trim Installation

The finish carpenter now installs the cabinets and trim boards including the baseboard and window casing. Decorative crown moldings remain popular in kitchen and dining rooms.

26 Flooring Installation

There are many popular flooring styles to choose from. Having a variety of finished floor styles is very common with the flooring styles including laminate, vinyl, hardwood, and tile flooring.

27 Finish Plumbing

The finish plumbing includes setting the sink, bath fixtures, showers, tubs, and toilets.

28 Finish Electrical

The electrician completes the finish electrical work at this time including installing the outlets, switches, and light fixtures.

29 Finish HVAC

The cover plates are now installed over the registers and air returns for the HVAC system. If a fireplace is desired in your home your HVAC contractor often installs fireplaces with the quote for the HVAC work.

30 Final Concrete Work

The driveway and final concrete work include the sidewalks, optional concrete front porch, garage floor, and pads for hot tubs.

31 Deck

Deck construction now takes place by the general contractor. Hot tubs are often incorporated into deck designs. Be sure to discuss the potential placement of a hot tub onto your deck with your contractor as the immense weight requires additional framing stipulations.

32 Landscaping

The landscapers plant shrubs and trees with the grass or sod for your new lawn to add a finishing touch.



By: Build WriteWell

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10 New Deck Building Planning Considerations

Are you considering building a new deck onto your home? Be sure to plan ahead to find the best possible deck design to perfectly match your home aesthetics.

Review the following deck planning considerations.

1 Deck Location

Design the new deck location area similar to building a room onto your home. Would you end a room in the middle of a window? No. Remembering to keep your deck away from windows by up to two feet will prevent your looking out the window at a railing. Many decks have an entrance to the home by the kitchen through the dining area. In areas of the country with heavy snowfall, you may want to step down a step or two to keep standing snow away from the door threshold and laying against your door. 4″ lower than the door is a common minimum height in snow country.

2 Site Plan

When you purchased your home your realtor should have included a copy of our site/ plot plan in your contract. Your local zoning department may have a copy on file if you do not have a plot plan. This plan shows you the property setbacks and easement lines that require you to not build past certain parameters. Your local building department can help you with this when you apply for your new deck building permit. In some townships and counties you may not be required to apply for a building permit.

3 Deck Layout and Design

Begin by getting a feel for the size of the new deck you will be building. Use two foot increments when deciding your deck size. The reason for this is lumber is cut to 8′, 10′, 12′, and 16′ lengths. This will reduce scrap materials and save you money. Remember that decks are NOT symmetrical to the back of the home. Decks are most common to to one side or the other. This is an important consideration in the layout of your new deck. To get a feel for your deck layout try using scrap lumber or a garden hose to layout the new deck shape.

4 Deck Size

To determine your deck size list the uses of the deck. Then ask yourself how much room will I need? The average outdoor area is between 12% – 18% of the square footage for the home. Most people use their deck for dining or entertaining outside. Built-in hot tubs, spas, screen rooms, and outdoor kitchen areas are becoming more popular in modern deck designs.

5 Consider a Deck Dining Area

Will you be dining on your deck? One modern trend is to build a bump-out (It may be an octagon) to push the table and chairs off the main deck floor and give the dining area a designated space.

6 Privacy Walls

Is privacy needed from your neighbors or your street? Deck builders offer a privacy wall option. If this is limited to the sides of the deck it avoids the “feeling of being trapped in a fish bowl.”

7 Deck Access

How will you get off and on the deck? The side of the house where you walk to get to the back yard may be the best spot to enter the new deck. Stairways are heavily regulated by your local building department. A width of 36″ is as narrow as you can build. The rise (height between steps) should be between 7″ – 8″. The run or “tread” of the step should b between 10″ – 12″ deep. Large staircases are nice to look at and are appealing to quickly access your backyard, still most staircases are 36″ – 48″ wide. If you have a two story deck consider a landing midway in the stairway. This will minimize a fall and reduce injuries. Each township or county will have specifications of how a staircase is attached to the deck frame and whether or not it will need a railing.

8 Grill Location

Where will your grill go? Keep your grill by the door but not next to the house. You also have the option to run a permanent gas line run under your deck to your grill. This will save you the trips to refill your propane tank.

9 Shade Solutions

Will you need shade? One solution is to install a custom awning over your deck. This can be very costly and may even exceed the price of your new deck. One popular alternative choice is to build a pergola or arbor into the design of the deck. A pergola can be installed n one of a number of different styles, shapes, and materials. Pergolas and arbors provide some shade to the area they cover. If you need total shade consider a roof covered deck or a screened in porch option.

10 Deck Seating

Would you rather have a railing around the deck or seating? In many areas if your new deck is higher than 18″ off the ground you will need a railing around the deck perimeter. A typical railing height is 36 inches. If your deck stands higher than 10 feet off the ground a 42″ – 48″ tall railing may be needed. If you are building a wooden deck and you would like to have seating built into the design an option is composite lumber. This composite (plastic) lumber helps to eliminate splintering and warping that happens over time with wood seating.

Bottom Line – Be sure the deck fits your needs and desires before the process of building the new deck is started. Then check the deck builders list of references to ensure the quality you desire for the construction of your new deck will happen.



By: Build WriteWell

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Garage Building: Your 24 New Garage Construction Steps

1 Choose your building site with the assistance of a general contractor, real estate agent, architect, or engineer. Careful planning should ensure you build the new garage and size the  building plans to exactly match your needs.

2 Your architectural team draws up the new garage building plans to meet applicable state and local regulations pending on your local inspector requirements. Online garage plans are an alternative option which also are a great start to the planning of building any new garage.

3 If you choose to work with an architect they will review with you the plans and new building schedules.

4 The architect or building contractor applies for the garage permits.

5 Excavation equipment is used to clear the land.

6 Your general contractor or engineer will lay out the new garage building location.

7 Heavy equipment excavates for the building foundation.

8 The mason or general contractor pour the footings.

9 The foundation walls are poured or mason block walls are constructed.

10 The excavator back fills around the foundation.

11 The exterior walls and optional interior walls are framed.

12 The roof is framed and sheathing is applied to the walls and roof. The roof edges may also be complimented with decorative rakes and fascias at this time.

13 The building inspector inspects all phrases of the construction. Note: Verify with your local inspection office on the required inspections as there may be also be layout and footing inspections with other code requirements.

14 Roofing: Drip edge, ice guard, tar paper, and shingles are fastened with applicable ventilation installed.

15 Windows and Doors: Carpenters now install the windows level and plumb taking diagonal measurements. Your exterior entry doors are installed now although the large garage doors are installed at the project completion to prevent potential damage.

16 Siding. Your builder or sider will now install your exterior siding with applicable foam board insulation and exterior Tyvek or equivalent home wrap. Vinyl, aluminum, and cedar siding are popular siding options.

17 Optional: Plumbing, HVAC (Heating, Cooling, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) is installed.

18 Electrical Work: The electrician installs the rough electrical.

19 Optional: Installation of Interior Insulation

20 Optional: Your contractor or drywall sub-contractor installs and finishes the drywall

21 Optional: Cabinet and shelving installation with the option of built in work benches

22 Optional: Finish electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work.

23 Optional: Baseboard and window trim installation

24 Final landscaping including grass, trees, and shrubbery complete the exterior complementing and completing the construction of your new garage building.

Note: Before building your new garage be sure to determine the very best size garage building plan for your needs.



By: Build WriteWell

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