A Step-by-Step Guide to the Home Building Process
1. Prepare the Construction Site and Pour the Foundation
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Builder applies for and acquires permits.
Before a builder can put a shovel in the ground, the local government must approve the design and provide permits for everything from the zoning and grading (changing the contour of the land to accommodate your home and driveway) to the septic systems, home construction, electrical work, and plumbing. Once permits are acquired, physical construction can begin.
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Construction crew levels site.
Often, site preparation and foundation work are performed by the same crew, but this may not be the case with a wooded lot. Using a backhoe and a bulldozer, the crew clears the home site of rocks, debris and trees and, if applicable, digs for the septic system.
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Footings are installed.
Footings serve as the ground support system (usually formed using poured concrete and rebar) to keep the home from sinking. If your home is going to have a well, it will be dug at this point. If the home has a full basement, the hole is dug, the footings are formed and poured, and the foundation walls are formed and poured. If the foundation is slab-on-grade, the footings are dug, formed, and poured; the area between them is leveled and fitted with utility runs (e.g., plumbing drains and electrical chases); and the slab is poured.
Once the concrete is poured into the holes and trenches, it will need time to cure. During this period, there will be no activity on the construction site.
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Waterproofing and plumbing are installed.
After the concrete is cured, the crew applies a waterproofing membrane to the foundation walls. They also install drains, the sewer system, water taps, and any plumbing that needs to go into the first-floor slab or basement floor. Then they backfill excavated dirt into the hole around the foundation wall.
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Cost Breakdown.
This first step is the biggest contributor to the cost of building. There are nearly a dozen factors that can influence the cost of your foundation, from climate and soil type to square footage and labor costs.
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Timeline.
Laying the foundation and clearing the way for the house is the most important step, and it can also take a long time to complete. It’s normal to expect this part to take upward of a month.​​
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Inspection.
When the curing process is complete, a city inspector visits the site to make sure the foundation components are up to code and installed properly. This inspection may be repeated depending on the type of foundation (slab, crawl space, or basement). Our builder will then remove the forms and begin coordinating step No. 2, the framing phase.