There’s no one way to build a custom home. But the simple reality is that all homes take time to construct.
At Barden Building Products, our panelized custom home construction method is one that gets our customers into their dream home quickly without sacrificing quality or taking any shortcuts.
But there’s a question that is usually at the top of every future Barden homeowner’s list (second only to how much does it cost to build a custom home?): How long does it take to build a custom home?
A very fair question, and we’re happy to provide insights on our custom home construction timeline.
How Long to Build a Custom Home With Barden?
Before we dig into the custom home building process step-by-step, let’s first address the question at hand.
How long does it take to build a custom home with Barden?
The answer is simple. It depends.
To be a bit more granular, it depends on the future homeowner.
One of our major points of pride about Barden homes is that they’re 100% customizable. Another point of pride: we’ve never built the same home twice because every Barden homeowner customizes their new house to some degree. Customizing adds some time to every project, and with every project being unique, it’s nearly impossible to give a definitive answer.
This only becomes more complicated because of a variety of other variables (which we’ll address throughout the rest of this piece) that can all expedite or push back move-in day.
What the Barden Custom Home Construction Timeline Looks Like
One of the hallmarks of building a Barden custom home is that you’re in the driver’s seat the entire time.
Throughout the entire process, you’re involved in every step. The Barden home construction timeline includes these five milestones:
- Obtaining land and financing
- Design and planning
- Plan finalization and obtaining permits
- Site preparation and manufacturing
- On-site construction
1. Obtaining Land and Financing
This is perhaps the most boring and scary part of the entire project: going to the bank and hunting for an empty piece of land.
There’s nothing glamorous or exciting about this stage, but it’s the first step. Nothing else can happen until you determine a budget and have a place to build your home.
The approval process with most banks takes around 3 months.
On average, our customers spend around 6 months looking for land if they don’t have a lot already. In some cases they find land faster, but many folks spend years searching for the perfect spot to build their next home. Closing on the land can be as quick as a month, or can be drawn out to 3 months and beyond.
Total Time: 4-24 Months, Avg. 6 Months
2. Design and Planning
Now for the fun part!
With your finances in order and a location chosen, you can begin designing your next dream home.
Based on input from your Barden Independent Dealer, you’ll choose a plan within your budget to begin with (or have our team draw you something from scratch) and begin modifying it to fit your vision and your lot conditions.
When the plans are complete, your dealer will work up a budget for the home. You can then continue to rework and revise the plans until they sync with your budget, wants, and needs. You are entirely in control of this step and the time it takes.
If you’re prepared and make quick decisions, most of our customers are through this step in around 2 months. Theoretically, this step could take as little as a week. On the flip side, some unprepared or indecisive customers take 2 years or more to design their dream home.
Total Time: 1 Week-2 Years, Avg. 3 Months
3. Plan Finalization and Obtaining Permits
Back to the boring stuff!
When you’re happy with your floor plans, Barden provides a set of detailed structural plans stamped by an architect so you and your Independent Dealer can obtain building permits. Plan finalization takes anywhere from 2-4 weeks to complete. Depending on the municipality, obtaining building permits can take a few hours or 3 months.
Total Time: 2 Weeks-4 Months, Avg. 2 Months
4. Site Preparation and Manufacturing
While applying for building permits, site preparation begins. Typical site-prep work includes:
- Tree clearing
- Grading
- Stone driveway installation (to be paved later during construction)
Once the permits are in hand, several activities start.
First, the team at North American Truss, our manufacturing division, fabricates the individual components of the home that comprise our Fast Track Framing System (wall panels, roof & floor trusses). We also place orders for exterior doors, windows, and roofing materials so the home is weather-tight ASAP.
While production is underway, the home’s foundation is installed. Your Barden home's components arrive just as the foundation is ready to build on.
The only opportunities for delay here would be contractor availability, weather, and Barden’s production capacity at the time. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the longest delay we would have expected would only be a week or two.
Total Time: 2 Weeks - 6 Weeks, Avg. 3 Weeks
5. On-Site Construction
With the Fast Track Framing System, a Barden home’s structural components and framing are quickly installed in 1-2 weeks along with exterior doors, windows, and roofing.
From this point, the rest of the various contractors needed to complete the job are scheduled and perform their jobs one by one. Barden coordinates additional deliveries for siding and exterior trim, interior doors, and much more alongside the contractor schedule.
Weather and contractor availability are the biggest factors here. It can be frustrating to watch your new home sit without work being done, but the right contractors and weather conditions make all the difference.
Total Time: 4 Months - 10 Months, Avg. 6 Months
From Start to Finish: Barden Home Construction Duration
As we’ve seen it, the average home construction timeline takes around 12 months if the customer has a lot or 18 months if they don’t. In a best-case scenario -- which is what we strive for -- a Barden custom home is built in 5 months if the customer has a lot or 9 months if they don’t.
The #1 factor in how quickly a Barden home is built is you.
From where your home is built to how it looks and any of those small details that are important to your family, you control how quickly the process moves forward. The good news is that we have all of the tools you need to be ready when the time comes!
Custom Home Construction Timeline FAQs
Here are a few more custom home construction timeline questions & their answers that we get:
How Does Barden & it Independent Dealers Handle Unexpected Delays or Issues During Construction?
This is similar to asking exactly how much a Barden home costs. The answer is, “it depends.”
It depends on the nature of the issue and the available solutions.
In a general sense, we handle whatever happens by being upfront with the future homeowner and figuring out what the best solution is to move forward.
What Warranties or Guarantees Does Barden Offer on its Custom Homes?
We offer an extra layer of coverage via a RWC warranty. You can learn more about it here.
How Does the Custom Home Construction Process Differ for Clients Who Already Own Land vs. Those Who Don’t?
In short, those who own land already come to the table with a big – sometimes time-consuming – element of their project out of the way. In other words, they don’t have to go through the processes of finding & buying the build site.
Want to Learn More About the Barden Building Process?
View our Home Building Timeline Checklist!
