back to drawing board..how many times is normal?

12 years ago

Our builder has been rushing us to get our plan together so he can get pricing. The lot is owned by a third party and we have a few weeks to get it together because we have a deposit holding it for the interim. The land owner has a right to put it back on the market after 30 days; so everyone is rushing us.

Rushed, we brought a couple of floorplans and photos of the elements we wanted on our exterior to the architect. Within a week, he did a computer sketch of it (not crazy about it) Meanwhile I'd seen a few other layouts I liked better...the entire house shifts effecting the interior and exterior footprint also. So there is no way we can use Plan #1 except for certain exterior elements.

We met a few days ago and we saw the first drawings and didn't feel they were the right plan. I showed him the other ideas I had and he did a lot of freehand sketching and is working it up on the computer. Today I think I'm changing my mind about the layout of the house, but I do want to see how it all plays out in case it is the one!

Is this the process or are we going to drive them crazy? Do people often do several plans of a similar idea and then pull it together after seeing how they all play out? I seems like he could just do a quick sketch rather than drawing it up on the computer and going to every last detail. I feel like we are annoying them. This is our house and I just don't want to rush and accept something that isn't the best it can be.

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Comments (17)

agentslim
12 years ago
I am on #9. We are getting pretty close!
Missy Benton
12 years ago
If the lot is owned by a third party, can you buy the lot first and then take your time planning the house?
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Kathy Beebe
12 years ago
My advice would be to take your time. I would be very disappointed if I built the house plan I came up with first. After a year and half of planning and multiple revisions I feel like I have it right for my family.

This is most likely going to be the biggest investment of your life so learn what you like, study up on design and construction, and don't jump in head first. Sometimes I think builders like the shock and awe approach to building because they are always in control. It should be a partnership but that does require some responsibility on your part.
kaismom
12 years ago
This is a disaster waiting to happen.
If you are buying a spec home where someone else has done the planning, picking the layout etc, then you can have a month and have a house that is good enough for you. This is not what you are building.

If you are actually hiring the service of an architect to maximize the potential of the lot, view, natural light, layout, integration of outdoors/indoors, color scheme, material selection etc etc, then there is no way you can do that in 1 month.

You need to find people that understand that you WILL live in that house for a long time and that you will take the time that YOU need. Some people can do this in a month without any regrets (or introspection/reflection) and others need their time.
User
12 years ago
Buy the lot and plan on building next year. It can take that long to get the home plan that works for your family.
ILoveRed
12 years ago
Ditto what holly said. We bought our property several months ago and I haven't even hired an architect yet let alone a builder. If you get yourself all worked up and rush into this, you will make mistakes that can't be fixed.

Step back and take a few deep breaths. You keep referring to "your builder". Why is he your builder?
farmhousegirl
Original Author
12 years ago
Well, it's a joint agreement between the builder and the property owner, represented by a real estate agent. We do like the builder...very quality, custom homes. I would choose him even if he was not attached to the property. They are trying to get us pricing on everything before we commit; which is appreciated...but we may just buy the lot anyway. Realize, this is the Northeast and you can get sticker shock...land is very expensive and building is very expensive..we just want to understand what we are getting into. It would stink to buy the land and realize you can't build what you want because the package will be way more than you imagined.

So, I guess it's good and bad.

Thanks for the insight and the encouragement!
arch123
12 years ago
Most times people buy a lot knowing what they plan to spend on the house plus lot (does it make sense to spend so much for a lot and then what you expect to spend on the house) - buying the lot and working out a plan should be somewhat independent decisions for a custom house. If they are trying to pressure you I would step away. I also would want time to decide what I really want to build - It's not easy. There might be restrictions you need to know about before you buy a lot - but if you are OK with them go for it.
laurajane02
12 years ago
We started designing our house in July 2010 (by modifying a plan we liked). We finalized our designs in September. We got our construction drawings in October. Our plans were engineered in November. We sent our plans to GC's to bid on in December and got the bids back in January. We chose our GC in January and we are just now breaking ground in March. It takes time.
graya
12 years ago
I feel like you - I feel like my architect hates to see me call! He did one final revision, then I changed my mind again and he made a few alterations, but since it had already been finalized, he charged me $640 just to flip the house and take 2 dormers off. I guess that's normal. Now I want to make another minor change, but I'm not going back to the architect, I've just asked my builder if he can "redline" it... I'm glad to see that others are picky too.
lavender_lass
12 years ago
I would want to find a piece of land I loved and then build the house, to suit the land. Know where the sun rises and sets, your best views, wind patterns, etc. Is it a level lot? Do you have enough room for a garden? Play area? Back patio with BBQ? What are your set backs? Is there enough room for a shop, if you need more space than the garage has to offer? Can you add a greenhouse, if you decide you love gardening? How about a playhouse for the kids?

If you're going to live in a home for a long time (and maybe even pass it down to your kids) make sure you don't get rushed into anything. If the land is wonderful, buy it. If not, keep looking. Just my two cents :)
farmhousegirl
Original Author
12 years ago
I don't think they intentionally are pressuring us. I think some people are like, "Oh just pick something!" and lets get this started. We had a realtor like this once..she'd get miffed after showing us a house and then we'd say it wasn't the one. She said, "just pick something already!" Our builder is good..seen many of his houses. Most people here pick a cookie cutter houses that looks like every other cookie cutter house in town. I don't think he realized we wanted something different and expected it to be a fast process. I realize there are various ways to buy land and build custom. This was actually nice because a lot of legwork was done that we don't have to do..plot plans, approvals, etc. It's ready to go and a great lot in a super desirable area.

Regardless, I was just curious about the architect process and how many times is reasonable to go back and switch things around. We completely switched the last plan all over the place. I'm still not sure this will be right..I keep having more ideas and am realizing problems as I look at the rough sketch.
mjtx2
12 years ago
Some builders, architects, or realtors don't really enjoy the "process." You just have to educate them that you're not going to be the normal buyer, and they'll be fine.

I'm on my third incarnation of our plans. I know my architect was a little frustrated at times (in an extremely nice way) but it was because she felt she wasn't getting me there, when in fact she WAS, because *I* needed to go through the process of looking at things from a lot of different angles to end up with a plan I absolutely love. I had to tell her to just get on the roller coaster with me and enjoy the ride ;)

My builder, on the other hand, told us to take our time and get it right! I know they're in a hurry to get started but they're much more concerned about us loving the house at the end than our start time here on the front end.

And I even started with my prior architect in another city, so in actuality I probably had five different plans. So it's okay. Switch away. You'll eventually feel settled and decided and then you'll feel great about your plans!
Monst
12 years ago
I guess I was pretty lucky with my project. Only had to reject the plans 5 times. We were in a slight hurry, though, and we figured the plans didn't have to be perfect, since we're only going to live in this house for about 4 more years.

Got some help from here:
Uunisepat : Uunisepat
cvtxmama
12 years ago
hang in there! We have had a similar experience and the plans are just the beginning. I really like to take my time and think over my options, and every time I turn around it seems like someone wants an answer immediately. After a long process of drawing, thinking, redrawing, we finally have an incredible plan. I feel like if we had been encouraged to talk and think it through more early on it might not have required such revision. In our area the cookie cutter house is rampant, but that wasn't my goal in building either. It may be taking a little longer, but the result is the reason we are choosing to build.
Alex House
12 years ago
I'm amazed at how few times most of you are going back to the drawing board. I guess building a small house really is much more difficult than building a larger house. I constantly run into things that I need to rework on the first floor because I don't like the constraints that are imposed once I get to the second floor or roof. Just last night I had to rework the 1st floor powder, mud, up stairs, down stairs, and elevator because of roof slope intersecting into the elevator shaft and not giving me the full height clearance I needed. The night before I was dealing with the problem of a 2nd floor bedroom being much larger than I needed but the space, as constrained by the first floor, wasn't large enough to make two rooms out of it, so I'm dealing with all sorts of compromises to achieve the best overall fit.

I guess my point is that if you are only dealing with 5 revisions you should consider yourself lucky.
abdrury
12 years ago
Put me in the camp (or am I alone?) that feels fortunate to have a home and believes in adaptability. So we took a small amount of time, couple months, to modify a cookie cutter plan to suit our needs. If something glares out at us because we didn't think it through, then we adapt and continue to thank God that we are so fortunate regardless.

back to drawing board..how many times is normal?

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back to drawing board..how many times is normal?

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