We build custom on our land. I was at the house constantly. When the house was 'locked' up, we were contacted to arrange a meeting for us to get the keys to the doors. I think it's odd that you can't just go over whenever. Our first house that we built was with a production builder where they owned the land, and it worked the way you're saying...we had to be escorted.

just curious..are you building on fixed price or cost plus?

this is really strange.

ILoveRed, it is a fixed price contract. This builder is also a developer where they build homes on their lots and transfer ownership at closing. So everything from full custom to tract. As the process has moved along, I’ve definitely seen areas where they are trying to mimic the large production builders. Like having a design center with “levels” (though it is just for convenience, we can select any products we like, through them or independently).

Construction sites are dangerous.

When a construction site is left wide open, many things go on without explanation that can have a negative effect on the builder. It sounds like your builder is experienced or has been given good advice. As much as I try to keep a positive attitude, "If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong."

Tell your builder he needs to call you to make an appointment to step foot on your land!

I've never heard of homeowners being locked out of their home when building custom on their own land.

I've also seen a lockbox placed on the door from garage into house and those that needed access got the code.

I would be meeting with the builder asap to fix this issue.

Following

We're building with a local production builder that also does custom homes. Once the house is framed and the door us on, we will be able to access whenever we want. Prior to that, we need to schedule, mostly due to the safety issues. So, I do not think it's unrealistic to get access whenever you want. Given that it's your dollar financing it all and it's on your land, I don't think they can legally lock you out?

I agree with Chispa. We did major clean up work in our under construction house and squeegeed water out after big rains. Can’t imagine not having access to our house.

However, I would look at your contract. Ours had language in it regarding access to the site, so read carefully to see if you waived your right to access. Ours stated we'd always need an appointment, but they amended verbally that they actually allow access any time after the door is on - they just ask that we pay attention to the schedule so we don't try to go in when they're doing major work.

Thanks for the input so far everyone. I’m trying to be mindful of the builder’s concerns and don’t want to spoil our relationship, while at the same time it totally bums me out thinking that we will no longer be able to walk the house daily to take pictures and be excited about the progress. Not to mention having those pictures and several important stages to document things if needed. For example, we took lots of pictures of the framing and plumbing so we can be careful when hanging things, and planned on taking pictures during the shower work to have in case we run into any leaks down the road, and so on…

I can't speak for your builder, but there are a number of reasons to limit access to a homebuilding site. One is safety. Another is security. We've built lots of custom homes and provided owners a key for full access. Post drywall is the period when things tend to get damaged over a week-end when no work was being performed and the owners typically have no idea how it might have happened. We incur the cost to fix it. The worst offenders were a family with a young son who insisted on running toy trucks over the freshly painted walls every time they visited (it's known in our office as "free-range parenting." We limited their access based on our desire to actually complete their home and turn it over in good condition.

It sounds like your builder is willing to accommodate your visits during reasonable hours.

Thanks, Charles. I can definitely see that angle, and it is where I think our builder is coming from as well. That is why I wanted to get some opinions from both sides here. Thanks!

@Charles Ross Homes, free range parenting is actually a thing, but not what your customers were practicing, that is just clueless parenting!

We built a custom home and there was a brief period where we were asked not to enter without being accompanied by GC. But at all other points it was ours to access

Just to wrap this thread up, we talked with the builder and his reasoning was in line with Charles Ross Homes. They’ve had first hand experience with damage by the homeowner or the home being left unlocked by the homeowner and theft as a result. So while it really sucks not to be able to visit every night after work as we had been doing, they did say we can visit any time during business hours if trade workers are on site, or we can schedule a visit with our project manager. It is a real bummer, but I understand where they are coming from.

Thanks all!

• and yes, we did apparently agree to this in our contract :)

We are 6 mos post dig date building a custom home. We own the lot and are paying for a construction loan. We go daily, have been given the garage code. Our contract specifically states that builder carries insurance until close, and when we visit we enter at our own risk.

Short and sweet -

When we had our Custom home built, on our land, I controlled all keys when house was sealed. I gave the project foreman a key (for door into house from garage), I kept all the rest (exterior/interior patio doors, garage entry door, front entry door, etc.). Builder and owner both carried insurance (CA, go figure) during build. I was over at the job site, oh...say three times on average...PER DAY! Never got in anyone's way, nor did I provide real time feedback on how subs should do or did their job. But short cuts and mistakes...on it! Can't beat "eyes on".

Best wishes with your build.

It is important to have a regular walkthrough with the contractor. Its also important to protect the job site from access by those who don't belong. Neighbors barging into sites with toddlers and chihuahuas in tow were my latest. Predicting my new contract will exclude children and dogs from job visits. My clients have keys.

Thanks again for the insight and opinions. After discussing further, it looks like we’re going to meet on site weekly to walk through and go over what was done. We probably should have been doing this from the start anyway.

@Jeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor,

I'm adding a "chihuahua" clause to my standard construction agreement, too. Bird dogs, however, will be allowed. Chesapeake Bay retrievers will only be allowed on selected projects and only during the demolition phase.

I would not do well with this. We are building on our land and we come and go as we please. We also carry builders risk insurance as well as adding the home to our current home owners policy. Is this the case in your situation? I can see the safety/theft concerns, but if you’re paying to cover these risks, you should be able to go in whenever you want. Maybe I’m way off.

I guess it doesn’t matter either way if it’s in the contract, no matter how silly it is

Hi,

I have a design build company and every lockbox on our site is accessible to our owners.

Also we meet them on their time, not ours.

We are their because they hired us, not the other way around.

You have a right to go to YOUR home whenever you want,

Tell him in no uncertain terms that you want access to that box.

Always bring a notepad and camera to have a record of items you need fixed or changed.

This is a big investment and you should be a part of the process.

I am sure the end result will be beautiful.

All the best.
Deborah
Inverness Design Build Group Ltd.

We're finishing up a custom build on our own property and have always had 24/7 access.

If it were me, I'd go to the jobsite at 4pm on a Friday with an ice cold 12-pack and a fresh $100 bill and get the lock box code from one of the contractors/subs.

Then you can access the house anytime you want (weekends, evenings), in addition to the pre-scheduled meetings.

The contractor appears to be willing to accommodate the OP's desire to regularly visit the job site--indeed, they've agreed to meet on site weekly-- but not 24/7 access. I don't think going around the contractor in an effort to gain 24/7 access to the site will contribute towards a good working relationship.

Maybe, maybe not.

If it were my house, being built on my land, with my hard-earned money, I would want access to it (aside from pre-scheduled meetings during business hours).

It is likely the builder wouldn't even know you had the code.

Our builder has also let us know that we are free to visit (unscheduled) any time a trade worker is on site as well. I feel kind of weird walking around and possibly getting in their way, but I appreciate that they are willing to do that.

I was pretty heated about this at first, but I understand why they want to keep things secure. The options they’ve given us should suffice for our needs. As Charles Ross Homes said, we definitely want a good working relationship with our builder. It is a tough time to be in the process of building a home. We most definitely want them on our side.

Providing doughnuts and coffee can aid in providing morning access to the project.

You sound like you've got a good head on your shoulders, pcxt - you should (hopefully!) do fine.

I had a home built for me on land I owned and my situation seemed very similar to yours. The GC building the home wanted to limit my access too.

It really annoyed the snot out of me, but for various reasons I decided to not make a huge deal out of it. We stopped by about once a day and I was comfortable with the access because I could see what it was that I wanted to see and so it wasn't a hill worth dying on, IMO.

It's a really hard time to be building a home right now and I think you've been very wise in your approach.

I've found that many subs are willing to point out what other subs have done wrong or things they have witnesses that aren't right, so walking around when subs are present can be informative. It is fairly easy to stay out of someone's way, unless you are trying to walk around when flooring is being installed! I wouldn't bring the kids when workers are present.

It's easy for folks to be complacent regarding the safety risks on a residential construction site. About 20 years ago we had a wonderful and well-meaning homeowner deliver doughnuts to the framers. They were working on framing the roof at the time and were not aware she was in the home. One of their 2"x 12" off-cuts fell from the roof to the 1st floor level on a trajectory about 12" in front of her nose. She might have been seriously injured or even killed if she walked just a little faster. Now we have a clause in our contract that owners are not to visit the job site during normal working hours except as accompanied by the builder. Clients are welcome to visit before or after working hours.

I had unlimited access to my project and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I used common sense to turn around when I see that things look too dangerous to be there.

If I hadn't had access to my custom built house on my own land, the windows in my DH's office would have been placed 16" off center from where they should have been.

The nook for my buffet would have been 2" too short for the custom buffet I had made years before.

The window in my backsplash over my prep sink would have only been 8" high instead of the 18" it should have been.

They would have left the living room floor as is even though it sloped from one side to the other over 2".

They would have kept all the kinks in the duct work of the AC.

They would have buried some of the electrical outlets behind the walls.

They would have been fine with the exterior stairs all being a different height.

I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Because there wasn't enough supervision of the subs, I wound up checking daily!

Yep..agree with CP on many things. I had an excellent builder and we still found many things that had to be corrected. would he have caught them? Maybe. But I was glad that we did.

With one exception, we've built spec homes and pre-sold homes on our lots with our financing. Buyers are welcome for scheduled visits only. Even then, they scared the H out of me as they wandered around in street shoes like it's a department store.

I've only built once on the owner's lot while they financed the build. The owners were smart enough to realize that a construction site is not the place for children. And I urged them to let me know if they saw anything missing or askew.

A number of posters have related the need for access on their project to prevent or correct errors during construction. That's the builder's job. If the builder isn't performing routine quality control during construction then they aren't performing. Period.

At the risk of ticking off a large number of houzzers, if your builder isn't performing, it suggests a flawed builder selection process--that's not something controlled by the builder, but by the prospective client. The builder selection process should explore the builder's processes for taking a set of two-dimensional plans and producing the finished product they depict. I find many prospective clients focus instead (and in some cases, obsess) on product-related considerations such as the use of a particular product or material, a particular technique or some unsubstantiated claim by one of the builders they are considering. Get the builder selection process right and you can focus on your day job and not need to go on blood pressure medicine during your build.

Charles Ross Homes -

With all due respect, what you wrote is a bunch of BS.

It is completely disingenuous to claim a homeowner could possibly control for all issues that might occur in a future home build (and just "focus on your day job") by simply "getting the builder selection process right".

1) No one is perfect. Even the best builders make mistakes, along with all of the subs they hire. It is not unreasonable to acknowledge that a homeowner can find a mistake during the building process that a slipped past a top-notch builder.

2) No one cares more about a new home build than the homeowner who is paying for the house and will be living in it. The builder and subs don't care if things aren't exactly perfect or as they should be. They are balancing the quality of work with profit margins, budget, timing, ect.

3) The builder can show a flawless process for "producing the finished product", but that doesn't always translate into a mistake-free build. The $12/hr hack working for the plumbing/electrical sub could make a mistake that either isn't noticed or is deem immaterial, but could have a meaningful impact on the homeowner.

The builder selection process should explore the builder's processes for taking a set of two-dimensional plans and producing the finished product they depict.

I like this.

Okay. So. What the heck does a client *look* for??? Specifics would be awesome, for the completely clueless out there (such as, oh, say, myself). :-)

Should clients ask to see the names and insurance/bond certificates for the subs? (Can such information be requested politely, without ruffling feathers?) If not, what are the other options for verifying credentials, so to speak? Ask for referrals from lumber yards, flooring shops, electricians, etc., and see which names consistently pop up?

How/which questions should be asked of the builder himself, that seek to establish trust, so that an informed decision can be made?

If someone has zero experience building a house, how do they evaluate the quality of a builder?

For example, solely based on what I've read on the forums here, I've learned that waterproofing (showers and windows, especially) is a huge potential mess... There are *so* many folks who are told to rip out their showers and demand they are done correctly. To prevent this kind of thing, what would you say are the top 5 issues that consumers need to be educated on, for best results? And where do we go for this education, so we can knowledgeably select a GC?

Assuming that an architect is not involved (since most folks, for whatever reason, don't hire one), how can a client maximize a quality build? How do we find the Charles Ross Homes out there, in a sea of sketchy contractors? (I live in Texas, which seems to have an especially famous problem with scam artists.)

Please forgive my stream-of-consciousness writing here. :-D

At the risk of ticking off a large number of houzzers, if your builder isn't performing, it suggests a flawed builder selection process--that's not something controlled by the builder, but by the prospective client. The builder selection process should explore the builder's processes for taking a set of two-dimensional plans and producing the finished product they depict. I find many prospective clients focus instead (and in some cases, obsess) on product-related considerations such as the use of a particular product or material, a particular technique or some unsubstantiated claim by one of the builders they are considering. Get the builder selection process right and you can focus on your day job and not need to go on blood pressure medicine during your build.

In this case you're just plain wrong. We did our due diligence. We visited homes he had in progress, spoke to his clients, visited his homes and talked to clients when his crews were nowhere to be found. Spoke to some of his crews. All had glowing things to say about him. We researched his financial viability, etc.

And add to that, he had the exclusive right to build in our 18 home development.

Then he decided to expand. So when he was building the homes we had visited and explored, his supervisors had only 2 or at most 3 homes to attend to on a daily basis. By the time the supervisor who worked mostly on our home quit (after the majority of our house was finished thankfully) the poor guy was supervising 8 homes and two of them were 25 minutes away from where our development was.

And the builder also decided going to the strip clubs and dropping huge wads of money was more important than our build. He then tried cutting corners, not paying subs on flimsy excuses, looking for the cheapest subs, etc.

Sometimes we as consumers can do everything right in the beginning and have it still come out being a sh*tshow.

@One Devoted Dame I enjoy the stream of consciousness writing. I do the same. It fits well with my brain I guess. LOL

@One Devoted Dame,

Good questions. Strap in for a long answer.

No builder is perfect. No client is perfect. No set of plans and specifications is perfect. No custom home is built without some issues-- albeit minor ones. Provided you have a well-documented set of plans and specifications, the selection of the right builder for your needs will go a long way to minimizing headaches, heartaches, and unpleasant "surprises" during construction. Said otherwise, if the builder you select is good at their day job, you can continue to focus on your day job and not need to up the blood pressure medicine while your home is being built.

I suggest aspiring custom homeowners begin the builder selection process by visiting builder websites. That will pare down the field to the couple who build the type of home, at the price point of interest, and provide the type of service you're looking for. Follow that up with some brief telephone interviews to assess fit. If someone doesn't have time for you as a prospect, they won't have time for you when your project is under contract, either. For each builder that survives those initial qualification processes (I suggest you pare it down to no more than three) schedule a visit and explore the processes they have in place to make sure the route to your dream home isn't a nightmare. Here are the things I suggest you explore.

Longevity:

Find our how long the builder has been in business--and I don't mean the total number of years they've been in business. I've seen plenty of builders advertise their business was established in a particular year. Problem is they've been bankrupt a couple of times since then and started up new companies after leaving clients holding the bag. Your interest is to find a long-term viable builder who is not likely to go bankrupt in the middle of your project. Years of continuous operation is evidence.

Expertise:

Expertise is quite different from experience. Some builders may be former masons or framers, some might have been architects or engineers before becoming home builders. Some might have been trained as accountants. Find out the builder's background, what they are good at, and see if their expertise aligns with your project needs.

Ego:

Designing and building a custom home are collaborative efforts. Make sure the builder you select respects you, your architect, the trades, and their own employees and is able to work as a member of a team. Big egos aren't normally hard to identify.

Schedule:

The old adage that time is money holds true for both builders and homeowners. You want a builder who makes efficient use of time without making assumptions or taking short cuts in construction to the detriment of the structure or its cost.

Ask how projects are scheduled. Ask to see a schedule for a project. How often are schedules updated? How are trade contractors scheduled? What is the on-time completion rate? Ask to see actual schedules for completed projects versus planned (and cut them some slack for work during a global pandemic.) Do clients have access to the project schedule? How are changes to the schedule communicated? Check with some of the builders former clients to see what their experience was like.

Safety and Risk Management:

An accident on site can translate to a schedule delay, elevate costs, and maybe land you and/or your builder in court. Ask about the builder's safety track record. Visit some current job sites. Are they neat and well organized or are materials and trash strewn everywhere? Are safety measures such as temporary handrails in place where needed? Are there fire extinguishers on site? Is there signage to discourage trespassing? A no smoking in the home policy in place? Ask to see a copy of the builder's general liability and worker's compensation insurance.

Quality Control:

The builder's job is to transform thousands of components and the efforts of hundreds of individuals into the home depicted by the plans. It needs to be built substantially as per the plans and specifications. Doing that is not a trivial task. Ask how projects are supervised. How often is a construction supervisor on site? How many projects will they be responsible for concurrently? How are materials ordered? What controls are in place to ensure what gets ordered and installed is what the client selected? What controls are in place to ensure conformance with the approved plans? Are there regular client walk throughs at particular milestones? How often? How are questions, issues and problems addressed? How is a final inspection handled? What about punch list items? What about any warranty issues? Speak to current and/or formal clients of the builder to see what their experience was.

Communications:

Most problems that occur in residential construction are due either to poor plans and specs or poor communication. Ask how and how often the builder will communicate with you. Who is the point person for questions or concerns? How often are they available to answer questions? Are questions answered promptly? How are communications maintained and reported so things do slip between the proverbial cracks? Check with some current and former clients of the builder to see what their experience was.

Changes, Errors and Omissions:

An architect friend of mine says there is no such thing as a perfect set of plans. There will probably be a need to implement changes and possibly to correct errors and omissions in the plans. Ask about the builder's process for handling changes. How to they evaluate feasibilty and determine the cost of changes? How do they deal with any potential schedule implications? Ask to see a typical change order. Does the builder have a system in place for tracking aggregate change order cost? Ask to see it. For any fixed contract price contracts, what is the builder's track record of actual completed price to original contract price? For cost-plus and management fee projects, who pays to correct mistakes?

,

Value:

Every client has a budget and wants to get the most they can within the budget amount. While the end product of building a custom home is a product, a custom home builder doesn't sell products; they are a service provider. You won't likely get the same quality and service from a low bidder that you will from the highest bidder. When assessing value, aspiring custom homeowners need to evaluate cost, quality, and service and find the builder who provides the right blend of those for their needs. Focusing on just one or two of the value components might result in "friction" during construction.

Friction:

Frustration during home construction is often the product of misaligned expectations. In our company, we call such misalignments "friction." Invest the necessary time, effort, and money to ensure you've got a well documented set of plans and specifications. Follow that up by investing the time, and effort in the builder selection process. If you do, the majority of potential friction can be eliminated.

If you've survived reading the full length of this post, I think you're better equipped to choose the right builder for you. Feel free to add additional things to assess and how to ensure the right fit.

Best wishes for a successful project.

@cpartist,

Like the fine print in the mutual fund prospectus says, past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future results. Despite the best efforts of client and builder things don't always work out. That said, I find the vast majority of aspiring custom home owners spend more time researching their next big screen TV or car than their custom builder. The interview process is typically a litany of questions with one word answers like "Are you insured?" "Are you licensed?" Then they wonder why things aren't going the way they thought they would.

The interview process is typically a litany of questions with one word answers like "Are you insured?" "Are you licensed?" Then they wonder why things aren't going the way they thought they would.

I suspect this is largely due to not knowing what the heck to ask about, lol.

Thank you so much for the detailed answer. So, at the end of the day, finding a good builder is about properly set expectations, communication, organization, and mistake management. Your post was very, very helpful. Bookmarking now. :-)

@One Devoted Dame,

As consumers, the vast majority of our experience is purchasing products. However, that experience doesn't translate well when selecting service providers. Anyone who ever got a "cheap haircut" should have learned the lesson not to shop based on price--or at least price alone.

If my post helped you, then it was worth aggravating my carpal tunnel syndrome and a houzzer or two.

Charles which is why I'm glad throughout my build I had access to my house to check up on what was going on. If I didn't, the house would have turned out to be a huge cluster... As it is, anyone who knows my story, knows it was one problem after the other.

CP's saga is a great example of, "Dang, I thought that girl did everything she knew to do, and got herself educated, and yet she *still* had nightmares!" :-( I know we may not hear about the success stories as much (*wink* @mark1993 ), but in many ways, it kinda seems like a blindfolded game of roulette. :-O I know that all anyone can do is minimize risk, not eliminate it. Still scary. I'm not half as tough as CP.

Welp. That's only about the 2nd time I've printed something out that I mean to keep. Thank you @Charles Ross Homes