Steps to Getting the Best Bang for Your Buck for New Home Construction
November 18, 2017
As custom home builders in the Midlands of South Carolina for more than 20 years, Dunbar Builders has been building dream homes for our customers while saving them money throughout the home building process. In this article, we’ll cover the three steps involved in ensuring that you get as much value as possible for what you pay for your new custom home construction.
Step One: Hire an experienced custom home builder
In order to make sure that the home building process stays within your budget and is on schedule, it is critical to start the home building process by hiring an experienced custom home builder with a solid reputation. When you’re first building a new home, it is difficult to know where to splurge and where to hold back (and where to do both). A great home builder will guide you through the home building process and make sure you know exactly where your money is going, and why.
Step Two: Work with your builder to identify the “big ticket” items
At Dunbar Builders, we’re often asked about the price per square foot of new home construction: what all goes into that price? Our method is to give you a price that includes everything from building to landscaping – basically everything but the cost of the land itself. Also, our allowances leave room for high quality finishes, plumbing, light fixtures, flooring, and other materials. These numbers are covered in detail with the homeowner prior to construction.
Some of the big ticket items that can drive prices up include:
- Porches
- Windows and doors
- Appliances
- Other large details, such as metal roofing
It’s when you’re budgeting for these bigger expenditures that working with an experienced custom home builder can be crucial to getting the home of your dreams versus a home that has only a couple of the features you’ve dreamed of.
Step Three: Work with your builder and the subcontractors to value-engineer your new home construction
At Dunbar, we have created a solid network of high-quality subcontractors over the course of more than 20 years. Our framers, trim carpenters, plumbers, roofers, flooring providers, lighting providers, HVAC providers, tile experts, electricians, landscaping providers, etc. work with us and our customers to maintain high quality while value-engineering the building of your home. We pride ourselves on our ability to figure out design and contracting solutions that achieve looks that would otherwise be barred by budget constraints. Below are just a few examples of value engineering:
- The tiled porch is currently a very popular look in homes. Achieving this look by laying tile can be relatively pricey when you account for the cost of the tile, the tile layer, the grout, and the time. We can achieve the same nuanced look for homeowners by scoring the concrete for your porch. Both methods result in the attractive look homeowners are looking for, but through value-engineering, we can provide the right look for the right cost.
- Wooden garage doors are another popular, high priced feature that we can help distill the cost of through value-engineering. We’re able to create the same look using metal garage doors that are less expensive and involve far less upkeep.
In Summary
Dunbar Builders is known for our ability to create that extra “wow” value at a much lower price in large part because we work with skilled, easy-to-communicate-with, trustworthy subcontractors who specialize in custom home building. Based on the quality of their work, you might think you will have to pay extra for their services compared to other subcontractors. In reality, you will get a great deal by working with our subcontractors. Our customers benefit financially from the longevity and strength of our relationships with our subcontractors. We think you’ll feel as lucky as we do to work with these skilled, experienced subcontractors once you see the difference in quality of their work.
For more than two decades, Dunbar Builders has been helping people create the homes they have dreamed about for prices they never could have expected. Contact us to get started with your dream home!
