Aspen Home Builders

Building It Right

Getting the best result

The objective for most people who build a new home is to get a valuable return on the investment and a home that fits their lifestyle needs. Value is created when your finished home is worth more to you than the cost of construction.

• Planning Your Project
• Preparing a Construction Budget
• Timing Your Build
• Sourcing and Delivering Materials
• Home Building Tips

Keep in mind that there are no shortcuts to achieving a successful result when building your home. It takes expertise, good planning and proper management to build your home right.

Planning Your Project

Aspen Home Builders can help you in preparing a proper budget before you start your construction project. Changes to the design and material specifications once the project has been started can increase costs significantly and cause time delays. This is particularly true in the local area because it is harder to get the people you need out to more remote locations like Aspen.

Construction is largely a sequential process. This means that resources need to be available on a timely basis. Careful planning before you start will help you save you money and stay in control of your project.

Delays are caused when building materials or trades are not available at the right time. The result is that trades will need to be rebooked for jobs. This can be a problem as they may not be available at the time when needed.

There are a lot of variables involved in the building process that need to be taken into consideration. Aspen Home Builders can help you plan ahead and make informed decisions so you can experience a successful build.

Preparing a Construction Budget

Aspen Home Builders helps you understand the difference between "home construction costs" and "total project costs". The total cost to complete your home depends on the size, location, complexity and desired timeframe of the project. You need to fully consider the site conditions, the type of design, features and the quality level of finishing you want throughout your home.

Aspen Home Builders has access to project estimating software developed specifically for the custom home industry. Custom Builder XPM ™ generates accurate estimation information for building a custom home. It produces meaningful budget estimates based on realistic numbers and assumptions in a short period of time. This provides some cost certainty which is a major concern for homeowners, builders and financial institutions alike.

A combination of fixed prices and realistic allowances is the most accurate budgeting method due to the complexity of building a custom home. Aspen Home Builders can obtain fixed pricing for the design and materials to get to the lock-up stage. The labor cost for framing can usually also be fixed. These items normally represent about one-half of the construction budget. The remainder of the costs are covered by allowances that can be fixed when the homeowner makes a final decision on finishing materials and other items.

Changes to your design and specifications during construction will alter the scope of work and subsequently affect the budget. Aspen Home Builders can help you plan ahead to minimize costly changes.

Timing Your Project

People not familiar with the construction process often underestimate the time it takes to complete the project. Taking a project to completion will depend on the size of home, location of property, complexity of construction and frequency of inspections.

Another important factor that influences timing is weather conditions. Some parts of the Aspen area have moderate snowfalls while higher elevations can experience intense snowfall and lower temperatures. This means planning the build is extremely important.

You need to make sure you choose a design that is appropriate for the area and considers structural issues. For example, roof support structures will have to be engineered to meet requirements for snow loading.

Permits should be in place as early as possible to allow foundations to be poured between April and October. Once foundations have been poured, actual construction can happen anytime. Aspen Home Builders can help you plan to get your project started at the best time.

Sourcing and Delivering Materials

Aspen Home Builders serves the local and surrounding area. We are experienced in dealing with the special issues that arise when building in this region. We mainly work on projects within a one hour drive from Aspen.

The area around Aspen consists of a number of small population centers and is time consuming to get to a major commercial center. Not only is it important to plan ahead for local delivery of materials, it is even more important to have alliances with major national suppliers.

Aspen Home Builders has formed an alliance with proven national suppliers to ensure quality building materials are available when they are needed. These companies have the ability supply a full range of brand name building products to any region at everyday low prices. Our local suppliers support us with readily available standard products needed in construction. This gives our customers the best of both worlds and saves them money.

Home Building Tips

Due to the complexity of construction, it is essential to select people who can manage and build your new home. Few homeowners are able to take on the whole project without relying on a team of professionals.

Building a custom home successfully requires attention-to-detail and a good understanding of the construction process. There are many tasks to be completed, which require skilled people to manage them. The objective for most people who build a new home is to get a valuable return on the investment and a home that fits their lifestyle needs. Value is created when your finished home is worth more to you than the cost of construction. Keep in mind that there are no shortcuts to achieving any of these outcomes. It takes expertise, good planning and a proper control mechanism to get the best possible result.

General Contractors

It is important to select a general contractor who is qualified for your type of project and can complete it for the quoted price in an acceptable time frame. You also need someone you can trust to manage and schedule the right builders and trades.

It is equally important to evaluate your general contractor based on the expertise offered and the ability to see the project through. Contractors need to be properly insured so they do not transfer the risk of injury and damage related lawsuits to the homeowner. A contractor's business liability insurance can protect you if your home is damaged by the contractor or his employees or if he causes damage or injury to third parties.

Having a meaningful written construction contract is essential. The key elements are scope of work, procedures for changes, payment terms and provisions for sign off at the time of completion. The construction contract should also address responsibility for work-related injuries, damages to third parties and property damage (builder's risk insurance).

Design and Materials

There are many design possibilities and thousands of building components with different performance characteristics to choose from. The first step is to develop a concept design. Typically people start with a look or an interior layout that they like. This is then taken to a preliminary plan, which can be used to develop to generate blueprints and a rough budget.

The next step is to spend adequate time to choose the right materials. Changes are far more costly when they are made during construction. Material purchasing requires a special skill set. It takes a professional looking at finalized blueprints to accurately determine the right quantity of materials needed.

Permits

Building permits need to be in place before you can start construction. Some land preparation can take place prior to permits, but you need to be aware of the local guidelines that may restrict this work. Some of the issues involved in getting permits are:

• Availability of finalized blueprints
• Local building regulations
• Processing time and seasonal workloads of planning departments

Apply for permits as soon as you have your construction blueprints. The objective is to obtain all approvals so that you can get foundations in place prior to peak season or adverse weather conditions. You can always delay construction, but you can't move it forward without permits

Site Preparation

Preparing the building site includes clearing the land and excavating so that foundations can be formed and concrete poured when the weather conditions are right.

• Clearing
• Excavation / Backfill
• Driveway / Walkway
• Foundation

It is important to get the foundations in place as soon as blueprints are available and permits have been obtained. Cement cannot be poured below freezing temperatures or other adverse weather conditions without special procedures.

Lock-up

At this stage the building inspector has approved the work done to complete the exterior structure of the home to lock-up. Based on this milestone approval, a progress or final payment to the contractor must be made. The home is now weatherproof, secure and ready for to take to the completion and occupancy phase. You are now able to finish the home at your own pace and on your own timetable.

Occupancy

Occupancy means that your home is ready for you to live in. You may choose to work with the general contractor or hire trades directly to complete the exterior and interior of the home to occupancy. Working with an interior designer may be helpful in arranging the purchase and installation of flooring, cabinets and millwork.