Custom or Project Home Builder – who is right for me?

Having your own home built is a fantastic experience and something many of us may only ever enjoy once in our lives. After deciding on the right postcode, the right land and the right time, the next major decision will be who is the right Builder for me!

Building your dream home can be a very exciting and rewarding journey. Getting the opportunity to plan out each step in the process and make decisions about your project is a big responsibility and can be very overwhelming. Taking the scope of your new home build into account before you get started can make the whole process flow a lot smoother.

To assist you in moving forward with your project, there are some key aspects that need to be considered, such as:

• What is the style of the house?
• How many bedrooms and bathrooms will I have?
• Is a garage required? If so, is height an issue and how many car spaces do I need?
• How many living zones do I want?
• What type of materials can I include?
• What is my budget?

Some of these aspects may have multiple responses that will need to be addressed at some stage, but having detailed answers to each question will greatly assist you in moving forward.

In the residential building industry, there are two types of Home Builders – the Project Home Builder and the Custom Home Builder. Much of your decision will depend on your budget and how many choices you wish to make as well as how much design input you would like in the build process. The following comparison will allow you to evaluate your home construction options.

The Project Home Builder

A Project Home Builder constructs homes based on a library of floor plans and cost effective design solutions that are re-used and duplicated. Although they are mass-produced, these homes can be somewhat altered to suit specific needs but there are a limited array of personalised options available. Most Project Home Builders will have a number of examples that you can view and once a preset plan has been established, the replicated house is superimposed onto your plot of land.

A Project Home Builder makes selecting finishes, colour palettes and some material variants easier as they tend to narrow down the number of choices offered in the marketplace. There is, however, very little flexibility and choice available when deciding on room configurations and finishing touches such as cabinetry and flooring. Most Project Home Builders also only focus on the internals of a house, thus many of these Builders do not include driveways, landscaping, decks, pergolas and pools in their scope of work and price. This means there will almost always be additional costs involved in completing your project and reaching your end goal.

The Project Home Builder does allow you to make easy decisions on selecting the right materials and design features for your home, but typically you cannot change the basic structure and layout of the design selected. The question then lies can this type of builder really create the perfect personalised home for me?

The Custom Home Builder

A Custom Home Builder is someone who identifies the unique qualities that make up your plot of land and combines them with a design that fulfils your individual needs and desires. An example of this might be an aspiration to include a valuable view within your home or designing a living space around the yearly cycle, taking full advantage of the warming winter sun or a cooling summer breeze. Whatever the case, a Custom Home Builder offers two enormous benefits – choice and flexibility.

Custom Home Builders are flexible in mixing styles and plans to construct a home that is moulded to YOUR taste and suited to YOUR lifestyle. When building with a Custom Builder, there are no pre-defined choices and your options are almost unlimited. You will have a choice in almost everything – from the foundation to the flooring and even cabinetry handles. When planning, there will be a wider variety of building material selections available and more scope for intricate design details, thus making your home truly unique.

The Custom Home process involves collaboration between the Homeowner, Builder, Architect or other parties who may be involved in the design and logistics of building your home. A good Custom Home Builder can design and create a home that incorporates your needs without overcomplicating the build. Put simply, if the Builder is a part of the conception and design process, the Builder and associated parties can reign in the design to keep it within your desired budget.

Another point to consider is a Custom Home Builder offers complete one-to-one contact compared to a large, often national Project Home company that can make you feel like you’re ‘just another number’ once a contract has been signed. A Custom Home Builder generally has a small number of projects running simultaneously and sets aside quality time for you throughout the entire build. Constant communication and updates can be especially comforting for someone who is looking to start the journey of building their dream home.

Both types of building methods offer different qualities but creating a design that truly reflects YOUR vision relies on how involved you are and how many choices you are able to make. Using a Custom Home Builder means you will own a home that you are 100% happy with. At BCD Building, we believe a home is as individual as you are. It should be a collection of what inspires you and thus should be customised to reflect your needs, values and personality.