When building your custom home, you want every detail to fit you and your family perfectly. While picking the right custom home builder is an integral part of the process, it shouldn’t necessarily be the first thing you do as you begin your journey toward building your dream home.
Hiring a home designer can make a huge difference in the process of seeing your home come to life, helping you sculpt your vision and find the right custom home builder.
These are just a few reasons why hiring a custom home designer before a builder is a good idea. We’ll uncover a few more to show you why starting with a home designer is the best approach for your custom home build.
1) Set the Vision & Concept
It’s important to have a clear vision of what you want before starting with a builder. A home designer helps shape that vision, allowing you to see what’s possible for each space and designing elements that reflect your family’s needs and lifestyle.
When starting with a custom home designer, they’ll ask about your style preferences and priorities. The right designer will know which questions to ask and may even have a design questionnaire, like we do.
After understanding your wants and needs, they’ll provide a design and detailed 3D modeling so you can visualize your custom home as accurately as possible before the construction phase. This is advantageous for reasons such as:
- Making sure that you can visualize your new home during design, instead of waiting until your home is being built.
- Making sure the home that’s built matches what you’ve been envisioning.
- Avoiding delays associated with building revisions or rescheduling work.
- Getting advice about the best custom home builder for your unique project.
2) Knowledge of Codes & Regulations
Your house must adhere to local building codes, so it makes sense to work with a home designer who is an expert in zoning bylaws and building codes before beginning with a custom home builder. They can’t start building until you’ve got municipal approval, after all.
Getting your building project approved the first time you try saves time, effort, and money. It also allows you to hit the ground running with your custom home builder once you’ve got the thumbs-up from your municipality and are ready to start.
3) Smooth Collaboration with Builders
Having a detailed design for your custom home can prevent miscommunication with your builders. When you work with a home designer first, the wants and needs of your project are clear, so there’s no confusion.
That’s no small thing.
Building a home is a big project with many moving pieces, so it’s vital that your vision is clearly communicated so that it can be executed correctly in a timely and cost-effective way.
If you don’t already have a builder in mind, we’re happy to recommend excellent builders who would be a great fit for your home. It’s important that a builder is part of a portion of the design process so they are aware of the design evolving and can provide budgets throughout the process.
A designer also acts as a bridge between you and the custom home builder and subcontractors who are stepping in to work on various parts of the job.
4) Time Efficiency
Working with a home designer before engaging a custom home builder can speed up the process of building your new house in several ways. It can:
- Prevent delays caused by last-minute changes
- Allow for the proper scheduling of contractors
- Streamline the entire home-building process by finalizing design decisions in advance
5) Sustainability & Energy Efficiency
Working with a custom home designer opens the possibility of integrating sustainable practices, design principles, and green materials into your design. This is good for the environment and can save you a lot of money in the long term.
Home designers can also advise on finding a builder for custom homes who integrates green building practices.
Begin with Design & See Your Vision Come to Life
When you hire a home designer to help with your custom home, you get a valuable new team member. At Ellergodt Design, our experienced team has been assisting Calgarians in building their dream homes for over 20 years.
We’re committed to making the home you’ve always wanted a reality. Our commitment to excellence and attention to detail ensure that your project starts on the right foot.
Get started: Use our contact form or call us at (587)875-5621 to begin your journey.
FAQ
Why should I hire a home designer?
You probably have a few ideas for what you want in your custom home, and a home designer can bring those ideas together and bring them to life. Custom home building is a complex job, and having a detailed design plan in place before you go looking for a custom home builder can make the entire process less complicated, stressful, and costly.
How do I pick a custom home builder in Calgary?
There are lots of great options if you want a custom home builder in Calgary, but you’ll want someone you can communicate with clearly and who has proven experience building homes similar to yours.
Custom home designers like our team at Ellergodt Design can happily guide you and advise you on which custom home builders are best suited for your project. This decision is important, and having a detailed design can be a great starting point as you try to figure out which custom house builder is the right fit.