Building a new home can be one of life’s most rewarding experiences. You’re not just building a house; you’re creating a home perfectly tailored to the way you live, where you and your family will share memories that will last a lifetime. Rich and Brett believe that the end product is of utmost importance, but it is equally important that you ENJOY the home building experience as well.
Simply stated, building a new home is fun. It truly is an enjoyable experience. Building allows families to live in a home that fits the way they live. A new home has new, efficient products which lowers the operating cost of home ownership. A new home has products with warranties, again reducing the cost of home ownership.
At Freeman & Harter Custom Homes the goal is to build an outstanding quality home, on-schedule, on-budget, and with a process that is truly enjoyable. This is an easily attainable goal when the following occur:
- Planning – Plan early, make as many decisions as possible prior to construction commencing
- Communications – It is imperative that everyone is on the same page
- Simple Building Process – Follow a simple three step process
- Design – Complete the design process
- Contract & Specifications – Complete product type selections in accordance with the design. The details of the products and the design are incorporated into the contract and specifications, in addition to the drawings.
- Building / Construction – Projects are built in accordance with the contract, specifications, and drawings.
Planning
Building a new home is an exciting time and a huge decision for a family to make. Once the decision is made to build a new home, it is hard to wait to get started. However, there are many important decisions that must be made. Making decisions early saves time, money, and allows owners the opportunity to relax and enjoy the building process. There will always be changes made during the construction of a custom home. With proper planning, these changes will be minimal, the home will be completed on-time and on-budget, and the home building process will be enjoyable.
Communications
Communications are integral to the building process. Effective communication is necessary for tasks as simple as understanding what level of detail and customization is required for a specific part of the project. And, effective communication is necessary for setting and understanding expectations. Rich and Brett strive to communicate effectively with owners from the initial meeting moving forward.
Design
All projects, whether a single room addition or a fully customized home, begin with the design. The design incorporates your budget, your needs and dreams, your property’s opportunities and/or limitations, and your family’s way of life.
Communicating all of this information is essential. Ideas can be brought forth in many ways. Rich Freeman has started with sketches, worked with pictures, referenced newspaper clippings, etc. Freeman & Harter Custom Homes utilizes the latest in CAD technology, so initial concept designs come to life rather quickly. Custom home design is an iterative process incorporating planning and communications throughout the entire process.
Design work is complimentary to Freeman & Harter Custom Homes’ owners. The design process is time consuming and the equipment is very costly, so a fee for the design is established based on the size and scope of the project. The entire design fee is credited back to the owners, resulting in no cost for the design. If a prospective client does not build with Freeman & Harter Custom Homes they still receive the drawings to take with them.
You are always welcome to provide your own blueprints, or collaborate with an architect of your choice.
A detailed set of scale drawings is necessary for an accurate proposal. If you are not quite ready to start the design process, Rich and Brett are still happy to sit down with you and listen to your ideas. They can utilize their experience to help you roughly estimate the cost of your new home.
Contract and Specifications
Once the design is complete, the specifications can be developed. This begins by looking at each phase of the project and deciding what products will be used. This is an area where planning and communications are very important.
The drawings will provide some of the information for the specifications. For example, the front elevation drawing may show stone or brick in various places. That defines how much stone or brick will be on the front elevation. The specifications further describe the stone, i.e. the brand, the product line, etc.
The specifications are very detailed. This is one way Freeman & Harter Custom Homes communicates with owners. Rich and Brett want you to know exactly what is going into your new home.
As you can imagine, there are many products and details chosen for each project. It is not realistic to expect all decisions to be made prior to construction. However, proper planning and effective communication will help maximize the decisions that are made prior to or very early in the construction process. This directly affects the ability to be on-time, on-budget, and to enjoy the building process.
The contract is also very detailed and lists the requirements and obligations of Freeman & Harter Custom Homes and the owners.
Building / Construction
This is the fun part, and the easiest part of the process. Your home or project is built in accordance with the contract, specifications, and drawings. This is why it is so important to plan and communicate while designing the home and developing the contract and specs.
Relax and enjoy watching the construction of your new home. Freeman & Harter Custom Homes is owner operated, so you can truly relax because you know an owner is closely managing every phase of the project. You will be busy, finalizing colors and making an occasional change. But, you will be having a great time. After all, it is your new home for your family.
Have Questions? Ready to get started? We'd love to talk with you. Contact us today.
Contact Us
Freeman & Harter Custom Homes
2200 East Blossom Lane
Warsaw, IN 46580
574-265-3272
317-522-9004 (fax)
info@freemanharter-customhomes.com
