Apr. 24—Planning and building a new home is a rather lengthy decision-making process, according to Dean Hafner, owner of H & H Holdings and Flooring, Cabinets & More in Jamestown.
“There has got to be 10,000 decisions,” he said. “It can be a long process.”
Hafner said many people have already purchased a lot which may be a factor in some of the decisions.
“The footprint of the home has to fit the lot,” he said. “A 75-foot (wide) lot is tough to build on for a single-level home.”
This raises the question of whether to build a one-level home or a two-level house.
“People need to decide is this their forever home or just until retirement,” Hafner said. “If it is a forever home, it should have the master bedroom and bath on the main floor.”
People looking to retire in their home can still consider a two-story home with the master suite on the main floor and guest bedrooms on the second floor if that is what fits their lot, he said.
Those are just some of the lifestyle choices people have to make in planning a new home construction project.
“We have an eight- to 10-page questionnaire we go through with them,” Hafner said. “We talk with them about things like cabinets, flooring, tiles, right on down to the style of the doorknob.”
The process is lengthy because everybody has differing tastes in what they want to see in their home. The planning process can also reduce the number of design changes the owner might request during construction.
“We are pretty thorough,” Hafner said. “Not a lot of changes and what we do see are minor.”
The planning process, if everything goes smoothly, can take as little as two and a half weeks, he said. The end result is a computerized three-dimensional rendering of the plan which gives the customer the ability to see what the completed project will look like.
Once all the planning is complete, it takes roughly 160 days from the time the footings are dug until the completion of the home, Hafner said.
The planning process also includes discussions about the cost of the building project.
“The cost to build today has gone through the roof,” Hafner said. “Material costs are out of control.”
To contact H & H Holdings call 952-8600 or visit its website www.hhhcustomhomes.com.
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