Customize Your Own Plan

Designing a home is a journey that begins with gathering information about the client and the site chosen to build on. Some clients may already know what they want their house to look like, and others may have an idea based upon places they have visited or photographs they have collected. One of the most important things for our clients is to imagine the way in which the style of their house will complement their lifestyle. We strive to exceed our clients expectations by our responsiveness to their wishes and our professionalism throughout the design and construction process. We work with local engineers and community architectural review boards to incorporate their specifications into the design. As a Design/Build company that offers design services at no charge, we interpret our clients style, along with their requirements, and tailor it into a beautiful home.

Accessorize Your Home with Details

You can add charm, character and value by choosing different detail elements for the interior and exterior of your home.

Find more exciting ways to customize your home at houzz.com.

Nations Homes utilizes the latest in computer aided design (CAD) in creating our award winning custom home designs

Once the preliminary drawings have been developed and approved, we start the process of the construction drawings. Our review process ensures that our construction drawings are detailed and accurate because as an award winning building company we understand that these drawings are crucial when building a house. The process looks something like this:

1.

FINDING THE CLIENTS VISION
First we listen to our clients and discuss size, layout, and style in addition to a list of questions that helps us understand their perfect home, lifestyle, lot characteristics, and community. During this time we may discuss some of the homes major features and specifications but our main focus is on the development of the layout itself.

2.

DECIDING ON A DIRECTION
We then review our portfolio of home designs and select a few which may serve as a starting point and an illustration of our interpretation of the client’s description of the home they envision. Often we may have a home under construction or a model home that may serve as an example for layout, size, and style. We always take customers out to see samples of our homes and quality craftsmanship.

3.

CUSTOMIZING THE PLAN
At this point, the customer decides whether we start from one of our existing layouts, a plan that the client may have, or we start from scratch. We begin by simply making revisions to the layout and elevations and start creating the customized house for the client. At this point we discuss the features, specifications and options the customers would like in the home. We then will draw 1/4" scale Study Drawings of the floor plan and front elevation from either the changes made from existing plans or the plan started from scratch with the use of computer-aided design (CAD).

4.

INITIAL DRAWING
Once the floor plan and front elevation drawings are complete we present them to the customer along with an estimated cost to construct the home. This can either be done in person, or by postal mail or email if the client lives out of town. Once the client is happy with the floor plan and elevations, we prepare a site plan that illustrates how the home can be situated on the lot and the location of the drive, walks, patio, and required setback lines.

5.

REVISIONS TO THE DRAWINGS AND PRICE
After the client has a chance to review the study drawings, we will discuss them in person, by phone, or email, and revise the floor plan and elevations accordingly. We review the price sheet and make adjustments to the base price to reflect the changes made from an increase or decrease in square feet, or a change in the features of the home. It is not unusual to go through this phase of the design process a few times until we get the study drawings and price sheet exactly where the client feels its what they want.

Now we are ready to prepare the contract to execute. The final construction drawings will be created, which will be used to construct the home. This step takes a few weeks and we are ready to submit the plans for permitting and the community architectural review board for approval. This is always an exciting phase in the construction of a beautiful new custom home for our clients and Nations Homes. We look forward to getting started with you.