Building a home can be a stressful experience, but it doesn’t have to be. For most of our customers, the biggest stress comes from not knowing what is happening with their house, or what will happen next. There will be times when it looks like no one is working on the house, and this can create anxiety – have you been forgotten about? Rest assured, it is normal that occasionally nothing seems to be happening with your house – we’re usually waiting on building inspections in those cases, but sometimes our schedule needs to be adjusted, or weather creates a delay, or we might need some extra materials.

Here’s an outline of what you can expect when you build a home with Crystal Creek.

Phase 1: Purchase – 0-2 weeks

If you’re making an unconditional offer, then this phase is pretty short – you buy the house, we start working on it right away! If your offer has conditions, such as financing approval, then there is a period of time where you work on getting those conditions removed. This can take a couple of weeks, or even longer depending on how the mortgage lender processes applications.

Phase 2: Design and approvals – 6-8 weeks

Once we have a firm sale, our designer will incorporate any changes from our base model that you may have requested. The plans will go to the developer for architectural approval, once we have that approval you’ll be given a copy of the plans for review and sign-off. Interior and exterior colour selections need to be completed and approved, and the plans get sent to an engineer and to our joist and truss supplier. Every house also gets software modeled for energy efficiency, and once we have all of those documents we can apply to the City for our building permits. Typically the City takes around 2 weeks in order to issue a permit, but on occasion it can take longer.

Phase 3: Excavation and framing – 7-8 weeks

After we have received our permits from the City, the lot will be staked and the excavator will dig the hole for the house – this usually happens within about a week, weather permitting. The cribbing company will set up their concrete forms and pour the foundation footing and walls, the forms will be removed, the foundation will receive its dampproofing and weeping tile, and utilities will be run to the house. This usually takes another week or two. The foundation will get backfilled, and then framing will start. Framing usually takes around 4 weeks, depending on weather, and it usually goes a little faster in the summer and a little slower in the winter.

Phase 4: Rough-ins and exterior – 4-5 weeks

Once the house is completed framing, the electrical, plumbing, and heating rough-ins happen. This is where wire, pipes, and ducts are installed in the house. At the same time, the shingles are installed on the roof and the exterior siding gets installed. By the time this stage is done, the house looks pretty much finished from the outside.

Phase 5: Drywall and finishing – 5-6 weeks

After the rough-ins are done, the house can be insulated, drywall can be installed, and the ceiling texture can be done – all of this happens in about 4 weeks, and once the ceiling texture is done we assign a possession date for the house. That’s when things get really busy, as you’ll have to start booking utility changes, address changes for mail delivery, and so on. Once the drywall is done we can install stair railing, interior doors, baseboards and window casings, and cabinets. This usually takes around 2 weeks after drywall is completed.

Phase 6: Painting and flooring – 4 weeks

Pretty much the last things that are done in the house are to paint the interior (and exterior, depending on weather) and to install the countertops, lighting and plumbing fixtures, and flooring. When this stage is done, the house is basically finished except for a few final steps.

Phase 7: Possession – 2 weeks

In the last two weeks of construction, we are busy getting all the door handles and bath hardware installed, as well as the wire shelving, mirrors, and shower doors. The fireplace gets installed, the furnace and ductwork is fully cleaned, and we are ready to do a pre-occupancy walkthrough to look for anything that might have been missed up to that point. Anything that is found at this stage is fixed, and about a week after the pre-occupancy walkthrough is your possession date, and the house is yours!

The timelines above are very general, and each house has a different experience – your house may be built more quickly than what we have outlined, or it may take a little longer, but the overall process stays the same.

At Crystal Creek Homes, we are always happy to answer any questions you might have about the construction of your house, and of course you are always welcome on our job sites – we only ask that you set up an appointment in advance to view your house with your salesperson or site supervisor, so that we can help keep you safe on our construction site. Stop by one of our showhomes if you have any questions!