logo reading "Lone Creek Custom Homes"

Custom Home Building

How We Build

Our Build Process

Our intention is to build you a 100-year home. That is a home that is built so well, it will still be standing in 100 years or longer. The process of building your house begins with a meeting between you, the prospective homeowner, and us, your potential builder. This will allow us to verify that we have the same philosophy as to what we are trying to accomplish in building your new home. We then would like to understand exactly what aspects of the house’s experience you would like to focus on: the finishes, the energy efficiency, the structure, the comfort. This can help everyone understand where the budget should be concentrated. We are an active member in our local Home Builders Association. Taking part in continual meetings with other local builders and tradesman means we vest the time required to keep updated with local and national issues. We are an energy star rated partner builder. That means we are dedicated to building energy efficient homes which qualify for multiple homeowners’ rebates. Accomplishing all of this begins with these steps.
Contact Us

Kickoff

We start with an initial kickoff meeting. Whether you have or have not started anything in your build, we take the time to meet with you to establish the foundation. We will gather preliminary information of your wants and wishes through an established questionnaire we have populated. These are critical questions which help us understand you and you’re thinking. We answer any immediate questions you may have and find this process gets your creative side going. This meeting can be done over the phone; however, we find the more personable approach to meeting in person goes a long way.

Land

Do you have a lot already purchased? Are you looking for a site to build your forever home? We also have you covered. We have partnered with a real estate firm who has a long-standing history in the real estate world. Our combined efforts will assist you in your search for the right property. Occasionally, Lone Creek Custom Homes may have properties in inventory for you to review as well. We want to make sure that whatever help you may need, we have you with the best interests in mind.

Financing and Budget

Need some help finding avenues to finance your build? We have partnered with lending institutions who can cater to you needs. Do you have someone already in mind? No Problem. We are simply here to provide as much or as little assistance as you require. We will actively work with your established relationships to complete your build. When we have gathered a reasonable amount of information, we will be able to populate a tentative budget. We want to stress the importance of being as detailed as possible. That will allow the opportunity to establish a very competitive, comprehensive, and thorough estimate for you to budget to.

The Features and Architect

Here we will get into depth regarding the details of your home. Understanding important criteria such as the overall size, the expected finishes quality, enhancements, functionality, usage, and versatility of your proposed home carries great importance. Once the architect has established a solid preliminary design, we want to make sure you have a good understanding of the interior spaces—how they will look and function. This helps to reduce the need to change things while the home is under construction. We will work with your architect to make sure they have provided adequate details. Many architects tend to design a “standard” custom home, but this design may or may not take into account certain build details that you have established as priorities. We act as a liaison with the architect to seamlessly promote a cohesive collaboration when it comes to designing something on paper to physically building. This also allows you to solicit ideas from us for building methods, practices and unique characteristics which can be incorporate into your home.

Design Elements, Selections, and Finishes

We encourage you to continually looking at concepts. We will gladly work through design and mood boards with you to determine the bulk of your vision. We take the opportunity to get as close as possible to the anticipated final finishes. This does not mean you have to know exactly what variety of granite you want in the kitchen. It simply means we will know what your expectations are and will allocate the appropriate amount within your budget.

Pre-Construction Process

Step 1: Surveying and Planning

Estimated Cost: $2,000
Once you have selected an appropriate place to build, the homesite will be surveyed. If you are buying a “prepackaged” lot, a survey will have already been completed. Next, a geotechnical engineer will drill multiple borings on the property to study the soil condition. Plan on $2,000 or less to complete this work. The geotechnical engineer will make a recommendation about what type of foundation will be necessary for those soil types. Completing a geotechnical report (as early as possible) is prudent, as this can allow the engineer to observe water level changes in the boring holes over the course of the year.

Step 2: Blueprints

Estimated Cost: $15,000 - $30,000
You will then meet with your architect to discuss what you would like in your new home. Interviewing architects before selecting one is really important. Architects tend to have different base styles that they work from—more contemporary or more traditional, for example. Popular architects tend to be recognizable by the style of their homes, and the home may even be advertised with the architect’s name if they are well known. Expect to pay $15,000 to $30,000 to an architect. The architect will take the soil report, survey of the property, and desires of the new homeowner into account in order to design a custom home. It depends on the architect, but one to three months for a preliminary design is not out of the question. Ideally, while the architect is completing a preliminary design, we would like to meet with you to discuss the elements and features you'd like to focus on in the building. Once the preliminary design is complete, we should review the plans to determine if any modifications need to be performed or included in the finished drawings to properly reflect your vision.

While your architect is completing the drawings and getting HOA and local government approval, a structural engineer will take the architect’s drawings and design the actual structure, foundation and walls etc. It is really important to make sure your current and future material selections are taken into account at this phase. For example, if you choose asphalt shingles for the roof as a cost-cutting method now, we have to make sure the home is designed to withstand the concrete tile roof you plan on using in five years.

Step 3: Water and Sewer

Estimated Cost: $45,000 - $95,000
During the preliminary design phase of the home, it is also appropriate to purchase a water and sewer tap for the lot. Water in Colorado is very expensive. A good estimate for a water tap is $30,000 to $80,000 or more, depending on location primarily. A good estimate for a sewer tap is $15,000, depending on who provides sanitation services. If the lot doesn’t have water or sewer service, $10,000 to $50,000 should be allotted for digging a well and $25,000 to $50,000 should be expected to install a septic system.

Step 4: Building Permit

Estimated Cost: $50,000
The building permit is the final major expense necessary to begin construction. Three to four months in, you should expect a completed home design. The building permit varies with the value of the home. An estimated $50,000 building permit applies to a home that costs around 1.5 million dollars to build, on average.
Image collage showing the beginning, middle, and end of a home building project

Communication Always

We are big on communication. Staying organized, streamlining the flow of information, and ensuring everyone is on the same page is one of the most important pieces to building a custom home. We will keep you on track by establishing task reminders, collecting approval, updating schedules, tracking changes and more. You will be given access with you own login to our construction software app, where you will have information at your fingertips, day or night. There you will be able to see in real-time the progress of your home, status of your budget, and upcoming work. Ask us more about this unique feature Lone Creek offers you. 

Ancillary Designers

Early in the build process, ancillary designers will be used to design smaller aspects of the home. 

Ancillary designs include: 

  • Pre-engineered trusses to support the roof
  • HVAC design for Heat and Air Conditioning
  • Energy Efficiency modeling of the home
  • Interior Design
    • Cabinetry 
    • Decorative lighting
    • Window coverings
    • Color selections
    • Tile arrangements
    • Interior doors
    • Flooring
    • Plumbing fixtures
  • Designs for lighting, audio, video, internet, low voltage wiring, central vacuum, etc.

Should I Customize the Small Pieces?

Anything can be custom-made or bought off of the shelf. The difference between the two is when you buy off the shelf, you are forgoing some design customization (color choice, shape, size, etc.) for less expense. When you customize something, it can become very expensive. We can help craft anything to fit your unique taste, from the home to the furniture inside of it. It is possible to customize just about everything, if you're willing to take on the cost.

Acting as an Agent

When you hire Lone Creek to build your home, you are hiring an agent to act on your behalf. This means, if we are able to get reduced pricing for a certain product or service, that benefit will be transferred directly to you. We are compensated through the General Contractor Fee and through no other source. This ensures our allegiance is to our client and leaves no room for question about payment structure.
Contact Us

Wrap-Up and Warranty

At the completion of you home, you will receive a personalized file containing all the pertinent information regarding your home. From initial plans to appliance manuals and warranty information, you will be able to look up and required information you may need. You will also receive an exclusive video file of your documented home. This file includes high resolution photographs of the entire interior of your home prior to drywalling. Having a documented photo file affords you the ability to know exactly where primary trades such as HVAC, electrical, plumbing and more are located behind each wall. Lone Creek offers this one-of-a-kind service to all our clients and no additional cost.

Lone Creek Custom Homes takes the initiative to preschedule your home for a 30-day, 180-day and one year inspection. We want to provide you with the comfort knowing that we stand behind the quality of our work and ensure that we do anything we can to mitigate concerns in the post construction phase. We therefore proactively take this measure, so you do not have to. We will coordinate with you and your schedule for a full walkthrough to address any concerns you may have. Talk to us more about the details of your warranty
Contact Us

A Charitable Cause

Lone Creek Custom Homes is proud to partner with American Military Family. Creator of the Colorado Support the troops license plate, American Military Family furiously dedicates themselves to combating suicide within the veteran and first responder community. Lone Creek is committed to donating a portion of our proceeds to this charitable organization and is honored to further the mission of veteran and first responder advocacy.

Visit American Military Family

Types of Homes We Build

We don’t care if we are building a home for 10 million dollars or $500,000. Our only interest is doing right by people and building a quality home that will stand the test of time. Lone Creek proudly builds custom premier homes, no matter the size or intricacy. We will build your home, whether it is 2,000 or 20,000 square feet, whether it is full of intricate detail or is a more "typical" build. Each Lone Creek custom home is built to the highest industry standards.
Copyright Lone Creek Custom Homes 2022
Site designed by Beyond Blue Media
chevron-down