Our Process
Build Your Dream Home, Where You Want, How You Want.
A new custom home requires time and dedication from home builders who care. Every homeowner who works with us is guaranteed the Cardinal Crest Experience, which means you’ll always have someone to reach out to for questions, concerns, or simply to share your excitement with!
Since we value offering a sincere and unparalleled level of attention to each of our custom projects, our openings are limited. Should we not have any immediate openings, we’re happy to lock you into our slot schedule with an Intent to Build agreement and accompanying deposit. This agreement also offers property owners up to 2 years on our schedule, should you need extra time to prepare for your new build.
LARGE HOME PRODUCTION TIME FRAMES
4,000 – 6,000 SF
14 – 18 months
6,000 – 8,000 SF
18 – 22 months
8,000 – 10,000 SF
22+ months
Add 1 month to the production schedule for each option desired below:
- Basement finish
- Pool
- Secondary Structure
Home Building Milestone Map
We are thrilled to introduce our unique approach to custom home building! This process, which we call our Milestone Process, aims to synchronize the home-building operation for mutual accountability.
It is important for us to involve you, the homeowner, in the building process at every turn. Our Milestone Process is visual, comprehensive, goal-driven, and designed to give you peace of mind throughout the 14-22+ month project duration.
All milestone meetings are held in person. Here, we’ll have the opportunity to discuss the build process, schedules, and possible selection deadlines. As a team, we use these milestones to track the progress of your custom home. These milestones are in place so that both our team members and you, as the homeowner, can recognize progress, identify delays, maintain focus, and improve communication.
Milestones are integral to the progress of your custom home. We have strategically recognized each important point in the building process with these in-person updates, so you can enjoy the progress of your home and stay well-informed along the way.
Customer alignment
3 Meetings
Through our customer alignment process, we are able to set and maintain reasonable expectations. During this time, multiple important factors are finalized, such as:
- Lot/location to build the home
- Floor plan (we’ll help with this!)
- Budget for the new home
This process is divided into three to four different meetings for maximum efficiency. After these meetings, you’ll have everything you need to decide whether you’d like to move forward with building your custom home! From here, you’ll sign an Intent to Build agreement and submit a $22,000.00 non-refundable deposit that will count toward your contract deposit.
Introduction – 1+ Hr.
- Cardinal Crest Process
- Home building timelines
- Slot Schedule
- Financing
- Intent to Build
- Discuss your dream home
On Your Lot – 1 Hr.
After this meeting, we will put together a budget range for a floor plan built on your lot. Please allow 1-2 weeks to prepare pricing.
- Lot evaluation
- Home location & orientation
- Special site conditions
- Utilities
- Development requirements
Review Budget Range – 1+ Hr.
- Review provided Budget Range Breakdowns
- Answer questions
- Discuss intent to build and sign
- Collect $22,000.00 design deposit
- Review start times for floor plans and design
After we have received a signed Intent to Build & Design Deposit, you will then receive the following:
- Secured spot on the slot schedule
- Invitation to BuilderTrend
- Pre-Construction Timeline Expectations
Pre-Construction Process
4-5 Months
Your Team
Eric Mckell
Architectural Designer
Megan Holloway
Interior Designer
Kurt Nielsen
Chief of Operations
Now for the fun part: the pre-construction process! For this process, our primary goal is to understand your vision for your custom home. Feel free to tell us exactly what you want, where you’d like it built, and what finishes you’d like us to include. Once we have a firm idea of your wants and needs, we’ll create a unique design that is custom-tailored to your interests and lifestyle.
At the end of the day, we always want to make sure we are fostering a safe and open environment where you feel validated, heard, and part of the team. Even though this process lets you get your creative juices flowing, it does require a significant time commitment. Our goal is to meet in person or virtually at least once per week during this process. We will also give you a weekly call or email that includes a comprehensive overview of our project progression. Although we offer architectural and interior design, we are always willing to work with any external design resources you’d like to bring on board.
Schematic Floor Plan Design – 5 weeks
- 5 in-person or virtual meetings
- Provide weekly budget ranges
- Prepare for soft plan approval
- Schematic = Pre-engineering
Sign Sales Docs/Contracts – 2 weeks
- Sign digitally via DotLoop
- Collect contract deposit
- Submit contracts for loan approval
- Submit plans for “Arc” Approval
Schematic Pricing – 3 weeks
- 1 – 2 in person or virtual meetings
- Prepare professional quote for home
- Schematic = Pre-engineering
Engineering – 4 weeks
- 2nd RND. of engineering
- Stake final location of home on lot
- Timeline dependent on engineer
Finish Selections – 7 weeks
Requires significant time commitment
- 7 in person or virtual meetings
- Collect engineering & survey deposit
- 1st RND. Engineering & surveying
- Selection house meetings
- Approve or decline all selections
- Feedback on structural allowances
City Permitting – 4 – 6 weeks
- All cities have unique plan review processes
- Hand off to production team
- Schedule ground breaking ceremony
Production milestones
12-14 Months
3,000 – 4,000 SF
Your Team
Lary Pelkey
Construction Manager
Ethan Fugitt
Project Manager
Adam Bancroft
Warranty Manger
The production process is where your custom home comes to life. There’s nothing more exciting and rewarding than watching a job site turn into a home, but we also understand this can be a time of anxiety and unexpected curveballs. Cardinal Crest soothes the stress of this period and enhances your enjoyment of the production process with:
- 3-4 daily logs per week uploaded to BuilderTrend
- Weekly updated construction calendar
- Weekly Cardinal Crest-initiated 20-minute phone call
Our process is tried and true, and our portfolio of 100+ successful projects is a testament to this! In exchange for your trust, we will guarantee that we always have the best interests of you and your home in mind. Below, we’ve outlined our core milestones, which detail our meeting agendas.
Ground Breaking Milestone
WHEN: Before excavation
WHERE: On site
WHO: CCH team, Owners, Realtors, Friends, Invitation to all!
Production Intro Milestone
WHEN: After Ground Breaking
WHERE: CCH Office
WHO: CCH Production team, Interior Designer & Owners
Foundation Milestone
WHEN: Before Framing Start
WHERE: CCH Office
WHO: Director of Ops, Rough-in PM, & Owners
Framing Milestone
WHEN: Framing Completion
WHERE: On site
WHO: Director of Ops, Rough-in PM, & Owners
Electrical Milestone
WHEN: Before Electrical Rough
WHERE: On site
WHO: Rough-in PM, Finish PM, Interior Designer, Owners
Flatwork Milestone
WHEN: During Insulation/Drywall
WHERE: On site
WHO: Director of Ops, Rough-in PM, Finish PM, & Owners
Trim & Tile Milestone
WHEN: After Drywall
WHERE: On site
WHO: Director of Ops, Finish PM, Interior Designer, & Owners
Paint Milestone
WHEN: After Tile Install
WHERE: On site
WHO: Finish PM, Interior Designer, & Owners
Close Out Milestone
WHEN: Approx. 2 months to closing
WHERE: CCH Office
WHO: Director of Ops, Finish PM, Closing PM & Owners
Punch List Milestone
WHEN: Substantial Completion
WHERE: On site
WHO: CCH Team Only
Move-In Date Milestone
WHEN: After CCH Punch
WHERE: On site
WHO: Director of Ops, Closing PM, & Owners
New Home Orientation Milestone
WHEN: Before Framing Start
WHERE: CCH Office
WHO: Director of Ops, Closing PM, & Owners (CCH Team)