Building and emotion
OCTOBER 2006 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 7
by Kurt Faust
Each stage of the building process brings its own emotional highs and lows. As with any great endeavor, satisfaction is equal to the effort made.
Schematic Design is the beginning, stage when all the ideas and the creativity is fresh and new. The whole project is full of potential and is at one of the highest highs. It can be exhilarating.
The next stage, design development, has much more time between the ideas and decisions. It is the hard work of figuring out how all the details work together and it is deeply satisfying seeing the end result.
Next comes choosing specifications, working out all the colors and surfaces and resolving how they relate to each other. It is the overall palate of what you see in the home and brings a sense of accomplishment and anticipation. It makes the house seem more real.
Not much to do during the construction drawings stage but let the drafting take its course. The emotional quality here is almost neutral but still with anticipation.
Everyone has a budget in mind when deciding to begin building. It may be based on the maximum loan limit or it may be based on having enough left over to provide for retirement. It could be some other strategy having to do with market conditions. One of the hardest parts of any job is when the reality of the budget comes face to face with the wish list of the dream house.
Everybody has taste that far exceeds his or her budget, the usual range being in the 20 to 30 percent above what they want to spend. Once the floor plan is complete and the finishes are finalized a real price can be generated. Up until now all the talk about pricing is merely educated guessing. This is by far the most emotionally challenging part of the process and usually leads to some serious discussions about what is and what is not necessary.
After adjusting the scope of the project and getting back on track the next step is waiting for the permits and approvals. This can be an excruciating or seamless experience depending on the jurisdiction(s) involved. Breaking ground once again brings the promise of great things to come. This phase can bring feelings of restlessness because it can seem like a long time to “get out of the ground,” especially if there is any rock involved in the excavation. All the rooms look tiny against the backdrop of the wide open space of the homesite.
Framing is the peak of exhilaration because finally it is possible to see the space in all of its dimension. Drywall covering the framing finally brings the rooms in to focus and ushers in the long finish phase. It is a mixed bag of time consuming details, seeing bits of new, exciting materials added each week and living with the tremendous mess that construction really is. Here it can seem like the details will never come together and second-guessing the choices is common.
Once the house is finally cleaned from top to bottom and all the systems are run through their cycles to get the bugs worked out of them, the new home is turned over to you.
Building a new house will run the gamut of emotions. It is full of problem solving and change but is one of the most rewarding things you will ever do.
Contact Kurt Faust:
Cell: 505.780.1157