Every Highland Home is different, just as every Highland Home owner’s dream is different. Each home that we build goes through a proven quality assurance process. We have worked with our construction managers to establish rigorous guidelines to ensure the quality and control you expect from your homebuilder and that we demand of the homes that carry the Highland name.
As a homeowner, you are a vital part of our process. You will have input on all of the decisions that affect the construction of your home. We are building your home, after all, and that’s a fact that we never forget.
You and your construction manager can expect to take the following steps down the path toward the completion of your new home:
Communication between you and your construction manager is established in the very earliest phases of the project, during our pre-construction meeting. We hold these meetings on every home we build, before we begin work. You’ll meet with your construction manager, exchange phone and pager numbers, and then go over the plans for your home. The pre-construction meeting includes a visit to your construction site, so you can see how your future home will sit on the lot you have chosen.
You’ll also meet with an interior designer during this phase. Your designer will assist you in making decisions about the paint, brick, tile, cabinets, carpet and wallpaper that will be used in your home.
During this period of construction, your contract agreements are finalized, plan changes are completed and building permits are requested.
This is the time when you begin making the choices that create a home that is special and truly your own.
Construction begins on your home in this stage: Your lot is prepared; plumbing and underground work is completed; your foundation is inspected and poured; and framework begins.
Your construction manager is there to keep you informed about the progress of your home and to answer your questions. Highland’s construction managers follow a proven step-by-step checklist through every phase of the construction process, to ensure that your home is constructed to the highest of standards.
Part of that process includes hiring a third-party structural engineer to inspect the foundation. Progress on your home does not continue until the foundation passes this inspection, as well as our own.
This is when you really begin to see your home come together. Cornice work (windows, siding, etc.) begins and roof shingles are installed, as are rough mechanicals (plumbing, HVAC, electrical, security and A/V wiring) and the firebox. City inspections are conducted during this stage as well, and once those are complete, insulation is added to your home.
If you have questions about any of the work being done on your home, your construction manager is the person you can turn to; the construction manager is your liaison to all of the people working on your home.
It’s not uncommon for construction managers to have been part of the Highland Home family for 5, 8 or even 12 years or more, and because of that long history of working with Highland Homes, our construction managers know our procedures. What’s more, they can explain those procedures to you, and they know who to turn to for answers to any questions.
During this phase, we put the “face” onto your home: Sheetrock is installed, cabinets are put in, doors and trim are completed, the exterior brick is laid, walls and trim are painted, and ceramic tile and countertops are installed.
This is the time when you’ll begin to see all the little touches you have chosen along the way come together to create the house that is truly your own.
By the end of this phase of construction, you are typically 45 to 60 days away from closing. Your construction and sales managers will help you estimate possible closing dates and discuss any possible closing obstacles.
Irrigation, fencing, landscape and sod are installed in this phase; your carpet is installed; and your home is cleaned in preparation for your taking ownership.
Your construction manager has a 244-point list of items that must be checked off before he or she will certify that the home is “complete.”
And once all of those criteria are met, your construction manager will schedule a homeowner orientation session with you. You’ll walk through your new home with your construction manager, starting on your front lawn and moving through the entire home. You’ll go over all of your home’s appliances and review the use and maintenance of each appliance with your construction manager. You’ll generate a list of outstanding items, if any, that need to be completed before you close on your home. Your construction manager will work to ensure that all those items are complete before the final closing. And then it’s on to ...
This is the stage where your new home is turned over to you. You go over all the paperwork and sign a Purchasers Acceptance Agreement and other documents. At that point, the home you’ve dreamed of is yours.
We don’t consider our work complete at that point, though. We will continue to be your resource for questions about your new home and we will work with you to make sure you’re completely happy.
Your satisfaction as a homeowner is our goal, and that’s true whether you’re in the initial phases of building your home or you have already moved in.
