If you have already decided on building your house, you must know why building a custom home is great. However, it’s important you know beforehand that this process can be a little stressful, especially in terms of how long to build a home. So, how long does it take to build a custom house? In order to completely enjoy the experience of building a house in Arizona, understanding the timeline of average custom home building and choosing the perfect custom home builder is essential.

How Long Does It Take to Build a Home in Arizona?

How Long Does It Take to Build a Home in Arizona
How Long Does It Take to Build a Home in Arizona

When it comes to time, understanding how much to build a custom home will take, makes the process more realistic and less stressful. Therefore, it’s important that any new home builders in Arizona or whoever you are working with builds a realistic schedule to avoid possible misunderstandings. Besides the actual time for construction, there are many other factors to consider regarding the timeline of building a home.

So, how long does it take to build a home in Arizona? Although it depends on several factors, you can consider an average of two years. There are also additional variables that may or may not be out of your hands and can affect your project, such as change orders, delays, and inspections. We will discuss how some of them affect the process and how long some of its phases usually take.

Finding a Lot

Finding the right lot can take from a month to a couple of years, especially if there aren’t many options available in the area where you want to build your home in, whether it’s because there aren’t many unbuilt lots or the ones available aren’t just right for you budget. Moreover, finding a lot that meets your expectations in terms of size and type will also take some time.

Design Period

How long does it take to build a home in Arizona in terms of design? We suggest considering the design period will take from 3 to 6 months, at least. No matter if you decide on purchasing the lot first and then hiring an architect to design your house or do it the other way around, this step of the process will definitely take a while as you also need to find the right architect and interior designer to help you with the basics of building a house and the rest of the process.

Although it’s necessary to have the drawings ready for some interior details, you can start going over your preferences, style, and even make some decisions with your interior designer to save time in the process.

Plan Review and Permitting

This step of the process is highly unpredictable, as it depends on how efficient the municipality is in reviewing the plan and issuing the permits. In addition to the municipality, it’s probable that you will be subject to HOA plan review and approval if your lot is located within a homeowner’s association. Therefore, it’s quite helpful to hire an experienced architect and a professional home builder who are also familiar with the municipality and the homeowner’s association where your lot is located to understand what they will require during the plan review.

Choosing a Home Builder

An important aspect of choosing a builder is when you hire them. Despite most clients think that hiring a builder too early might limit them from the best price; however, not only does hiring them since the beginning accelerate the process, but it also saves you money in the long run. On the other hand, if you choose to bid the project to multiple general contractors, picking the lowest bid isn’t necessarily the best decision. Moreover, a fair bidding process could take from 3 to 6 weeks, which will delay the whole project.

Furthermore, making sure the contract is solid and clear for both parties is crucial. Therefore, it’s important to take a couple of days or even a week to set clear expectations and avoid misunderstandings between the home builder and the owner.

Building a House in Arizona
Building a House in Arizona

Lot Preparation

Before you begin the construction, some preparation of the lot is needed. How long this preparation will take depends on its original condition, as there could be vegetation or rocks that need to be cleared, for instance. Moreover, the soil condition might have an impact too as poor soils need extra preparation and compaction before the build can start. Commonly, lot preparation can take from 1 to 4 weeks as long as no problems arise.

Construction

The following step after the lot preparation is the actual construction, which starts with the underground utilities, such as plumbing. Afterward, it’s time to pour the foundation. These two steps take around 1-3 weeks. Then, you can start with the framing, which also includes the rough installation of casement or picture windows and sheathing. This part of the process might take around 12 weeks, but it depends on other factors like the size of the home.

Next, you can continue with the installation of electrical, mechanical, low-voltage wiring, and plumbing. Right after this, you need to put in the insulation and hang drywall, which will allow you to start seeing your home as what it is. This phase usually takes 10 – 16 weeks. This is when you will want to pick the best roofing for Arizona homes to keep as much heat out of your home.

After the drywall is complete, the next phase will last from 15 to 25 weeks. This phase includes the installation of lightning, bathroom flooring, cabinetry, plumbing fixtures, etc. After the paint, the final stage of the process will be to finish the house’s exterior including landscaping, driveways, and sidewalks, which usually lasts 4 – 6 weeks.

How Long Does It Take to Build a Custom House
How Long Does It Take to Build a Custom House

Conclusion

Depending on the factors we mentioned, building a house in Arizona might take around 2 years. Nevertheless, being organized and having great communication with your architect, interior designer, and home builder can speed up the process. Despite it might take a while to see your home finished, try to remain motivated by the future results…and don't forget to get ice for your party when your home is done building!

Perhaps you are just building a home to sell right away. In that case, you may be curious about how long do most houses take to sell? The average time it takes to sell a home is around 60 days. Keep that in mind if you are building a house just to sell right after. You will want to try and start posting ads as soon as building is either done or almost done.