the web site you should check out is called
Building a home on the gardenweb site
Building a Home - GardenWeb
you can search and read w/o joining but have to join to post--
not lot of spam associated with joining and the info is terrific
this is thread from doing a search for Dallas Fort Worth
Soil Engineer Before Building? - Building a Home Forum - GardenWeb
there have been posts more specific about DFW area--and much of the info comes from people outside of DFW area--but I think it is one of best-balanced sites w/o any real advertising masquerating as "advice"
it has professional builders/trades/regular home buyers who post questions and give insights
also has some great photos from actual builds which gives examples of other people's design/imagination and examples good/bad construction techniques
you can learn a lot following the forum/posts
also that site has forum for pool building and I imagine that is something you will do when you build this house
I have had conversations with both builders--Calais and Providence builders--years ago and am sure neither one remembers--but we were considering building custom home in Keller area at two separate occasions and/or buying home in two different neighborhoods and buiding "custom" on specific lot...
talked to many builders during that time frame--lot of them are still working
our problem was we thought we wanted a larger lot and thus needed to move out to Keller/Southlake/Aledo even when we were looking at areas/builders--
then we decided that was just too far a commute for my husband--
you don't have that problem since you are working much closer to where you are building
Calais owner/builder has more experience than Providence if I remember correctly but the guy with Providence was more interested in doing things like foam insulation at that time...
Calais guy might have changed his mind since then...and the price point for foam has dropped as well as gained more main-stream appreciation for it as better construction technique
I would suggest that you use TAD.org and research older homes that any builder you consider might have built--cause they have built spec as well as custom/owner homes
Ask the builder(s) for names/addresses/phone number for past clients--and certainly ones from as far back as 5 yrs at least--
some of those people will still be in their homes
you want to evaluate the quality of the home, the communication with the builder during and after construction, the lessons the homeowners learned during the process...
remember that the more difficult parts of building a home is being realistic--and patient
you rarely get as much home as you want for your price point
you always have problems--even great craftsmen can make mistakes, builders can have problems with suppliers/subs, and friction can develop in what people think initially is the beginning of a beautiful friendship...and YOU might not be the great person to work for that you anticipate
remember that you and your spouse can have very different tolerance levels for problems--
my experience is that a couple rarely react the same way to problems that develop when you consider building a home--
one person may be fairly inflexible about timelines, problems, lack of communication and the other is much more laid back--
one of you is often viewed as "the enforcer" by the builder/crew and the other is the good-time Charlie-which can create conflict within the marriage--
some people really have gotten divorced over problems that became apparent doing something like building a high $$ custom home...
you really should choose a builder not based on floorplan they have built--because you are having an architect draw up a custom plan and a "good" builder should be able to build anything from a 1600 ft lake house for weekend use to a 6000 sq ft McMansion...but realistically there is skill in building larger home--
different timeline is involved--and different knowledge base to certain extent--builder usually has to have subs with larger crews and more expertise since the finish-out details are more elaborate and require better quality-control
so it is diffcult for someone familiar with building homes around 2500 sq ft to build one with 6300 sq ft
And I qualify that "good" because that are variables--
some builders can be so bent on building the perfect house that they have trouble keeping a good subs...David Bagwell the developer was like that
Some builders have all good intentions but really poor organization/follow-through--
they might be great carpenters or know everything about plumbing a house or have great ability to source good products but they never pay their bills on time or can't manage a schedule
And some builders are so intent on getting enough work flow that they are too busy to visit job sites and oversee the construction...and eventhough you are paying them to do that and expect them to be there certain number of hours--they may only get around to YOUR job site once a week--or when you call with things you think are problems...
they probably have job foreman who will actually oversee the subs and your project--
so make sure you know who will really be building your house
some builders have worked with the same subs for years and totally trust them to do same quality of work and be dependable that they just don't see the need to visit a job site each day or week
MAKE SURE you know what your builder actually does once construction starts--
Some builders don't take calls outside of worktime or on weekends
if you go to the job site at 7pm after the subs are gone
and find that the windows were not installed like they were scheduled to be or the counter tops or the plumbers put wrong fixtures in the master bath or whatever...
your builder may not appreciate being called after hours as to why--
remember that most builders you would consider have been doing this for lot longer than you--
you are building one house--they have built dozens to hundreds over the course of their professional life--
same situation with people who are having their first baby and couple having number 8--
even if it is YOUR money being spent which always means you are more concerned and want your problem/need solved first--
finding a good builder means looking for one that fits YOUR personaliies, your pocketbook, your expectations...
some of them (like a car salesman or a prospective spouse) will promise you anything to make the sale
once you have signed the contract all bets are off then and you are dealing with reality of situation
you will need attorney (not the builder's) to review any contract you are expected to sign so that YOU are protected...
find your lot/land--buy it outright or with separate mortgage--and then contract for your build is my suggestion
two ways to build a custom house--
buy lot outright or with mortgage
1-contract with builder for specific house to be built and pay in installments/draws via funds or construction loan YOU take out from bank
2--the builder builds the house using construction loan from the bank and you buy the house from him after construction with your mortgage
You have more control over specifics with #1, builder has more control with #2--because whoever controls the money has the ultimate say so about construction oversight really
but #1 puts more pressure on you financially since you have skin in the game besides just earnest money/downpayment
NEVER do #1 without owning your lot and never do #2 if you own the lot...
probably most builders who are still working now are pretty strong financially--but remember that TX does not require ANY builder to be licensed...or even really to be knowledgeable about construction nor does any city/county either really
this FTW/Tarrant county builders' assoc might be one place to start if you have questions
this is link to list of builder/members
- Builders
Some builders are members of the National Assoc of Builders as well--
Steps to Building a Home, New Home Building Tips, Build Your Own Home
I know of some not so good builders who belong to both
so being a member in and of itself is not quarantee of quality
a builder can and often does encorporate for each type of project with one particular LLC...
this is legal and even very good builders do it...
but it protects them personally/legally not the buyer and often shields people from knowing about problems...
this is where a good local realtor comes in handy--
the person who helped us when we were looking for a home also works with many of the $$$ custom builders in Colleyville/Southlake/Keller areas and has for years
she knows lots of skeletons in closets
as far as I know Calais is a quality builderwith good reputation and portfolio of homes to prove it
other builders we considered when we were looking at custom building were
Jay Brown with Tahoe Builders--one thing about him is that he builds smaller # of homes each year than lot of custom builders in his price point
so that he is personally involved with construction of each one--keeps his profit down but at least when I spoke to him he wanted not to be stressed at diluting his time to cover so many projects that quality suffered--and he wanted personal time...
Greg Reid with Waterford Custom Homes
Waterford Classic Homes - quality custom homes since 1983 in NE Tarrant County Texas
know someone who is personal friend of his who went into construction business because of his personal respect for quality work Greg Reid did buiding my friend's home in Keller
Greg Wright
Providential Top Texas Custom Homes Breathless Homes Keller Texas Southlake and North Fort Worth
developer as well as builder so he is less likely to be personally involved at job site probably--you don't hire him so much as his company--but he builds some beautiful homes
Patrick Duffy (not the actor from "Dallas" fame)
Patrick Custom Homes
long history in Southlake/Colleyville/Keller area
Mike Gardner with Vintage Custom Homes
My Homepage
he built the home across from me in Hurst and is building home for friend of my neighbor's in same neighborhood--
less expensive than your proposed build I am sure--but he is good builderand has built homes much more expensive as well
Village Home builds mainly in FTW but they build a different flavor of home and always have--more European even before builders started following the "Tuscan" look
Village Homes : Custom Homes : Fort Worth, Texas
Don Ferrier--who was a "green builder" before most people knew what that was
Ferrier - Home
You may find that if you are buying lot in development that your developer controls your choice of builder--that you can't just bring in "any" builder but need to use one that he has on his list
this makes the developer feel comfortable that the homes will all have the same overall quality and he is dealing with a known quantity vs builder whose habits/financials he is not familiar with at all...but building custom homes in Tarrant county (and probably any other area) is also kind of incestuous...
builders/developers/subs kind of work as clique in that developers often go to same builders and builders go with same subs
one thing that may be difficult to understand is that the bidding process can be pretty complex and most subs don't want to do specific bids--this means that budgeting can have holes in it
you want to make your contract as specific as you can if you want to get the exact look you want
this means knowing up front all the myriad products that is necessary to build a house--
from the types of nails/hardware/insulation/paint to plumbing/lighting fixtures/to the edges of the granite countertops and the appliances...
if you go with $$$ amounts--like $X for appliances, and $Y for flooring choices, and $Z for lighting
that might be easier but it is less specific and more likely to produce problems because what you want is likely to add up to more than the budget amount--meaning you have to pony up more money...
check out the gardenweb site for some threads about house budgets and construction overruns
enlightening I think...
good luck
some people don't have the personalities to really deal with building a house and they don't find that out until too late...
hope you build a beautiful home that gives you pleasure as long as you live in it...
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