For homes in which Highland Builders designs, the custom home building process begins when the home owner completes the Highland Builders Program Worksheets. This helps the owner and designer to better understand the scope of the project in terms of the owner’s needs, wants, and desires for their new home. The Program leads the owner through options on interior room layouts, interior architectural style/features, and exterior architectural theme. The project budget is also formulated at the Program Development stage which is an essential part of the design process.

After the Building Program is completed, the schematic design phase is begun. Using the program, Highland Builders formulates an initial design which shows room relationships and space definitions in the form of the floor plans and exterior elevation. The schematic design reviewed by the home owner to ensure that it complies with the design program. After the home owner accepts the schematic, the Design Development and Construction Document phases are completed.

In these phases, the initial schematic design is developed into complete bidding and construction documents which include all of the floor plans, basement plan, roof plan, building section or sections, and all elevations. Any structural design required for the home is done in house and is incorporated into the drawings at this time. It is Highland Builder’s objective that these completed drawings will reflect the owner’s needs, wants, and desires that were formulated at the very beginning of the design process. After the drawings are completed, the custom home is then put out to bid. If a particular home owner already has construction documents completed through this stage of design, we also offer construction services for pre-designed homes.

Each project is competitively bid by subcontractors that meet our highest standards of quality. A competitive bid ensures that the home owner is receiving the highest quality product for the fairest price. The bid numbers are gathered into a schedule of values which shows each phase of construction and the contract value for each phase. The actual cost of the phase to Highland Builders is shown in the schedule of values with Highland Builders general contracting fee shown as a separate line item as a percentage of construction cost. If all interior selections are not completed at this stage by the home owner, allowances are included for budgetary purposes (fixtures, countertops, etc.). Once the home owner approves the schedule of values, the construction contract can be drafted and the construction process begins.

Throughout the construction phase, Highland Builders makes many site quality control visits at each phase of construction. We ensure the project is built to our standards of quality, meets the design requirements and conforms to the architectural theme. The individual contractors working on site are given specific instruction and informed of owner selections and how it affects their area of expertise. The project manager ensures the home systems work together to give the home owner the final product that meets their needs, wants, and desires. From the design phase through move-in, Highland Builders works with home owners to give guidance and finalize design features as they arise throughout the process. Our goal is to provide a quality constructed custom home as unique in design and taste as the home owner it is built for.