7 questions to ask yourself before building

By Jay Dedrick, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 1, 2005 at midnight

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If you're considering a custom-built home, the possibilities might seem overwhelming. To help get a handle on the idea, quiz yourself on these big-picture concepts. They're provided by Jerry Gloss of Knudson Gloss Architects, a Boulder-based firm specializing in custom homes.

1. How much do you want to spend? It's the most important question, Gloss says. "You need to know what your resources are before deciding who will lead you down the path."

2. What can friends and family tell you? "Find success stories about other houses and put those teams of architects and builders back together again," Gloss says. "Building a house is an art form. You can't really do it yourself unless you're trained, so you have to put together a team."

3. How much time do you have? Be realistic about a building schedule, and take time to have a building team educate you on the timetable. Busted budgets, busted expectations and busted schedules are the three main pitfalls of custom projects, he says.

4. How will you use the home? "Some people are not entertainers — they retreat to that house," Gloss says. "On the other hand, some people throw dinner parties for 14 on a monthly basis. They might want a catering kitchen." How you'll live in the home affects your design choices.

5. What do you want your house to look and feel like? Create a journal of what you want your house to be. "Everybody's an expert on the house where they're living," Gloss says. So write down the things you appreciate as well as the deficiencies of your current home. "I ask people to give me pictures out of magazines — things they like and don't like in a home. It's like an inkot test."

6. Where will you build? Gloss says it's vital to consider the building site — not just thinking about the views you'd like to have, for instance, but what local restrictions your builder might be under. "Choose a designer who can uncover all the constraints. In Boulder, for instance, you're tremendously restricted," Gloss says. Limits on structure height, landscaping stipulations and other government-enforced codes will affect your building choices. "It's very much a three-dimensional process," Gloss says.

7. How long do you plan to stay? "For instance, what happens when young kids need more elbow space?" Gloss says. "Will they need a place to take their Xbox, or will it always be welcome in the middle of the living room?" Most Americans move from home to home fairly frequently. But if you plan on staying in a residence through your senior years, think about mobility. For instance, you might want to consider a single-story home.

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