Reining in the costs

The Rocky

Published November 5, 2007 at 4:48 p.m.

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One way Christopher Herr kept costs down on his custom home was to do plenty of the work himself. How else can a homeowner avoid a ballooning budget on a custom project? Here are tips from three metro-area professionals specializing in custom homes: Jerry Gloss of Knudson Gloss Architects, Mike Powell of Peak Homes and Mark Stewart of Black Forest Homes.

* Stay standard: Avoid unusual dimensions in your architectural plans. Lumber yards typically offer material in 1-foot or 2-foot modules, Gloss says. "Stay on that module - that goes for big houses and small houses."

* Spend space wisely: "Don't get too hung up on huge bedrooms," Stewart says. "You always want a solid master suite, but I wouldn't suggest that all the bedrooms have to be these huge suites. People don't entertain in them or live in them."

* Watch that footprint: The footprint is the amount of space the home takes up on the ground floor. "The bigger the footprint, the more expensive the home," Stewart says. "Just because you have a big lot doesn't mean you have to have a big house."

* Stay the course: Making changes to the design plan as you go will likely increase costs. "Stick to your budget and your material list," Powell says.

* Allow for inflation: "You need to plan for increases in the cost of materials, like if the price of lumber goes up," Powell says.

* Control the finish: Most of the big stuff - concrete, wood - you don't have control over. "But flooring, cabinets and countertops can be huge budget-busters," Stewart says. "Control the things you can control."

* Shop around: Staying on budget doesn't necessarily mean sacrificing nice material, Gloss says. Granite distributors, for instance, can show you a wide range of material, including less exotic - and less expensive - stuff. Stewart suggests finding a product you like, then looking for a comparable but less-expensive substitute. "Instead of a $20,000 lighting allowance, maybe we can do it with $10,000," Stewart says.

* Check those impulses: "We've had customers who see a must-have chandelier somewhere - then immediately buy it. Had they asked us or the designer, they might have gotten it for half as much," Stewart says. "Don't make rash decisions."

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