I'm not exactly at the 2nd custom home yet, but while generally happy with my current custom home, there are several somewhat infuriating design decisions and quality issues that don't allow to consider it as a "forever home". So most likely in a few years' time will be considering new construction. The biggest issue with the first one is the lack of a professional having an overall vision for the project. I now understand why so many posters on this board recommend hiring a competent architect. In the first project, we did some of the design ourself, somewhat aided by the builder's designer. However, this resulted in several (minor, but annoying) issues. The second problem was that there was nobody to control the build quality. The GC was AWOL, I pointed out whatever I could notice, and that was fixed, but some issues still remained (due to bad planning, for example plumbing) or incompetent workers. Therefore, for the next project I would definitely want to hire an architect who would provide an overall vision and oversight to the project.

Thank you Spec. I'm sorry to hear about that experience, but you seem optimistic the next time. During the design phase, did you have a GC already picked out? I might recommend that if not. I always work tangentially with a GC during design to ensure the build is on budget and expectations are met.

Yes, the designer who we worked with was provided by the GC. However, even then, there was a disconnect between the designer and the GC. For example, the designer spec'd 4" stud walls, but when it was time for framing to go up, the GC said no, we need 6" studs. As a result, various dimensions drifted a couple of inches either way, position of windows, fixtures, etc, all had to be shifted 1-2" in real time to remain centered, etc.

Something else that I would do differently next time is to have a more detailed plumbing and HVAC plan ahead of construction. In the current build, the plumber and the HVAC contractor basically improvised on the spot, without any oversight, which led to issues (undersized and inefficient water and gas lines, undersized A/C unit).

Having a builder we trust and that takes pride in his work made a world of difference for us. Our builder was able to give us real world perspective on the various designers and architects. Maybe it's regional, but it seems that a number of the most well-known ones have relatively big egos. He warned us that some were not the easiest to work with and also warned us about one who struggled to deliver buildable plans. We picked someone who had an ego but was also willing to listen and accept what we wanted, even if it conflicted with what he thought would be best. Our builder was at every meeting and would advise us along the way, including very rough costs and relatively low cost things to consider in case of future resale. There were also some times when we wanted minor changes and our builder just handled that directly so that we didn't have to spend our time meeting in person to take care of it. Our builder was very patient with us throughout the process, and I am convinced that he didn't know if we would actually get to the build phase because of how long it took to finalize our plans. We felt that our builder was an advocate and an advisor through the design process, and that was helpful.

From the design perspective, having a company that could also generate 3D video walkthroughs was a plus for us. Ultimately, we did not decide to go with the 3D videos, but the ones that we saw were extremely helpful in being able to visualize the home as if you were walking through it room by room.

Having a builder we trust and that takes pride in his work made a world of difference for us. Our builder was able to give us real world perspective on the various designers and architects. Maybe it's regional, but it seems that a number of the most well-known ones have relatively big egos. He warned us that some were not the easiest to work with and also warned us about one who struggled to deliver buildable plans. We picked someone who had an ego but was also willing to listen and accept what we wanted, even if it conflicted with what he thought would be best. Our builder was at every meeting and would advise us along the way, including very rough costs and relatively low cost things to consider in case of future resale. There were also some times when we wanted minor changes and our builder just handled that directly so that we didn't have to spend our time meeting in person to take care of it. Our builder was very patient with us throughout the process, and I am convinced that he didn't know if we would actually get to the build phase because of how long it took to finalize our plans. We felt that our builder was an advocate and an advisor through the design process, and that was helpful.

From the design perspective, having a company that could also generate 3D video walkthroughs was a plus for us. Ultimately, we did not decide to go with the 3D videos, but the ones that we saw were extremely helpful in being able to visualize the home as if you were walking through it room by room.