Designing and building your own custom home can be both exciting and overwhelming, regardless of whether this is your first time or your 5th time. Griffey Custom Homes is here to guide you through our 7 step process to make it as enjoyable an experience as possible. We are here to help you build your dream home.
Step 1: Meet with a Griffey Custom Homes Sales Advisor to Discuss Your Custom Home

First meetings differ widely depending on how far you’ve gone into the home building process on your own. Regardless of what you’ve accomplished so far, be sure to bring some general ideas to our first meeting, including:
- Pictures of homes or floor plans that you like
- Wish List items for your new home
- Type of home site you desire
These items will help paint the big picture of your future Griffey Custom home. In addition, your Griffey Custom Homes Sales Advisor is prepared to help you with any of the following preparations during our first meeting:
Setting a Budget
Before you begin planning your new Custom home, it’s important to know how much money you have to spend. Your budget is determined by how much money you have on hand, a home loan from a private lender, or any additional financing available. Our recommendations include:
- Finding the right lender for you. Griffey Custom Homes urges our clients to choose a lender recommended by your Griffey Custom Homes Sales Advisor or a licensed realtor working with you to ensure the most reliable and stress-free loan process.
- Getting pre-approved for a home loan. Pre-approval gives you a ballpark figure for what your custom home budget will be, which will help avoid over or under spending as planning progresses.
- Financing your custom home: Your Griffey Custom Homes Sales Advisor will walk you through the Custom home building loan process. This process is different when you build on your own home site vs. building in a Griffey Custom Homes Community.
Once you know how much money you have to spend, you can start budgeting for each part of the home building process.
Selecting Your Home Site
Where you plan to build your home is a huge part of the type of home you’ll build. Whether you choose your own home site or pick from one of Griffey Custom Home’s available home sites, we are here to help you find the perfect piece of land for your custom home. Some major considerations we’ll discuss include:
- Home Type: The type of home you want to build will help narrow down your home site options.
- Topography: Are you looking for acreage? Trees? Close to city amenities?
- Location: Your lot’s location should match your lifestyle. Is it within the right school district? How close is it to your work, shopping opportunities, major highways, and utilities? Some of these choices will greatly influence your home’s cost while others are simply a matter of preference.
Step 2: On Site Evaluation with Mr. Griffey
Once you’ve selected a lot that’s right for you, Tim Griffey will meet with you on-site to walk the land in depth. During this inspection, the builder will determine if there are any peculiarities to account for in the plans moving forward.
Step 3: Draw Up Plans with an Architect
Now that you’ve secured financing and selected a lot, it’s time to draw up the official plans for your new custom home. Your Griffey Custom Homes Sales Advisor will meet with you and an experienced architect to design your plan according to your vision. You can design your home from scratch or modify any of the many existing Griffey Custom home plan, which cover a wide range of home styles and square footages.
Getting down to the nuts and bolts can be an intimidating part of the building process for any future home owner. The Griffey Custom Home Team will help you make decisions every step of the way so the final plan fits your vision, budget, and home site. Before this meeting with the architect, here are some major qualifiers to consider:
Number of Rooms
How the space is distributed throughout your new home depends on the number and functionality of rooms you will need to fit your lifestyle. This question goes beyond the number of bedrooms and bathrooms you’d like. Also consider:
- Your family size: Do you have children or do you plan to start a family? You’ll probably want to build an extra bedroom or two to accommodate your growing family.
- Entertaining: How do you like to entertain your friends and family? As often as possible? Never? Just during the holidays? Your plans will differ depending on whether you throw cocktail parties with a full bar, host rousing game nights, or have casual gatherings with coffee and a few arm chairs.
- Guest rooms: If you’d like your guests to have their own private area, a guest room and/or bathroom is a helpful addition.
- Storage: There are many items that people own that they generally don’t use on a daily basis, from special dishware to antiques to lawn equipment. Be sure to work in a few areas that accommodate these extra items.
- Hobbies: Craft rooms, home gyms, woodworking shops and other special rooms should definitely be considered during the planning and design process. There’s no need to wait for the kids to move out to make your hobby part of your home.
- Working from home: As more professions move into the digital age, more people work remotely from home. If you plan on spending some or all of your work hours at home, you should strongly consider adding a home office to your plan.
Room Size
Now that you know the rooms you want in your new home, it’s time to decide how much space to allocate to each room. Major indicators include:
- The size of your existing furniture: What do you plan to put in each area and how big is it? Measure all major tables, couches, beds, and other furniture that you plan to bring with you to make sure it will fit in your final home.
- Which rooms you’d like to emphasize: Not all rooms are created equal. Depending on your lifestyle, your most important room can be anything from the kitchen to the bathroom. Would you rather have a large kitchen island or a 15 jet Jacuzzi?
- Garage Space: The number of vehicles you have—from cars to bikes to ATVs—can determine the size of your garage or carport. Also consider whether or not you’d like to plan for a child’s future car as well.
Privacy
Your home layout should mirror the amount of privacy you and your family prefer. A basic layout may work for you if you have no preference on privacy. However, if you prefer more privacy, a U or L-shaped home plan may be the best fit for you. Window size and placement can also create or diminish your home’s level of privacy.
Landscaping
Your home’s outdoor areas are just as important as the indoor areas. Your architect can help you plan for:
- Decks, patios and porches
- Above ground and in ground pools
- Gardening
- Allocated space for sports or other activities
Step 4: Pricing Your New Custom Home

Now for the moment of truth: Your Griffey Custom Homes Sales Advisor will review your plans in detail with you once more in order to provide an estimate for overall costs.
Compromise, Compromise, Compromise
If your plans do go over budget, you’ll need to make changes accordingly. It’s easy to get swept up by the possibilities during the planning process, so the most important thing for you to remember during the modification phase is your original priorities. Remember the list of top wants for your home and site that you brought to our first meeting? Now is a good time to revisit them. If an addition doesn’t meet those top wish list desires, that’s a good sign that it’s not as essential as you may have come to believe.
Plan Approval
After you’re happy with the final plan, the only thing standing between you and constructing your dream custom home is your approval.
Step 5: Sign Your Construction Agreement
After several meetings together and you have determined that Griffey Custom Homes with its 30+ years experience, great standings in the community and ranking on the St. Louis Home Builders Association is the builder of your choice, we will proceed to sign your Construction Agreement.
Step 6: Build Your Home
As your dream for your home becomes a reality, it’s important to stay informed about the construction process. Griffey Custom Homes ensures that we keep an open line of communication and are always available to discuss anything during the construction of your new home.
Pre-Construction Plan Review
This meeting with Griffey will provide an overview of the construction process. We will show you step-by-step how your home will be built. This is a great time to ask any questions you have about your soon to be built home.
Pre-Drywall Orientation
Before the drywall is installed, your Griffey Custom Homes Representative will take you on a behind-the-scenes tour of the site. There, they will show you any construction benefits that won’t be visible once the drywall is added. You’ll truly know your home inside and out.
New Home Orientation
The day before you close and move into your new home, Griffey Custom Homes Representative will meet with you to show you how to use all appliances and systems, go over any general maintenance procedures, and confirm that your new home is ready for you to move in.
Step 7: Move In

It’s time to get the keys to your new home. To be sure that everything has gone according to plan, Griffey Custom Homes will follow up with a warranty service checkpoint to inspect any items for corrections. Congratulations! You are the proud owner of a new Griffey Custom Home.