Design Your Home

Our 7 Easy Steps

  • Initial Meetings

    • Review the Preliminary Cost Estimate Questionnaire together.
    • Determine if your budget and wishes are aligned.
    • Depending on the complexity of your home this could require three or more live or virtual meetings.

  • Design Build Contract

    Once the Agreed Budget is determined to be feasible: 

    • You sign our Design/Build Contract and pay a $15,000.00 deposit. 

  • Design

    We begin the design process.


    • Our designers will present initial conceptual designs, starting an iterative process between you and the design team, working toward a design that reflects your vision for your new home.
    • Budget implications will be discussed throughout the design process.
    • Once the design is just right, you will sign off to move the plans to engineering or, if appropriate, directly to the creation of construction drawings.
    • A second deposit is paid once you approve the plans.

  • Budgeting

    Before construction drawings begin: 

    • We will start dialing in the Budget. 
    • We will develop detailed specifications

    This is a quick price check to make sure we are heading in the right direction. 

  • Bidding

    When engineered plans are complete:


    • Our designers begin the construction drawings and prepare plans for permitting.
    • The plans are sent out to our trade partners and vendors for final bids, and we lock in any allowances.

  • GMP Contract

    Once the budget is final:


    • We make sure you fully understand the basis of our pricing.
    • We review your final inclusions together.
    • We offer our Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP).
    • If you accept the GMP, you pay a final pre-construction deposit.

  • Pre-Construction Meeting

    At the pre-construction meetings, we will ensure that:

    • All your wishes are documented.
    • The project is ready for a smooth launch.
    • The sales team, Project Manager, designer and buyers are all aligned regarding the project details and our mutual responsibilities to deliver your home on time and on budget.
    • Shortly thereafter we will break ground on your new home!

Choose a Builder

It IS GENERALLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU INTERVIEW THREE HOMEBUILDERS.

HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS YOU MAY WANT TO ASK

Choosing a custom homebuilder can be a stressful experience. At the end of the day, the personal rapport you feel with your chosen builder is often the deciding factor.  Many prospective customers choose Turnstone without going through a formal competitive bidding process. After talking to our people and former clients and getting a firm understanding of our process, they are confident enough to forgo the time-consuming and stressful competitive bidding process. It is both flattering and humbling – and it happens all the time!


The people at Turnstone take great pride in the close relationships we maintain with former clients and will be happy to introduce you to several of them so you can learn from their experiences.


If you decide you do want to interview other builders, here are questions you should be sure to ask:

  • Can the builder design your home in house? If not, how do they deal with conflicts between the architect/designer and the builder?
  • How much experience does the homebuilder have with projects of a similar nature?
  • How is the company organized? Who will you be dealing with over the course of the project?
  • How flexible is the builder? Will they embrace the inevitable changes that will occur or are they more rigid and inflexible?
  • Is their standard construction contract fair and reasonable for both parties?
  • What references and testimonials can the homebuilder provide?
  • How strong is the builder financially?
  • What is the builder’s philosophy about bidding job costs? Will they present a budget for the project that is truly reflective of the level of craftsmanship and materials you expect?
  • What is the homebuilder’s policy with respect to pricing change orders?
  • How does your project fit in to the builder’s construction schedule? What is the builder’s philosophy about service after the sale, including after the warranty period has expired?


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