Custom Home Builder · Nashville, TN
The Nashville homeowner's guide to custom building
What the work involves, what drives the price, what your options are, and what a bad job looks like — written so you can judge any builder in Middle Tennessee, including us.
Warning signs
How to know you need us
If you recognize any of these, it is worth having somebody look before it becomes a larger job.
- You own the land and need somebody to build on it
- Wanting shop space and living space in one building
- Barn quotes that differ so wildly you cannot compare them
- Needing a detached garage that matches the house rather than a kit
- A site that needs grading and drainage before anything can be built
- A builder who will commit to a written schedule
Your options
More than one right answer.
A builder who only ever recommends the most expensive option is not giving you advice. Here is the honest range.
Post-frame
The most economical way to enclose large clear-span space. Barns, shops and barndominiums, built fast and engineered for the loads.
Steel frame
Longer spans and lower maintenance than post-frame, at a higher cost. Right where the span or the use demands it.
Conventional stick-built
Standard residential construction. The right answer for a custom home on a normal lot in a normal subdivision.
Shell only, finish later
Get the building up and weather-tight now, finish the interior as budget allows. Common and sensible on shops and barndominiums.
What it costs
What actually drives the price.
We do not quote custom building over the phone, because an honest number needs somebody to look at the job. These are the things that move it.
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Land and site work
Clearing, grading, a drive, a well or septic and getting power to the site can be a large share of a rural build, and none of it is the house.
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Structure type
Post-frame, steel-frame and conventional stick-built are three different costs per square foot, and the gap widens as the clear span gets bigger.
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Finished versus shell
A barn or shop delivered as a shell is a fraction of one finished as living space. Insulation, mechanicals and interior finish are most of a barndominium budget.
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Span and height
Clear span and eave height drive the engineering. A forty-foot clear span with a fourteen-foot eave is a different building from the same footprint with a post in the middle.
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Permits, engineering and utilities
Stamped plans, permit fees, septic permits and utility connections are real costs on any new structure, and vary considerably by county.
Every estimate is free, written and carries no obligation — including the parts we would find only after starting, which are priced up front rather than left open.
What happens
From your call to the finished job.
Site and plan
Four to twelve weeks: survey, soil, plans, engineering and permit. Rural sites add septic and utility lead time.
Site work and foundation
Clearing, grading, drive, then footings or slab. Weather-dependent and the phase most likely to move.
Shell
Frame, roof and enclosure. Post-frame goes up markedly faster than stick-built, which is much of its appeal.
Finish
Mechanicals, insulation, interior finish and final inspection. On a shell-only build this phase simply waits.
Done badly
What goes wrong, and why it matters.
These are the shortcuts that make a quote look cheaper and cost you more later. Ask anyone you are considering about them.
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Building before the site is understood
Soil, drainage and access decide the foundation and the drive. Finding out after clearing is the expensive order.
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Undersizing the eave height
It costs little at framing and cannot be changed later. Almost nobody regrets the extra foot; a lot of people regret the missing one.
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Treating a barndominium as a barn for permitting
If it will be lived in, it is a residence, and the county will treat it as one at inspection whether or not it was permitted that way.
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No plan for the interior
A shell built without knowing where walls, plumbing and mechanicals will go is a shell that gets cut into later.
Before you hire anyone
Six questions worth asking any builder.
Including us. If a contractor cannot answer these easily, that is the answer.
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Are you licensed for custom building and can I see the certificate?
A licensed and insured contractor will have this to hand and will not be irritated by the question.
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Is the estimate written, itemized and free?
A verbal number is not an estimate. Itemized means you can compare two quotes on the same basis.
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What happens if you find something once you start?
The honest answer names a rate and a process. The answer to worry about is that it never happens.
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Who is actually doing the work?
Employee crew or subcontractor is not a wrong answer either way, but you should know which, and who carries the insurance.
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What is the workmanship warranty, and is it in writing?
Materials carry a manufacturer warranty. Workmanship is the contractor, and it should be written down.
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Will you pull the permit?
For permitted work, a contractor who suggests skipping it is telling you something important about the rest of the job.
FAQ
Choosing a builder in Nashville
How do I choose a builder in Nashville?
Check the license and the insurance certificate, get the estimate in writing and itemized so you can compare quotes on the same basis, and ask what happens if something is found once work starts. A contractor who cannot answer those easily has told you what you need to know.
Should I get more than one quote for custom building?
Yes, and compare what is in them rather than the number at the bottom. The cheapest quote is often cheapest because it leaves something out, and on custom building the thing left out is usually the preparation that decides how long the work lasts.
Is the cheapest custom building quote usually a bad idea?
Not automatically — but an unusually low number is information. Ask specifically what is included, what grade of material is quoted, who is doing the work and what the workmanship warranty is. If all four answers are good, the low quote is a good quote.
Do I need a permit for custom building in Nashville?
It depends on the scope. Metro Nashville and the surrounding counties permit and inspect a good deal of this work, and a contractor suggesting you skip a required permit is telling you something about how they approach the rest of the job. We pull the permits our work requires.
How far in advance should I book custom building?
A few weeks where you can. Booking in the quiet season usually means better scheduling and sometimes better pricing than booking in the rush, and it gives you time to make the selections properly.
Free estimate
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