Guides
Everything worth knowing before you build here
None of this is written to sell you a house. It is the set of answers Randy ends up giving on the phone anyway, written down so you can read them before you call rather than after.
Choosing a builder
For the stage where you are still working out who to hire, and whether a custom builder is even the right kind.
- How we buildThe eight steps between your first call and the day you get the keys.
- Questions to ask a builderThirteen of them, and what a good answer sounds like.
- Comparing two builder bidsWhy quotes for the same house differ by thousands, and where it hides.
- Custom or production builderAn honest comparison, including when to hire the other kind.
Land and site
Out here the lot decides more than the plan does. These cover the part of the budget that is underground.
- Buying land in Grayson CountyEight things to establish before you close on a lot.
- Building on land you already ownThe five things your lot decides before the floor plan does.
- Foundations on Blackland clayWhy North Texas slabs crack and how they get engineered here.
- Aerobic septic systemsThe line item that surprises people building outside the city.
Planning the house
For when the builder question is settled and the house itself is the thing being decided.
Where he builds
Or read about a particular town.
- Grayson CountySoil, permitting and what is driving the growth.
- ShermanTwo finished houses you can go and look at.
- North TexasAll five towns, and the honest version of the trade-off.