This article is Part II of a two-part series that explains the building process. My aim by writing this series is to inform home (or land) owners building their own custom house about the building process, what to expect from their builder and what steps the building process entails.

In this article I will walk you through steps 10 – 20 of the building process. From when your builder “breaks ground” to the moment that you turn the key in the lock of the front door and finally get to make your custom-built house a home. I will give details about getting soil classification, registering the home build with the NHBRC, how progress reports, payments and variations are managed, inspections of the building, acquiring certificates of compliance, an occupancy certificate, and getting the final building snags fixed up. Your builder/ project manager will manage most of these steps but it’s important that you understand what’s going on and when things should happen.