What should I do before hiring a home builder?

Before hiring a home builder, you should work with a professional architect or certified building designer to create detailed architectural plans. These plans define your home's layout, features, and specifications, allowing builders to provide accurate bids and ensuring your vision is properly communicated.

Why do I need architectural plans before choosing a builder?

Architectural plans serve as the blueprint for your entire project. Without detailed plans, builders can only provide rough estimates. With professional plans, you get accurate bids, avoid costly change orders during construction, and ensure your home meets all building codes and your specific requirements.

What is the design-first approach to custom home building?

The design-first approach means completing your architectural design and construction documents before selecting a builder. This gives you complete control over your home's design, allows multiple builders to bid on identical plans, and typically results in lower costs and fewer surprises during construction.

What questions should I ask a home builder before hiring them?

Key questions include: How long have you been in business? Can you provide references from recent projects? Are you licensed and insured? What is your timeline for completion? How do you handle change orders? What warranty do you offer? However, the most important step is having professional plans first so builders can give you accurate, comparable bids.

Do I need an architect or designer before contacting a builder?

Yes. Having professional architectural plans before contacting builders protects your investment in several ways: you maintain control of your design, you can get accurate bids from multiple builders on identical specifications, and you avoid the conflict of interest when a builder controls both design and construction pricing.

How do I get accurate bids from home builders?

The only way to get truly accurate, comparable bids is to have complete construction drawings prepared by a professional designer. When all builders bid on the same detailed plans, you can make apples-to-apples comparisons. Without plans, each builder's estimate includes different assumptions about materials, finishes, and specifications.

What is the difference between a builder's design and hiring an independent designer?

When a builder provides design services, they control both the design and the construction bid—a potential conflict of interest. An independent designer works solely for you, creating plans that serve your interests. You then own those plans and can get competitive bids from any qualified builder.

Custom Home Design Kerrville

What do I need before hiring a home builder?

Before hiring a builder, get professional architectural plans designed first. Complete construction drawings allow you to get accurate bids from multiple builders, compare quotes fairly, and maintain control of your project. This "design-first" approach protects your investment and prevents cost overruns during construction.

Have You Considered This?

Most people searching for a home builder don't realize there's a critical step that comes first—one that protects your investment, saves you money, and puts YOU in control of your project.

Start With Design, Then Choose Your Builder

If you're searching for a custom home builder in Kerrville, Fredericksburg, Boerne, or anywhere in the Texas Hill Country, there's one critical step you should take first: get your architectural plans designed before you choose a builder.

This "design-first" approach is how successful custom home projects work. It puts you in control, saves money, and ensures your dream home becomes reality—not a compromise.

Why the Design-First Approach Works

Many homeowners have made the mistake of selecting a builder first, then working with the draftsman "friend" the builder knows for designing your home. This approach has significant drawbacks:

Without professional plans first, you face:

Vague estimates that can balloon during construction
Limited design options tied to one builder's preferences
No ability to compare accurate bids from multiple builders
Costly change orders when your vision doesn't match their assumptions

The hidden risk of builder-provided plans:

When you use a builder's recommended draftsman, it's important to understand the working relationship. That draftsman has an ongoing professional relationship with the builder, while you're working together just this once. Naturally, the plans may tend toward what the builder is comfortable constructing rather than exploring all the possibilities for your dream home. Details that matter to you may be left vague or omitted entirely, leaving room for possible changes in materials and finishes you weren't aware of. While all cities in Texas have building code enforcement, counties do not—and much of the Hill Country is unincorporated. Without detailed, professionally-prepared construction documents that clearly specify materials, methods, and quality standards, you have no objective benchmark to measure the finished work against—and resolving disputes becomes much more difficult.

With professional architectural plans in hand:

Multiple builders can bid on identical specifications
You get accurate, comparable quotes
Your design reflects YOUR vision, not the builder's
Construction proceeds smoothly with fewer surprises
Plans meet all IRC and IBC building codes before construction begins

What You Need Before Hiring a Builder

As an NCBDC Certified Professional Building Designer with over 40 years of experience, I provide complete, builder-ready construction documents that include:

Complete Architectural Plans:

Detailed floor plans with room dimensions
Exterior elevations (all four sides)
Roof plans and structural details
Electrical layouts and fixture locations
Plumbing rough-in locations
Window and door schedules
Cross-sections and construction details

Engineering Integration:

We partner with Texas Registered Engineers to provide structural foundation plans, load calculations, and all engineering requirements—ensuring your plans are truly permit-ready and meet all local building codes.

Flexible Plan Packages to Fit Your Needs:

Unlike a builder's draftsman, when you hire Riverside Home Designs, we work for you—not the builder. Your interests guide every design decision, and our detailed specifications protect you throughout the construction process.

We offer three levels of service to match your project requirements and budget:

Builders Set of Plans — Essential construction documents including floor plans and elevations, ideal for straightforward projects or preliminary bidding
Full Architectural Plans — Comprehensive drawings with detailed specifications, finish schedules, and all the information needed for permit approval and accurate contractor bids
Full Architectural with Engineering — Our complete package including structural engineering by Texas Registered Engineers, foundation plans, and all technical documentation for complex projects or challenging building sites

Each package is designed to give you exactly what you need—no more, no less. See what's included in each plan package →

Our certification through NCBDC (National Council of Building Designer Certification) Certificate #44-528 ensures our plans meet national professional standards.

The Custom Home Design Process

Step 1: Initial Consultation
We discuss your vision, lifestyle needs, budget parameters, and the specific requirements of your building site. Whether you're building in Kerrville, Fredericksburg, Boerne, Bandera, or elsewhere in the Hill Country, we understand the unique considerations of Texas Hill Country construction.

Step 2: Concept Development
We create preliminary floor plans and concept elevations based on your input. This is where your ideas take shape on paper, allowing you to visualize the home before committing to detailed drawings.

Step 3: Design Refinement
We refine the design based on your feedback, ensuring every detail matches your expectations. This collaborative process ensures the final plans reflect exactly what you want.

Step 4: Construction Documents
We produce complete, permit-ready construction drawings that any qualified builder can use. These detailed plans become your blueprint for getting accurate bids.

Step 5: Builder Selection
With professional plans in hand, you can confidently approach multiple home builders in Kerrville, Fredericksburg home builders, or Boerne home builders for competitive bids on identical specifications.

How Building Codes and Specifications Protect You

Building codes exist for one reason: to protect you, the consumer, from shoddy construction techniques. These codes establish minimum standards for structural integrity, electrical safety, plumbing, fire protection, and energy efficiency. When your home is built to code, you have legal assurance that it meets established safety standards.

But building codes are just the minimum. Our detailed plans and specifications go further—they define exactly what materials will be used, how they'll be installed, and what quality standards must be met. Every specification on our plans works in the homeowner's favor, giving you a clear, enforceable standard to hold your builder accountable.

Protect Yourself When Collecting Bids:

When you receive bids from builders, ensure each bid includes the wording: "This bid is as per plans and specs." This simple phrase legally binds the builder to construct your home exactly as specified in your architectural plans—not with substituted materials, shortcuts, or "equivalent" products that may cost less but deliver lower quality. If a builder won't agree to this language, that tells you something important about how they intend to build your home.

Why Choose a Certified Designer?

Not all designers are equal. When you work with Riverside Home Designs, you get:

40+ Years of Experience — Designing custom homes in Texas since 1984
AIBD Professional Member — American Institute of Building Design certified
NCBDC Certified #44-528 — Nationally recognized credential requiring an 11-hour examination over two days to verify professional competency
Construction Background — As former General Contractors, we understand how homes are actually built
Engineering Partnership — Direct collaboration with Texas Registered Engineers
Local Expertise — Deep knowledge of Hill Country building requirements

Energy-Efficient Design From the Start

The design phase is when energy efficiency decisions have the greatest impact. We specialize in green, energy-efficient designs that can include:

SIPs (Structurally Insulated Panels) construction
Optimal solar orientation and window placement
High-performance insulation strategies
Water reclamation system integration
Solar panel system pre-planning

Our designs meet Energy Star standards for superior energy efficiency and reduced utility costs. Design decisions made now affect your energy bills for decades to come.

Serving the Texas Hill Country

We provide custom home design services throughout a 75-mile radius of Kerrville, including:

Kerrville — Our home base since 1984
Fredericksburg — German heritage and wine country homes
Boerne — Hill Country living near San Antonio
Bandera — Cowboy capital of the world
Comfort, Hunt, Ingram, Medina, Blanco, Harper — And all surrounding communities

Whether you're searching for a home architect near me, house designer near me, or residential architect near me, we're here to help you start your custom home project the right way.

Learn More About Our Services

The Design Process | What Plans Include | Our Solutions | View Our Portfolio | Recommended Builders

Before You Hire a Home Builder