Process

What you can do to help

1. Make your selections as early as possible and communicate them to our design director. All selections MUST be made prior to the tie beam inspection, which occurs about 3-½ weeks after construction starts. If any selection is not made by this time, your construction request will be delayed. In addition, some selections need to be made earlier than others in order to allow the supplier sufficient time to order hard to get items or items that come from a remote area. Your design director will provide you with a list and request of selections. Your diligence in meeting these request is the most important thing you can do to keep the construction request on time.
2. For safety and to keep our construction manager focused on staying on request and on top of quality, we ask that you arrange site visits in advance when you will want to walk through with the superintendent and ask questions. We do four milestone walkthroughs between the construction manager and the homeowner:

1. Pre Construction meeting; Introduction of your Construction Manager and plan review to ensure they are aware of any particular items that may not show up on the plans.
2. Electric walk through: After framing is done, we do this with you to review your electrical locations prior to sealing the walls.
3. Construction Final: This is the final inspection of your home, during which you will develop a punch list of items that need touch up prior to closing.
4. Final walk through: During this meeting, you will walk the home with the construction manager and ensure that the punch list is complete. The construction manager will also provide you with your warranty binder, and answer any questions regarding the systems in your home and your warranties. You will be expected to sign off on the punch list that was made at your construction final and will be ready to go to closing.

Pre-Construction Phase

Now that the contract is signed, your next most important step is to make your selections. Shortly after contract signing, we will gather all the necessary documentation and bring it to the Building Department along with the appropriate fees and submit a request for a building permit. Permitting, engineering, and water/sewer fees are all included in the price of your home and no additional expenditure is required on your part. The building department typically takes 4-6 weeks to approve a permit. We know it’s a long time for your home construction to sit idle, but take comfort in knowing that the building department is taking the necessary time to review everything we propose to do and that it meets all of the codes that have been put in place to ensure your home is strong, safe, and durable! Once we receive the permit, we can proceed with construction, starting with the Foundation Phase.

Foundation Phase

1. Lot Preparation: Our Laguna Village lots have been cleared during land development, but your lot still needs to be graded to its proper elevation. We will bring in dirt if needed and spread it to create the proper height off the crown of the road and a level base for your house. Compacting will get done and tested to make sure your home sits on hard soil. Then a surveyor will define the corners of the house so our foundation partner will have a guideline for properly positioning your home.
2. Set forms: Our foundation partner will use the surveyor’s marks to install wooden forms to set the outline of the foundation for your home. They will dig trenches for the footers and level the area inside the outline to prepare for your underground utilities.
3. Rough plumbing and electric: The plumber and electrician will dig trenches and set your underground utilities. An inspection will be requested and performed by building department inspectors. Once it passes inspection, the construction will move to the next step.
4. Termite pre-treat: A termite preventative chemical pre-treatment will be sprayed on the foundation area. A certificate will be provided to you showing that the home has been treated, and you will receive a renewable termite bond and termite insurance.
5. Slab prep: The foundation partner will return to finish the foundation preparation prior to pouring concrete. They will lay a thick plastic barrier over the soil as the last step in preparation.
6. Slab inspection: Building department inspectors will ensure the slab meets all of the applicable building codes.
7. Slab pour: Our concrete partner will pour the concrete to form your slab over the previously prepared foundation area inside the wooden forms. They will remove the forms once the concrete has hardened enough to retain its shape.
8. Foundation survey: Our surveyor will return to record the exact location of your foundation and verify finished floor elevations are correct. On this day our grading partner will also return and touch up the grade around the finished slab.

NOTE: Your slab will look very small to you if you come out to see it at this point. Rest assured, we have not made a mistake! It is very typical for the slab to look too small. You will also see that the entry and the patio don’t have concrete, because your home will have pavers in those area, and they go over compacted soil, which will be prepared just before they put the pavers in. More on that later.

The Foundation phase of your home is done!

Rough Framing Phase

1. Block walls: The exterior walls of your DiPrima home are built of concrete block. Pallets of block will be delivered and the block masons will be in the same day or the next to start building the walls. Rebar will be installed down specific block columns and tied to the rebar in the foundation. Holes will be punched into lower blocks in these columns so the inspector can see the ties. An inspection will be requested and once we pass it, the punched holes will be covered and we will pour concrete in each column and along the top row of blocks. The wooden hole covers will be removed once the concrete sets.
   Your roof trusses will be delivered around the time that the walls are being blocked.
2. Roof: Once the block walls are built, the trusses will be set and your roof will be covered with plywood. Holes will be cut into some areas of the roof field to accommodate off-ridge vents as required to properly ventilate your attic. The framer will then complete all of the interior walls and any wooden exterior structures such as bay windows.
   The building inspector will check the roof surfaces and the ties from the lintel (the concrete-filled top row of block) to the trusses to ensure they comply with building code regulations. Once this inspection is passed, the roof and any other wooden structures (such as a second floor or bay window) will be covered with house wrap (water resistant sheathing).
   The roof is now covered with plywood and dried-in with water resistant sheathing which keeps water outside and releases water vapor from inside. Any other areas built with wood, such as bay windows, will also be covered with sheathing. Roof finish (tile or shingles) is applied.
3. Doors and Windows: Exterior doors and windows are installed.

The Rough Framing Phase of your home is done!

Finish Shell and “MEP” Phase

EP stands for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing. This is the time when the HVAC ducts get installed, electricians run the wires, the plumbers run the lines, and any other mechanical trades install anything that will go inside the walls: ethernet, cable, pest defense, central vacuum, alarm wiring, home theater wiring, camera wires, roof duct vents, and more. Bath tubs are installed at this time when it’s easier to maneuver around unfinished walls without doors.

The rough MEPs and the framing are inspected. Insulation is installed in ceilings and walls and inspected. Drywall is installed, textured, and inspected.

The Finish Shell and “mep” phase of your home is done!