New Home Construction

Permit and plan review with the town building department

Every new house starts at the building department of the town or city where it will stand. The plans, a plot plan showing where the house sits on the lot and the supporting documents go in with the permit application. The building official reviews them against the Massachusetts State Building Code, 780 CMR, and zoning rules such as setbacks and height limits are checked as well.

Other approvals often have to come first or alongside. A lot without town sewer needs a septic design under Title 5, which typically involves soil testing and approval through the local board of health. A lot near wetlands may need a conservation commission review. A lot inside a local historic district may need that commission to look at the exterior. Which of these apply depends entirely on your lot and your town, and we sort that out with you at the start.

Steve holds an unrestricted Massachusetts Construction Supervisor License, and the permit is pulled under it. That makes him the person responsible to the building department for the work, and the person the inspector deals with until the final.

Plan review takes time, and how long varies a lot from town to town. We submit a complete package so the review is not held up by missing paperwork, and we tell you when it goes in and when it comes back.

Site work, excavation and footings below frost

Once the permit is issued, the house gets staked out on the lot, the area is cleared where needed and the hole is dug for the foundation. Massachusetts ground is not always cooperative. Ledge, boulders, high groundwater and fill from an old structure all turn up, and excavation is where you find out. If it happens, we stop, show you what we found and talk through the options before going further.

Footings go below frost depth, commonly about four feet in Massachusetts, so the ground freezing and thawing each winter does not heave the house. The footings are typically inspected before concrete is placed. Foundation walls follow, then damp-proofing or waterproofing on the outside, drainage at the footing and backfill. A good foundation is one you never think about again, and the only way to get one is to get this stage right.

We also confirm before digging how the house will get water and send away wastewater, either at the street or through a well and septic system on the lot. Those runs decide where the foundation openings go and when the trenches are dug, and planning them now saves tearing up a finished yard later.

A good foundation is one you never think about again, and the only way to get one is to get this stage right.

Framing and the rough inspections

Framing is when the house starts to look like a house, and it moves quickly. The sill goes down on the foundation, then floor systems, walls, the roof, sheathing and the weather barrier. Windows and exterior doors usually go in during or right after this stage, with flashing installed so any water that gets behind the siding is sent back out rather than into the wall.

With the frame up and the house dried in, the licensed electricians and plumbers do their rough-in, along with the heating and cooling work. Then come the rough inspections. Framing, electrical and plumbing are each checked by the inspector responsible for that work, and nothing gets covered until they are signed off.

This is also the best time for you to walk the house. Rooms you have only seen on paper are now real spaces you can stand in. If a window feels wrong or an outlet is in the wrong place, this is when moving it is simple. Any change gets written up and priced before it is made.

Roofing goes on as soon as the frame allows, with ice and water barrier at the eaves and in the valleys. A house left open to a few weeks of New England rain takes on moisture that has to dry out before the walls are closed.

Insulation, air sealing and the energy code

After the rough inspections, the walls and roof get insulated and the house is air sealed. Massachusetts energy requirements are part of the building code, and many towns have adopted the stretch energy code, which sets a higher bar. Depending on your town, that can mean testing how airtight the house is before it is finished.

Insulation is typically inspected before drywall goes up. It is easy to install poorly. Gaps at corners, batts crushed behind wiring and unsealed holes at the top of the walls all disappear once the drywall goes on, but you feel them every winter as drafts, cold rooms and higher heating bills. We check it before the inspector does, because the inspector sees it for a few minutes and you live with it for decades.

Ventilation belongs to the same stage. A tight house needs fresh air brought in on purpose, so mechanical ventilation is planned along with the heating and cooling. The energy code also covers windows, the foundation and the attic, and each piece has to hold up its end.

Finishes, the final inspection and moving in

Drywall, interior trim, cabinets, tile, flooring, paint and fixtures follow, roughly in that order, with some overlap. Outside, the siding, trim, gutters, driveway and final grading are finished. The licensed trades come back to set fixtures, devices and equipment.

When everything is complete, the building department does a final inspection, and once the house passes, the town issues a certificate of occupancy. You can move in only after that. Before the final, you and Steve walk the house together room by room. Anything not finished to the standard you agreed on goes on a list, and the list gets closed out.

Through all of it you get regular updates from Steve on what got done, what is next and what decisions are coming up. A first house is a lot to keep track of, and you should never have to guess where yours stands.

Your selections fit in here too. Cabinets, tile, flooring and fixtures have to be chosen and ordered well before they are needed on site, so we go over that list with you early and remind you as each deadline comes up.

See the rest of our homes work, or browse the gallery for rooms we have finished.