What to Expect at Your Pre-Construction Meeting

When building your Ideal new home in Oklahoma, you may be wondering what your Pre-Construction Meeting is going to look like. We’re here to walk you through what to expect, who you’ll meet, and how to prepare.

By the time you’ve reached the pre-construction stage, here is everything that’s happened so far:

• You’ve worked with your New Home Consultant and decided that you want to custom build a new Ideal home instead of buying a pre-designed Ideal home.
• You've selected your neighborhood, homesite, and floor plan.
• You’ve signed the contracts and paid earnest money (find out more about the financing process here).
• You’ve met with your Ideal Design Consultant at the Ideal Design Studio to select all your finishes and customizations.

Now it’s time for construction to begin! But first, you’ll meet with your Ideal Builder for your Pre-Construction Meeting.

Your Ideal Builder

Your Ideal Builder will reach out to you just before construction begins on your new home to introduce themself and schedule the Pre-Construction Meeting. Your Ideal Builder (also sometimes referred to as the superintendent) will keep you updated throughout the building process on your home's progress and timeline. 

To learn more about the Pre-Construction Meeting, we met with Nick Ashlock who has been a builder with Ideal Homes & Neighborhoods for more than five years and has a degree in construction management from the University of Oklahoma.

Like all Ideal builders, Nick does everything from managing construction sites and subcontractors to overseeing construction budgets. He ensures compliance with municipal codes and Ideal Homes & Neighborhoods’ own standards (which are often more rigorous than municipal requirements), performs regular quality control checks on each project, conducts daily walkthroughs of each job site, and updates homebuyers regularly.

When you meet with Nick or Ideal builder at your Pre-Construction Meeting, you’re not meeting with a middleman or office liaison. Instead, you're meeting with the person who is overseeing your home’s construction, visiting the job site daily, and communicating directly with the teams building your home.

What is a Pre-Construction Meeting?

The Pre-Construction Meeting serves several important purposes for homebuyers. It helps establish clear expectations, confirms important project details, and gives you a direct connection to the person overseeing your home’s construction.

Project Scope

You and your Ideal builder will review the construction project as a whole – everything from building logistics to the project timeline. You’ll go over the options you’ve selected at the Design Studio and ensure that you, the construction team, and the design team are all on the same page. 

This is also your chance to get to know your Ideal builder, who will become your primary point of contact during the construction portion of your home-building journey.

Your Questions

You’ll get a chance to ask questions at this meeting, but if you forget any, don’t worry. Your builder will check in with you weekly via the Ideal App.

How Should I Prepare for the Pre-Con Meeting?

Preparing for this meeting is really about making sure you’re familiar with your selections, customizations, and upgrades. You can also think about any questions you want to ask your builder.

A lot is happening behind the scenes to make sure your Pre-Construction Meeting is efficient, informative, and low stress. Before your meeting, your Ideal Design Consultant will have handed off your home's selections to the builder. Your builder will be able to see the selections and options you signed off on and will receive the specific plans for your home.

That means your construction team will already be familiar with the major decisions you’ve made before you arrive to the Pre-Construction Meeting.

Builder Tips:

We asked Nick for some tips to be extra prepared for this meeting:

1. Think about where you want outlets. “Plug placement is something a lot of people don’t think about if they’re building their first home.”
   
   You already discussed this during your meeting with the Ideal Design Studio, but the Pre-Construction Meeting is another opportunity to confirm outlet placement and discuss whether any adjustments are needed inside or outside the home.

2. Bring your detailed questions. Your builder will probably address most of your questions, but Nick said some homebuyers want to learn more about the specific topics, such as local municipal codes or how quality checks are conducted. If there’s anything you’d like to understand better, bring your questions. Your builder can help explain the process in clear, practical terms.

The Ideal Difference

We’re confident that you’ll see the Ideal Homes & Neighborhoods difference in every part of the process of building your new home, from your Design Studio experience, the best practices and the quality of materials you can’t even see that make Ideal Homes & Neighborhoods a national leader in residential home construction, all the way to our unparalleled home warranties.

During the construction phase, one of the Ideal differences that shines through most clearly is communication, especially the direct access you have to your Ideal builder via the Ideal App. While you’ll still get regular updates from your New Home Consultant, your primary point of contact becomes your builder during construction.

“With a lot of other homebuilders, the person customers are dealing with during the construction stage is the New Home Consultant,” said Nick. “With us, the person you’re talking to regularly is the same person who can meet you at the job site.”

Nick points to one other area of communication that makes a difference, even if you don’t see it. “The Ideal team works really well together. We have smooth handoffs between each other, and we communicate regularly.”

That communication helps create a smoother experience for you, but it also helps the Ideal team protect the details, selections, and quality standards that make your home personal.

Your Pre-Construction Meeting is an exciting milestone: the plans and selections you’ve made are about to become a home! By meeting directly with your Ideal Builder, reviewing the details, and utilizing the Ideal App, you can move into this next phase with confidence.

Ready to start building a home with a team that keeps you informed along the way? Explore available homes and customizable floor plans throughout the OKC metro, including Norman, Edmond, Stillwater, Moore, Yukon, and Mustang, at www.idealhomes.com.