Part 3: Foundation and Framing: Our New Construction Home at Star Farms at Lakewood Ranch

There is a big difference between signing a contract to build a new home and actually seeing a new construction home begin to rise out of the ground.

After choosing our homesite, selecting our new D.R. Horton home in Star Farms at Lakewood Ranch, and working through the early stages of the new construction process, this was the part Anna and I had really been waiting for: construction officially beginning.

And once it started, things moved quickly.

In roughly six weeks, we watched our homesite transform from a prepared piece of land into a two-story home with block walls, framing, a roof and the major mechanical systems beginning to take shape.

Anna and I drove over to Star Farms with the kids just about every week to see what had changed. Some weeks the progress was incredible. We’d pull up and suddenly there was an entire section of the house that hadn’t existed the week before.

It became a family ritual.

We took pictures, walked around the property when appropriate, watched the different stages of construction and tried to imagine what each unfinished space would eventually become. Along the way, we even met some of our future neighbors.

For anyone considering building a new construction home in Lakewood Ranch, I wanted to document this part of our experience because this is when the plans, contracts and floor plans finally start becoming a real house.

Here’s how our home progressed from the homesite preparation through the point when we were ready for our independent pre-drywall inspection.

Step 1: Preparing the Homesite and Building the Pad

Before there could be walls, there had to be a properly prepared foundation for the home.

One of the first major changes we saw was the preparation of our homesite and building pad.

At this stage, the lot doesn’t look much like a future home yet. The site is being prepared so construction can begin, with the building area established and the ground prepared for the foundation.

For us, this was the first visual sign that the process was truly underway.

We had spent plenty of time looking at site plans and imagining where the house would sit on the property. Now we could actually begin to see its footprint.

This was especially exciting because our homesite was an important part of our decision to build in Star Farms. We specifically liked the location and preserve setting behind the property, so seeing the home positioned on the lot made the decision feel much more tangible.

Step 2: Pouring the Concrete Slab

The next major milestone was the foundation.

For our Florida new construction home, that meant the concrete slab.

Before the slab is poured, various components that need to run beneath or through the foundation are positioned according to the home’s plans. The site is then prepared for the concrete pour.

Once the slab was completed, we could finally see the actual footprint of our Hayden floor plan.

This is a funny stage of construction because the house can look surprisingly small when you’re looking at nothing but a concrete slab.

Rooms that looked large on the floor plan suddenly seemed tiny when they were simply lines and spaces on a slab.

If you’re building a new construction home and experience the same reaction, don’t panic.

Once walls begin going up and the home develops vertically, your perception of the space changes dramatically.

That certainly happened with ours.

Step 3: First-Floor Block Walls

The next transformation was one of the biggest.

Concrete block began going up around the first floor.

Suddenly, we didn’t have to imagine where the house would be anymore.

There was a house.

The exterior walls began defining the shape of the home, and we could start identifying the garage, windows, doors and different living areas.

Because concrete block construction is so common in Florida, this was also an interesting part of the process for me to watch closely as both a homeowner and a Realtor.

When you’re touring completed homes with buyers, everything is covered by drywall, paint and finishes. You don’t normally get to see what’s actually behind those finished surfaces.

Building our own home gave us the opportunity to watch those components come together from the beginning.

Step 4: First-Floor Framing

After the first-floor block walls were in place, framing began defining the interior of the home.

This was another stage where the floor plan really started making sense.

Interior walls created the rooms and hallways we’d previously only seen on paper. Instead of looking at an open construction area and trying to guess where everything would eventually go, we could physically see the layout developing.

We could stand outside and point:

That’s the kitchen.

That’s the living area.

That’s where the stairs will be.

That’s the garage.

That’s the room we’ll use for this or that.

For our kids, this was probably when the project became much easier to understand too. They weren’t looking at construction drawings or contracts. They were watching their future home appear one wall at a time.

Step 5: Second-Floor Block Construction

Because our Hayden is a two-story home, the next phase took construction upward.

The second-floor exterior block walls began going up.

Watching a second story appear on a home you’ve been following from an empty lot is pretty dramatic.

Just a few weeks earlier, we had been looking at dirt.

Then a slab.

Then first-floor walls.

Now we were looking at a full two-story structure.

This is also when the overall size and elevation of the house became much easier to appreciate.

The home was beginning to look much closer to the renderings and completed Hayden models we’d seen before deciding to build.

Step 6: Second-Floor Framing

Next came additional framing on the second floor.

Just as the first-floor framing helped define the rooms downstairs, the second-floor framing began creating the upstairs layout.

At this point, visiting each week became even more fun because the changes were so noticeable.

That’s something I wasn’t completely prepared for before starting this process.

New construction can feel slow when you’re waiting for a closing date months in the future. But during certain phases, the house can change dramatically from one week to the next.

We’d leave one weekend thinking we understood what the next stage would look like, return several days later and find an entirely new portion of the house completed.

Step 7: The Roof Takes Shape

Then came another major visual milestone: the roof.

Once the roof structure and sheathing began going into place, the project really started looking like a home rather than a collection of walls and framing.

This was one of my favorite stages to see.

The roof gives the house its recognizable shape and makes it much easier to visualize what the finished exterior will eventually look like.

From the street, we were finally looking at something that resembled the home we expected to move into.

And all of this had happened incredibly quickly.

From an Empty Lot to a House in About Six Weeks

Looking back at our photos from this period is pretty amazing.

In approximately six weeks, we went from watching the homesite and building pad being prepared to standing in front of a two-story structure with a roof.

That’s one of the reasons we decided to document our entire Star Farms new construction journey.

When you’re living through it, you’re focused on whatever the next milestone happens to be.

Is the slab done?

Are the block walls up?

Did framing start?

When will the roof go on?

But when you put the pictures next to each other, you realize just how much changed in a relatively short period of time.

For our family, these weren’t simply construction milestones.

This was our future home taking shape.

HVAC, Electrical and Plumbing Rough-Ins

Once the major structure was in place and the home was under roof, we moved into another extremely important phase: the rough-ins for the HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems.

This stage may not be as visually dramatic as watching block walls or a roof appear, but it’s one of the most interesting stages of the entire construction process.

That’s because much of what is being installed will eventually disappear behind drywall.

Electrical wiring begins running through the home.

Plumbing lines are installed.

HVAC ductwork and related components are routed through the structure.

Boxes, pipes, wires, vents and other systems begin appearing everywhere.

To someone unfamiliar with construction, it can look chaotic.

But this is essentially the infrastructure of the home being installed before the walls are closed.

And that leads directly into what I consider one of the most important opportunities a buyer has during the new construction process.

Why We Scheduled a Pre-Drywall Inspection

Before drywall went up, Anna and I hired our own independent home inspector to perform a pre-drywall inspection of our new construction home.

Why inspect a brand-new house?

Because this is one of the only opportunities to inspect many components of the home while they’re still exposed.

Once drywall is installed, you can’t easily see the framing, many plumbing components, electrical runs, HVAC installation and other elements hidden inside the walls.

A pre-drywall inspection gives an independent inspector an opportunity to examine accessible components before they’re covered.

As a Realtor, I think this is an important distinction for buyers to understand:

New construction does not mean you shouldn’t have independent inspections.

The builder has its own construction process, inspections and quality-control procedures. An independent home inspector is working specifically for you as the buyer.

We wanted another set of qualified eyes on the home before everything disappeared behind drywall.

And, as I’ll cover in the next part of this series, our pre-drywall inspection turned out to be very worthwhile.

What We Learned Watching Our Home Being Built

One of my biggest takeaways from these first six weeks was how valuable it was to stay engaged with the process.

We weren’t managing the construction. That’s the builder’s job.

But we were paying attention.

We visited regularly. We took photographs. We asked questions. We attended our scheduled construction meetings. And when the appropriate inspection milestone arrived, we brought in our own inspector.

It also made the experience much more memorable.

Instead of simply signing a contract and returning months later for a finished house, Anna, the kids and I have watched this home develop almost from the ground up.

We even started meeting our future neighbors during our visits, which made Star Farms begin to feel like our neighborhood before we’d even moved in.

That’s something you don’t necessarily get when purchasing an existing home.

Building a New Construction Home in Star Farms at Lakewood Ranch

If you’re considering buying or building a new construction home in Star Farms at Lakewood Ranch, I hope documenting our experience gives you a better idea of what the process can actually look like.

Every home, homesite, builder and construction schedule is different, so our timeline shouldn’t be treated as a guarantee of how quickly another home will progress.

But seeing our house go from homesite preparation to slab, block, framing, roofing and mechanical rough-ins in roughly six weeks was an exciting experience for our family.

It’s also given me another perspective as a Lakewood Ranch Realtor.

I’ve helped buyers navigate new construction before, but there’s something different about going through the process personally, signing the contract, watching your own home being built, attending the meetings, hiring the inspector and dealing with the questions that inevitably come up along the way.

That’s exactly why I’m documenting the entire journey.

I want future Lakewood Ranch new construction buyers and people relocating from other states to be able to see not only what went well, but also what we learned, what surprised us and what we would do differently.

What’s Next: Our Pre-Drywall Inspection

With the foundation, block construction, framing, roof and major rough-ins completed, we reached our next major milestone:

The pre-drywall inspection.

And this is where our new construction journey got particularly interesting.

We hired an independent inspector to examine the home before the walls were closed. The inspection uncovered several items that we wanted addressed before construction moved forward.

In Part 4 of our Star Farms New Construction Journey, I’ll share what our inspector looked at while inspecting our New Construction Home in Star Farms , what he found, which findings concerned us most, how we communicated those items to the builder and what happened next.

If you’re thinking about buying a new construction home in Lakewood Ranch, this is one part of our journey you won’t want to miss.

Thinking About New Construction in Lakewood Ranch?

If you’re considering Star Farms, Lakewood Ranch or another new construction community in the Sarasota-Manatee area, I’d be happy to help you navigate the process.

One thing our own experience has reinforced for me is that having your own representation can be valuable long before you reach closing day.

From comparing communities and builders to evaluating homesites, understanding incentives, asking the right questions and planning for independent inspections, there is a lot to consider when purchasing a new construction home.

I’m documenting our Our New Construction Home in Star Farms so my clients can benefit from both my experience as a Lakewood Ranch Realtor and what I’ve learned going through the process personally as a buyer.

Michael Fyvie Fyvie Group | Keller Williams Coastal Living II MoveToLakewoodRanchFlorida.com