PROCESS
Understanding the Steps to Building a House
Let’s start here.
Come meet the CNC team.
Custom home building takes place in several phases. It is our goal to help everyone involved understand the main segments and paint a clear picture of the steps to building a house. Preparing the building site, construction, and financing all work together but can be handled in several ways.
Here is a flowchart to get you started:
DO YOU HAVE A HOME PLAN?
YES
Step 1: Letter of Intent
It starts with a conversation. We sit down together (you, your designer or architect, and the CNC team) to get aligned on scope, timeline, and expectations. Once we’re all on the same page, we sign a letter of intent to formally kick things off.
Step 2: Preliminary Estimates
Before anything is set in motion, CNC Homes provides a preliminary cost estimate on your custom home. No guesswork, no surprises. This gives you a clear picture of where the budget stands before commitments are made.
Step 3: Financing
If financing isn’t already in place, we can connect you with local lenders in Bend and Central Oregon or national lending options. Having your financing lined up early keeps the entire process moving on schedule.
Step 4: Design Review Committee (DRC) Approval
If your home is in a planned community in the Bend or Redmond area, your plans will go through a Design Review Committee. This process has three phases: Preliminary Approval, Architectural Drawings Approval, and Construction Approval. DRC review can take a few months, so patience here pays off.
Step 5: Building Permits
This is where your local municipality or building department in Deschutes County approves your plans for construction. Your architect or designer may handle the permit application, but as your builder, CNC Homes stays involved in the permit process to catch issues early and keep things on track.
Step 6: Construction Begins
Once permits are in hand, we break ground. As your home takes shape, you can follow every phase of construction through Buildertrend, a project management platform that gives you real-time visibility into progress, budgets, and decisions from anywhere.
NO
Step 1: Letter of Intent
Same starting point. We meet as a team, align on goals and timeline, and sign a letter of intent. The only difference is that your next step involves design.
Step 2: Finding an Architect or Home Designer
Choosing the right design partner matters. An architect holds a license from the Architectural Registration Board and carries insurance. A home designer often has comparable schooling and experience but may not be licensed. Both can produce exceptional custom homes.
Getting CNC Homes involved at this stage makes a real difference. We bring real-time construction knowledge to the design process: what’s realistic for your site, what materials and features fit your budget, and what’s actually performing well in Bend’s climate and building environment. A few things to think about before your first design meeting:
- What elements of a home matter most to you?
- What’s your favorite architectural style?
- Where in Central Oregon do you want to build … Bend, Sunriver, Sisters, Redmond, Tumalo?
Step 3: Preliminary Estimates
Once we have a sense of the home you want to build, CNC Homes provides a preliminary estimate. Before we put numbers together, you should be ready to answer three questions: What are you trying to build? Where are you trying to build? How will you pay for it?
Step 4: Financing
Same as above. If financing isn’t locked in, we’ll point you toward trusted local and national lending options so the budget is clear before design gets too far down the road.
Step 5: Design Review Committee (DRC) Approval
Your plans go through the same three-phase DRC approval process: Preliminary Approval, Architectural Drawings Approval, and Construction Approval.
Step 6: Building Permits
Your permit application goes to the local municipality or building department. CNC Homes stays involved to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
Step 7: Construction Begins
Same destination, same transparency. You’ll have full visibility into your build through Buildertrend from day one.
What Happens Before Construction Starts
Site Preparation and DRC Requirements
Before we break ground on your Central Oregon home site, there are requirements from both the DRC and CNC Homes to address.
DRC requirements typically include a formal application, a color board, community-specific design guidelines, and associated fees.
CNC Homes requirements include our signature construction fencing, utility setup, signage, and a gated/locked construction site. We take pride in running a clean, organized job site that respects the land, the neighbors, and the community.
Land surveys follow, confirming adequate access for building equipment and protecting key features of the site throughout construction.
Construction Bidding Process
Preliminary Estimates
Rough estimates can be generated once an idea of the home is understood. The reason we like to be involved so early in the process, even before design if possible, is to help you through the process from start to finish. We have a good understanding of where budgets can get out of hand or about how much certain features can add to a home.
Once we have initial blueprints, the steps to building a house begin with submitting your plans to our team of vendors and subcontractors.
Rough Estimate for Financing
We will do preliminary pricing as early as possible to present to your financial institution. Some things we will want to discuss before putting these numbers together include:
- Appliances
- Flooring
- Solid surfaces
This will allow us to have a better understanding of how the finances fit with your vision.
Final Construction Budget
We will move forward once we have a full set of approved engineered construction drawings and have discussed finishes with you.
The final estimate is a more detailed idea of the finishes inside your home. Next, we move into the hard-bid phases of your home pricing. The choices we discuss are not concrete decisions, but a snapshot for us to better understand the scope, quality, and features that we are aiming for.
With this understanding, we can get more accurate bids from our subcontractors and suppliers.
Typically, the discussions and choices from here to actual order will adjust based on cost, availability, or change of priority through the construction of your home. This is for discussion and initial targets. Some examples of what we will go over at this stage are exterior finishes like garage doors, painting, windows, patios, and more, and interior finishes like trim, carpet, plumbing fixtures, appliances, fireplaces, and more.
Construction
Once the site is prepared, building your custom home moves through each phase, tracked, documented, and visible in Buildertrend. Every cost and timeline update is accounted for and approved, so you always know where your build stands.
CNC Homes has been building custom homes in Bend and across Central Oregon for years. We look forward to becoming your builder.
Why the Process Matters: A Home That Feels Different
One of the comments we hear most often when visitors walk through a CNC home is, “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but this home feels different.”
That’s exactly what we’re aiming for. And it’s why the process above exists.
The difference isn’t usually found in a single dramatic feature. It’s rarely one room, one finish, or one design element. It’s the result of hundreds of intentional decisions and details working together: the way a home welcomes you the moment you step through the front door, the alignment of windows, the balance of natural light, the proportion of spaces, and the careful consideration given to every transition from one room to the next. It’s the craftsmanship you can see, and just as importantly, the craftsmanship you can’t.
When every detail is thoughtfully considered, the home simply feels right.
We believe exceptional homes aren’t defined by any one feature. They’re defined by the countless details most people never consciously notice, but everyone experiences. Every step of our process, from the first estimate to the final walkthrough, exists to protect that level of attention.
CNC Homes has been building custom homes in Bend and across Central Oregon since 2016. We look forward to becoming your builder.
