7 Steps for Building a Vacation Home in Park City

You have decided on Park City, Utah as the location for your vacation home. Wise choice. Now you actually have to enlist a team to design, realize and build it. How do you do that? The process is more complex than we could ever describe in a single blog post. Yet we can still offer help with this guide.

We have laid out a basic 7-step process for building a custom vacation home. The steps are as applicable to Park City as any other location in this area - including around the resorts of Powder Mountain, Snowbird, Alta, Deer Valley or Sundance. The key to making it work is striking a delicate balance between knowing what you want and going into the process with an open mind.

STEP #1 - DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT

It is one thing to dream about what your vacation home should be. It is an entirely different matter to decide on what it is you actually want and need. We recommend looking around. Check out mountain contemporary architecture online, some of the sites our clients use for this purpose include Houzz and Archdaily. Look at architectural websites and magazines, Residential Design (or RD), Aspire, Dwell and Mountain Living are great print publications to start with. Instagram and pinterest are also client favorites for inspiration.  Write down things that appeal to you, download photos, or consider creating a board of images. These ideas can help you start to articulate your aesthetic and discover your true vision.

STEP #2 - CALCULATE YOUR BUDGET

Your Park City architect will be guided by the constraints of your budget. Therefore, it is imperative that you determine how much you can allocate to the project before getting started. Bear in mind that a budget doesn't have to be ironclad. It can be more of a general guideline as long as you have the financial resources to go above it as needed.  Costs for design and construction can vary based on the complexity of the site (its location and topography), the size and complexity of the program elements (number of rooms and their design elements), and of course the materials and finishes. 

STEP #3 - SELECT YOUR ARCHITECT

Assuming you already have purchased the land (or bringing on an architect to help you evaluate sites), the third step is to select an architect. We recommend not rushing into this. There are plenty of great architects out there, but not all of them will be aligned with your design vision, have the technical skills you need or will be able to meet your schedule goals. For example, you might have your heart set on a home grounded in sustainable architecture and passive design elements. That is something we specialize in. Not all Park City architects do.

STEP #4 - WORK THROUGH THE DESIGN PHASE

This next step might be the most challenging (but also exciting) step of all. Here you will work with your architect through the design phase. You will pitch some ideas; you will have other ideas pitched to you, some you probably haven't even considered. This is the engaging and collaborative process of design! Once you have a preliminary plan in place, you will be ready for the next step. Note that the preliminary design concepts and floorplans will probably be modified multiple times before all is said and done.

STEP #5 - SELECT YOUR BUILDER

If you have not yet chosen a builder, now is the time to do so. You should plan on vetting builders with as much diligence as you vetted local architects and we can help with the introductions to our awesome team of skilled builders and contractors in Utah. Your chosen builder needs to see your preliminary plans to determine whether or not they can build what you want within your budget. If they can, proceed to the next step. Otherwise, it is back to your architect for design modifications to work on getting the project into budget.

STEP #6 - SELECT YOUR LENDER

After you have a design from your architects and a cost estimate from your builder, it's now time to select your lender and arrange your financing. Not all lenders are keen on financing new builds, so you may have fewer institutions to choose from. Keep in mind that you don't have to go to a bank. You can use a mortgage broker or other options for financing your new home.

STEP #7 - CONSTRUCTION + CLOSE-OUT

The final step is to actually build your home and close on it. Needless to say that it will be a process involving collaboration with both your architect and builder to ensure you get what you want. Be prepared for some unforeseen circumstances along the way, but with the right team in place everyone will work through whatever comes up during the process.

Building a vacation home in Park City, Deer Valley, Alta, Powder Mountain or Sundance would be a dream come true for many. If it is your dream, we invite you to contact Sparano + Mooney Architecture. Our experience with custom residential architecture has helped our clients build homes in many Park City neighborhoods including Glenwild, the Preserve, Thaynes Canyon, the Colony at White Pine Canyon and Victory Ranch.  We would appreciate the opportunity to discuss your vision and to demonstrate what we can do for you to help you realize your goals.