Building a custom home comes with a vocabulary all its own. Between design meetings, contracts, and construction updates, you'll hear terms that most homeowners have never needed before, and understanding them makes the whole process smoother. You'll ask better questions, read your contract with more confidence, and truly follow along with progress updates instead of nodding through them. We've put together this glossary of the terms our clients ask about most often, organized by where they come up in the building process.
Planning and Design Terms
Custom Home
A custom home is a house designed and built specifically for one client, on their lot, around their needs and preferences. Unlike a production or spec home, nothing about the design is predetermined. The floor plan, finishes, and features are all chosen by the homeowner.
Spec Home
A spec home (short for "speculative") is a house a builder constructs without a specific buyer in mind, then sells once it's complete or nearly complete. Buyers get a new home quickly but have little or no input on the design.
Floor Plan
A floor plan is a scaled drawing showing the layout of a home from above, including rooms, walls, doors, and windows. It's one of the first documents you'll review during luxury home design, and it shapes nearly every decision that follows.
Elevation
An elevation is a drawing that shows what the exterior of the home will look like from one side, typically the front, rear, left, and right. Elevations show rooflines, window placement, and exterior materials, so you can envision the exterior of your home.
Site Plan
A site plan shows how the home sits on the lot, including setbacks, the driveway, utilities, and grading. It's required for permitting and determines how the house is oriented for views, sunlight, and drainage.
Budget and Contract Terms
Allowance
An allowance is a dollar amount set aside in your contract for items you haven't selected yet, like lighting fixtures, countertops, or flooring. If your final selections cost more than the allowance, you pay the difference; if they cost less, you're credited.
Change Order
A change order is a written agreement documenting any change to the original plans, materials, or contract price after construction has started. Change orders keep everyone on the same page, but they can add cost and time, which is why thorough planning up front is important.
Contingency
A contingency is money built into the budget to cover unexpected costs, such as site surprises or material price changes. Most builders recommend a contingency of 5 to 10 percent of the construction budget.
Construction Loan
A construction loan is short-term financing that funds the home while it's being built. The lender releases money in stages called draws, and the loan typically converts to a traditional mortgage once the home is complete.
Draw
A draw is a payment released from a construction loan at a defined milestone, such as completing the foundation or framing. The lender usually inspects the work before releasing each draw.
Construction Process Terms
Footing and Foundation
Footings are the concrete bases that support the foundation, and the foundation is the structural base the entire home sits on. In Middle Tennessee, common foundation types include crawl spaces, basements, and slabs, depending on the lot.
Framing
Framing is the skeleton of the house, the wood or steel structure that forms the walls, floors, and roof. Once framing is complete, you can walk through the home and get a real feel for the spaces for the first time.
Load-Bearing Wall
A load-bearing wall is a wall that supports the weight of the structure above it. These walls can't be moved or removed without engineering changes, which is one reason custom design gives you more flexibility than renovating an existing home.
Rough-In
Rough-in is the stage when plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems are installed inside the walls, floors, and ceilings before drywall goes up. Rough-in inspections happen at this stage, while everything's still visible.
Dried-In
A home is dried-in when the roof, exterior sheathing, windows, and doors are installed, making the interior protected from weather. Interior work can move forward regardless of rain once the home reaches this stage.
Punch List
A punch list is the final list of small items to complete or correct before the home is finished, like touch-up paint, adjusting a door, or replacing a scratched fixture. It's created during the final walkthrough, and the builder completes it before or shortly after closing.
Completion Terms
Final Walkthrough
The final walkthrough is your detailed tour of the completed home with your builder before closing. It's when you confirm everything was built as agreed, learn how your home's systems work, and create the punch list.
Certificate of Occupancy
A certificate of occupancy (CO) is the document issued by the local building department confirming the home passed all required inspections and is legally ready to live in. You can't move in without it.
Builder Warranty
A builder warranty is the builder's written commitment to repair certain defects after move-in. Coverage varies, so ask any builder you're considering exactly what their warranty includes and for how long.
Have Questions About the Process?
Knowing the terminology is a great start, but there's no substitute for a builder who explains things clearly at every step. If you've been searching for custom home builders near you in Middle Tennessee and want a team that keeps you informed from the first meeting through the final walkthrough, contact Hannah Custom Homes at 615-822-8042 or contact us online today.