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The Builder Interview Checklist.

Twenty questions to ask before you hand someone the most important project of your life — and how to read the answers. Written from the side of the person who has to read the plans and watch them get built.

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What's inside

Twenty questions, six themes.

The list we use when we sit at the table with a client and their builder. Each question is built to surface how a builder thinks — not just what they charge.

01

Experience & fit

Four questions that surface whether a builder's recent, relevant volume actually matches a home like yours.

02

Plans & preconstruction

How a builder reads a set of drawings before the dig — and where they expect to find the gaps.

03

Budget & change orders

The process questions that separate a firm price from a placeholder full of allowances.

04

Schedule & communication

Who you call, how often you hear from them, and the delays an honest builder will name up front.

05

Contract & protection

Licensing, insurance, warranty, lien waivers — the paperwork that protects you when something goes wrong.

06

How to read the answers

Why the strongest builders answer faster, with more detail, and with fewer reassurances.

Why we gate it

So we know who’s asking.

You’ll download the PDF instantly. The reason we gate it: your details go to Daniel personally so he can follow up — if you want to talk through anything in the guide, he’d rather hear about your project than not.

Your email stays with Daniel Allen Designs. We do not sell it, trade it, or pass it to any third party. No automated email sequence will hit your inbox after the download.

— Daniel

Your details go directly to Daniel. No automated email sequence, no third-party sharing. He’ll only follow up personally if there’s a reason to.

From the studio behind the guide

Designed by someone who built first.

Daniel Allen Designs is a luxury residential design studio anchored in Metro Atlanta and serving custom-home clients nationwide.

30+

Years of design experience

20+

Years as a custom home builder

7

Dimensions in the Builder's Eye

Already have a set of plans?

See what a complete, permit-ready set actually contains — and how to spot the gaps in a set that only looks finished.

Get the plans guide