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Custom Home Builder · Cumming, GA
Custom Home Builder in Cumming, Georgia
Ground-up custom homes on your lot in Cumming and Forsyth County, designed and built by one accountable team.
Custom Home Building in Cumming
Homes built for the lot, not for a plan book
Cumming has two very different kinds of building sites, and they do not want the same house. There are the lake lots off Browns Bridge and Sanders Road, where the view sets the floor plan and the topography sets the foundation. And there are the acreage parcels north of town toward Coal Mountain and Matt, where you have room to spread out and the well and septic decisions come first. We design for the lot you actually own. That means walking it before anyone draws anything, and telling you honestly what it will and will not support.
GHIR is a design-build contractor, which means architecture, budget, permitting, and construction all run through one team on one contract. You are not the referee between an architect who does not know what things cost and a builder who was handed a plan he cannot execute. Every plan we draw is unique to the client. Details are everything to us, and that is the part most people notice a year after they move in.
Scope of Work
What a GHIR custom home includes
Most custom homes run 9 to 14 months of construction after permits, with 2 to 4 months of design and approvals before that.
Site & feasibility
Lot walk, topography, utilities, septic or sewer, and what the zoning envelope will actually allow before you buy plans.
Architecture & design
Plans drawn for your family and your lot, not pulled off a shelf. Every plan is unique to the client.
Line-item budget
A real budget by trade and allowance before construction starts, so you know what you are signing.
Permits & approvals
Building permit, land disturbance, septic, and any overlay or HOA review handled by us.
Construction
One superintendent, one schedule, and our own long-standing trade partners rather than whoever is cheapest that month.
Selections & finishes
Cabinetry, stone, tile, trim, and lighting selected on a schedule that keeps the build moving.
Local Requirements
Permitting in Cumming and Forsyth County
Permitting is handled by Forsyth County Planning & Community Development, or the City of Cumming if the property sits inside city limits. Here is what actually shapes the schedule on a custom home building project in Cumming.
Two different building departments
Whether your project is reviewed by Forsyth County or the City of Cumming depends on which side of the city limit line your parcel falls on. We confirm jurisdiction before drawings are started, because the submittal packages are not the same.
Land disturbance comes before the building permit
New construction that disturbs ground needs a land disturbance permit and an erosion control plan, and larger sites add a state Notice of Intent. On a wooded or sloped Forsyth lot this is the first submittal, not an afterthought.
Septic approval comes before the building permit
If your home is on septic, Forsyth County Environmental Health has to sign off on the proposed footprint before a building permit can be issued, and that review can take twenty business days or more. It is the item most likely to move your start date, so we file it first.
Watershed and stream buffers north of town
Parts of northern Forsyth sit inside the Etowah Water Supply Watershed overlay, which carries impervious surface setbacks measured from the stream bank. On sloped or creek-adjacent lots we check this before laying out a footprint rather than after.
Realistic review windows
A complete custom home submittal in Forsyth County generally runs four to eight weeks, and complex grading, drainage, or a larger footprint can stretch that to ten or twelve. City of Cumming fire review typically closes within ten business days of the fee being paid.
Why GHIR
Why Cumming homeowners choose GHIR
We are 20 minutes up the road
Our office is in Dawsonville, at the north end of GA-400. Cumming is not a market we drive to occasionally. It is the market we work in, which is why our superintendents are on site rather than on the phone.
Septic and site work handled first
On an unsewered lot, Forsyth County Environmental Health has to approve the footprint before the building permit can issue. We file that early, because it is the item most likely to delay a start.
A budget you can actually hold to
You get a line-item budget by trade with real allowances before construction begins. A number that is low enough to win the job and high enough to survive it is not a budget, it is a sales tactic.
Built to what these neighborhoods expect
Vickery, Windermere, The Polo Fields, and St. Marlo all hold homes to a standard. We build to it, and we prepare the architectural review submittals that go with it.
Project Collection
Recent work in Cumming
Full Home Renovation & Addition
Sneddon Project
Cumming, GA
Addition & Kitchen Renovation
Topper Project
Cumming, GA
Full Home Renovation
Kauk Project
Cumming, GA
Kitchen Addition & Deck Rebuild
Cone Project
Cumming, GA
Areas We Serve
Custom Home Building across Cumming & Forsyth
Cumming grew faster than almost anywhere in Georgia between 1995 and 2010, which means a large share of its housing stock is now twenty to thirty years old: good bones, dated layouts, and closed-off kitchens that no longer match how the families inside them actually live.
How It Works
Your custom home building project, step by step
Lot review and free consultation
We walk the property with you, talk through what you want, and give an honest budget range before anyone spends money on drawings.
Design and line-item budget
Plans and a trade-by-trade budget develop together, so the design never outruns the number.
Permits and approvals
We submit to Forsyth County Planning & Community Development, or the City of Cumming if the property sits inside city limits, plus septic, land disturbance, and architectural review where they apply.
Construction
Your dedicated superintendent runs the schedule with clear milestone updates from footings to final trim.
Walkthrough and warranty
A detailed punch walkthrough, then a warranty period. We are not finished when you move in.
★★★★★
“They handled every detail, from design to permits to construction, and delivered exactly what we envisioned. I wouldn’t hesitate to hire them again.”
Verified Google Review
Home Renovation · Cumming, GA
Common Questions
Custom Home Building in Cumming FAQs
How long does it take to build a custom home in Cumming?
Plan on 9 to 14 months of construction, with 2 to 4 months of design and approvals before that. Forsyth County plan review on a complete new-home submittal generally runs four to eight weeks, and complex grading or drainage can push it to ten or twelve.
Do I need to own the lot before we start?
No, and it is often better if you do not. We will walk a lot with you before you buy it and tell you what the topography, utilities, septic, and zoning envelope will really allow. That conversation has saved clients from bad lots more than once.
Can you build on a Lake Lanier lot?
Yes. Lake lots bring their own constraints, including shoreline buffers and how much of the buildable area is left once setbacks and slope are accounted for. We work those out at the site-review stage, not after you have paid for plans.
What areas around Cumming do you serve?
We are based in Dawsonville and work throughout North Georgia, including Cumming, Cumming, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Buford, Gainesville, Suwanee, Roswell, and Sandy Springs.
Are you a licensed general contractor in Georgia?
Yes. GHIR holds Georgia Unlimited GC licenses #GCCO006076 and #GCQA006072, plus Florida GC #CGC1527188. We are a NARI Atlanta member and fully insured.
Do you offer financing?
Yes. We offer unsecured project financing up to $150,000 with no home equity required. Ask during your free consultation.
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Ready to start your Cumming project?
Start with a free, no-pressure consultation and a realistic line-item budget. One team, one point of contact, from first idea to final walkthrough.