Custom home builders in Harrison, Arkansas

• Building on land you already own

  You have the site and a fairly clear idea of the house. What you need is somebody to take it from planning to final details and answer for the schedule, the trades and the finish along the way.

• Rebuilding or replacing

  A house that no longer works, or one that is gone. We have built for a family rebuilding from the ground up after a tornado, and that project is in our portfolio.

• A home with something specific in it

  A built-in storm shelter, a wood-burning stove the living areas are arranged around, a workshop attached. The specific thing is usually the reason a stock plan was never going to work.

• The site

  Boone County is not flat. Slope, rock, driveway access, how far the utilities have to come and what the foundation has to do about all of it are real costs that have nothing to do with the house you drew.

• Foundation type

  A slab on a level pad and a basement cut into an Ozark hillside are not the same project. This is usually decided by the site rather than by preference, and it is decided early.

• Size and complexity

  Square footage matters less than shape. Roof planes, corners, porches, changes in ceiling height and the number of wet rooms move a home's cost more than the footprint does.

• Finish level

  Cabinetry, countertops, flooring, tile and fixtures span an enormous range, and this is the category where a decision made late costs several times what the same decision costs early.

• Specialty elements

  A built-in storm shelter, a stone fireplace, a custom stair, an attached shop. Each one is worth having and each one is worth pricing on purpose rather than discovering halfway through.

We will not quote a per-square-foot figure for a house before we have seen the site and the plan. Anyone who does is quoting a different house from the one you are describing, and the gap shows up later as a change order rather than as a saving.

Do you build conventional homes, or only metal buildings?

Both. The barndominiums are the work we are best known for, but Built Around the Hearth is a home we managed from planning to final details, and our Custom Rustic Barndominium is wood-framed. Which structure your house wants is a question about spans, site and what you are putting inside it.

Do you have house plans I can choose from?

No. We do not publish a plan library and we are not going to pretend to. We build to your plan, or alongside the designer, architect or engineer you are working with. If a builder shows you six named plans and a price, they are selling a product rather than quoting a house.

Will you be the general contractor?

On a custom home, normally yes — that is what the service is. On Built Around the Hearth we managed every phase of the build. If you have already got someone running the job and you want us for part of it, say so and we will tell you honestly whether that is a sensible split.

Can you build a storm shelter into the house?

We have. Built Around the Hearth includes a built-in storm shelter. Tell us early if you want one, because where it goes affects the foundation and the floor plan rather than being something added at the end.

Do you handle the interior selections?

Yes. For finished homes and interior build-outs our interior project manager works with you to select and coordinate flooring, cabinetry, countertops, fixtures, finishes and colours. You do not have to figure it all out on your own, and you do not have to project-manage your own suppliers.

Where do you build homes?

Across Harrison, Boone County, and surrounding North Arkansas communities. If your land sits outside that, ask before you assume it is out of range — we will tell you honestly whether we can run a full build there.