Build Your Dream

Custom Homes Built With Integrity, Experience, and Intentional Design

Affordable Craftsmen is a Georgia State Licensed Custom Home Builder based in North Cobb, Marietta, Georgia, serving Cobb, Cherokee, Paulding, Bartow, and Pickens Counties. Since 2002, we’ve helped families bring thoughtfully designed life homes: homes that fit their land, their lifestyle, and their budget.

Over the past 20+ years, we’ve built custom homes ranging from 1,000 square feet to more than 12,000 square feet, with the majority of our projects historically falling between $700,000 and $2 million. In recent years, however, we’ve made a very intentional shift.

A Commitment to Smaller Custom Homes

While we’re always grateful to serve clients at every price point, we’ve chosen to focus more deliberately on smaller custom homes, particularly in the 1,000–2,000-square-foot range. Many builders in North Atlanta prefer not to build houses under $500,000 due to thinner margins and nearly the same workload. As a result, clients who want smaller, well-designed homes often struggle to find a builder willing to take them on.

We believe smaller homes deserve the same level of care, craftsmanship, and customization as larger ones, and we’re committed to helping as many families as possible achieve that goal.

Land Matters More Than Most People Realize

For many clients, building a custom home starts with finding the right lot. That process is more complex than it often appears.

We frequently assist clients in identifying smaller, more affordable lots that work for the type and size of home they want to build. It’s common for buyers to purchase land with the help of a real estate agent, only to discover later limitations or complications that delay or derail the project. These challenges often arise not from poor intentions but from the fact that land development requires specialized knowledge. When this happens, it can take months to resolve issues before a permit can be pulled and construction can begin.

To set proper expectations, a typical timeline looks like this:

  • 3–6 months to find land, purchase it, complete surveys, conduct soil testing (if septic is required), design the home to fit the lot, complete the site plan, and finalize financing
  • 4–10 months to build, depending on size and complexity

Construction typically starts in March–May and September–November, as weather plays a significant role in clearing, grading, and pouring foundations.

Experience Across Styles, Sizes, and Special Builds

Since 2002, we’ve developed lots and built homes throughout North Fulton, Cobb, and Cherokee Counties. While Southern Living-style homes are typical in North Georgia, our portfolio includes a wide variety of unique and specialized builds, including:

  • Circa 1850 and Circa 1900 historic styles
  • Modern homes
  • Hypo-allergenic homes
  • EarthCraft homes
  • Custom and one-of-a-kind designs

Our experience allows us to adapt designs to land conditions, budgets, and long-term livability.

Transparent Cost-Plus Pricing

We are a cost-plus builder, which means all materials and labor are fully budgeted and transparent. If you decide to upgrade, downgrade, add, or remove features during the build, costs are based solely on actual, real-world pricing, not arbitrary markups.

Our goal is clarity, flexibility, and trust.

Whether You’re Early or Well Along, We Can Help

Some clients come to us early in the process. Others already own land and have purchased home plans online. In many cases, we end up being both the most affordable bid and the builder offering the best ideas and direction moving forward.

That said, we often have to reset expectations when clients ask how quickly permits can be pulled. Without a survey, soil test, site plan, and septic permit (if applicable), permitting can still take 2–4 months, and online house plans often require costly modifications once land realities are known.

Regardless of where you are in the process, we want to help.

Importantly, helping you early does not obligate you to use us as your builder. We understand that many homeowners wisely gather bids only after land and plans are in place.

Coaching, Co-Building, or Turn-Key Construction

We don’t work for free. Our time and expertise are valuable, but we do offer flexible ways to work together.

Ask us about our Coach-to-Build Program, where we can:

  • Guide you through the pre-permit and pre-build phase
  • Coach you through acting as your own builder, if that’s your goal
  • Help you manage subcontractors with confidence

This guidance is built on decades of experience not only in home building and lot development, but also in the mortgage industry, where we were trained as underwriters and appraisers.

A Trusted Team That Saves You Time and Money

We work with our own network of surveyors, soil engineers, structural engineers, civil engineers, and architects, all local leaders in their fields. Because of our long-standing relationships, our clients often pay half or even a quarter of the standard market rate for these services.

The savings in time, energy, and money consistently outweigh the investment in our help.

Honest Expectations, Strong Communication

To date, we’ve never built a new custom home that we didn’t earn the bid on. That’s not because we’re always the lowest price, but because clients trust our process, our questions, our communication, and our transparency.

That said, we believe in being upfront: construction is influenced by weather, market conditions, and many moving parts. Homes are built outdoors, not in factories. Challenges can arise no matter who you choose to work with. Our commitment is to anticipate, prepare for, and manage those realities as effectively as possible.

Let’s Start With a Conversation

If you’re considering a custom home, we invite you to meet with us. Let us know what you want to achieve and where you are in the process. We’ll offer honest, kind feedback, practical suggestions, and a clear path forward.

Whether you choose to:

  • Work with us during pre-permit planning
  • Co-build alongside us
  • Hire us for a full turn-key build
  • Or simply use our coaching support

Our commitment remains the same.

Our goal is to help you build the best home for you and your family at the lowest reasonable cost, regardless of the role we ultimately play.

Gary & Renee McCormick
Affordable Craftsmen

Get a free custom home consultation today: 770-591-4464.