- Our projects are priced on a fixed cost basis fully disclosed to our clients. You are always in control of your budget and will understand the cost associated with the construction of your new home.
- We competitively bid every aspect of our projects with time tested contractors that have proven their quality and expertise. Many have worked for us for over 15 years.
- We bill only for work done; we are paid as work is completed.
- We manage payments & lien releases through a 3rd party title company. Your payments are disbursed to those that have invoiced and done the work.
- We don't ask our clients to sign a construction contract until we have a final home design and a budget that meets our client's expectations.
We work with several local architects that we feel are the best in the business and with whom we've developed trust & strong relationships. Once the architect is selected, our clients contract directly with the architect - keeping you in control of the process and in ownership of the work that is done.
Once design is under way, we'll meet every couple of weeks to review and discuss the design of your home. Typically, design will take 2-3 months. We encourage our clients to begin design early and spend plenty of time in between design meetings to consider the concepts - walkthrough the concepts room by room, "live in the design".
Contemporary, cottage, craftsman, lake house - these terms may mean different things to you than to your architect. The best way to communicate is with photographs. We encourage you to create a collection of photos that appeal to you. Organize it by room - exterior, kitchen, master bathroom, etc.... The more prepared and organized you are, the better your architect will understand your goals for your new home. Create a wishlist, room by room. Include features, your plans for using the room, special pieces of furniture you intend to bring and anything else that will help the team understand your vision.
These hand drawn, artistic translations are fun to look at and even more fun to play with. They capture the initial statement of a lifestyle quickly and inexpensively. Every architect has their own process, but most will present hand drawn, loose concepts at the first design review.
It's too early at this stage to establish a firm cost to build. Instead, we'll target the budget by identifying an expected cost per square foot. We'll determine this cost based on our experience and our conversations regarding your home's amenities, finishes & features.
After perfecting the conceptual design, the architect will proceed into CAD drawings. Design will proceed to a set of drawings that can be bid by subcontractors - the 'bid set'. Once we reach this point, we'll pause the design process to prepare a formal budget to make sure we're on track with your budget expectations.
At this level, the concept sketches go to a Computer Aided Design (CAD) system in the next step toward final, refined construction blueprints. We also draw a front elevation to see how the home will look on the exterior, as well as a floor plan for each floor.
We competitively bid every aspect of the budget. We enlist the best contractors available, competing against peers. Bidding keeps them on track and competitive. We take our fiduciary responsibility of our clients' funds very seriously and ensure the entire project is cost effective.
The Selection/Design Process is a detailed yet fun time during the home building experience! Our clients begin working on selections immediately following the budget review. Why? It is very important that the majority of selections are made prior to framing as this not only ensures that we can move as quickly as possible, but it also confirms that we are able to customize the home to fit every detail that our clients are dreaming of. Selections include interior and exterior materials and finishes, lighting, furniture, window coverings, paint colors, and more!
Once we've developed the Bid Set of drawings, we'll develop specifications for the project - a description of the finishing of the home that is not yet included on the drawings. We'll compile the drawings and the specifications to solicit competitive bids for every aspect of your project. Our clients now have real pricing and can go forward confident about the cost of the project. At this stage of design, we're able to make changes to the design without significant expense. Once we've refined the preliminary budget, the architect will begin the working drawings. This stage of design typically takes 1-2 months, depending on the size and design of the home. While this final design work is being done, we'll work on interior design and material selections. Once the working drawings are complete and your selections have been finalized, we'll repeat the budgeting process. The final budget will be based upon your final plans & selections. Our final budget will largely be composed of firm bids - all from competitive bidders. Our competitive process and low overhead allow us to deliver a lower cost per square foot than our competitors and can save hundreds of thousands of dollars for our clients.
Throughout the project, we oversee the quality of your home every step of the way. We pride ourselves on keeping an open line of communication throughout the process with not only subcontractors, but also the homeowners, keeping them informed and answering any questions that may arise.
Well-developed building practices are only the first step in building a quality home. No matter how well a project is managed, things can slip through the cracks. To minimize this, we performance test all our homes throughout construction to verify that procedures have been followed and the details have been attended to.
We use tools like moisture meters to verify the moisture content of sub floors prior to installing hardwood flooring. Humidity meters are used to keep a check on the indoor humidity levels throughout construction; installing equipment as necessary to add or remove humidity. We use blower door units to de-pressurize the home to locate penetrations in the insulation as well as air barriers.
We will perform several walkthroughs prior to occupancy marking concerns that need to be addressed prior to moving in- we call this the "Punch List". A final walkthrough is then conducted with the clients to make sure the home is as close to perfect as man and nature can provide. We follow this with a white glove cleaning before we welcome you into your new home.
As a new home settles over the first year, along with daily use of fixtures and finishes, concerns can arise. We provide our clients with warranty coverage on the workmanship and material quality. To ensure the quality of your new home, we will provide a thorough inspection at 1 year, addressing any issues our clients may have.