On your project, you will work with one team of highly skilled and knowledgeable professionals comprised of experienced designers, tradesman, and material suppliers all working together efficiently. The transition from design to construction is smooth because there is no need to search for contractors that can fully understand and properly interpret your ideas and plans. Any problems that may arise are handled amongst the team.
The ability to realize and achieve our client’s vision and designs down the last detail results in a completed project that meets and often times exceeds our customers’ expectations. The design is completed before construction starts, allowing you the peace of mind of a fixed price construction contract without a lot of guess work and allowances.
Initial Conversation
Our initial conversation is to get basic information about you and your project. Understanding your wants and needs and the budget you are working with will go a long way in determining if we can help you realize your remodeling or new home desires and achieve your goals to include healthy home design and construction principles dictated by “Step Beyond Green to Healthy.”
On Site Meeting
After our initial conversation, we arrange a meeting with you, either in our Brookfield design studio or at your home. We will further analyze all aspects of your project. We will compare your project to similar work we’ve completed previously to help inspire ideas and establish realistic budgets.
Preliminary Design and Project Planning Agreement
“Open and honest construction budgeting is part of our design/build process.”
After signing the preliminary design and project planning agreement, our senior designer will schedule a field or site measure at your home or lot. This will start the preliminary design development phase, which will initially produce floor plan options for your project. Typically, two-three options are created that will then be presented for your review per the design agreement timeline.
From that meeting, one plan will be selected, and the construction budget will be created. Material selections at a very basic level will also happen, but specific colors/textures/styles will be done at a later time. This will give us enough information to put more specific numbers to our construction budget with allowances as necessary.
At this time, we also have the flexibility to make different choices if we come in over the established budget, since the construction drawings are not yet complete. This is one of the advantages to our system. You only commit to the construction contract once you are comfortable with the budget. It also gives our customers the opportunity to go a different direction if for any reason you are not comfortable with the budget or the process. We allow our customers to have the preliminary design drawings to do with as they choose.
If we agree on the budget, we will proceed to the construction contract phase, in which we finish the architectural drawings, make selections, and begin the construction process.
Once the preliminary design drawings are complete, we send our team to create a budget based on actual field conditions. An added benefit is our open book policy where you will see the budget as a line item presentation. It will allow you to understand where the money is being spent and decide where adjustments need to be made if the budget needs adjustments. This again is possible since the drawings at this point are not complete, and we have time to change them if needed to adjust for budget overages.
We also believe this helps us create a more trusting relationship with our clients and allows our customers to be a bigger part of the team. Our customers have more control over the project instead of just taking a leap of faith that the contractor and design team will make all the right decisions.
Construction Agreement
You will be provided with an MBA or NARI standard form construction contract agreement with a fixed cost. The only allowances that may exist would be for site improvements, materials not yet selected and finalized, and any other items as noted in the contract that may be typical to new home construction projects. You should expect the project to be completed on cost unless you choose to make changes during the project. Everything involved in the project is transparent, so you don’t have to worry about surprise costs.
Construction Phase
Your project manager will communicate with you about start dates, completion dates, and what to expect during the process. All of our projects are tracked in real time using Buildertrend computer software, allowing you to watch your project schedule progress.
Your project manager will be on the jobsite regularly during the week to manage the process. Phone, text, and email messaging is essential to open communication during the process. When questions do arise, your design consultant and project manager will be readily available to communicate.
With this in mind, we have adopted a “Zero Punch System,” meaning we manage punch list items as the project is completed, not at the end of the renovation.
Building and Remodeling for Better Health
All of our new home and remodeling projects utilize a base level of “Step Beyond Green to Healthy” elements. This does add some cost to a typical construction project utilizing base level materials. We feel it is our duty as builders and designers to create healthier indoor home environments for our families and children. Currently, we are the only design/builder in this state dedicated to this cause. We believe it is the right thing to do.