FAQ

It’s a different model. It combines all of it under one roof. Architectural design, interior design, and a creative building team. The building team is able to help the design along the way by making sure the methods and costs are accurate and heading towards a design budget. And then ultimately save money in the end product as well.

It shortens the time span required to get a project from conception to construction in the end. What happens is all that work takes place collaboratively within one space. What’s good is that the designer can ask the contractor or carpenter on their staff, “How do you do this? What’s the best way to do it?” Instead of having to draw it, send it out, wait for a response, redraw it. It’s all done in synergistic efforts.

I can guarantee your project is probably going to cost you more than you think it might cost. Remodeling is a process that not only creates new spaces, but you have to renovate the old to integrate what you want. Each project’s unique, and during our process, it will be estimated at three different junctures.

Initially, after our first meeting, to give you a good ballpark based on historical ideas of what a project like yours could cost. The second step is after we get some preliminary drawings put together, we’ll use historical data to get a more realistic price point to determine whether or not you want to move forward with the full design. When it’s finally designed and engineered, it’ll be the final construction budget will be created that reflects actual material selections, final engineer drawings, and permit-ready construction sets.

Bathrooms. Hall bathrooms, guest bathrooms, you’re going to be looking at between, say, $30,000 to $35,000. A master bathroom, gut the existing, get rid of all new cabinets, countertops, new shower, new tub. You’re going to be in the $60,000 to a $100,000 range. If you get really crazy, obviously you can continue to spend more.

Kitchens. If you’re going to find yourself in a kind of a clean-up, spiff-up stage, you’re going to be in the $50-$75,000 range. A full kitchen, new cabinets, new appliances, wiring, a full new kitchen, then you’re going to be in the $75-$150,000 range.

You can live in your house during the project if the scope is not attacking all of the places that you would normally retreat to at the end of the day for privacy at one time. The example being if we’re doing your kitchen, your family room, and your master bedroom and bathroom at one time, you’re better served moving out.

At some point, you’ve got to be able to escape from our day-to-day. And as much as people on all the TV shows glorify camping in your own home, it is a bumpy, messy, stressful project.

We are a design-build firm. We actually design and we actually build–there’s a big difference. Some teams just do the design and then farm out the building, the builder then subs everything out. In our camp, we do the design for you. We have 15 employees that are craftsmen and craftswomen who actually build your project.

So what you are getting is conception to execution all under one roof. We’ve been in business for 32 years. We have collectively over 400 years of construction experience amongst our team. And we’re a team: Everybody is utilized in their most effective role in completing your project.

It’s great if you have your own designer. A successful project demands creative design, architectural design, innovative and receptive owners, and a creative and quality construction team. If you are bringing the design piece to the table, that’s great. We always collaborate with other designers on projects.

The design is dependent upon the style of your project. And it’s also dependent on how decisive you are. Typically, a project for a kitchen and bathroom, you’re looking at 30 to 60 days from conception to being ready to build. We call it hammer ready. If you’re going to do a whole-house renovation or a large edition, maybe even a new home, you can expect that timeframe to stretch to 90 days, maybe even three or four months.

A lot of that is really going to hinge on how clear you are with your direction. How receptive, and how decisive you are along the way. The next step obviously to get to that stage is how long does it take to get permits? If there’s not much structural work, permits can take two to four weeks. If it’s a lot of footprint change and a lot of structural work, that permit process can run two to four months.

Basics are the first place to start. Is the contractor you’re talking to licensed? Are they bonded? Do they have the appropriate insurance? That covers the legality piece. The second step is the qualifications. What kind of project are you having them build? Have they built those kind before? Have you had an opportunity to look at those projects before and talk to past clients?

The last, probably most important, is you’re entering a short-term marriage. So think about the relationship. You’re going to work through a long process and you need to be able to communicate with the owner of the company and the teammates that you’re going to end up working day to day with.

So it’s really imperative that you do your homework. Find out legally are they good, find out are they capable of building your kind of project? And third, do you think you can work with them over a span of.

In the end, it’s your home. We’re the design, the creation, the execution to help you go from “Hello, I’d like to do this” to “Wow, I love it. I can’t wait to move in.” It starts with the initial home visit. On that visit, we want to understand what you want to do. Are you going to add on, can we work within the space? What kind of project are we going to create for you?

At the end of that visit, we’ll share what we think a basic range for projects like yours might be. If that makes sense, the next step in our world is what we call the project development retainer. Basically, during that phase, you’re going to commit to expending a little bit of funds. We are going to figure out what can be built, jurisdictional research, what you want built, effectively and reasonably what’s it going to cost to build what you want to do.

Again, the most important understanding is that while we’ve got to be creative in our solutions, we also have to be fiscally responsible in what we create for you. So if we keep moving at that point, after the project development phase, we’ll go into final design. All of the final materials will get selected, the actual working drawings will get done, engineering will get done, and a final construction budget will get put together.

At that point, we’ll schedule it, we’ll send it out to permit, and we’ll get ready and we’ll build your job. So basically from dream it, design it, like it, live it.

The one that really understands the team approach. The client, it’s their inspiration in terms of what they want. But the ability to craft and build a team that can execute it, all understanding that they’re working together with a client to create a dream and provide a dream home.

So much of that piece centers on understanding everybody’s roles, understanding the design side: Creative, innovative, responsive. The build side: Capable, communicative, able to execute at a quality level that you want. The owner’s side: Being able to be decisive, being able to work together in that group. And understand that there will be bumps and there will be dirt–it’s remodeling. And know to take it in stride and to trust the team.

It’s trust. The bottom line is, the bare minimum of our working relationships can be based upon our ability to execute what you want. You wouldn’t come hire us if you didn’t think that we could build the product at the quality level you want. So that’s the given–beyond that it’s trust. You are going to hand over the keys to one of your larger assets. You are going to trust that we’re going to come in, we’re going to care for it the way it should be cared for. We’re going to make it better by being there.

I’m going to touch back on the trust concept. When you go on vacation and you say, “What are we going to do? Well, let’s go take a raft trip down a bumpy river.” It’s billed as thrilling, exciting, and you still might get wet. What you do is you hire a guide. They’re professionals and their job is to help you navigate your way down the river, explaining what’s coming, helping you understand and enjoy the process.

And help you understand when the process might get a little bumpy and a little bit wet. At that point, they’re going to make sure that you understand it’s expected and we are going to get through it. And we’re the ones that are going to help you get through it. So respect the process, trust in the process, and trust in your guide.

At the end of every project, there’s a quality control period. You’re about ready to move in, we’re wrapping things up. That’s what we call the definition of a punch list. During that phase, all the little niggly things are identified and fixed. We try to do that in a controlled time frame because once you’ve moved in, it’s very hard to schedule people in and around you, your family, you’re already moved in home instead of our construction site.

Warranty is that period after punch, you’ve moved in, when inevitably you’ll find something, or there might be a sheetrock crack or a little bit of paint that needs to be touched up in that 12 month period after you’ve moved in. That’s what we define as warranty. You’ll call us, you’ll let us know you’ve found something. We’ll schedule accordingly so that we can bundle them and service them at your convenience.