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The drawings need to satisfy several
requirements. You need the drawings in a form that you can fully
understand. Your local permit office wants to see explicit information
defining all elements of your project, including a final site plan,
demolition and proposed floor plans, elevations, sections, structural
details, mechanical, and plumbing plans, and window, door, and finish
schedules. It’s a lot of work, but our in-house experts are
some of the best in the business. When completed, we will have
thoroughly detailed your project to satisfy all code, contractual,
construction, and client requirements.
The length of your process will vary with
your needs, goals, and project scope. From start to finish, the entire
process of design, permitting, and construction for a typical $200,000
project, for example, may take approximately 9-12 months. The actual
construction phase may take 4-6 months, with design and permitting
processes often being the biggest variables on the critical path.
Have
some fun
This is all the more reason to get off to a good start. Essentially,
your project will get built twice, once as a representation in a
computer and on paper, and then again on site. We know it can be
frustrating for a homeowner that the design and permitting can take
longer than the actual construction, but it’s necessary work
and crucial to the success of the project. We’ll seek to make
this all easy for you, and try to have as much fun as we can along the
way!
Our process is simple. It is composed of 4
phases. Schematic Design (Phase 1), Design Development (Phase 2),
Construction Documents (Phase 3), and Production (Phase 4).
Phase
1
We will begin our Schematic Design (Phase 1) process with a thorough
site analysis, documentation of the existing conditions of your home,
and include any zoning regulations, code, and historic preservation and
Fine Arts requirements for your particular site. We prepare detailed
“As-Built” drawings of your existing home as a
first step so that we’re intimately familiar with your home,
its structure, and its existing systems. Upon completion of the
As-Built drawings, we will work with you and propose our initial
concepts. Working directly with you, we will clarify project
requirements, further refine your goals and needs, and propose a
well-designed solution. We use a variety of presentation methods
including AutoCAD (Computer Aided Design), freehand sketches, and 3-D
or perspective renderings to delineate the project for you.
We know that clients visualize things in
different ways, and we strive to present the schematic material in a
format that is easy for you to understand. We’ll start out
conceptually, and then move into the details of the home with plans,
sections, and elevations. Many of your decisions concerning the design
and construction of your project will be firmly established by the end
of this initial process, and will thus form the bounding parameters of
the project. The Schematic Design will conclude with the presentation
of an Interim Construction Estimate and the various drawings developed
in this phase.
Phase
2
With your approval of the drawings and cost projection, we will
commence with Design Development (Phase 2). In this phase we are
working to compile and complete all of the final information required
to secure all necessary permits for your project. The estimate, again,
is revisited and refined throughout Phase 2 as the drawings are further
developed and as we get more information from our material suppliers,
project managers, and subcontractors. At the conclusion of this phase
we will file for your building permit and present firm construction
pricing.
Phase
3
The final phase, Construction Documents, consists of the assembly of
cut sheets, specifications, finish selections, final detail drawings,
interior elevations, schedules, and the specific contract language for
your construction work.
Our total fee for all design work (Phases 1,
2, and 3) is based on 12 percent of an estimated construction cost. At
the conclusion of the design effort two percentage points will be
credited toward your ratified construction contract, effectively
reducing our design fee to 10 percent of the actual construction cost.
No “hand-off”
As your project moves through design, you’re already on our
construction schedule. Your Project Manager is scheduling all the
necessary resources to get your project built. We make every effort to
move you directly into production as soon as permits are procured and
our construction agreement is finalized. Your team leader will track
and shepherd your project through all phases of design, estimating,
permitting, and construction. He or she will be directly and intimately
involved in all phases of your project. We don’t have a
hand-off.
Phase
4
We like to say that this is where the “real work”
gets done. During Production (Phase 4) your team assembled at the start
of the process will plan, manage, and perform all of the construction
work on your project. The Project Manager becomes your point person for
all communication and is responsible for assembling and coordinating
all materials and labor to get your project completed as soon as
possible and with quality results. Your team leader and design staff
follow your project through, and are always available to answer the
inevitable questions that will arise during production. We do almost
all of the production work in-house, with the usual exceptions being
roofing, drywall, and painting work, which we will coordinate and
subcontract with specialized crews (this saves on our costs, which we
pass along to you!) And, of course, your dedicated team will work
directly with you to keep you informed and address any concerns during
the entire process.
We will schedule meetings with you at
certain production milestones in addition to our weekly progress
meetings with you. Before dry-walling, we conduct a
“Close-In” walk-through with you to explain,
verify, and confirm all systems before concealment. We will ask you to
pay particular attention to the location of light fixtures, switches,
and receptacles, since we don’t want to be moving those items
around afterwards.
When we reach Substantial Completion (the
point at which you can use the spaces for their intended purposes), we
will schedule another formal walk-through and review the last items to
be completed, corrected, or finalized. A “Punch
List” of minor defects and incomplete items will be jointly
prepared and agreed upon, and when the listed items are completed, our
contractual agreement will be considered 100 percent fulfilled.
As your new systems, drywall, and structural
work learn to live with one another in their new surroundings, we
monitor and Warrant our completed work for a period of one year after
Substantial Completion. It’s normal that there may a few nail
pops in drywall, or that your HVAC may need final balancing or
adjustment during this period. We expect it and plan to be available
for you to ensure that all systems are working as planned.
At Final Completion, you will be presented a
Certificate of Final Completion and all manuals, product warranties,
etc., for installed items will be presented to you for your reference
and use. We are always available to answer your questions.
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