Building or Remodeling your dream home is a huge undertaking that is more than a little daunting. Whether you are a newbie or have been down this road before, here are some of the top questions we get asked by clients.
1. Should I hire a builder first? First thing's first: build a team to ensure a successful project. People often ask me who to hire first. It doesn't matter whether you hire a builder, architect or designer first- whichever you hire first, the other two should be secured shortly after that. Truth be told, if you are savvy enough to engage all three, the architect and designer do the majority of the heavy lifting early in the project- long before the contractor demos or breaks ground. This doesn't mean finding your contractor after plans are finished: contractors can provide valuable input regarding how to deal with certain aspects of the design. We strongly suggest having everyone on board early on so that there can be periodic, strategic meetings to ensure all bases are covered; from realistic plans to keeping within budget.
2. Aren't architects and designers essentially the same?
Nope. Not only is training different, an architects attention is focused on the exterior of the building first, then the interior. Designers have the reverse perspective. For example, an architect will place windows where it makes the most sense both functionally and aesthetically on the exterior. A designer will see that the perfectly placed exterior window is going to cut through exactly where the couch should be placed in a living room. Another good example is when we were building our own personal home, we had a phenomenal architect who didn't have one functional shared space closet anywhere on the first floor nor a linen closet upstairs. Our designer was quick to see this and thankfully we were able to remedy it in the design phase rather than when the house was already framed out.
3. Don't designers essentially pick out furnishings and decor?
It depends on the type of Designer. There are many great designers whose main focus is furnishings. Interior Designers that are in the design/build space do much more than select appropriate furnishings and finishing touches. The project is divided out into phases and early on, during 'design development' we deep dive into how the home will be used and utilize that knowledge to maximize every square inch. In this phase we begin selecting every. single. item. from countertops and flooring to plumbing all the way down to tile layout, cabinet inserts and even light bulbs. This all gets put into a (in our case) digital spreadsheet format that is essentially a handbook for the contractor and tradespeople. The book contains spec sheets for installing, contact info, and all pertinent information to the project.
4. Who keeps us on budget?
The short answer is that the team all plays a role in tracking the budget. At every team meeting, the entire project should be touched on in relation to budget to see where we are and make sure we are still hitting our targets to stay in range. In general, the contractor tracks more of anything construction related, the designer anything furnishings or post-construction related.
5. What are your design phases?
We have 4 phases to a design/build project: discovery, design development (pre construction), project management/procurement/construction, and installation.
6. Timeline for my project?
Frequently, by the time we are contacted the client has been thinking about their project for months, if not years. Usually there is a culminating event that ends up causing them to reach out such as hosting a family reunion, a large milestone birthday / anniversary, or big change of life event (housing aging parents). While the push of a hard deadline is a great motivator, it is far preferable to start the process with a cushion of time. Having said all that; in general- a whole home build from design to construction can range from 1-2 years from start to finish depending on many factors. A remodel can run slightly quicker with the caveat being there is not a huge number of surprises discovered during demo. I will say that an experienced contractor can help ascertain and anticipate potential risks- though not necessarily every one.
Have any burning remodel and build questions for us? Let us know in the comments or drop into our inquire page to set up a call!
Lisa
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