The Benefits Of Working With A Design-Build Firm

Over the last couple of decades, the design-bid-build process has become less and less appealing to homeowners. The alternative, design-build, has taken over as the most popular remodeling process for families across the country. Why are families turning to design-build in droves? Let’s discuss.

Why has design-bid-build become less appealing to homeowners?

Before we dive into the benefits of working with a design-build firm, let’s first address the main problem with the design-bid-build approach.

For homeowners planning a large-scale remodel, finding the right professionals can be a challenge. In the design-bid-build process, homeowners begin by working with a designer or architect to draw and plan their project. After they’re satisfied with the plan, they send the design to multiple contractors and solicit bids. This is where things start to get tricky…

Apples to Oranges Bids

One of the main perceived benefits of the design-bid-build process is the competitive bidding scenario. By sending your plans to multiple contractors, you’ll be able to find the contractor with the lowest price and save money. Here’s the problem: if you send your plans to multiple contractors, it’s nearly impossible to get an apples to apples bid.

Each contractor has a different process, different expectations, different quality and ultimately a different understanding of your goals. For example, material choices are a huge influence on the cost of your project. Each contractor won’t be creating a bid with the same materials in mind, therefore leading to major fluctuations in price.

Expectations is another key point of consideration. Are you and your contractor working with a shared understanding of your desired outcome? If expectations are not established before starting your project, you could get halfway through your project until you realize you’re operating on two different wavelengths. A shared understanding is hard to accomplish without taking the time to develop a relationship, which leads us into the benefits of design-build…

Design-Build Is Based On Building a Relationship & Understanding Your Goals

When you work with a design-build firm, the first step is always to better understand you and the end result you want. To make this more concrete, we’ll break down two different homeowner goals and how the design-build process helps you achieve them.

Homeowner Goal #1: You have a strict budget and you’re looking to get the most bang for your buck.

Design-Build Solution: We’d work with you to create a design that can be built within that budget. In this scenario, our focus is on giving you the most kitchen, bathroom, basement, etc while staying within your budget.

Here the biggest benefit to the design-build approach is helping you prioritize your needs/wants and evaluating the sacrifices worth making. If you’re operating under certain budget restrictions, trade-offs are inevitable. You won’t be able to get everything you want, but we can help you get the most value and enjoyment as possible.

Another benefit is that our designers won’t create a design that can’t be built within your budget; they have a vested interest in seeing the project through and they are actively working with the builder to make sure their designs can be built within budget. There’s no sticker shock when we complete the design and give you our estimate – it’ll be within your budget, as promised.

Homeowner Goal #2: You are less budget-conscious and more focused on getting exactly what you want.

Design-Build Solution: First, our designers will work their magic and create a design that includes everything you want. As they are crafting the design, they are working with the builder to ensure a shared understanding of details and expectation, based on conversations with the homeowner.

After the design is complete, we’ll give you an accurate estimate of the cost of your project. Even if budget isn’t your main concern, homeowners still appreciate clarity and shared understanding. You can sleep easy at night knowing your goals will be met at an established price.

In both of these scenarios, understanding your goals and unique situation is the key.

Every homeowner is different and deserves unique, creative solutions to help them reach their goals. From our experience, and the experiences of our past customers, the design-build approach is the best way to make that happen.

Ready to accomplish your home remodeling goals?

Our motto is, “If you can imagine it, we can make it a reality!” If you’re ready to start imagining what could be, contact us today to get started.