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How Design Build Remodeling Saves You Time

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Every home has to start with a great plan. It stands to reason then that every remodeling project needs to also have the same dedication and planning put into it. But perhaps you have been putting off deferred maintenance in your home for a long time simply because you don’t know where you will find the time to live through a remodel.

1. Setting a Realistic Schedule

Estimating how long a remodeling project will take is far from an exact science. However, using a design build remodeler can help you understand a realistic time frame. You may know that too many remodeling projects can stall, leaving part of your home in disarray for an unknown amount of time. But a design build firm will always make sure that your project will stay as close to your originally agreed upon schedule as possible. The connections of design build remodelers can come in handy if there are material delivery delays or unforeseen issues that need to be fixed before the original project can continue. Since the scope of work is part of the work contract, you can be sure that the work will get done.

2. One Stop Shopping

Another way that design build saves you time is that many design build remodelers offer one stop shopping. Many subcontractor services such as plumbing and electrical are handled by the remodeler so that you don’t have to find those trades people on your own. Also, you won’t have to haggle with prices and try to fit subcontractor’s schedules since the design build remodeler will be handling these aspects of the work for you.

3. Time Saving Techniques

Another major advantage of using design build remodelers is that they often will be aware of time-saving (and cost-saving) new materials or techniques that will improve the quality of your project. Also, any potential delays are figured into the scope of work, so the estimate of the work completion date will be as accurate as possible. Of course, factors that you have no control over such as weather cannot be figured in. But since the scope of work is planned out, indoors work can be moved up to be done during bad weather days.

4. Fitting all of the pieces of the puzzle together

The greatest advantage of using a design build remodeler is that they do a lot of the legwork for you, especially with the design and finding the right suppliers and subcontractors to do the job. The hardest part of undergoing any home remodeling project is fitting all of the pieces of the puzzle together. It can become an overwhelming process doing it on your own. Some remodelers will be happy to do the work, but you have to figure out more of the details than perhaps you would expect. But by using an expert team who does these types of projects on a regular basis, you can save lots of lead time and get your project done as soon as possible.

Advantages and Disadvantages of “Bridging” With Design Build

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Home remodeling is a complex process, but the end results can reap great rewards for the homeowner. When planning a remodel, you may find yourself working with a designer or architect early on in the process. For a variety of reasons, you may later seek the services of a design-build firm. This may even come during the design process. But likely, this decision won’t be made until the actual construction is about to be underway. When you take the design work from a different firm and decide to work with a design-build company, this is known as “bridging.” Is this a good idea, and are there are any potential drawbacks? Read more

Why Renovating Without a Budget is Bad

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If you’re getting ready to do a home renovation, don’t just haphazardly start making purchases. Hire a contractor and figure out a budget together to make it worth your while. There are many reasons why renovating without a budget is bad for you, as well as your home. Here are some of the main things to consider. Read more

Why You Should Pull a Remodeling Permit

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Applying for a permit can be a hassle, but it is a very important step when doing many types of remodeling projects. You can encounter a number of problems if you don’t go through this process. Read more

Design Build Done Right – General Guidelines & Best Practices

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Design Build is a popular process for homeowners that undertaking major remodels. But how do you know that you are getting the most out of the design-build process? To help you set some expectations, the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) suggests four best practices DesignBuildwhen it comes to executing design build projects. We promise to deliver on these promises and more.

Our whole construction firm, from inception, is founded on the goal of delivering a superior remodeling experience, and delivering projects that stand the test of time.

#1 All design-build team members should be educated and trained in the design-build process, and be knowledgeable of the differences between design-build and other delivery systems.

Design-build teams should always have members that are well-educated and experienced in the process, but also must be well suited to the necessarily collaborative nature of the design-build process. In design-build, the design and construction teams work closely at each stage of the project. It’s not design then build, but rather an ongoing collaboration. Also, the best design-build teams will either have experienced tradespersons on hand or have access to tradespersons that are used to working on design-build projects.

#2 The project team should establish logistics and infrastructure to support integrated project delivery.

A project’s success is always going to depend on the collaborative abilities of the team, but communication is paramount in design-build projects. It’s recommended that design-build teams should always try to have their design and construction teams both working on location whenever possible to streamline communication so that unnecessary delays don’t occur. The process should be well-understood by all and any changes that need to be made should be expedited as soon as possible.

#3 The project team, at the outset of the project, should establish processes to facilitate timely and effective communication, collaboration, and issue resolution.

One of the best things about the design-build process is that there should be regular monitoring of the project’s progress and clear communication with the homeowners. These open lines of communication are paramount during the design-build process so that all parties involved understand where everything stands at any given point.

As a homeowner, however, it’s important to be prepared to make timely decisions when they are needed. You should have the expertise and experience of the design-build staff to help you, though, and should quickly and completely explain any issues that may impact the overall project cost or schedule as outlined in the original scope of work/contract. If you need to make a decision, it should be a very well-informed decision.

#4 The project team should focus on the design management and commissioning/turnover processes and ensure that there is alignment among the team as to how to execute these processes.

Essentially, this means that both parties, homeowner and contractor, should understand the level of involvement and effort required depending on the scope of the project. The DBIA suggests that the contractor should also dedicate sufficient resources to foster the most collaborative environment for the work. Also, per the DBIA, it is our responsibility to develop a design plan that keeps you as the homeowner engaged in the entire process. It’s our job to make sure that you get to meet regularly with key members of our design-build team to know exactly where things stand.

Both homeowner and design-builder should be in agreement on how the design and construction processes will go.  There should be a realistic plan which does everything possible to be in harmony with both parties’ schedule and other project-specific goals.

It is up to us to ensure that advances in design and any changes to the project and related documents are completely tracked. There should be a clear understanding as to when the homeowners are integrated into the decision-making process and be notified of any design changes.

Design-build teams also establish what is called a “trend system” towards the beginning of the design process. Using a trend system helps identify, track and evaluate any potential changes before they can adversely impact the project’s cost or schedule. It is also our responsibility to clearly and immediately communicate any potential issues that would be found using the trend system to the homeowners.

Using these best practices, you can be sure that your design-build project will be done right. Peace of mind and a fantastic end result are two of the greatest benefits of using such a collaborative system. After considering these points,  we hope you will choose us as your design-build partner for your next project.

 

Making The Right Choice For That Home Improvement Project

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Making some additions or changes to your home can be a fun venture. Adding a new room, building a space above the garage, redesigning your basement, and expanding the kitchen are just a few of the things you can do to turn your home into an even more amazing castle. For those looking to do a project like this, the challenge comes in finding the right person to do the design and then looking for someone to actually do the work. This can be a lot of trouble, or it can be the ideal solution depending upon how you want to look at it.Worthington Kitchen Remodel

You should be aware that there are two different methods you can use to make the improvement: Design-Bid-Build, and Design-Build. The method will be determined by how much involvement you want in the project itself. Let me explain this to you.

In the Design-Bid-Build option, the homeowner finds a company or contractor that will do the design of the improvement. The homeowner then finds a different company that will actually do the work. These companies submit bids to the homeowner on what it would take for them to do the project based upon the specifications designed by the designer. Once a bid is accepted, the company that won the bid does the project.

This is the ideal choice if the homeowner wants to be more involved in the project itself. By selecting both the contractor and the builder, the owner gets to ensure that those who are involved in the project are right for each piece. There are some concerns you should be aware of, which I will come back to. In the Design-Build model, the company that is chosen to design the project is also the company that builds the improvement itself. This takes away an additional step the homeowner and streamlines the process.

While both have their benefits, there are some challenges that arise with both options. In the first option there is a great deal of limitation on the part of the home owner to make adjustments to the project on the fly. Consider that if a new room was being added onto the house. If, while the room was being built, the homeowner noticed that a window would have been ideal on a different wall there is little to no room to make the change. The builder did not design the room, and so you would have to go back to the designer to get the plans changed, and then get the builder to agree to make the change. That may not happen.

In the second option this is less of a concern. The owner can simply approach the designer and ask for the change, and since they are also the builders, it is less of a challenge to make this happen.

However, the second option comes with some challenges as well. Most importantly, a designer may not be as good of a builder, or vice versa. You may not be able to get as quality of a job done with choosing one company to do both pieces.

Adding an improvement onto your home can be great, and now that you know the benefits and pitfalls of both this will hopefully aid you in making an informed decision.

Read More about design build here: https://scotthallremodeling.com/design-build-services/our-process/