dhrDESIGNS Process

Our first job is to understand your vision and needs, not to present our own as yours. To help this process we will email you a questionnaire that will help me better understand your intentions. After your questionnaire is returned and reviewed we can schedule a call to discuss your goals and establish our first design consulting meeting.

We prefer for the first meeting to happen at your house with all the members of your family. This is an opportunity for us both to review the results of the questionnaire and understand everyone’s point of view. The visit will give us an opportunity to evaluate the property and determine what direction forward we might take. We can also discuss rough pricing options depending on the determined direction. A tear down may prove to be cheaper to design but more expensive to build while a renovation might take more design effort and be less in construction cost.

Next we collect information about the existing building; are there existing as-built drawings or do we need to measure and draw new bases for the design. How much are we intending to do and what will the ordinances and codes allow. These are all important items to determine upfront because they have both time and cost impacts.

Estimating early in the project is important. This is where we can get an understanding of where we stand with the project scope and budget. This is where we can make assumptions based on square footage, bring in an Estimator, or engage a General Contractor to provide feedback. It is important that we have alignment before the project proceeds.

Based on our previous results we will officially start the design process. We will look at incorporating the results from our preliminary design efforts. We will look at the programming requirements and determine how the new design will work best for you. Design is reiterative. The process could go a second or third round to determine the solution that best fits you. This is not uncommon and will assure we have accomplished your goals before we get into the details.

Once the circulation and building massing is finalized we can start the construction drawing process. This step is where we create the contract documents for both bidding and permit approval. These drawings provide all of the details and information needed for the general contractor to correctly construct the building. It is important that an appropriate amount of time is given to adequately detail and complete the drawings. This will help us avoid cost impacts to the project later in construction.

Once the construction documents are complete we will send sets to both the general general contractors and the building department. This dual submission process is important. It confirms where the project budget is trending and it starts the processing of the building permit. We will recommend that we submit the project to multiple general contractors, even if you have a favorite. This will assure the best combination of price, quality, and personality for the project. This process will typically take several rounds. Finally all of the city required changes are then coordinated with the contractor and a final price is determined.

With a permit in hand and a contractor selected we are ready to start construction. The construction administration phase of the project is a very important part of the project. It assures the vision is correctly translated into physical materials. It includes project changes, contractor payment, material submissions, and requests for information. The better this is managed the more smoothly the project will track. This is where we can assure the intent of the design is correctly executed the first time, saving time and money to the homeowner.