In today’s custom home building we have found the best outcomes are realized with a blend of cost-driven and design-driven project development.
We have created an advanced methodology of predicting total project costs from your project's conception.
Using our comprehensive cost database, composed of thousands of cost entries that get refined with updated costs after every project, we have developed extensive metrics that can be applied with limited design information to generate preliminary estimates at each phase of design.
These estimating tools allow your design to evolve hand-in-hand with your budget, with check-points for approval at each phase, making certain that your project always stays in line with your budget.
This meticulous and comprehensive pre-construction process saves extraordinary time and money throughout the life of the project.
Conducted by phone, in our office, or at a proposed building site, the first conversation is an opportunity for us to get to know you, share more about Smith & Robertson, and ultimately, for both parties to decide if we’re right for each other.
We’ll discuss your project vision and timeline to get a feel for the scope involved and we’ll collect any design inspirations you offer. Using this information, we identify a program of features that will distinguish your custom residence, and we determine if the associated building cost aligns with your budget.
After we've all come to an understanding of your design intent, we present a formal Pre-Construction Services Agreement that allows us to begin our pre-construction process. This agreement summarizes the scope of work, the design goals, costs of pre-con/design/estimating services*, and includes a preliminary construction budget with a Factored Square Foot price range. With your signature, we also request a $1,000 deposit to begin pre-construction and design work.
*Estimated cost of pre-construction work calculated at 3% +/- of project construction budget.
Our process kicks off with a topographic survey of your project site that details the contours of the land and identifies relevant physical features of the property, such as wooded areas, large rocks, streams and ponds, and proximity to infrastructure such as roads and utilities. We reference this survey to then create a conceptual bubble site plan. These simple sketches of the home illustrate the flow of spaces and help you imagine how rooms relate to one another and to the site.
Before proceeding to the next phase of design, an updated factored square foot or "rough order of magnitude" estimate will be provided to ensure the proposed design is in alignment with your budget goals.
Approval of this first visualization of your residence with the associated estimate establishes the direction for more refined drawings to come.
In this phase, we leverage the precision of computer-aided design (CAD) to flesh out the preliminary concept, incorporating scale and detail. Through a progression of design iterations and reviews with you, we bring building plans to a "working drawings" state of completion.
Things begin with the drafting of a scaled schematic floor plan. This shows the location of specific dimensions of rooms, doorways, and staircases and provides you with a more detailed sense of your home's layout and exterior shape. More drawings continue in the form of CAD "review sets", where features such as fireplaces and kitchen cabinets are positioned.
To accompany the schematic design, we will provide you with a schematic estimate that reflects the details that have developed with the design progression. Maintaining alignment with design program and budget is a key component to avoid future surprises. For this reason, we make design adjustments early, if necessary, to keep your design within the comfort range of your budget.
Development of architectural design continues to advance with detailed elevations, building sections, foundation plans, and structural engineering when necessary. Project Specifications are further defined, and your initial Selections Meeting takes place utilizing our Selections Questionnaire. You are teamed up with our interior designer at that time. We begin to integrate specialty trade partners to ensure your mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems are integrated seamlessly into your home design. Further pricing reconciliation with additional detail is provided at this stage in the form of our DD estimate (if costs have deviated significantly), including quote solicitations of key vendors for review.
Client feedback drives this process - you provide input, we revise - and culminates in the drafting of a full "pricing set" of plans with completed specifications, aside from items called out as allowances. This very detailed set of plans and specifications reflect the home you want to build.
When we proceed to the pricing phase, the design has fully evolved to match your vision and your budget, so there should be little or no value engineering or design changes required at this point.
At this time, we're procuring quotes from subcontractors, researching prices on materials and finishes, and putting together an exhaustive line-by-line estimate of the actual costs to be incurred across the sequential phases of construction.
Unlike many firms, we don't mark up each and every cost. We believe that the strongest relationships are built through transparency, and we have nothing to hide. The final detailed estimate is comprised of hundreds of line items that show you where every dollar will be spent on your project. The sum of these line items, plus a 5% contingency and fixed contractor fee, equates to our guaranteed maximum, not to exceed, contract price. Upon approval of the contract price, we move to executing the construction contract.
With all previous phases complete, we are now ready to present you with a construction contract consisting of four documents. This includes the legal construction contract, our final contract plans, our final contract specifications, and our final contract estimate. After we secure your signature, shake your hand, and receive the 10% deposit from you or your bank, we are ready to build your dream home!