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“I will always believe that it is a part of the human need to do something well and to be proud of the work you're doing.”
--JAMES KRENOV |
Designing Your Home
We appreciate that a custom home
is a significant investment—not just in financial
terms, but also in terms of the human energy committed
to the project. The homes we produce are an enduring
source of pride, for our clients, and for us as designers
and builders. Our in-house team of design professionals
includes a licensed architect and an engineer. We
collaborate with you from the start to ensure your
plan meets your lifestyle needs, your budget and complies
with the applicable architectural covenants in your
neighborhood. You benefit from our combined expertise
as designers and builders and you have the convenience
of working with a single source responsible to design
and deliver your home on time and on budget.
Site Visit
If you’ve already purchased
the property for your custom home, our engineer will
visit the site to review the layout, topography, restrictions
and special features of the site and obtain information
on the required building set-backs before we meet
with you. This review is the basis for determining
the maximum allowable dimensions and the best orientation
of your home with respect to the street, views, sun’s
path, etc.
Initial MeetingDesign of your home begins with
an assessment of your lifestyle needs. You may have
already developed a “wish list” for your
home. We’ll review the list and other requirements
with you. We’ll help you decide on your preferred
architectural style and we’ll discuss construction
materials appropriate for your requirements and your
budget. Usually, we’ll develop a hand sketch
of the room arrangement at the initial meeting.
Preliminary Plan
The information from the initial
meeting is the basis for a preliminary plan. The preliminary
plan is a set of 1/8” scale drawings showing
the proposed floor plan(s), roof plan and elevations
of your home. When the preliminary plan is complete,
we’ll meet with you to review it. If you live
outside the area, we’ll overnight plans to you
and then discuss them by telephone conference call.
When you’ve determined the changes you’d
like to make, you simply mark up the plans and return
them to us for revision. We are normally able to revise
and return your plans within two to three business
days after we receive them.
Preliminary Architectural Review
After your review and approval of
the revised preliminary plan, we’ll present
it to your community’s architectural review
board for review and comment. We’ll incorporate
any required changes and review them with you.
Preliminary Construction Cost Estimate
After the preliminary plan has been
approved, we’ll develop a preliminary estimate
of the cost to build the plan. Our aim is to develop
as accurate a cost estimate as possible despite unknown
details in the preliminary stage. To this end, we
base our estimates on a detailed material takeoff
and review the plans with our trade partners. Since
the heating/air conditioning system is not designed
until final plans are developed we use historical
cost for such systems based on similar homes under
construction. We also make good faith estimates of
the cost of various finishes, appliances and cabinetry
with as much input from you as possible. We review
the completed estimate with you and, if needed, value-engineer
the preliminary design, materials or selections as
needed to achieve your budget.
Construction Documents
Based on the approved preliminary
plan, we develop the detailed construction plans and
specifications for your home. If you haven’t
already done so, we’ll obtain a soil test for
your property with a licensed engineer’s recommendation
for the design of footings and the foundation. We
obtain a detailed site development plan for your property
prepared by a licensed surveyor showing the location
of the home and driveway with respect to property
boundaries, building set-backs and other special requirements.
We help you to determine your preferences for interior
trim and special finishes. Our trade partners design
the Silent Floor® system and the heating/ventilating/air
conditioning system(s) and provide plans or specifications
that we include with the construction documents we
prepare.
Construction Cost Estimate
The construction documents are the
basis for a detailed construction cost estimate. We
will be glad to review the estimate with you on a
line-item basis so you understand how each choice
contributes to the overall construction cost.
Final Approvals and Permits
We submit the construction documents
for code compliance review in order to obtain a building
permit. We also submit the final plans along with
samples of your exterior materials (brick, mortar,
shingles, window trim, etc.) and paint selections
for review by your community’s architectural
review board. We will accompany you to the final review
or act on your behalf if you wish. We will walk your
lot with you to review trees that you would like to
preserve during construction.
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