Being in the home improvement industry for nearly a decade, people often ask us whether they really need a design/build firm or whether they can save money by managing their remodeling project on their own. Our answer always starts with the basic presumption that managing it oneself, can, but does not always equal savings. And, if you factor in the value of your own time spent on the project, you’ll often find that it is quite a bargain to work with a full service company.
Whether you’re remodeling your home in the city, a vacation home, your home in the suburbs, or a pied à terre (second home), it takes a team to design and build a high quality residential project. And depending on its scope, the team may require an architect, interior designer, kitchen and/or bath designer, interior decorator, builders, electricians, plumbers and, in some cases, a landscape architect/designer, as well.
Let us illustrate with a side by side comparison.
Step One
Who will design your project?
Design/Build Firm
Typically, they have trained designers on staff that will be able to determine whether the plans for your project can be crafted by an in-house designer or require architectural drawings. Many companies have architects on staff or close affiliations with these professionals, so bringing one in to the project with the proper credentials shouldn’t be a problem. Your project will require precise measurements and drawings to scale in order to accurately specify the materials needed and properly construct it.
Managing It Yourself
Unless you have formal design training, it is unlikely that you will be able to craft design plans yourself. You may have ideas of what you would like to go where and how you would like things to look, but translating those concepts onto paper is another matter. You can invest in various different software packages for your PC or Mac, but you’ll have to learn it well enough to prepare working drawings. Most likely, you’ll have to hire a designer or architect to create the design plans. This process will require interviewing and due diligence on your part.
Step Two
Choosing all those materials.
Design/Build Firm
After your project is properly drawn, you’ll need to choose the many products for it. And this can range from dozens to hundreds – yes hundreds – depending on the scope of the project. Remember, that with each product also come choices of color, type of material, style, size, etc.
Working with a design/build firm generally provides you one of two opportunities. Either you will have a designer who will take you to many stores and showrooms to help you make your selections, providing guidance along the way, or if you hire a firm that has a showroom, most if not all of the selections can be made in one place.
Managing It Yourself
First, create a list of everything you need; next decide what basic styles you like, e.g., traditional vs. contemporary; then start shopping to see all those choices. There are numerous stores and specialty showrooms where you can purchase materials you want and need for your remodeling project. You can go to the major chain home stores, tile showrooms, appliance stores, etc. And, of course, there’s always the Internet.
Even if you go to one of the large stores, you’ll have to contend with numerous different salespeople, of varying skills, training and motives, that will try to sell you on what they think is best for you. You’ll need to keep track of each item you select to make sure it coordinates from a design perspective and will also fit with your design.
Step Three
Ordering all those materials.
Design/Build Firm
With your materials list prepared, the design/build firm will order your various products and often find out lead times so you can be advised if something is out of stock or has an inordinately long delivery time. If they have a purchasing department, they will track when these orders are supposed to be received.
Managing It Yourself
Some of your selections will be point of sale purchases, meaning you will walk out of the store with them the day you purchase them. Undoubtedly, many products will have to be ordered. Some, the stores will place for you, others you will do on your own, especially if you purchase anything online. The purchasing aspect is relatively painless, but keeping track of what’s in stock and out of stock and following lead times, requires a lot of attention to detail and dedication on your part.
Step Four
Getting all those materials in.
Design/Build Firm
Be sure you work with a design/build firm that has a showroom, warehouse or storage facilities, so your materials will be delivered to the company and brought to the project site when they are needed. At the very least, the design/build firm will be responsible for accepting deliveries and processing any returns due to damages, missing parts or improper shipments.
Managing It Yourself
You know how the cable and phone companies have you wait around for a four to six hour time frame for a service call? Well, the same is true for material deliveries. Be prepared to take off from work or have someone in your home to accept deliveries between 8:00 and 12:00 or 12:00 and 6:00. And, since it is unlikely that you will be able to coordinate all your material deliveries to take place on the same day, be prepared to wait around several times.
Some materials (like tiles) are only delivered to the curbside. So, if you live in an apartment or walk-up, you need to make arrangements to get them into your home. Also, your materials need to be received before the construction of your project. Hopefully you have a place to store them all so you’re not tripping over large boxes in your living space. Once you get the materials, carefully inspect them to see if there are any problems. If there are, you’ll have to start making phone calls and filling out paper work to make exchanges and returns.
Step Five
Who is going to make sure all your paperwork is in order?
Design/Build Firm
Whether you live in a privately owned house, a co-op apartment or a condo, there is likely to be some level of paperwork required for your home improvement project. You may have to obtain various permits and/or submit plans to a board of directors. A good design/build firm will have personnel trained in this area to know what you need and how to take care of it. They will also be able to assist you in getting the documents you need to get your project built.
Managing It Yourself
Research is the first step here. You’ll need to contact your city or town buildings department and decipher the legalese in their codes. If you own a co-op or condo, you will also need to get information from your building manager to determine your building’s requirements. Then you will need to fill out forms, draft responses to questions, coordinate all of the requisite licenses, insurance documents, etc. and submit plans in order to get approval for your project.
Step Six
Who is going to do the construction?
Design/Build Firm
The whole premise behind the design/build approach is that the same company that designs the project builds it as well. The main benefit is that everyone is working in concert right from the beginning of the process. When the teams have the opportunity to collaborate (and it should be before ground is broken), it reduces confusion.
Also, the design/build firm is responsible for making sure all the necessary tradespeople, such as carpenters, electricians, plumbers, etc. properly perform the job. The firm is also responsible for keeping track of costs and paying the people working on the job.
Managing It Yourself
It is unlikely you will be doing any major remodeling with your own two hands. So, presuming that you are not the ultimate “do-it-yourselfer,” you have a major choice to make regarding construction. You can hire a general contractor (GC) that will do the construction and hire all the other tradespeople, probably from lists of subcontractors they use. The benefit here is that the GC will typically supervise the construction. Or, you can hire the various different tradespeople yourself, manage them all, direct them, and keep track of their payments.
Either way, expect to do a lot of due diligence when hiring the people that will be working in your home. You’ve heard the horror stories and have seen the exposés on TV, so be careful. Feel free to read our report, 15 Critical Questions To Ask A Contractor BEFORE You Sign A Contract, to assist you.
Step Seven
Who will touch-up, warranty or repair the work?
Design/Build Firm
After every remodeling project there are touch-ups that need to be made, whether it’s a scratch to be repaired, painting to be cleaned up, a broken handle, or what have you. It is not unusual to have a punch list several items long. Also, despite the best intentions and hardest work of quality tradespeople, mistakes are made and things do break.
If you work with a reputable design/build firm, having the touch-ups done in a timely manner shouldn’t be a problem. Furthermore, a good firm will warranty their work – the better ones up to five years – and make repairs if problems occur within the warranty period. The reason is most design/build firms are longer lasting and not fly-by-night operations and tend to take more pride in the final outcome of their projects.
Managing It Yourself
Failing to complete a job is by far the biggest complaint homeowners have against contractors. Getting them to come back for a repair after the job is complete and paid for in full is a near impossibility. Depending upon whether you hired a GC or hired all the tradespeople yourself, you may have an even bigger challenge in getting your punch list done if you have to locate several people. And, rest assured, one tradesperson will most definitely blame another and deny responsibility for a repair that needs to be made.
Most contractors don’t guarantee their work. If they do, make sure they’ve been in business long enough to convince you that they will be there for you in the future. Check all the licenses of the people you hire so you can see how long they’ve been in business under the company name they gave you. Contractors tend to go out of business and reopen under a new name and license number if too many complaints get lodged against them under a given license.
Let’s sum this up. As you can tell, a lot of work goes into even your basic home remodeling projects. There are many moving parts that need to work together. The danger of having separate firms providing architectural/design and construction services is that neither is responsible for the mistakes or omissions of the other. In the event of a disagreement, coming to a conclusion and resolution can significantly delay the completion of the project and can, in many cases, lead to significant increases in the final cost of the project.
Not to mention the bi-lateral finger pointing that takes place among the supposed professionals. If a design/build firm is utilized all decisions are the responsibility of the one firm and delays and cost increases are more easily resolved and better controlled. You’ll reap the rewards for years to come. Their association will surely save you time, money and eventually pain, frustration, and anger.
So, we ask you – do you want to hire a design/build firm, or try to manage it yourself.
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