I firmly believe in the unification of design and construction.
Without that, there is often much finger pointing: the architect didn’t do something, the builder didn’t do something, and you, the client, are left in the middle, with the process or the end product (or both!) not quite matching your expectations.
At Zinn Design Build we like to know our client’s budget from the start, and we do our very best to steer the process so that they stay within their budget. We have computerized and detailed job cost reports for every project that we have done. I refer to recent and similar projects as I help guide our clients to their desired cost goal. Their choices are very deliberate and reasoned and informed. When we know they are exceeding budget with certain decisions, we talk about it, look at options, and communicate as needed.
Most design decisions are made in our office, where product samples abound. When our library of samples does not include items appropriate to our clients’ desires, we source from near and far in order to provide the right options. In recent years we’ve imported tile and stone from San Francisco vendors, a beautiful unique glass vessel sink from Italy, wallpaper from England, and eye-catching light fixtures from Savannah.
Consider Fixed Price Contracts.
With very few and very minor allowances, fixed price contracts are the only sensible and comfortable path for our clients. That means that practically all decisions have been made prior to pricing. Other builders often leave detail decisions for later and use allowances for those items into their contract. But allowances can be very deceiving, and often are not large enough, which may result in unexpected and expensive change orders.
Because Zinn Design Build is a boutique firm, clients work hand in hand with me on all of the decisions. This ensures that the visual elements are cohesively (and calmly) coordinated. Building a home or undertaking a renovation or an addition are often the largest expenditures of your life.
An underlying trust needs to be established from the beginning, and knowing that a fixed price contract is the path forward helps to establish that trust.
Consider a Warranty Program
A systematic and proven warranty program for servicing your home during the first year of occupancy is a must. Your home, your remodel, your addition will need fine tuning during that first year, as the new space acclimates to the seasonal fluctuations of heat, cold and humidity.
I strongly recommend that you proceed only with a builder who has this reliably in place. At Zinn Design Build, we include warranty punch lists at 45 days (that’s when you’ve had a chance to really see and know your home, not during that pre-occupancy walk thru), and again after you have occupied for one year. We are serious about this and address every item of concern. Taking good care of our clients is the hallmark of our fine reputation.
Include Project Management as you Consider Builders
Project management should be delegated to one very experienced supervisor, and I recommend that you meet this person before even beginning design. This is your key person during the construction process.
Is this person knowledgeable, accessible, and well-intended? Do you feel confident that this person will take good care of you during the construction process? That is very important.
Understand Your Builder’s Team
The builder should have competent support staff and strong financials, because what is behind the scenes is as important as that nice, friendly person with whom you initially meet. What is the organizational structure of your builder, and who does what? Is the builder over-staffed with high overhead (that you help pay for), or understaffed without enough people to follow through?
I became a builder many years ago because my contractor “went under” because of his weak business structure. I had been mesmerized by the construction process, until then unknown to me, and when my contractor folded, I completed the home, which was then only sheet rocked. I loved the creative process and the work of building or transforming a home space (as in Home Is Where the Heart Is) – that was the impetus, the start that led me to create my own design-build firm in 1978.
