| |
 |
DESIGN
BUILD VS. TRYING TO MANAGE YOUR OWN HOME REMODELING PROJECT |
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 1 – WHO WILL DESIGN YOUR PROJECT?
Design/Build Firm
Your project will require precise measurements and drawings to
scale in order to accurately specify the materials needed and properly
construct it. Typically, design/build firms have trained designers
on staff that will determine whether 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 finding one for the project with the proper
credentials shouldn’t be a problem.
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 2 – 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 3 – 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. The stores
will place some of the orders for you. Others, especially online
purchases, you will make on your own. Thus, purchasing can be cumbersome.
And, keeping track of what's in, or out of, stock and following
lead times, requires a lot of attention to detail and dedication
on your part.
STEP 4 – 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 5 – 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 will likely 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 6 – 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. Additionally, the firm is 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. 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.
STEP 7 – WHO WILL TOUCH-UP, WARRANTY OR REPAIR 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 to “touch-up” or
repair the job after it is paid for in full is nearly impossible.
Depending upon whether you hired a GC or all of the tradespeople
yourself, you’ll have an even bigger challenge 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.
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. Delays and cost increases are more easily resolved and better
controlled. So, we ask you – do you want to hire a design/build
firm, or try to manage it yourself.
|
|
|
|
|
