You have the perfect vision for a new custom home. Or maybe your dream is for a bathroom or kitchen remodel. Whatever the job may be, it will require a reliable team of designers and builders. What used to exist as two separate stages: the design and construction phases are becoming a more cohesive unit for many construction firms – in both the residential and commercial sectors. A design-builder integrates the design elements and the build stages into single simple steps so that your home remodel keeps moving quickly and efficiently through to completion.

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Design-Bid-Build

With California’s increasingly busy and costly construction market, it’s becoming difficult to predict cost with a typical design-bid-build delivery model. This technique is simple enough. The homeowner who needs a remodel or refresh of the kitchen or bathroom hires a designer to draw up the plans for the project. The designer can then hire specialists as needed who report directly to the designer. Once the plans are drawn up, the designer is pretty much done with the project outside of consultation and tweaks as needed. With plans in hand, the project owner, usually the homeowner, gets bids from various construction firms to complete the build. The homeowner picks the bid they like best and hires the contractor.

Design-Bid-Build Route

  •   The price is up to you – but can be fluid
  •   Better project clarity – but longer timelines
  •   More control – but communication issues arise

Design-Build

In this method, there is only one contract. The person in need of the construction, also known as a project owner, hires one person or company to design and complete the work. This person, the design-builder, can hire design consultants and subcontractors as they see fit. Still, those employees would answer directly to the design-builder, not the homeowner. There are certainly pros and cons, but let’s look at the pros of remodeling your home using a Design-Build construction approach.

Unlike other delivery methods, the design-build team structure unites everyone under one roof with a shared goal. i.e., the success of the project as a whole. Because each firm’s success is measured by how well the other trades do.

The Design-Build Process Traditionally Takes Place In Several Stages

  1. Firstly, we have the team selection
  2. Then the project planning and an in-home consultation
  3. Design
  4. Establishing the project scope and estimating
  5. Then there’s the pre-construction meeting
  6. The approval and construction.

Ready To Love Your Home? The Design-Build Route

  1. A hands-off approach for faster delivery of your project
  2. Reduced risks
  3. Shorter timelines
  4. Easier to budget 

The Cons

Lack of bidding and less involvement of the homeowner in hiring every tradesman but also fewer headaches!

Call a Design-Build Contractor Today

In the end, both of these project delivery systems have been in use for years. In the end, it all depends on what is most important to you. At Gordon Reese Build Design, we love to talk design and build; you can contact the Gordon Reese Design-Build team for a free consultation on (925) 885-3770. Book a 30-minute consultation here!