When you are ready to undertake a major remodel or addition to your Portland home, you will be faced with a choice of approaches to take: hire an architect or designer to draw up the plans, and then find a builder to execute them (design-bid-build); or contract with a design-build company, such as COOPER Design Build, which will provide full-service remodeling from design to completion of the job.
These are two competing approaches in the construction industry, and it’s important to understand the difference. If you have ever wondered, “What is design-build?” or you’d simply like to know the benefits of hiring a design-build company, we have plenty of answers for you.
What Is a Full-Service Design-BUILD COMPANY?
A full-service design-build company offers you the comfort and convenience of designating one team to handle your remodeling project, from start to finish. One of the major problems with the design-bid-build process is that the architect or designer is separated from the building team. It might seem like a great idea at first, especially if you’ve got a complicated plan in mind. But once the design is complete, you have to find a remodeling team willing and able to meet the terms of the design. It is harder than you might think, which is why construction is largely abandoning the design-bid-build approach.
When you hire a full-service design firm, your designer and building team are involved from the beginning. The designers can discover everything you want about the space and build a design that solves all your problems. With a design-build contract and your final approval, the company can start the construction process with no worries about delays or communication difficulties between different professionals.
To learn more about our approach to remodeling a home, download our eBook.
What IS COOPER Design build's Process?
At COOPER Design Build, we begin with the discovery phase, which is an initial consultation between you and our team to discuss your needs, wants, and dreams for your remodeling project. Together, we will assess project feasibility and discuss your budget, our pricing, and have a discussion about project management and other questions you may have. It’s a great time to talk to our team about what’s most important to you and decide if we are the right fit for your project.
Once you make the decision to work with our team, we will have a short meeting to discuss the Design Agreement we have created specifically for your project. We will explain the deliverables you will receive at the completion of this phase, answer questions, and set expectations for the next steps in our design process.
Design
The six to ten-week design process begins once you sign the design agreement. From there, our team will take measurements at your home so we can draw up plans for its existing layout. Then we will create an initial design for your project and meet with you so you can give us feedback on that first-round design. We will listen to your thoughts — what you love and what you think should be different — and we will keep revising until you love the design. At the end of this process, we will provide you with a detailed allowance-based estimate and final design drawings that you can take to the bank to start the loan process. At this point, you will own the plans and can continue working with us or not.
Define
After making the decision to continue your project with our team by signing a commitment agreement, we will begin the defining process – also called the 'pre-construction' phase - which should take additional six to ten weeks. You’ll begin working with our designers to talk about the fun stuff — the specific materials, fixtures, and finishes that we will use for your remodel.
We will create detailed drawings of the interior of your space, depicting it the way it will look with the materials you’ve selected. We will also take our skilled tradespeople and suppliers through your home so they can prepare for the start of construction.
Based on the materials you have selected and the final construction details, we will refine the budget for the project. Then we will produce construction plans, with engineering specifications, and submit them to the city with the building permit applications.
Build
Now we’re almost ready to start building! Upon signing the construction agreement, we’ll meet with you to discuss the steps COOPER Design Build will take to help your peace of mind during construction, such as dust control, daily cleanup, security, and other management practices.
We schedule each step of the three to nine-month build (timeline will vary depending on project scope) and will meet with you regularly to keep you informed and gather your input. Our online project management software will allow you to stay in touch with our team and to have at your fingertips all of the information about your project: the construction schedule, specifications, plans, and drawings.
It’s our top priority to make sure that you are happy with both the building process and the final product — that your dream becomes a reality. To that end, we provide a one-year warranty on all the work we did at your home. We will schedule warranty appointments for 30 days, six months, and one year after the completion of your project to make sure you’re still happy.
The Benefits
In this full-service remodeling approach, one company has control of all phases of the job, streamlining the process and providing a single point of contact for the homeowner. The various divisions of the company communicate easily and work out issues among themselves, with fewer opportunities for things to slip through the cracks. COOPER Design Build has checks and balances in place to make sure you end up with the final result that you dreamed of, at the price you agreed to in the contract.
.Wondering why design-build is such a popular approach to construction these days? Check out our remodeling portfolio.
