How to Hire a Great Design and Build Team

• September 1, 2016

There are several important things to consider when you are evaluating builders and architects for your construction project. Let’s go over some of them:

HAVE A CLEAR VISION OF WHAT YOU WANT
Your ability to communicate how you want your house to look and feel is extremely important, especially in the early planning stages. Working with a firm (like ours) which offers integrated architectural and construction services can make articulating your vision easier.

To assist with the design process, some people gather pictures or clippings of homes they admire, some list out their “must-haves.” Whatever your method, the more specific you are, the better. Is it important that the primary bedroom face east? Do you need a home office with state of the art communication capabilities? Would you like a green water management system? Once the dust settles and you’re living in your new space, you will want it to suit you and your family to a tee. The firm you choose should not only work with your wish list, they should know the questions to ask you to make it as thorough and thoughtful as possible from the beginning.

PICK A TEAM THAT IS ON YOUR SAME WAVELENGTH
It’s all about relationships. The most gratifying projects happen when the homeowner and the project team work well together. For the better part of a year, you and your team are going to be partners as you transform or build your home together. You need to be comfortable, you need to trust them, and you need to be able to share a laugh. Bringing a dream home to life is an adventure, so make sure you pick the right people with whom to share it.

HIRE SOMEONE WHO WILL RESPECT YOUR BUDGET
Building a new home or addition can come with financial strain. There are often surprises, some of them controllable, some not. Make sure your chosen partners have processes for monitoring and staying within the financial boundaries you’ve established and when surprises do arise, that they know how to economically control them.

SPEND THE TIME NEEDED
You may be so eager to move into your new house that you want to rush your decisions to hurry the project along. Don’t! Choosing the right partners is a decision that should absolutely not be rushed. Along the entire build, hasty decisions cost more money, chip away at morale, and actually slow down the project. So – be thoughtful. Enjoy the journey. And mostly – be patient. Having a team that understands the big picture will bring your project to completion on the best possible schedule.