Residential Construction

The old real estate adage of location, location, location is always said, but what is location besides a street address. Here are some priority list items; Homeowner Association (HOA), Community Development District (CDD), Deed Restrictions, Governmental Zoning (allowable uses), Waterfront, Golf Course Frontage, Greenbelt, Special Access requirements, Site Orientation, Distance to Work, Distance to Shopping, Distance to Health Care, Platted Lot, Acreage, Public Utilities, On Site Utilities, Flood Zone, Wetlands, Environmental (Birds, Turtles, Trees) and of course Governmental Taxes and Assessments.

Then there are the physical characteristics, wooded (clearing costs), existing topographic elevations (fill required), drainage requirements.

Lot size including setbacks and easements will affect the size, shape and layout of the home plan. We analyze all of the above and provide a building footprint to you before you purchase your homesite.

The question is often asked when conceptual design drawings should be done. This will be determined once the Building Site and Home feature / amenity priority lists are complete.

Things being considered during the conceptual drawing phase are Building Footprint, Construction Methodology, Site Orientation, Site Vegetation and Site Access.

Conceptual Drawings include a floor plan layout, exterior elevations and exterior 3d perspective views.

This team consists of the Drafting Tech, Surveyor, Civil Engineer, MEP Engineer and Structural Engineer. We lead the team to develop and compile all the technical data and details to create your home.

During this step of the process we create bid plan sets. These sets can be developed not only to obtain the required truss layouts required for permitting, but for all material, equipment fixture and appliance selection.

This is where our services become truly unique. Drafting and Engineering firms typically involve themselves with obtaining only the data required to obtain a building permit. We believe that specifying all materials, equipment, fixtures and appliances, rather than guesstimate budgets, provide exceptional results when creating Projected Cost Budgets.

When this data is also provided on the construction documents in schedule format the construction process is less confusing, therefore causing fewer mistakes and saving valuable time and hard costs.

We provide Cabinet, Electrical, Plumbing, A/C, Window & Door, and Room Finish Schedules on our jobsite plans.

All of the previous process stages are compiled into one document set. When all of the process stages are thoroughly completed your construction documents will contain all the data needed to complete your home giving the builder, tradesmen and material suppliers precise detail on how to efficiently complete the project.

This stage of the process actually starts at the Conceptual Drawing stage. All the cost data obtained through the previous stages is compiled into a database. That database creates reports which not only show the total projected cost of the entire project, but also create the quote requests for contractors, tradesmen and material suppliers. Therefore always bidding apples to apples.

When considering becoming an owner builder two factors determine the successful outcome of the project. The owners experience and financial capabilities. We have found that most lenders require a licensed contractor, that’s not to say an owner with appropriate experience and financial strength cannot finance their project.

The advantage of our Construction Documents and Projected Cost Budget is the ability of the owner to understand their project and effectively negotiate with building contractors

These inspections can be done to satisfy building department code compliance requirements, construction progress and or draw requests, as well as quality assurance and plans compliance.

Hiring a 3rd party inspector can be a way to streamline a project, have peace of mind with the progress and possibly identify potential issues before they become costly.

Acting as an owner builder or when entering a cost plus agreement, budget tracking the original projected costs is crucial. Having access to the projected and actual costs in an online database can streamline the process of managing budget overruns by providing the data to make decisions.

When working with a builder who is responsible for paying subcontractors and materialmen a full understanding of the mechanics lien law is important. Over the years many contractors have gone bankrupt leaving homeowners with incomplete projects and owing potential liens for work they already paid the builder for. Tracking Notices to Owner and Sub-Contractor payments is prudent.

Having complete documentation of the materials, tradesmen, equipment and appliances used to complete your home will provide valuable information in the future.

A project is deemed substantially complete and may obtain a certificate of occupancy prior to all of the work being complete. This incomplete work is referred to as “Punch-out” or warranty items. A plan needs to be in place to verify all work is completed prior to final payments being made.