San Diego Design Build Contractors

What Is a Design Build Contractor?

Also referred to as design build companies or design build firms design build contractors are companies who provide a variety of services to make a home building or remodeling simpler for their clients. Some of the services these types of contractors typically offer include: custom home building, whole house remodeling, custom home design, and many other related services such as interior design, property inspection, securing permits, project management and more.

Among the most enticing benefits of working with a San Diego design build company is the opportunity to control the cost of the building project.

How Design and Build Works

In the past, working on your home often required partnering with an architect and a general contractor. The former would draw up specific plans for your property, and the latter would focus on executing them.

Both the architect and general contractor can coordinate directly with one another, but that was often not the case. More often than not, the property owner had to serve as the intermediary between the two. It is not the most efficient process, but it was the norm at the time.

Going between two sides constantly is not necessary if you are working with a contractor who specializes in design and build. Since the same company employs the architect and the contractor, everyone is on the same page from the start. Design build companies have streamlined the home building process, and property owners are the main beneficiaries of that.

Benefits of Design Build Services

Why should homeowners work with San design build contractors instead of more traditional construction companies? The benefits of such a decision may be more substantial than you originally believed.

Per a recent study, design build projects were 0.3% cheaper than design bid build projects based on cost per square foot. Using the same metric, design build projects were 1.9% less expensive than construction manager at risk projects. Those savings can pile up quickly if you have plenty of work done on your home.

You should also work with a design build company if you want your project completed as quickly as possible. If you are going through the entire process, design build projects get delivered 61% faster than their construction manager at risk counterparts. In terms of completion time, design build projects finish 102% faster than design bid build projects.

Design build firms can deliver completed projects faster because they do not get bogged down by communication issues. You eliminate delays because all the people required to move the project forward are easily reachable at all times. Even implementing your desired changes to the original building plan can be faster because you only work with one company.

Design build projects finish 102% faster than design bid build projects.

What Do Design Build Firms Do?

Choosing between a more traditional construction company and a design build firm can be challenging for homeowners. Due to fear of the unknown, many homeowners default to hiring the more traditional building companies. They do so without fully understanding what design and build contractors are capable of.

In this section, we will highlight the specific tasks that design build firms perform for their clients. We will also note how they differ from the services typically provided by more conventional construction companies. Check them out below to make a more informed decision the next time you need work done on your home.

Centralized Construction Work

Building a home in San Diego County takes a lot of time, and even remodeling projects tend to be lengthy. Part of the reason they turn into drawn-out affairs is that you must coordinate with multiple parties. You must get all the workers on the same page so the project can move forward as intended. As you can imagine, doing that can get tiring fast.

You will not need to deal with that if you hire a San Diego design build company. The moment you hire that company, all of your dealings will only be with them. There will be no need for external help to complete the project.

The contractor you chose will be the one that provides the skilled laborers. They will also give you access to high-quality building materials. No matter what it is you need to complete the project, your design and build contractor will be the one to provide it.

Your Partner in Project Management

San Diego whole home remodeling and building projects take a long time to complete. Those projects take several months to complete but do not be surprised if your project has an estimated delivery time of well over one year.

You can understand that these projects tend to take time, but you obviously cannot sit around and wait for them to finish. After all, you still have your job and other obligations to fulfill. Consider partnering with a design and build firm if you know you will be busy while they work on the project.

The design and build contractor you hired can oversee the project in your stead. Count on them to keep you updated to avoid spending a sizable chunk of your day at the construction site. Design and build firms are better project management partners because they can take over for you even early on in the process.

Building Based on Your Changing Preferences

Building the traditional way means you will create the design plans with your chosen architect early in the process. You must finalize the building plans before construction work gets underway on your project. The disadvantage of that building approach is obvious.

If you decide during construction that you want to make some changes, the entire project will be on pause until you can speak to your architect again. There is no guarantee that you will get a hold of your architect quickly. They may have taken a different project already, so you will need to pry them away to address your concerns.

Contractors specializing in design build do away with that problem. If you want to make changes to your building plans, you can do so by telling the contractor. They can then wrangle in the architect who helped you with the design plans. From there, you can start discussing and implementing your desired changes.

Handling Permits and Contracts

Building projects typically involve a lot of paperwork. You will need to work on obtaining the relevant permit for your project. On top of that, you will also hammer out agreements with your chosen subcontractors.

Dealing with all that administrative work is tedious and tiring. Thankfully, you can avoid those tasks if you hire a contractor who specializes in design and build. Let them handle the administrative tasks so you can focus on more pressing matters.

Design and Build Process

You can separate the design and build process into five different phases. Use this time to familiarize yourself with those phases to have a better idea of what to expect.

• Design and Build Contractor Selection: The first phase of the design and build process involves hiring your desired contractor. The vetting process for contractors is easier to manage because you are evaluating companies as a whole. You do not need to go through the credentials of skilled professionals one by one to determine if they will be a good fit for your project.
  Consider each firm’s experience, capabilities, and asking price during this part of the process. After evaluating each candidate carefully, you should find one that meets your requirements.
• Pre-Construction: Included in the pre-construction phase are important tasks such as setting your budget and creating a tentative schedule for the project. This is also when you will need to define your goals for your new home. Give the workers a clear idea of what you want to see so they can build it to the best of their abilities.
• Architectural Design: Next up, we have the architectural design phase. During this phase, the architect and other relevant members of the design team will assess your home carefully. After that, they will create a building program.
  
  As this phase continues, the architect will start coming up with sketches and models. They will also enlist the help of technical specialists to determine if the plan is feasible. They will present the plan to you for approval. If you want to make changes, now is the time to be vocal about them.
• Construction: With the design plans settled, the workers can now start bringing them to life. This phase will be the longest part of the process, but it is fairly straightforward. You can still make changes to the original plans at this time.
• Post-Construction: The final phase of the process is known as post-construction. Post-construction involves tasks, such as cleaning up the worksite and removing any temporary workstations.
  
  They also create a punch list during this phase. According to Smartsheet, punch lists contain the items that either remain incomplete or were completed improperly. This phase also involves the formal turnover of the completed home to the property owner.

General Contractor vs Design and Build Contractors

The success of your home construction projection hinges on you hiring the right people for the job. That is why you need to clearly understand who you are hiring and what they can do for you. If you are building or remodeling your home, you will need to distinguish between general home contractors, remodeling contractors, and design and build contractors.

The most significant difference between the two is evident in the scope of their work. General contractors focus on hiring subcontractors, managing the project, and all the other tasks related to the construction of your home. They need to do several things, but their scope of work is dwarfed by what design and build contractors handle.

In addition to all the tasks general contractors take on, design and build contractors also focus on the preliminary planning of your project. They must take the lead during the pre-construction and architectural design phases. You will work with them from day one of your home remodeling project.

San Diego Design and Build Contractors

You will not have a tough time finding design and build contractors in San Diego. Even so, we at Eco Minded Solutions believe that our distinctive approach to construction surpasses our competitors. Discover the reasons our custom home building and home renovation services stand out by continuing below.

Property Optimization

Our goal here at our design build firm is to help homeowners tap into the full potential of their properties. We carefully account for the distinctive characteristics of your property as we go through the building process. That way, we can ensure that your new home looks as good as it possibly can.

Custom Construction

Do you want unique flourishes added to your home? If so, we can help with that goal of yours.

We will build your new home according to your exact preferences. Tell us about any custom elements you want to see so we can integrate them properly into your home’s revamped design.

Green Building

Finally, we at Eco Minded Solutions believe that our green building philosophy sets us apart from many of our competitors. Our eco-friendly approach to construction is even more important in a place like San Diego, where natural resources are not always abundant.

The home we build on your property will be a marvel of efficiency. We will work carefully to ensure that we minimize the environmental impact of your building project.

Contact ECO Minded Solutions Today!

Some of the cities in San Diego we serve include: Del Mar, Carlsbad, Rancho Santa Fe, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Ocean Beach, Rancho Peñasquitos, Torrey Pines, University Heights, and more.

Reach out to us at Eco Minded Solutions if you want to hire a local contractor that knows all about building in the San Diego area. We are always ready to take on new projects, so feel free to call us anytime!