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The Advantages of Design Build Construction Tom and Judy Morrison spent two years and over forty thousand dollars to have an independent architect draw them a completed set of plans for a new custom home – the home of their dreams. When the Morrisons had the plans bid on by general contractors, they quickly learned that it was going to cost them significantly more money to build their dream home than what was communicated to them by their architect. So much so, the plans for their dream home seemed unattainable.
Tom and Judy Morrison’s research brought them in contact with the Plaskoff Construction website, where they read that they had another option – the Design Build construction model. After meeting with the Design Build team at Plaskoff, the Morrisons decided that the right thing to do was to abandon their original architectural plans, write off the $40,000 investment, and start from scratch with Plaskoff Construction’s Design Build team. The Morrisons had lost two years of time and a significant monetary investment. They were determined not to let their dream home be lost to poor planning. The Morrisons had enough faith in the Design Build process that, even starting over from scratch, they would more than make up for the lost investment in terms of overall value gained, money saved, and that they were going to get the finished product they dreamed of. What Exactly Is Design Build?
These advantages include cost control throughout the entire process, overall savings in both money and time, more convenience for the client, and better overall communication between everyone involved. “We feel that Design Build is the best scenario for every type of residential construction project, from small remodels to major new home construction,” says Matt Armato, Sales and Design Build Coordinator at Plaskoff Construction. “It’s ideal for custom home building and remodeling projects, because of the many intangibles that go into custom home building. In larger scale projects and in the higher end market, you’ve got so many people involved that it benefits the client to go with the Design Build model of construction.” More Convenience For The Client “Our clients like the fact that they don’t have to be responsible for being the glue that holds everything together and making sure that people are showing up or that the architect is doing his job and that he’s communicating effectively with the designer, etc.,” says Armato. “We’ve taken the role of the ‘quarterback’ off the shoulders of the client and assumed that responsibility ourselves.” The client is instrumental in decision-making throughout the entire process, but they’re not the ones having to decipher the information, communicate the information, put the teams together and supervise progress - as is the case in the traditional model of construction.
The design team and construction team share information, resources and knowledge to ensure that the project will be build-able and that costs are being kept under control. The process is set up to try to answer as many questions as possible in the design phase, which helps to keep the ball rolling when construction begins. In addition, having a consolidated team that’s used to working with one another, that understands how each person operates, and that’s able to internally audit each other’s work to make sure that it’s the best solution for the client is invaluable in assuring a successful project. Better Communication There’s a clear advantage to having the architect and the interior designer in an office next door to the estimator who’s in an office next door to the project managers. Decisions can be made faster and more accurately, saving time as well as ensuring that the client doesn’t end up going down blind alleys or taking the project in the wrong direction. Cost Advantages “We feel that there’s great value in our company’s Design Build process vs. the traditional process in that, ultimately, significant cost savings are realized when it’s all said and done and the project is completed,” says Armato.
The Design Build model avoids many of the pitfalls associated with the traditional construction scenario, where the client uses an independent architect, an independent designer and so forth. “In 75% of the cases in which clients come to us with completed plans that have been done by an independent architect, the cost to do the job is significantly more expensive than what the client was anticipating and the client is left with few options,” says Armato. “Many times they never do the work and the investment in the plans is a waste,” as the Morrisons unfortunately experienced. “With the Plaskoff Design Build model, the client is not going to run into a problem where the contractor is saying that the architect blew it and that the reason your home is not the way you wanted it is because the architect did a bad job,” says Armato. “Or conversely, the architect is saying he drew it one way and the contractor built it another way. That’s just not going to happen because we have complete coordination between the design team and the construction team from day one of a project.” Time Advantages Plaskoff’s strategy is to take time in design, making sure all parties have posed as many questions and scenarios to the client, so the client has a thorough understanding of what’s available to them before construction starts. Both small and large roadblocks are avoided via this collaboration between the Design Build team and the client, and while it’s difficult to calculate, everybody involved agrees that there are problems averted and time saved. Problems Get Solved With Far Less Hassle Involved A single outfit is responsible for solving those problems, which makes it a lot easier on the client, because they do not have to call a number of different people to decipher who was responsible. In addition, when teams are used to working with each other, it reduces the number of complications that typically arise, because we know how we operate and have open lines of communication with each other. The Bottom Line While Plaskoff Construction feels strongly that the Design Build model is the best construction scenario for clients looking to do any kind of significant work, the fundamental issue is that clients want an honorable, trustworthy contractor who lives up to his word. “This is probably the fundamental reason why so many people come to us,” says Armato. “Tell me how much it’s going to cost and let’s make sure that it really does cost that much. And tell me how long it’s going to take and let’s make sure that it actually takes that long. We’ve set up the process to try and manage that as best we can.” Special thanks to the Ringstrom family for providing photos of their homes. |
Not knowing what to do, the Morrisons turned to the Internet with the goal of contacting as many contractors as they could to determine if their building plans were salvageable as their first round of bids came in nearly $400,000 over their anticipated budget. 
Having the design team and the construction team under one roof and collaborating together from the outset of a project offers clients several significant advantages over the traditional scenario of residential construction, where the client first goes to an independent architect and then later to a separate builder who may not even know the architect. 
Coordination Between The Design Team And The Contractor From The Outset
On a net basis, Plaskoff Construction believes they save clients anywhere from 5% to 20% over the course of a project. That translates into savings of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending upon the scale of the project. The bottom line is that costs are kept under control. Clear expectations regarding the scope of the work, level of finish, and budgetary constraints are established with the client at the outset of each project and are managed diligently throughout the design process.