Design-Build Explained

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, but in this blog, you get both. The graphic above does a great job of explaining the process from start to finish, organizing it into 3 phases -- Plan, Design, Build. Let's break those down and then I'll explain why it's extremely beneficial to have all of those under one roof.

Plan

This stage is aptly named, as its completion is marked by stamped sets of plans -- architect plans, structural engineering plans, MEP engineering plans etc . . . There's a lot of steps and in a city like Philadelphia, it helps to have someone to navigate who's been through the process more than just a few times. During this stage of the process we'll team up with professionals who we like to work with that are specifically chosen for the type of project that we're working on. We like to run the show here to make sure that we design something that's functional and actually able to be executed within our desired budget -- I'll get into this below, but this is the main benefit to having your builder actually involved in the process of creating your plans.

Design

This stage of the process is related to the interior design portion of the project. We work with the client to select the finishes throughout and source/procure the specific materials. Even if the client has a 3rd party interior designer we still like to be involved in this process, solely for the ability to control the timing of material deliveries on-site. Again, I'll touch more on this below, but one of the most common reasons for construction delays is not having the proper materials on site when the subcontractors need it. An additional benefit to the client here is that we get specific contractor and bulk order discounts from suppliers, which we opt to pass along to our clients.

Build

Like the previous stages -- aptly named. This is the part of the process where we bring allll of our previous planning to life! We manage the construction project from the very start up until the very last step which is a professional cleaning to make sure the property is move-in ready. Our construction team is on site daily, making sure that we're keeping to our agreed upon timelines and that we're upholding the level of quality that we expect in all of our projects.

There are huge benefits to the client for having us involved in each piece of the process. Most people that are new to the game tend to undervalue construction. They build cost and timeline assumptions into their analysis and assume they're being conservative, but there are so many variables to these projects, that any one mistake can blow any "conservative" budget or timeline out of the water. The number 1 question you should be asking yourself before hiring a construction professional is "can they execute this?" -- because not everybody can. To be blunt, we added the 'Plan' & 'Design' stages to our offer because it helps everybody. Let me explain . . .

The planning and design phases are intended to support the build phase and ensure a successful project with an efficient timeline and a predictable budget:

Plan To Support Build

We get involved in the planning phase to make sure that the architecture/engineering team are designing a structure that is able to be built within the clients expectations of pricing. The sooner we're involved in the planning phase, the better. We would recommend different professionals depending on what type of product the client wants. The guy who designs functional 5 unit buildings wouldn't be good for the eclectic homeowner who wants a custom house and the stylish architect who designs beautiful custom homes wouldn't be best for the function 5 unit building. Picking the right team of professionals to design your plans is essential. However, even the right team can miss things or design inefficiencies. We include our construction management team in the process so we can value engineer out as many of these efficiencies as possible -- making sure our client isn't spending unnecessary money or designing a building that will be a nightmare to construct in the field.

Design To Support Build

We get involved in the designing phase to make sure that the project can run as smoothly as possible. I mentioned this earlier, but one of the biggest reasons that projects get delayed is because subcontractors are set up to fail. Specifically, they'll show up on site and the materials that they need in order to complete their job isn't there! Now you have a subcontractor who just wasted their time and, to be frank, will not prioritize you moving forward. We love working with our team of subcontractors and they love working with us -- if they're going to promise us that they'll be on our site one day, we make sure that they have everything they need in order to complete their work. The attention here as paid dividends and provided us with a great working relationship with subcontractors who know that if they're on one of our jobs, they'll be given what they need in order to succeed. This may seem like a small detail, but it absolutely is not -- for this key reason. A one day delay could quite literally lead to a multiple week delay in the project -- and now extrapolate that with multiple day delays . . . When a subcontractor has to leave because the right materials aren't there he isn't necessarily available the following day. And when he has to push a week, there's no telling that the next subcontractor (who was scheduled for that week) is going to be available immediately following this new deal -- ad infinitum.

To summarize -- the Design-Build business is where we work with our clients from the very beginning stages of an idea all the way until the day they walk into their brand new home (or start leasing their brand new investment property). We started our business as developers ourselves and that gives us a very unique advantage in this space. The developer is the owner and all costs/responsibilities fall back on him/her. That gave us ultimate accountability and forced us to learn each piece of the business from acquisition costs to financing to construction, and it got us really good at maximizing productivity while minimizing waste -- it helped us to understand nuances such as how extending your timeline for minimal cost savings can actually add costs to your bottom line. We understand the process from the owner's perspective -- and that well-rounded understanding brings with it an efficiency that is unmatched in the marketplace for the service that we offer.