the design

process

The process of designing any building can be daunting at times. That is especially true when you are designing a custom home that represents so much of your personal identity. So, expect to occasionally feel a bit overwhelmed. The good news is that we are going to be here to walk through it with you.

Philosophy

Before we get into the details of the various phases of the design process, let’s start with a quick explanation of our overall approach or design philosophy. [CONTINUE]

Have you ever lived someplace where the lack of a light switch or a space being the wrong size or a room that you could never get to the right temperature or something similar drove you crazy? We want to avoid those kinds of issues! We want to solve as many problems as we possibly can during the design so there aren’t more expensive problems during construction or frustrations when living in the house. We want to make sure that the design is completely thought out, visualized, and communicated to contractors so that when you move in you can say “This is exactly what I wanted!”

Our firm belief is that it makes sense to invest time in thorough design. The sooner issues are solved, the less expensive they are. Early design only costs a bit of our time. Later changes will cost time for the engineer and general contractor. Problems after that will cost the time of subcontractors and crews and cause on-job conflicts and frustrations affecting the quality of work. They will also usually involve change order fees, wasted materials, repairs or rebuilds, and delays or rushed work. Those challenges can also cause contractors to start losing money or having delays with their other jobs. No one does their best work in that situation. Investment in thorough design is just that, an investment! It is pennies now that will save dollars later. Good design pays for itself!

Here is just one more example of that: A typical custom home is going to cost around a couple hundred dollars per square foot to build. If—because of good design—we can achieve the desired goals while saving just 10 or 20 square feet, that by itself could save several thousand dollars in construction costs and mostly pay for the design costs right there! There are many other examples of how good design can save time and money while reducing problems and frustrations. We will get off the soapbox though, and move on to describing the process.

Why Phases

We break the design process up into phases to help organize and prioritize what we are focused on. [CONTINUE]

SEE AN EXAMPLE INITIAL PROJECT PROPOSAL

Site Visit

Our first major step is a Site Visit where we meet in person and look over your building site to identify opportunities and any potential challenges. [CONTINUE]

SEE AN EXAMPLE INITIAL SITE PLAN

Conceptual Study

Next is a Conceptual Study. The goal here is to answer the questions: What is needed? Is it feasible? How will the floor plan work? [CONTINUE]

During this phase, we will go through a whole host of questions with you. This helps us to both better understand what you are wanting to achieve. We talk typical costs and timeframes. We identify the things you want to be able to do in the house and the required spaces and sizes. We do a square footage and budget evaluation to verify that the functions or spaces you want align with the overall size restrictions and budget. We check lot setback, zoning, code, and CC&R restrictions so we know our design parameters. We discuss style and spec level preferences and identify your top three to five overall priorities.

During Conceptual Design, we produce several different versions of what we call bubble diagrams. They are different possibilities for very preliminary and intentionally non-detailed floor plan arrangements to get a starting design layout.

Once all that is done, we confirm that the project is or isn’t feasible within the current parameters before proceeding. We can then solidify the design costs to exact numbers and send you a finalized Project Proposal with breakdowns and what will be covered by each of the following design phases.

SEE AN EXAMPLE OF A CONCEPTUAL BUBBLE DIAGRAM

SEE AN EXAMPLE FINALIZED PROJECT PROPOSAL

Schematic

Once the feasibility of the concept has been verified, then we can get into the fun part of designing! [CONTINUE]

In Schematic Design, the goal is to explore and narrow the design options before getting all the details figured out. At this point, the floor plan gets more developed. We figure out what the house will look like from the outside (the elevations in architecture speak). We determine how the building will be set on the site and get preliminary grading figured out. We start showing furniture and window and door sizes to give a better feel for what the spaces will feel like. We complete an area summary of the current design to see if there are spaces where we can use the square footage more advantageously. We produce a preliminary roof plan to check for any potential challenges there. We do an initial check of framing, HVAC, drain, stair, and egress requirements to identify any issues we need to resolve there.

SEE AN EXAMPLE OF A SCHEMATIC FLOOR PLAN AND SCHEMATIC ELEVATIONS

Design Development

Once Schematic Design is complete, we make sure we are all still on the same page and that you are totally happy with the design up to that point. [CONTINUE]

With your approval, we will move to Design Development (DD). This is where we figure out all the details necessary to make the Schematic into a full plan and refine as necessary. We start the structural plans and make sure that mechanical, plumbing, and electrical are all going to work. We coordinate as needed with engineers and truss manufacturers to make sure their side of things is going to work with our design. Ceiling, window, and door heights are all figured out. Exterior finish materials are chosen. Basic plans for footings, foundations, floor framing, and roof framing are created. Mechanical system type and appliance types are chosen. We verify bearing points as well as vent and drainage paths. We verify key code compliance. We draw out the topography to slope the ground away from the house. We analyze the building placement and roof overhangs based on local sun and snow conditions. We provide more developed traditional floor plans and elevations (similar the Schematic plans but with more detail) as well as 3D shaded floor plans and exterior perspective views. We also provide interior perspective views of key areas of the inside of the house. These perspective views start out as basic shaded plans and then become full color as the design develops.

For most clients there are a couple of different versions of each of the examples below to find exactly what you want.

SEE EXAMPLES OF TYPICAL DESIGN DEVLOPMENT PROGRESS

Construction Documents

Once Design Development is done and approved by you, then we will begin Construction Documents. [CONTINUE]

First, we will put together the portions of the plans needed for structural and truss engineering. Then, we will review initial electrical plans to make sure we have the right kind of lighting and plugs and switches where you want them. Other than electrical, most of your needed input on the design is done by this point. You can relax for a bit while we take everything we have come up with and put it into complete Construction Documents (CDs).

This is where our expertise and attention to detail are most important, but it is kind of boring to talk about. Lots of notes and specifications; dimensions; sections; detail drawings and callouts; a full site plan; coordination with engineering; verification of plan submittal requirements; contact with the governing jurisdiction; data tables for doors, windows, rooms, holdowns, shear walls; sizing of columns, beams, headers; full footing and foundation plans; full roof and floor framing plans; etc. What you care about is that at the end of it you have a full set of stamped plans that are ready for you and your builder to go get bids and for us to coordinate getting submitted and approved through your city or county.

A full set of residential plans is usually 20-something sheets. The sample sheets below demonstrate several types of plan sheets from recent projects.

SEE EXAMPLE CD SHEETS FROM RECENT PROJECTS

Conclusion

That is a lot of info! Sorry to overwhelm. Hopefully it is helpful in evaluating the best way for you to proceed and where we can be most helpful. Please let us know what questions you have.