Design/Build Company Vs. Contractor- What’s the Difference?

Benefits of Working With a Design/Build Contractor vs a typical general contractor.

A design/build contractor is responsible for all facets of the design and construction process. For several reasons, many contractors do not design new custom homes, home additions, or remodeling projects for their clients. Many lack experience or training with drafting, design problem-solving, new product specification or building code compliance. Establishing a good plan with proper engineering requires time, experienced staff and accountability. Thee are elements a standard contractor may will, in many cases, struggle to provide.

Legal Advantages of Working With a Design/Build Contractor vs a typical general contractor.

Design/build contractors have expertise in all the areas mentioned above and are legally responsible for any issues. Many other contractors use lumberyard designers who have no insurance, design accountability, allegiance or legal accountability to you, the owner. They are not always accessible, either, as they are understandably busy selling lumber and servicing their own customers.

Independent architects and drafting technicians can provide better service but have similar time constraints. This can slow the production phase when challenges arise, and you will be charged for additional time. Both lumberyard designers and architects and draftsmen will place disclaimers on plans to avoid any liability for ‘unforeseeable problems.’ These are also disclaimed in the contractor’s contract, leaving you responsible for issues. A design/build contractor cannot legally disclaim errors they make on their plans.

Choosing a reputable, full-service design/build company over a typical contractor, should give you peace of mind knowing they are accountable for any potential plan & specification issues.

Cost Savings with a Design/Build Contractor vs a typical general contractor.

Hiring an independent architect or draftsman can be expensive. Most work on a percentage of the project fee.  The result can easily exceed thousands of dollars. Furthermore, on new custom homes, home remodeling or extensive remodeling.  Extra meetings, site visits and local building code research are typically charged hourly in excess of the base fee.

Furthermore, an independent designer/architect may specify items or processes with which a custom home builder is unfamiliar for which they have no existing material supplier. Seeing this, when the builder bids the project/plans, they will tack on a ‘safety margin’ to cover ‘unforeseeable items’ they don’t have experience with. The resulting extra costs to the owner can quickly add up and blow the budget on the project.

By partnering with a design/build contractor, you can save money and allocate those funds toward more important things. You want a design program to be transparent, convenient and easily understandable. You might also want one that maintains reasonable fees because design work is part of an effort to earn your trust and patronage. The design process is mutually beneficial as it helps the client and the design/build team to get to know one another and build trust. The idea is when it comes time to sign a contract, having a comfortable working relationship with your contractor will make your decision easier. In many cases, some or all design fees are credited to your contract price, meaning they are ultimately free of charge if you contract with that company. The costs are normally in place to cover their time if you decide to select a different company.

Convenience & Continuity with Design/Build

As you go through the design process, you and your design/build company, will develop an intimate understanding of the project, which is then seamlessly carried forth into production. The designer will normally be by your side throughout the project, at your convenience, at no additional cost.

When questions arise on-site, the production manager, lead carpenters, and trade partners will inquire directly with the designer and quickly get those answers to avoid delays.

A Design/Build company will help you develop your ideas into a set of preliminary construction drawings quickly and efficiently so the pricing process can begin. They take the take time to get to know you and your vision, carefully assess the lot or existing home and inquire about your project priorities, timeline, and budget before they begin. This initial information gathering helps to create a design that fulfills your expectations without exceeding your budget.

 

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Creating Your Dream Retirement Home: Tips for Designing a Comfortable Living Space

How to Create a Comfortable Living Space You Can Use Once You Retire

As we journey through life, we realize the significance of having a living space that caters to our changing needs. As the golden years’ approach, retirement should be filled with moments of blissful relaxation in a cozy abode that fosters happiness and serenity. With this in mind, let me share some valuable tips on creating a comfortable living space that will serve as your peaceful haven in retirement.

Consider Your Future Needs

Before planning your living area, invest a while in contemplating your future requirements. Do you intend to reside in the same house? Will you need help with movement or access? Factor in your design features, such as wider entrances, guard bars, and level-entrance showers, to ensure your living space is secure and useful for many years ahead.

Optimize for Comfort

Retiring should be a peaceful moment, and making the living place comfortable and pleasant is paramount. To accomplish this, including relaxing furniture, additional features like heated floors, a fireplace, or a hot tub could add luxury and make suitable light and warm colors to give a snug feeling in your newly-renovated home.

Personalize Your Space

When designing your future retirement space, it is important to consider your unique personal tastes and interests. Incorporating elements that make you smile, such as photographs, art pieces, or beloved keepsakes, is essential. Additionally, contemplate and plan how you envision your retirement experience and uniform your living space to that. For example, if you are an avid reader, why not create a comfortable reading corner with a lovely armchair and proper illumination?

Invest in Quality

When creating your retirement living space, it is necessary to make wise decisions regarding materials and construction. With the help of a reliable design/build firm such as Tice-Hause Design/Build, one can trust that the accommodations will be built firmly and per personal wishes. By investing in quality construction materials and techniques, you will eventually be able to save time, money, and effort on renovations or repair work.

Finally, developing an inviting living environment for your golden years can be considered a sound investment in your joy and health. By predicting your future requirements, enhancing your comfort levels, customizing the layout to reflect you best, plus making sure to purchase products of high quality, you can craft a home that will make you pleased and serene for many years ahead.

If you are looking to work with a custom design/build company for your dream retirement home, give Tice-Hause Design/Build a call today.  (651) 439-3837. We can create beautifully functional spaces that you will love to live in.

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What to Do to Bring your Dream Home to Life

You already have a picture in mind of what you want your dream home to look like, even before resources become available. Keep in mind the many choices you will have to make that will ensure you live comfortably in your new home and that is truly is your dream home. To get started your must list primary areas that require focus to ensure your dream home becomes a reality. Do your best not to skimp on the things that are most important to you.

Five areas to focus on before building your dream home:

Choose an Architectural Style for your Dream Home

You may already have an architectural style in mind but we suggest you do your research. Collect images of home styles you like and make a list of what you like about them. Some popular styles are Farmhouse, Colonial Revival, Cape Cod, Queen Anne, Modern Craftsman, Rancher, and Contemporary. You can juxtapose two or more styles. This is typically referred to as a contemporary style. A experienced and skilled design/build expert can help you draw the plans that reflect what you want your dream home to look like both internally and externally.

The Location of your Dream Home

As much as the interior layout is essential, don’t forget to consider the environment beyond the house. Ask yourself whether your chosen location is a suitable space for your family. Are you able to access opportunities and grow within the immediate community? Does the location help fulfill your needs and goals? For example, the city is a better choice if you want to grow your career and have access to modern conveniences. Are you close to the places and people that are important to you and your lifestyle? If you have kids, are their good schools nearby? Parks? What other amenities are important to you?

There are also practical things to keep in mind such as sewage gas and electrical hookups. Keep in mind that location refers to everything from lot size, zoning laws to sun exposure.

Set a Realistic Budget 

For you to have access to all the materials you need, you will need to set a realistic budget. It is important for you to spent what you have on what you can afford. Therefore, set a realistic budget with accompanying priorities. Figure out things that aren’t urgent and those you can compromise. If you absolutely have to have granite countertops and natural hardwood floors then be realistic when setting your budget. There are alternatives that cost less but most clients have a list of the “must haves” to fulfill the criteria of their dream home. A professional custom home builder will have many products to chose from and will help you allocate your funds to meet your aesthetic needs and desires while staying within your budget.

 Dream Home Layout and Spacing

Once you have the location of your dream home established you will want think about the physical layout. The main concern is how you’ll use your space. Whether you want an open environment or a more private one, it’s best to draw the layout at the start, which helps determine room size, design features and traffic flow.  Also, keep in mind factors such as lot size, slope, could potentially limit how much of your vision you can actualize. It is not uncommon to revisit your layout several times. It is important to be open minded when tweaking your plans. You may need to minimize your home theater space in order to have the recreation room you want. While space is important factor, design will make the difference in creating your dream home.

Expert Dream Home Builder

The expert is the design/build professional who’ll bring your idea to life. When you first meet with the builder, give clear direction on what you envision to ensure you both understand each other. You will want to look for a design/build company that is established and has a proven track record. You do not need to know a lot about architecture and design but the professional custom home builder sure does. Set up a consultation with two or three custom home builders. Make a list of pertinent questions. Ask to see their pictures of their work, credentials and referral from their happy clients. Also it is important to go with your gut. Ask yourself do I trust this company and am I comfortable hiring them to build my dream home? You want to hire someone who understands your vision and has the capability and expertise to bring it to life.

Conclusion

There is no reason for your dream home to remain a dream. Plan right, be open minded and you’ll be living the dream! At Tice-Hause Design/Build, we thrive in our drive for better designs, processes, and builds. Moreover, we uphold integrity, competency, and standards with perfected communication systems. Our main goal is to meet and exceed your expectations. Contact us today for more information on how to build your dream home. To take a peek at some of our work please click here: https://thdbuild.com/gallery/. Give us a call to discuss your dream home idea. 651-433-7397.

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Four New Home Design Trends for 2020

Design trends

Sliding wood barn doors

Are you thinking of building a new home or remodeling?  Here are four new design trends for 2020 that will add style, beauty and convenience to your home.

Sliding barn doors now come in an enormous variety of styles, colors and wood species.  They can be contemporary and elegant or rustic with old style charm.  The hardware finishes and styles are endless.  The increase in popularity of barn doors has created a wider variety of looks available, they have become more like furniture or decor than doors to enhance the look and feel of living space.

Design Trends

Darker mill work

Darker Millwork is in for enhancing warmth and that includes wood floors like these.  If budget is an issue, there are many luxury vinyl plank flooring products (LVP) available at almost half the price and do a great job of emulating real wood floors and the color/style options are almost limitless.  LVP can also be patterned like real wood and is extremely durable.  This also goes for Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT).

Wood face Fireplace

A beautiful and popular design trend is wood face fire places. Rich wood products make a beautiful fireplace face around the firebox. It adds a unique and very rustic old world look.  With gas fireplaces the distance required from the metal firebox to combustible materials is much less.  This allows for many more styles and feels when it comes to modern day fireplaces.  The one featured above is made of aged barn wood to achieve a charming and original look.

Design Trends 2020

Built in Dog Wash

A popular and convenient design trend is built in dog washes. When you walk your dirty dog through the house to get to the sink  it is usually a filthy mess. A built in dog wash station will alleviate that problem.  Furthermore, with a built-in dog wash station, we can build it right next to a door. When you get back from a muddy walk, the washing station is conveniently located by a door or mudroom. Having a built in dog wash station also creates a designated dog area where all their toys, leashes, and other things can be stored together, keeping life more organized.

Our experienced team at Tice-Hause/Design Build can custom design your new space with style, beauty and convenience  so you can live the way you want to live. To learn more about the latest design trends or discuss your new home or remodeling project give us a call at 651-439-3837. You can check out our website at http://thdesignbuild.com

 

 

 

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Draftsman or Architect? What’s the Difference?

Draftsman or Architect– The best path to a successful and affordable residential construction project.

There are many choices to consider when deciding to build a new home or take on an addition or remodeling project.  One important consideration many people overlook is the choice of whether to use an architect or a draftsman when designing their project.  These words have become synonymous to those of us who do not work in the construction industry, we would like to help you understand the differences to help you choose the right professional.

One of the largest differences between an architect and a draftsman is the amount of education and licensure that is required for each profession.  An architect’s educational background usually consists of a degree from a university and requires a minimum of 2 years’ experience.   A draftsman, does not require a degree from a university. Most employers prefer draftsmen with college training, therefore, certificates, diplomas, or associate’s degrees in drafting can be earned from many technical institutes and community colleges. With the extended education, comes a heftier price tag.  So, although you may feel the higher level of certification with an architect is important, there are draftsmen who have many years of experience in both building and drafting who can do an excellent job to value engineering the design of your project with input from your builder.

Architects tend to place high value on aesthetics, usage of space, or showcasing a unique design element in a home or building. These are all important aspects of a build but architects may over design and thus drive up cost unnecessarily.  Draftsmen tend to have a more intimate understanding of what is involved with the build because they work regularly with the builder and are involved in seeing the job into fruition.  At Tice-Hause Design Build, we pride ourselves on working with customers to create a personal and economical “draw to build” experience.

Hiring an independent architect is expensive. Most work on a percentage of project fee, which can easily exceed tens of thousands of dollars on a larger building project. Extra meetings, visits to the site and research of local building codes are all things you are likely to encounter. These issues all lead to additional hourly charges in excess of the base charge. Furthermore, architects often specify items or processes that your builder is either not familiar with or has no existing material supplier for. Seeing this, when the builder bids the plan they will tack on a “safety margin” to cover ‘unforeseeable items’ that they don’t have experience with. The resulting extra costs can add up quickly, taking funds you could have used elsewhere.

Whether you choose an architect or a draftsman for your next build is up to you.  We feel that the best choice with the highest level of value for most residential projects for both remodeling and new construction is to use a builder with a draftsman on their team.

As you go through our design process you, your designer and your builder develop an intimate understanding of your project.  At Tice Hause Design Build your draftsman is there for you throughout your project, at your convenience, with no additional charge.  When questions arise on site, our team knows who to go to for answers quickly and efficiently.

Now that you have a better understanding of the difference between an architect and using a design build draftsman, you’ll be able to make a more informed decision about your best path forward to develop plans for your new dream home or major renovation.

 

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