Design Build Firm Pros and Cons | True General Contractor | Mark Sickavish | Mavish Homes Inc
Is it preferable to have a design build company with an in house architect and designer as well as handle construction or to outsource the design separate from the construction? We’re going to talk about the pros and cons of both but first let’s talk about the pros and cons of being a full-service design build contractor.
This is where you have architecture and house design in house. Some of the pros are that you control the process. You have a lot of say in regards to the budget. The design phase is a much better system as far as communication because everything’s internal right from architecture to speaking to designer to speaking to contractor. You are working as a team and making sure that what you’re designing will fit the budget and that all the elements will in fact work.
You know the architecture firm is worried about the end construction because it’s in-house so there’s going to be a lot of steps to manage throughout design to make sure everything speaks to each other. Everything’s laid out. One of the advantages as well for a lot of customers is they see this is a one-stop shop. They come to one firm, it’s all taken care of. There’s not other parties to manage so it’s easier from a communication standpoint. This can be very appealing to clients.
Possible Cons
The con a lot of times is that it really limits you on the clientele. It limits you on the ability to do different designs. You know it’s very difficult to have a design build firm that’s doing contemporary, modern, farmhouse, transitional, traditional, etc. All these different styles are very hard to encapsulate. So it limits you on your ability out there in the market and also the reciprocity.
But what if it is a design or build project that is outside of this firms strengths or experience? The project can take longer and it also can cost more. It can also suffer the expert detail that a specialty designer or architect can bring to the table. So it really depends on the project style.
It limits that network and reach. As you’re collaborating with other design firms and other architects you know to work with that specific team for that specific job. This is a strength of a true general contractor. Also that job security is a little bit more difficult to find leads so you’re finding all the leads yourself with in-house marketing opposed to receiving referrals from your network of designers and architects.
Alternative – True General Contractor
So let’s talk about the other way to do it which is our way being a true general contractor. We’re not handling in-house design. We’re not handling in-house architecture and instead we’ve chosen to collaborate with architecture firms and design firms to maximize the expert knowledge and skill on a project.
Pros
One of the pros is the diversity. We can now go out and we can work with a lot of different firms. We are not limited. We know the architects that are good that we’ve worked with and have great relationships with.
We know the great designers we work with so we can refer each other if the designer gets the lead first they can bring us in as the contractor because of that positive working relationship. We can even bring in a design team or two so we can really vet the client to understand their style, their budget and make sure we have the right team. So job leads becomes a much better resource because now we’re all working together as a collaboration.
One of the other pros is that you know it allows us to diversify our portfolio. We can work on a very modern and contemporary home or we can work on a transitional home. Because we’re working with different architects and designers that have different tastes and styles this now allows a customer base much larger. That allows us a lot more versatility as a builder. Although it’s hyper important for us to have a lot of strength in our systems and communication.
Reciprocity
There’s a lot of personality and a lot of decisions being made at pre-construction and it’s sometimes very difficult to make sure the builder, designer and architect are all speaking the same language. So coordinating that construction process is really important to get in early with the client and with the team. We need to make sure that your coordinating and communicating budget throughout design. Often times a design is created and the construction quotes come back quite a bit higher than the clients original comfortable budget. It is not necessarily the designers or the contractors fault for the higher quote. More than likely the design taste of the client determines the budget outcome but early communication between builder and designers will help manage this.
All these little nuances that go into the construction process requires strong communication and a solid relationship with your designers and architects to at least minimize the impacts to the budget. Discussing things that will not work in the field or that may be a costly detail. So consider all those things and find out what’s best throughout planning and design.
In our market it’s been very advantageous for us to be a true general contractor. We’ve been asked many times “why don’t you do design or architecture in-house?”. The reason being that we would sacrifice that versatility, that exposure and limit our relationships within the design space in order to bring our customers the exact style they are looking for.