If you’re interested in building a new home, you may have heard a certain term repeated again and again: design-build firm. But you may be confused. What is a design-build firm? And why should you choose a design-build firm for your custom home?
As a design-build firm with more than 40 years of experience crafting fine homes, JW Neathery is here to help. Read on for our guide on why you should choose a design-build firm for your custom home.
Speed
The biggest reason to choose a design-build firm is because it makes the process of building a custom home faster. The old method – of design, bid, and build – may seem appealing, but it adds time onto your project. You would have to search for an architect, receive multiple bids on a design, choose a firm, and then begin the back-and-forth process of getting the dream design for your custom home. Then, once you have a plan, you have to go through the exact same process with a builder, all before any real work begins on the land you’ve set aside. Once you’ve found a builder, they’ll need to be in constant communication with your architect. Plans may not be clear to the builder, the architect may take a week to respond to questions, the two firms may not agree on aspects of the project, and all the while you’re wasting your valuable time.
A design-build firm takes a better approach. From the very beginning of your project, the architect and builder are in constant communication. They’re all on the same team. This means a faster timeline for your custom home. Construction can begin even as small design details are still being ironed out. With the old method, work on your foundation can’t begin until you’ve chosen finishings for your kitchen cabinets. With the new method, there’s no need to wait – once you’ve made up your mind about the big picture, the builders can begin, even as you’re still in conversation with your designers about all the details that will make your custom home shine.
Cost
Time and money go hand-in-hand. If you’re building a luxurious custom home, you don’t want to waste either. Another excellent reason to choose a design-build firm is because they’ll help keep your costs down. Paying a design firm to plan your home and then paying a builder to construct it can be more expensive than finding a single firm that does both. However, securing those initial contracts isn’t the only factor that goes into escalating project cost. Poor communication between your designer and contractor can lead to unneeded or excessive change orders, which can wreak havoc on your budget. In the design-build model, your architect and builder work together under one contract, which can help cut down on unnecessary costs.
Your custom home is a significant investment, possibly one of the largest investments you’ll ever make. It’s wise to want your investment to go towards building the custom home you’ve always dreamed of, not paying for wasted time or slowdowns due to miscommunication. It’s another reason to choose a design-build firm and ensure you’re getting the best possible return on this once-in-a-lifetime investment.
Ease
For most people, building a custom home is a once-in-a-lifetime investment. It’s a significant amount of money and time. If you’re in the process of searching for builders for your custom home, it’s likely that you’re not a custom home guru. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, that’s another reason to choose a design-build firm for your custom home. Choosing to work with a design-build firm can simplify the process of building a custom home, reducing the stress of project management and the number of people you need to deal with. You might not know the best way to choose a designer or what questions you should ask your builder when you’re coming in with a set of pre-made plans. There’s even the possibility you may need to find subcontractors for specific aspects of your custom home.
A design-build firm eliminates all of those headaches and keeps the guesswork out of the custom home building process. Design-build firms act as one-stop shops. Once you’ve chosen a firm you trust, you can expect a smooth and easy process that ends with you being handed the keys to the custom home you’ve always dreamed of.
Choose Quality, Choose JW Neathery
If you want to choose a design-build firm in the northwest Houston area, look no further than JW Neathery. Our decades of experience as fine craftsmen speaks for itself, though we’ll understand if you want a closer look. With homes built on a solid foundation of honesty, quality, faith, and, of course, authentic Texas craftsmanship, we’re here to be your ideal design-build firm.
