We’re very often asked about the best way to handle getting a design for a project. This is a subject that we’re very passionate about!
In some ways, we feel like our industry does a disservice to homeowners when it comes to design. Over the years, there has been very little attempt to educate the public about the best approach to design and, what little information is out there, is missing a key component. At Legacy Builders Group, we believe the design is like a three-legged stool. The three legs represent the team that’s charged with developing the design – the owner, the designer, and the contractor.
In most cases, if you leave any of these legs out of the process, you’ll find yourself very frustrated and aggravated. We often sit with clients who bring forth a set of really nice plans that were developed with the help of an architect or designer. The plans are generally awesome and the owner tends to be really attached to them. But the problem we run into, more often than not, is that to truly build out the new design, the cost is much higher than the budget the homeowner had in mind. Thus, they either have to start the process over or choose not to move forward with the project – which leads to a loss of the money invested in the design and, understandably, major frustration.
This is not to place blame on the independent designer or contractor, as they are obviously a valuable member of the team. On the contrary, it’s an illustration of what happens when one leg of the stool (the contractor) is left out.
From the contractor perspective, our experience allows us to design to a targeted budget. We use historical job cost data to develop preliminary budget ranges for each and every project and then match our clients with the right designer or architect and design the project to meet the budget. We have a hand in the process the whole way through, which allows us to discuss any cost ramifications of design decisions. This is all a part of our Build to Budget Promise. But, no matter who you hire for your next project, the bottom line is, be sure your design team has three legs.
