The Essentials for A Design-Then-Build Firm

Here’s a list of some of the things you’ll need to become a good Design-Then-Build company:

Personally:

Stamina – you already have that if you have been remodeling for long.  You either have this or you don’t.  It’s not something you can learn.

Patience – bold and underlined.  Design-Then-Build requires even more hand-holding than general remodeling.  You’ll be spending a lot more time together in the planning stages than you are used to.

Design ability – if you don’t have this already, start to get educated about residential design.  This is something you can learn.  Ask questions of other Design-Then-Build firms, study trade magazine award winners, take seminars, and read, read, read.  Experience is one of the bigger teachers here, but you do have to get a design “foundation” to build on.

Social skills – Design-Then-Build brings you closer to the client and their family than before.  You need to understand their personalities, lifestyles and their dreams.

Communication skills – communication is one of the most important parts of any company.  It is used in virtually every department and phase of work.  Design is a visual way of communicating.  It is key to your customer’s understanding of your product.  In most cases you can’t show them a sample of what you do.  They have to see it on paper and in pictures.  It will be your job to make the project as clear as possible to your client before the first nail is driven.  One of the advantages of being a Design-Then-Build firm is that you will be able to describe, and then deliver exactly what they have in mind.  This will give you many advantages over those that are not in the Design-Then-Build field.  One of the biggest that comes to mind, is customer satisfaction.  Although ‘customer satisfaction’ is an over-used term, it does have meaning.  In this case, it means that your customers will be happy with the job, and a happy customer should mean a more profitable project.

Equipment:

Miscellaneous – flashlight or headlamp, writing pad with lots of paper, pen and/or pencil, digital camera, and binoculars.  Use plenty of paper.  Don’t try to cram it all on one sheet.  Once you leave the site, your notes and pictures will be all you have, so make them legible and clear.  Take a hundred pictures the first day.  You will always miss something, whether it is dimension, type of floor covering, the location of a supply vent, switch placements, or burglar alarm boxes.  The pictures are invaluable to answer these questions.  The binoculars will help you examine roofing, soffits, dormers, and other difficult to observe parts of the home.

Measuring tools – tape measure, Leica Disto laser distance meter, angle finder, level, builder level (optional).  I use the Leica Disto laser distance meter to do most of my measuring.  It’s fast and very accurate (it is so accurate you can even measure for crown molding with some models).  I recommend buying a good one of these.  One mistake could cost as much as a good laser distance meter.  And you’ll look oh, so professional!  Check out their latest here.

Office equipment – You may have to work up to this gradually, because some of this stuff is pretty expensive. You need a regular printer that can print standard letter size and legal size.  A scanner and a flatbed copier will be very handy too.  And the most expensive of the lot is the plotter, to print out at least 24″ x 36″ drawings.  The 24 x 36 drawings are big enough for most residential projects.  A plotter, such as the HP Designjet 500, will cost upward of $2500.  You should recoup your investment in a plotter in one or two jobs.  They are well worth it and allow you to be more timely and will definitely enhance your image.

Software – There is a lot of software that will make your job easier, but the main one is going to be your drawing software.  A good drawing program will make your job a lot easier.  The software sales people will make it sound like you don’t have to do hardly anything to draw a house.  Take that with a block of salt.  Drawing, or drafting, is a lot of work, especially drawing a remodeling job.  To work efficiently it takes a good understanding of the software that you have chosen.  Don’t skimp on software or learning how to use it.  Be very clear to yourself, that this is the program that you will be using for many years.  You will be opening up drawings from many years ago to answer questions about the job or to use as a template for another drawing.  The company you choose must have a good track record and the software must be as bug-free as possible.  In a short time you will be very dependent on this software, so do your homework when researching.  I used Softplan for over seven years, all the while keeping a close eye on Chief Architect.  When Chief got to a point that I thought they were better and easier to use, I switched and haven’t looked back.  Both of these are very good residential programs and they continue to improve with each version.  I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend either one.  And for training, you can’t beat Chief Experts.  Well worth the investment.

So now you have some idea what a Design-Then-Build company is, why it can take your company to the next level, and why it can make your company very profitable.  I am biased, of course, but in my estimation, Design-Then-Build is really the only way to give your customer what they deserve.  Price is not everything, but delivering customer satisfaction consistently is paramount.  If you do that, your company and its reputation will rise to new heights.

Best of luck in all your endeavors.  Please leave questions and comments on the form below.  You comments are always welcome and I will respond to them in short order.

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www.RemodelerBiz.com is published by Randall S. Soules, a 38 year construction veteran. The intent of this web site is to help builders, remodelers and those in the trades, create a rewarding career and lifestyle.  At RemodelerBiz.com you’ll find helpful articles on niches, marketing, graphic standards and the design-then-build field.