Design

What it's good for, why you need it, how it happens.

Early in our discussion about your upcoming project, you'll hear us refer to design. We'd like to clarify what you should expect to get from it, and why it has enough real value that you don't want it for free.

There are several steps in designing your timberframe home, included here in the order they happen:

1. Gather information from you about your upcoming project. The gathering process includes the following:

• We'll sit and visit, without schedule or agenda, in non-technical language, about you and your upcoming project.
• Any drawings or sketches of your house are a big help.  Even drawings you're not happy with are useful in illustrating what you do want.
• Your ideas, your details, and your vision of lifestyle, feel, architectural style and living patterns are so important that we'll work with you to fill out a detailed questionnaire that communicates the specific aspects of your vision to us as designers. If you already have an architect on your team and only require timberframe design, we'll condense the questionnaire and begin coordinating and communicating with the architect immediately.
• As the process continues we will bounce ideas off of you, ask questions, and keep you apprised of budget. Our job as designers is as much one of translation as it is of creation and we'll depend on a feedback loop with you throughout the process. The job of the designer is to translate ideas, notes, and conversations into drawings of a house.

2. Produce drawings. We design in 3D software from the beginning.  You'll be able to visualize the timberframe throughout the design process.

3. Drawing review. Your feedback at this step is our first opportunity to see if the drawings represent your vision.  Often we'll be able to present a preliminary budget at this point. We'll take the tweaks from this meeting back to the drawing board and adjust until you're satisfied.

4. Preliminary timberframe engineering. Once you're satisfied with the overall design, we'll start to focus on the details. This first engineering step will allow us to confirm timber size and placement so we can build an accurate budget.

5. Timberframe/SIPS budget. We'll keep you apprised of the budget in broad terms throughout the process, now is the time we move from broad to specific.  The approved preliminary drawings and engineering are enough information for us to lock in pricing.  Our preliminary pricing will be close, but is never a substitute for this exacting process.

6. Guaranteed price. After you've reviewed and approved the budget, we'll draw up the contract that locks in your price. There will be no “hidden charges” or change in budget unless the scope of work changes.