Design-Build
A Better Way to Build
What design-build means, and why it makes renovating easier.
So, what is design-build?
Design-build is a way of delivering a renovation in which a single firm is responsible for both the design and construction of your home. The traditional alternative splits those jobs across separate companies that may have never worked together, leaving you to coordinate between them. Design-build puts everyone on one team with one shared goal: your beautifully finished home.
Four ways to take on a renovation
1. Do it yourself.
Navigate permitting, timelines, materials, budgets, construction, and surprises yourself.
2. Hire a designer, then find a builder.
You manage the handoff, and the builder inherits plans they had no say in and lack context.
3. Hire a builder, then add a designer.
Construction leads, and design gets squeezed to fit what’s already been decided. The budget and schedule end up messy and inconsistent.
4. Hire one design-build team.
Design and construction happen together, by people who answer to each other and to you. One accountable team with consistent schedules and budget. (This is the CG&S way.)
Why Design-Build Makes Your Life Easier.
One Point of Accountability
With design and build on one team, there’s no one pointing fingers. If something needs solving, it’s on us.
Real Budgets, Earlier
Because our estimators price the design as it’s drawn, you see honest numbers up front instead of a shock after the plans are done.
Fewer Surprises
Conflicts between the drawing and the build get caught on paper, not discovered mid-construction when they cost time and money.
A Smoother, Faster Path
One team coordinating itself moves quicker than three companies trying to coordinate with each other.
Not all design-build is created equal.
A lot of firms claim design-build. Fewer actually staff for it. Some outsource the architecture; others have no interior designers at all. At CG&S, licensed architects, in-house interior designers, and our own construction crew have worked side by side for decades. When we say one team, we mean it.
The questions we get the most.
A few common questions about design-build, answered—browse the rest in our full FAQ.
Usually the opposite. Because pricing and design happen together, you avoid costly redesigns and excessive change orders that come from a plan that wasn’t checked against a budget. While the original estimates can seem higher than expected, our pricing remains competitive for the quality of delivery and is honest up front, rather than continuing to grow as the project moves forward.
Generally, yes. One coordinated team overlaps design and pre-construction and avoids the lag of handing a project from one company to the next. There are fewer surprises and fewer delays than communicating across various different companies and competing schedules.
For projects that need it, your project is led by a licensed architect on our staff—not a drafter, and not someone we hired out for the job. Simpler jobs may only require a designer supported with architectural assistance. This is not true of all “design build” firms, so be sure to ask about the team that will be working on your home.
Ready for a better way to build?
Let’s talk about your renovation, and how one team can make it feel less like a gamble.