Design and Build vs Architect then Contractor
On why one relationship, from first sketch to ground breaking, beats handing your project off halfway through.
When folks decide they want to build an ADU many start looking for a contractor. Soon they realize they need an architect. Most people have never worked with an architect.
Working with a designer really becomes a fairly close relationship. Together you will go through a degree of soul searching, discussions leading to debates, leading to a mutual resolution. There is the test. After 3 months you have really gotten to know each other. When it comes time to build, most people would prefer not to start up a new relationship with a contractor.
Another advantage is timing. The designer/builder has been scheduling groundbreaking all along. It's not easy to get 3, 4 or 5 subcontractors on the same schedule. There is an art to this - flexibility and imagination is key.
“After 3 months you have really gotten to know each other. When it comes time to build, most people would prefer not to start up a new relationship with a contractor.”
In a design/build relationship I will have been giving you cost estimates from the very beginning...more defined as the plans develop. I am responsible for the final price being similar to the one we started with. My prices are based upon similar ADUs that I have recently built.
