Design-Build
Answers.

We specialize in premium residential work including kitchen remodels, whole-home remodels, primary suite remodels, large additions, and custom homes. We also take on select boutique commercial tenant improvements when the scope is a fit for our delivery standards. If you're looking for small repair work or handyman-style tasks, we're not the right partner.

We primarily serve Southeast Michigan with a focus on the Oakland County corridor and surrounding communities. If you're outside our typical service area, reach out anyway. If it isn't a fit, we will tell you quickly and point you in a better direction.

Yes. We're built for complex, high-touch projects where clarity and schedule control matter. Whole-home remodels and additions start at $200,000, and custom homes start at $700,000 — most projects move into mid-six to seven figures depending on scope and finish level. If you're not sure where your project lands, we can give a reality check early.

Start dates depend on current backlog, permitting, design readiness, and long-lead selections. After an initial conversation, we can tell you whether your target window is realistic. Once preconstruction is complete and the scope is defined, we can give you a dependable construction start target.

Yes. We operate as a licensed general contractor and carry appropriate insurance for the work we perform. If you need certificates of insurance for a lender or property manager, we can provide them during contracting.

Design-build is a construction delivery method where one firm handles both design and construction under a single contract. Instead of hiring an architect separately and then bidding the plans to contractors, you work with one accountable team from first sketch through final walkthrough. This eliminates the coordination gap between designer and builder and keeps budget aligned with design throughout the project.

In the traditional approach, you hire an architect to design your project, then bid those plans to general contractors. The architect and contractor have separate contracts with you and no contractual relationship with each other. Design-build puts both under one contract. The team that designs your project also builds it, so plans are buildable, budgets are real from the start, and there's no finger-pointing when decisions need to be made.

Design-build is typically comparable or lower in total project cost. The real savings come from fewer change orders (3–7% vs. 10–20%), faster timelines because design and preconstruction overlap, and elimination of redesign cycles when bids come in over budget. The preconstruction process validates costs before construction begins, preventing the budget surprises common in the traditional approach.

We don't provide detailed estimates for free. We will discuss goals and budget early and can provide a high-level range after we understand scope. Accurate pricing requires defined scope, selections, and trade input, which is exactly what our Preconstruction Agreement is for. If you're collecting multiple free bids, we're not a good match.

You will have a single point of accountability for communication and coordination. We run projects with structured updates, clear decision requests, and documented change control so you're not chasing information.

Yes. We can partner with your architect or designer, or we can help lead design coordination depending on your project. The key is alignment on buildability, budget, and decision timing. If plans are incomplete, we will tell you what must be resolved before construction pricing is meaningful.

Our goal is clear scope and clear pricing. Most clients want a defined scope with a defined price once selections and plans are complete. We build pricing from documented scope, verified quantities, and trade partner pricing, not rough guesses.

Early pricing without scope and selections isn't accuracy, it's marketing. In high-end remodel work, the difference between "nice" and "exceptional" finishes can swing budgets dramatically. We can provide an early range, but we only provide dependable numbers after preconstruction defines the scope.

Preconstruction typically covers scope development, design and plan coordination, selections planning, trade pricing, schedule development, and the assembly of a construction-ready proposal. It's where we remove ambiguity so construction can run clean.

Preconstruction fees vary with complexity. For many high-end remodel projects, preconstruction is typically in the range of a few thousand to low five figures. We quote the fee up front so you know the commitment before moving forward.

Allowances are placeholder budgets for items that aren't fully selected at the time of pricing. We use allowances when needed, but we prefer to reduce them by making selections early. Allowances that are too low create budget blowups later, so we set them conservatively and transparently.

We prevent surprises by doing the boring work early: define scope in writing, confirm selections before ordering, use trade pricing (not guesswork), identify high-risk unknowns and plan contingencies, and require written approval for scope changes. If a remodel has unknowns behind walls, we discuss that risk up front.

Common drivers are scope growth, upgraded finishes, structural discoveries, mechanical upgrades, and late selections that force expensive substitutions or rush conditions. The fastest way to control budget is to control decisions and scope early.

Change Orders are written documents that describe the change, price, and schedule impact. You approve in writing before work proceeds. This prevents surprise invoices and prevents "verbal scope creep."

Payments are typically structured as an initial deposit followed by progress payments tied to clearly defined milestones or a schedule of values. The goal is simple: predictable cash flow for the project and clean documentation for you.

If you're using a lender, we can support documentation they typically require such as scope, schedule, and progress billing structure. You should align your lender early because lender timelines can impact your start date.