The Advantages and Disadvantages of Design-Build in Austin

Design-build is a method of project delivery that requires only one contact. The homeowner hires a single company or person to construct and design the building, hence the name design-builder. Under this position, they are able to hire their own consultants and subcontractors who will answer directly to them. From there, it is a team process.

Collaboration is a great thing and can result in many perks that traditional methods don’t provide you. That being said, with those key differences comes the possibility of pitfalls that you will need to be aware of. Where do you even begin with determining whether doing a design-build for your Austin custom home is the correct choice? Let’s break down a few of the pros and cons.

Minimizes Risk

Each professional sector supplies one another with steady input. With the single point of responsibility of your design-builder, there is ultimately less risk and responsibility on the owner’s part. They are contractually obligated to deliver you a design that fits your needs. There will also be significantly fewer conflicts between the workers because they will have improved communication and coordinated documents from the get-go.

Shorter Timelines

Due to the streamlined communication, there will be a smaller amount of interruptions and changes. Experienced design-build teams have the greatest opportunity to succeed in achieving their goals for construction speed and schedule maintenance. With accountability comes less frequent delays. This is unlike the traditional design-bid-build method, where contractors are only interested in what is explicitly in the documents. When variations in their scope occur, problems inevitably arise. Although we are always at the mercy of the market and transportation for goods, design-build is a better fit for you if you need to follow a more expedited timeline.

Easier to Budget

Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. Not only that, but Austin homes are among the most overvalued. With this in mind, there is a high demand for new homes, but the amount of skilled labor has not increased as fast as it should. Working on a design-build in Austin will mean that you get to be well aware of how much you are on track to spend toward construction. Research performed by the Construction Industry Institute shows that, by having the contractor involved from the beginning, you secure a more reliable budget. Design-build also enforces the budget among the subcontractors to ensure they remain on track to stay within the set budget.

Cost May be Driven Up

With the design-bid-build method, projects can generate competitiveness among bidders. In the bidding process, qualified contractors are allowed to attempt to win the job. Unlike with this method, doing a design-build means that you cannot get the most competitive pricing. By bundling services with a team that most likely won’t provide you with a detailed design until after they are hired, you are not in the position to price shop.

Reduction of Creativity

Design-builders will consider your requests, but the majority of the design will be from stock. This is due to the timeline being faster, so it makes more sense for those involved to produce a one-size-fits-all solution. Where design-bid-build lets the homeowner work on design specifically with the architect, design-build won’t give you the most objective drawings. Despite that, for companies that specialize in custom homes, the goal is to give you your dream home, so steps will be taken toward making the house right for you.

Limits Your Involvement

Although you will be heavily involved in the planning process, you will not often be consulted once the build starts. You need to have a high level of trust in the design-build team. The combination of services makes you commit to a single provider, so you have less contract flexibility. Design-bid-build, on the other hand, gives the homeowner much more control with regard to selecting vendors and making changes.

However, some companies give clients access to project management software like CoConstruct, where they can see everything currently going on with their projects. This allows them to stay up to date throughout the process. Clients should never feel like they are uninformed of what’s going on, but they should trust that the design-builder will take care of any issues that arise during the project.

Although there are issues that contractors and homeowners alike should consider before getting started with a design-build in Austin, the construction industry has been moving toward the collaborative process in recent years. It’s time to get started with a company that emphasizes transparency with any project they take on. Don’t settle for a home builder who doesn’t fit your unique needs.