This is part 1 of a 5-part series on what you need to know before embarking on a home project. Over the next few posts, I'll walk you through the realities of design and construction that most people don't talk about until it's too late. Come back for the rest of the series, or subscribe to get them all.
When you're about to embark on creating a new home or remodeling your existing one, the first thing you need to understand is this: it's a process. And that process can feel long at times.
Think of it as a marathon, not a sprint.
Every house is new. Every house is different. Even though certain things carry over from one project to the next, each one is fundamentally a unique journey.
The Phases
Most residential projects break down into several phases: conceptual design, schematic design, design development, construction documents, and construction administration. These aren't fancy labels meant to complicate things, they're organizational milestones that help us move forward with increasing detail at each step.
Some phases move faster than others, and that's intentional.
Why Construction Documents Take Time
Clients often want to rush through the construction document phase because it's technical. You're not really involved…I'm producing drawings, and it feels like you're just waiting.
But here's the thing: during this phase, I'm problem-solving building construction issues before they happen in the field. It's always faster and cheaper to solve construction problems on paper than with actual materials and labor on site.
Why Design Takes Time
The design phase also needs breathing room. Clients are often eager to move quickly…."I just need a kitchen and bathroom, I don't need to reinvent the wheel, so why does this take so long?"
The answer isn't that every corner needs complicated detailing. It's that design is like a stew. You need to cook it slowly for a while so it tastes good in the end. If you rush it, you'll miss things.
You need to make sure the door can open without hitting the handle of the adjacent cabinet. You need to foresee potential issues before they trigger problems in the next phase. This is about functionality as much as aesthetics.
The Pace and Rhythm
Projects have a natural pace and rhythm. Contractors and design professionals can feel it—I know what it should be. First-time clients, understandably, have no idea. Every day is a new day for them.
You want to hit a good stride, like in a marathon. You don't want to burn out.
Consider this: a ground-up home takes somewhere between 18 months (if it's simple) to three years (if it's complex) or beyond. That's a long time. If you take a sprint mentality and try to maintain it for three years, it's not going to work. It will be stressful, and you'll make yourself miserable.
The Cost of Rushing Decisions
When clients push the design phase too quickly, they often make decisions too fast. Then a week later, they're reconsidering. They want to go back and change their mind.
That's a very good example of what you want to avoid. It ends up taking more time in the end. It's better to take that full week or two, think about it, make a decision you're sure of, and then move forward.
The worst thing that can happen is making progress ten steps ahead, then going back to question the first decision. Everything built on that foundation needs to be redone.
There are big-picture decisions and detailed decisions. The detailed ones can be made more quickly. But rushing the big-picture decisions? If this is the only house you're going to build in your life, maybe take an extra week.
What Construction Feels Like
When construction starts, it's going to feel like nothing's happening for a while. The first third or first half of the construction phase will seem slow, and that's typical.
It's hard for people to see all the prep work—the site work, excavation, foundation. All of that base needs to be set properly before you can build up from there.
Then suddenly, framing happens super quick. Then there's a gap from framing to finishing out, and it feels like nothing's happening again. Behind the scenes, builders are doing a lot of work you can't see yet.
This pattern applies to design, too. There are swaths of time where it seems like nothing's happening, then all of a sudden a lot is happening at once.
Trust the Process
It comes back to trusting what the professionals say. If they tell you they need a certain amount of time to make sure it's correct, believe them. They've done this before. You haven't.
Be prepared for the marathon. Pace yourself. Give the process the time it needs. The outcome will be worth it.
Next in the series: Part 2 - Hiring the Right Team