Design Development Mastery: How to Take Control of Your Custom Home Construction Project

**William Reid:** [: 00:00:00

And that's like the early stage organic, creative free flowing process where you can just have fun with all your ideas with your designer. We're gonna get progressively more and more comprehensive and detailed in this design process so that you as a homeowner understand what goes on behind the scenes.

this stage of the game we've [: 00:01:00

Visualize your architect has presented to you multiple versions of your floor plans or your architectural style and different home styles and shapes and configurations and maybe even different ways on your lot. And it's come to the time where you need to make decisions.

And on which direction to go. And I'd recommend you go back and listen to that episode or read this part in the book of the schematic design, step in the World of design section of the book or the podcast. And you can understand that you've been empowered by exploring these ideas, and you've even done some budget checkpoints.

start writing checks to your [: 00:02:00

Do you wanna dive in? Great. Send me a check and let's start making some decisions. So this three episode journey for design development is gonna go like this. We're gonna first talk about today in episode 24 of the podcast, what we call the commitment phase. And we'll expand from that, but I really want you to understand that we've taken this free flowing organic process and we've now getting into more regimented, stricter steps that are taken because there's a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes that most homeowners don't realize.

ld this project efficiently. [: 00:03:00

And how to make strategic decisions at crucial checkpoints. So that's the episode today and we're gonna get into a little bit more detail than that. Hopefully if I have time, the episode after that, still in this design development stepping stone, two of the design process is assembling your dream team, we'll call it.

And that's where we'll dive into how structural engineers, mechanical, electrical, plumbing. Consultants and interior designers integrate their expertise as part of the design team and how professional coordination actually works and how your plans evolve from pretty pictures into detailed construction documents.

horror stories that you hear [: 00:04:00

Be picking out countertop materials the day before the guy's supposed to arrive to measure. There, there's just a million things that can happen that you're not aware of, that I am aware of, and I'm trying to get that outta here my head and, into you. So episode twenty-six is a really big one.

tion and prepare for another [: 00:05:00

That is one of the biggest goals of the end of. Stepping Stone number two. Design development is you to be armed with a complete set of plans and specifications to be able to get real hard cost estimates. The folks that spend the time and money up front to specify as much as possible ahead of time, not just the.

Paint colors in the cabinet styles when I'm talking about the entire scope of the work of the project, for all the trades involved are the people that don't have those change order hell and the scope creep. At least not nearly as much. And if they do, it's not significant enough to alert the media.

he most important. You'll be [: 00:06:00

And you're not gonna be able to see everything that's happening behind the scenes because you're gonna learn why today. There's a lot that goes on. This is where your team expands from maybe just one person or two people that you've been talking with to potentially six to eight, or maybe even more design professionals that specialize in certain aspects.

If you go back to some of my previous episodes, we talked about civil engineers and soils engineers and structural engineers. These are all people that may get involved in your project and somebody's gotta run that ship, and that's usually your architect. Or if you're an owner builder, you're doing it yourself and you're gonna need a lot more help than I'll be able to get you started on that.

trying to tackle it on your [: 00:07:00

But it's also good for you to know some of these too. I want you to understand something critical. Once you cross this bridge from schematic design to design. Development or you hop onto the next stepping stone. Now you're in the middle of the stream. And the stone behind you, schematic design's kind of gone because during that step of schematic design, you've vetted out.

an option for the basement, [: 00:08:00

I do like The architectural style in plan C, but I like the floor plan in plan B. This happens all the time, and that's okay. 'cause that's the whole objective. Your architect will then merge all of this together into one. Cohesive plan, strategic plan to go into design development. So the idea here is you're not in the middle of design development going I really think I want to go back to that farmhouse style.

before you move into design [: 00:09:00

You know, you're in the zone of detailed development where changes become expensive and timelines get crushed. If you're not ready, really ready to move into this next step. So if you master this process with the knowledge I'm gonna give you, this is where the construction is a lot more smooth sailing, okay?

This is where you can then sit back and watch your team, your construction team, go to work. This is also how you protect the morale. The focus and the motivation of your design and your construction team. If they have the information they need to build this project in the field, they're gonna love you.

. So remember, this is about [: 00:10:00

And enjoy the process. 'cause you might only do this once in your lifetime. This is is me thinking way ahead to make your experience as best as possible. So let's talk about segment one, the great transition from dreaming to developing. So let's just talk about what just happened in your design process.

You went through that schematic level. You wanted the kitchen on the front and the back, and you've made these final decisions. But design development, okay, it's think of it like taking your Play-Doh that you've been kneading around and moving and mixing up and, whatever.

rts you're committed. You're [: 00:11:00

You'll have to get the jackhammer out and start chipping away at your bronze statue. So this, commitment. It can kind of mess with your head a little bit, right? For weeks or months you've been exploring all these options, having fun, seeing all these renderings on the screen and trying to pick things out and give direction.

You've been dreaming up about all these possibilities, but now it's time to commit. And you might panic a little bit there, and that's okay. You, one of the reasons you might be panicking is because you're not feeling comfortable. You're not feeling 100% committed to the project as a whole, or you're not 100% committed to the actual style of the home or design configurations or other things that could come at you that are making you feel.

Uncomfortable and then [: 00:12:00

so triggering design development doesn't just automatically begin. It is triggered by you making conscious decisions to select your desired design concepts and options from your schematic phase process. You're essentially saying to your architect, this is it. This is what we wanna build now.

Help us figure out exactly how to make it happen. Visualize yourself saying that and you'll get there. You may have to require some iterations on the schematic level design. You may need to bring in an interior designer even at that stage. And we're gonna talk about that so that you feel better and good about.

rily that you can't make any [: 00:13:00

After you've gone through schematic design, what you don't want to hear yourself saying is I really think I want the kitchen on the other end of the house. I think I want to go with 12 foot ceilings instead of 10 foot ceilings. You see where I'm going? We don't want to be there because that means he or she, your architect, goes back and starts making all these revisions and basically redesigning the schematic plan.

. Design development has six [: 00:14:00

And think of these as your mission checklist, right? Each one builds on the. Previous one, and you can't successfully move to construction without completing all six. So we're gonna break 'em down as best I can by you just listening to this and hopefully gets you in a much better spot than where you were before you listen to this episode.

So objective one. Is tailor the selected designs and solutions. So perfect. Your chosen concept rather than exploring new ones, which is what I've talked about already. Refine proportions, adjust details, optimized functionality. So what you're doing is you're now going into this schematic plan that you've picked out for your new kitchen or your brand new estate.

what we've chosen. Now let's [: 00:15:00

Just think about the things that you care about. You don't need to know how to be an architect or anything about construction, but what you care about, what you've been thinking about for years. Maybe even a decade that, you wanna make sure is in this plan. And then you're going to refine these proportions of the rooms of the scale.

and doors and roof lines and [: 00:16:00

You don't have to be a designer, an architect, or a contractor, a builder, necessarily. To see something that's not, doesn't look right, and at the very least you can say I'm not sure, but let me ask some questions. That is the proportions, the details, and then the functionality is a big one too, where you're gonna want to make sure that this home is.

Working for you on where fixtures and doors and windows and rooms and everything are, because we're talking about getting into the design development. We're not deep into the design development, you've picked a floor plan, you've picked the concepts. Now you just wanna make damn sure that it is really what you want.

for your property. And your [: 00:17:00

The views I can't emphasize enough the views. If you have those options, even if it's a, you're a city lot, you don't want to look at your neighbor or whatever. So objective one, tailor the selected design and solutions before your architect goes deep. 'cause once he goes deep, he's not excited about pulling back out and adding 500 more square feet to the building.

Can do it. You're gonna pay for it. Objective two. Select construction and finish materials. So every surface, every system gets specified in. Design development can be overwhelming. It can be very overwhelming for a homeowner from the foundation materials, which you may not get as involved in all the way to the cabinet hardware.

tte for your entire project. [: 00:18:00

Work with you on each of the categories of materials, but just to help you a little bit, I want you to think about two things. There's construction materials and there's finished materials. Okay? Think about the construction materials, is everything that's attach to the outside of the home.

ourself walking into a blank [: 00:19:00

Nothing else is stuck to the walls. Think about the finished materials. Everything's stuck to the walls or floors or ceilings. That could be flooring. Baseboards, interior door style, casings, cabinetry, countertops, back splashes, tile, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures. These are all the decorative things that you see while you're living in your home that you really care about.

So that's the best way for a homeowner. Everything that's stuck into the walls, attached to the walls during construction, the roofing, the gutters, the siding. The windows, the doors, all that trim, this masonry stone work on the outside, those, I call those construction materials. Okay? And then you walk into your home.

wall, stuck to the ceilings. [: 00:20:00

That you request that, Hey, can I look at the home in my renderings with the materials I picked, or really close to the materials I picked? So for example, you may have picked a particular stone for the outside of the home. Your architect may have suggested a particular siding. The colors.

es. Each one of those design [: 00:21:00

That could be the flooring material, the baseboards. The wall colors, if you get my drift here. This is gonna help you make decisions going back to the priority of the 3D rendering. This will also eliminate a lot of problems during construction where you had no idea. That stone was gonna look like that or that, that subway tile back splash, maybe it should have been vertical instead of horizontal.

'cause you have a more modern design. Just using these, really random examples. This is the idea here of objective three. Visualize your material choices so that you're not in. And a nightmare. As things are getting installed, you're just blown away by the, what they really look like in real life.

Objective four, [: 00:22:00

Checkpoint number two. So checkpoint number one, we talked about in the previous episode, budget checkpoint number two, or. Actual construction estimating is ultimately where we're going with this now, depending on the project complexity. And variables such as if you haven't really made final decisions on the options, you can decide to do a budget checkpoint number two, or do a full blown construction estimating.

equipment is that could be. [: 00:23:00

You don't necessarily get as involved in that as your architect and your plumbing. And mechanical and electrical designers, unless they're all the architect, ultimately somebody's gotta write it down, right? What the heck to price out and that it's gonna work. So the, materials or your construction and finished materials.

rst floor and stairs, carpet [: 00:24:00

Provide and install the subway tile in a vertical pattern with grout number 6 8 9 5 3 with material Dow Tile 7 8 2 5 9. You are giving narrative instructions. Of what to include on the project. And the reason I'm doing this, and I'm saying this is because not all this information can really get on the plans.

It can, but it becomes a really big, muddy mess on the plan set. And architects sometimes will create specification books for big projects or even little projects where you create a document by construction category. And one of these days, I'm gonna show you how I organize that. And you will go through plumbing, electrical, mechanical insulation, drywall, cabinetry, countertops, flooring.

jects because remodels get a [: 00:25:00

Am I, what am I doing as a contractor or a builder? What am I supposed to include in the price? And if you don't do this, you're gonna get one bid, including it, and one bid, not including it. So the scope of work. So think about it as the three components, and we're gonna have the last episode of the design process.

I'm gonna talk in detail about this, but we've got the materials. We've got the equipment and we've got the scope of work specifications, okay? This eliminates assumptions and guesswork from the construction process, and this creates a set of specifications to get accurate and thorough pricing and for a contractor to actually look at, read and build off of.

So that is objective number four.

ight. Objective number five. [: 00:26:00

I just mentioned, they will bring in. The rest of the design team, they will build their team. This is an example of one of the things architect does behind the scenes is they build a design team people like the structural engineers, the MEP consultants mechanical, electrical, plumbing and other specialists become part of the team and contribute to the plans and specifications and scope of work.

one more person, it could be [: 00:27:00

Okay. And I've talked about the primary ones in the previous episodes. So you can go back and listen to the primary ones and relate it to your project. If you're doing a kitchen remodel, you don't need a civil engineer. If you're doing a new custom home, you need a civil engineer on a hillside lot, you need a soils engineers.

So you need all these people, right? And some of these people in new construction projects have already been involved . Such as the land surveyor, but there's other people and a good one. A good example is a structural engineer. That's probably one of the most important ones that has to come in. That could be for a remodel, renovation project, or it could be for a huge estate.

You almost always need a structural engineer if you're opening up walls and. Putting new windows in where they don't exist. Objective six. Budget checkpoint and official estimating. Big one. We're gonna talk about this in more detail. In step one, schematic design.

et checkpoint with hopefully [: 00:28:00

A lot more data for your contractor hopefully it's the same person you spoke with months ago at the end of stepping Stone one schematic design. You bring them back in. It's okay. Look, now we have got a lot more details for you. We know exactly what we're doing, the materials that we want.

We have a few things that we're still trying to figure out, but now would you be willing to do an estimate? or review your budget from the previous time and let's revise that if we can to make sure I'm on the right track. Now, at the end of design development, let me be clear.

ut, all the equipment picked [: 00:29:00

Now you have the data in order to get an official. Construction estimate. Before we're talking about budgets and before we were talking about investment goals, now we're talking about the real deal and we're talking about construction estimates based off of your plans and the options and the variables that you want to be able to analyze.

So at the end of design development, that is what we're shooting for. When all six objectives are complete, you'll have that comprehensive set of plans and specifications that allow you to visualize your new home and engage with contractors for accurate estimates, and begin the approval process even with the city early on and start talking to your HOAs.

's foundation for everything [: 00:30:00

I'm trying to eliminate that problem for you. We're gonna dive into segment three, which is. I wanna talk just a little bit about your architect's evolution so that you understand what's really happening. There's a hell of a lot more that goes on behind the scenes than the hour meeting you had with your architect spinning you around on fancy 3D software.

teams. They have people that [: 00:31:00

So most homeowners think architects just draw pretty pictures and make spaces look nice. And they do that. That's, a big thing that we want. But that's that's true during the schematic design process. But in design development, your architect transforms into something you know, much more valuable for you.

We'll call 'em the project conductor. And they're no longer just designing. They're orchestrating multiple resources, coordinating complex information and ensuring your project is actually buildable. there's a lot of variables there when we say buildable. Here's something that most homeowners get wrong about timing.

this point because interior [: 00:32:00

The plans are done and we have permits and during construction that's a big mistake and that contributes to the hell that you could go through, that your neighbors might be going through. It could cost you a ton of money too if you don't get an interior designer involved now.

Maybe even before, maybe even during schematic design, if it's a project type that's more complex, lot of variables. You're gonna want to think about that from an interior designer perspective. Some architects employ interior designers , some architects have interior designers that they like to work with.

% set. So they can [: 00:33:00

Not to say that they can't and they're not competent, those kind of details get overlooked, ceiling details moldings and fireplaces and all kinds of things could influence the actual final size or shape of a room or location of windows and door openings.

you want some faux beams to [: 00:34:00

Oh no, let's do three pendant lights instead of two. And these are the kind of things that can be included into the final electrical and lighting plan as opposed to being out in the field during construction, trying to make those changes on the fly. Things got thought about six months ago.

Never made it to the plans. Now change orders come into play. Delays come into play. You get the idea, this is an example of why material decisions, meaning cabinetry, counters, fixtures, all those ones beyond the sheet rock and actually affect the architectural design. And if you have a good architect, they don't mind that as long as you bring this person in as part of the team, or they bring in the person as part of the team so that.

by, bringing in an interior [: 00:35:00

A lot of interior designers do electrical and lighting design. They're not electrical engineers. I'm talking about the placement and location of light fixtures and outlets that match your lifestyle. So somebody working on that on the side while the architect is working on the structure is a good way to collaborate.

And then you bring 'em together and say no, we wanna plug here. We wanna add another plug here. We want lighting. Around the perimeter here, but not in the middle. So those are the things that an interior designer really brings to the table. Just, as an example. So what your interior designer brings to early development in summary is the technical expertise and space planning and material coordination and interpreting your lifestyle to the home.

For some [: 00:36:00

I know that sounds pretty typical, stereotypical. This is the idea where they get, they latch onto that and they can help you with that technical expertise in space planning, material selection, lifestyle planning, and furnishings, where the furnishings gonna go relative to the lighting and the floor outlets.

So knowledge of lead times and effect construction scheduling. So a lot of interior designers and projects are intimate with the material suppliers, the material types, the locations, the resources lead times can really drive a construction schedule. If you can't get the countertop material on time, you can't finish the project.

And [: 00:37:00

And it's really your project manager that's gonna ask those questions, better ask those questions 'cause they're doing the scheduling. That's a whole nother episode. Tear designers also can really help you with. Specifying the fixtures, plumbing fixtures, lighting, fixtures, appliances. They have a lot more knowledge 'cause they're engaging with us on a regular basis and keeping up to date the good ones.

get into it now. You can go [: 00:38:00

That can use design software, develop 3D renderings and colored renderings for you material boards and whatnot, so that you can visualize your materials on your project. So what your architect is doing behind the scenes. Let's talk about that real quick. So the phase one, this is in three different phases, but the first thing they do is they're doing a design validation and property integration.

So they're verifying the selected design actually works within your specific property. Now that's. Hopefully been visited before, but they're making some final determinations. They're checking existing structure compatibility for remodel projects. This is where the structural engineer may come into play.

understand how to design the [: 00:39:00

I talked about that in the schematic design phase. There's a lot of limitations out there already that you don't even know about that sometimes design professionals don't know about that they need to verify to make sure that building's not too high, that you don't have too much square footage.

Things like that so you can go back and listen to that episode. They're confirming all of this so that when they go to submit, the plans of the billing department, they don't get blown away by some stupid surprise that they should have learned earlier on. A lot of this is like almost just human nature for an design professional and architect, they're already doing all this,

but you need to know it should be done because you don't want to get that story of, oh, we're gonna have to cut two feet off the back room because we're over square footage. That should not happen. But it happens a lot in so you need to know that so that you can pose those questions.

[: 00:40:00

And maybe even earlier in the schematic design phase. So that is a big part of what they do. Phase three is the feasibility analysis and risk assessment. So they're going back to analyzing the constructability of the proposed design and usually working with an engineer on that. And they're identifying potential cost drivers early in the process.

tep and they'll just go plow [: 00:41:00

Not realistic to build or just too expensive to build. So hopefully they're doing that. They're making sure that some of these grand ideas that we have can actually be done reasonably. And they're also assessing timeline implications of the design choices, how long things are gonna be taking to build and get.

And then they're also thinking about the approval process through your planning department and your building department. There's a couple steps that have to happen. To get your building permits for your new custom home project planning department's. The first one, building department's, the second one, they're preparing for the next stage of design and all the plans and specification and all the compliance information.

ngs they're doing behind the [: 00:42:00

Let's, talk about some red flags to watch for if your architects suggest waiting to bring in an interior designer, that makes me nervous if they aren't proactively discussing team coordination Such as the consultants we spoke of, or if they seem to be working in isolation without planning for special integrations,

there's nobody else hanging around helping out, right? What are they really thinking through? Or the on demand water heaters should go? Are they thinking that? Are they just not even putting it on the plan? That happens a lot. So design development really requires early team assembly and active collaboration.

c pause points and financial [: 00:43:00

A delay or indecision, it's strategic validation. Think of it as your last chance to catch major issues before they become expensive problems and haunting you through the construction. So that's gonna happen. At the beginning of design development, when you've made your choices on the plans and the styles, but you're gonna do that periodically as, plans are getting presented to you.

You're gonna just keep an eye on the things that you care about the look and the feel and the usability, the functionality for your lifestyle, the materials you're gonna be doing. Design checkpoints. Okay? And then the budget checkpoint. We talked about budget checkpoint one, which is early on, and that was more kind of a higher level look.

wo. All right? And this is a [: 00:44:00

so now you're gonna have costs from a contractor that you're planning to use or. Multiple contractors that you can then make educated choices because you have 90% of the material specified in the scope of work specified by your designers, and you are able to then hand them a set of plans and specifications, physical set of plans to get accurate estimates.

e builder might bring into a [: 00:45:00

So this one's a lot more dependable and they're going off of real data rather than just hypothetical rough estimates, and they can provide detailed line item pricing for you by category. And each contractor does it different ways, which is an unfortunate process for a homeowner.

But I've got a system I've got that I'm eventually gonna present to you so that you can send out for estimates in a systematic way. So that is the the budget checkpoint. That is really helpful. So you're at the end of step two, stepping stone two, design development before you move into step three, which is like putting it all in concrete.

how much more due diligence [: 00:46:00

So the three validation areas, right at these checkpoints. We'll talk about, there's the technical feasibility check, right? Can the selected design actually be built as envisioned? Are there structural or system conflicts that need resolution? This is, you're depending on your architect and your engineer to, to do this, but this is what needs to happen.

Do local regulations support the proposed design? Big one, you can really screw up as a designer by not really making sure that is happening. And have we identified potential construction challenges, early questions like. Has all this stuff been done before?

ned about as a designer? Mr. [: 00:47:00

This detail isn't quite thorough, so I'm just gonna cover my ass. The contractor might say to himself and exclude it or disclaim certain things about it. So that's a technical feasibility check as part of these checkpoints, right? We have the feasibility technical checkpoints, and then we have the budget checkpoints, the financial reality check.

That's number two. Do cost estimates align with your budget expectations? Are there obvious cost drivers that need addressing? Should any elements be reconsidered, phased, or optioned differently, that's your time now to do that before you actually. Commit to the project. And what are the real financial implications of your design choices?

There's gonna be [: 00:48:00

Were those linked to cost? Sometimes they're not. I love that walnut front door. Did you know it was four times more than the oak one? Things like that. So that is the kind of the checkpoints that I wanted to bring to you and that are really important at the design development stage.

Some of the biggest mistakes that are made by a design team and ultimately by a homeowner is skipping some of these pause points. I'm talking about the pause points between design steps between. Schematic design and design development. The pause points at the checkpoints. The budget checkpoints.

are just loving it and just [: 00:49:00

This is the number one thing that a design and construction team needs to avoid. And, we're gonna talk about a design build solution versus the traditional method in an upcoming episode, and how I've tried to eliminate that. So some of these, pause points ignoring the financial reality.

r was very engaged, emailing [: 00:50:00

You allocating enough time to stay engaged into the design, attending the meetings, providing feedback. This is really important. This is how you keep your designers focused. This is how you keep the morale up. This is how you get the best quality output of both your design team and your construction team.

. At critical junctures, you [: 00:51:00

Now each homeowner is gonna have different ways they want to manage their project. In some cases, you can have your architect be your primary advocate and you pay 'em to do that, and it's worth it, and they will. Have a different mindset, right? For the project and even into the construction of the project.

Architect firms offer construction administration services, which is separate from the design, and they will be your agent, your advocate. The other way you can do it is you can hire a specific owner agent. So let's say you're doing a large custom home and it's your second home.

u more money, obviously. But [: 00:52:00

So let's close this one out. Once again. I've gone on and on. Design development is the commitment phase, right? It's a big phase, it's a big transition. The creative exploration is over, meaning big, changes, size of home, style of home all of that. There are six objectives to create your roadmap.

In design development, each one builds towards construction readiness. And I'll try to put that list in the show notes for you. And your architect becomes your conductor. Orchestrating multiple specialists and complete coordination and sometimes all the way through to the construction and the contractors.

that we're gonna be getting [: 00:53:00

That's where you, that's how you want to feel. Review the six design development objectives with your architect. Ask about their process, routine coordination and validation, and schedule your design checkpoint discussions before proceeding. Those are, that's what you care about. And that's what we really need to talk about.

we we're not trying to teach you how to be a designer or a contractor. Think about things from your perspective, like what do you really care about? So you're transitioning from a dreamer to a project manager from exploring possibilities to actually executing a plan from asking what if to saying, this is how.

ject. So next episode. We're [: 00:54:00

And drive the cost of the project and how professional coordination actually works behind the scenes and how your plans evolve from pretty pictures into detailed construction documents. Plus we'll explore the specific deliverables each specialist provides and how they all work together. And that's all you have to really do is just absorb that so that there's really no action. I just want you to absorb that and understand that there's stuff going on so that you might be able to ask the right questions. So my last message here is remember successful projects aren't accidents.

you are gonna be able to do [: 00:55:00

Thanks for listening. This is the first episode of three of design Development. I'm Bill Reid, your home building coach from the awakened homeowner.