Homeowners (or soon-to-be-homeowners) often need to know what prefabrication will cost them, where it will save them money and time, and how the manufacturing process will provide them with a higher quality home for their family. Our process with homeowners typically follows the following structure:
1. Initial Conversation
It all starts with an initial conversation so we can learn why you became interested in prefabricated high performance construction methods and where to take the conversation from there. We’ll talk about where and when you’re building, what aesthetic and functional elements you’re looking for, and how you’re thinking about the budget for your project.
2. Building the Team
Whether you work with architects or builders in our partner network or bring your own to the table, the next step is often identifying what key members of the team we need to assemble. You might choose to have your architect or contractor handle further conversations with Collective Carpentry, or you might remain involved in some of the pricing and design questions as you seek to find the right solution for your build.
3. Choose Your Paradigm
Depending on your budget and your desire for customization, Collective Carpentry can work with your design team to deliver one of three options for your panel design: pre-designed, optimized, or custom. We’ll be glad to discuss the implications of each with you and your design team.
4. Define our Scope of Work
Define which elements Collective Carpentry will prefabricate, and which will get completed by the site contractor. This involves weighing the advantages of a fully locked-in building envelope package vs. a limited scope that involves just the walls of your building, or anything in between.
5. Send Your Design
Once you’ve made progress on your design, you’ll send them to us and we’ll produce a 3D model of your building in order to start breaking up the building into prefabricated sections. We’ll return to you or your general contractor a detailed quote, ready to discuss at your convenience..
6. Contract Signing
With a 10% deposit and a signed contract, we’ll agree to a rough timeline for your project and enter the first official phase.
7. Review Drawings and Production
Our design team meets and finalizes the design through a review process with the architect and structural engineers on the project, and we produce a set of shop drawings for production. A revised estimate reflects any changes to the structural or other requirements. A 25% payment locks in materials pricing, and an additional 25% payment is provided as your project goes into production – as soon as scheduling allows, even if your project won’t get installed for another few months. Staying ahead of the production schedule is often the key to keeping a smooth transition between site work and panel delivery.
8. Delivery & Installation
Once your foundation preparation is complete, our shop team loads your panels, and our install team arrives at your project to complete the install in a carefully sequenced process involving structural and airsealing quality control, and a mix between methodical preparation days and intense and productive crane days. A 30% payment is due at this time.
9. Installation Review
We review our install with your site team and set them up for success in maintaining the integrity of the building envelope as they take the project into window installation, plumbing, electrical, and finishing stages. It is at this time that the final 10% payment is made.
Interested in experiencing a house designed with Passive House design principles and built by Collective Carpentry? If you’re visiting the Columbia Valley, you can stay in this house in Windermere.
Ski trip to Panorama anyone?