For Property Owners

The Collective Home platform offers a compelling solution for property owners looking to build a high performance home without engaging in a full-scale custom home design process. Collective Homes are sought by first time homeowners and those on the more experienced end of the spectrum alike, all looking for a comfortable, sustainable, energy efficient home to enjoy for decades to come.

uality Prefrabricated Home Collective Carpentry

For the prefabrication portion of the Collective Home offering, property owners must engage Collective Carpentry through a General Contractor, so the first step is finding one! Don’t hesitate to ask us for recommendations of contractors we’ve worked with in your region in the past, or of ones in our network that would be a good fit for this style of construction. Having a General Contractor on board early in the process allows a suitable total building budget to be developed with attention to the cost of local trades and finish materials. Consider engaging your General Contractor in a Pre-Construction agreement if you’re not ready to commit to a full-scale construction contract.

While we don’t suggest getting too far down the design road without a GC to accompany you in the process of assessing the size and complexity of building that will fit within your budget constraints, you can choose to engage with Collective Carpentry directly in order to make personalized modifications to a Collective Home design. Note, however, that customizations can drive significant cost into the building costs, but we understand the value in doing some form of customization, and in fact, most projects do customize the Collective Home designs in one way or another. If you do the design modfiications with Collective Carpentry, we’ll bring in a structural engineer to approve the building plans, and – if you wish – can provide additional energy modeling or HVAC design services to hone the performance of your home for your site.

Once your General Contractor engages Collective Carpentry as a subcontractor for the prefabrication – and, optionally, the installation of your home – they directly manage all sitework and foundation work, as well as follow-on trades like plumbing, electrical, mechanical, roofing, siding, drywall, and finish carpentry.

OUR PROCESS

Our process can be distilled to six simple steps:

Step 1: Introduction to your General Contractor

Whether you reach out to ask for our help in finding a General Contractor we’ve worked with before, or already have one you’re entertaining, this meeting is crucial to the project’s success. Your General Contract is key to helping you plan your build, navigate your permitting process, and coordinate all of the trades that come before and after your prefabricated building envelope is installed. By meeting early on, we can help set your General Contractor up for success in understanding the scope that we provide so that they may help you accurately and reliably budget your build, in addition to setting the pace for collaboration and timeline going forward.
Step 2: Design modifications

In collaboration with your General Contractor, we will talk through some of the design changes you’d like to consider – from simple reconfigurations of the interior layout to add-ons like a garage or ADU – and how these will impact the overall project budget. You will sign a Design Services contract and work with our in-house designer who will adapt the Collective Home designs to your location and requirements, as well as help coordinate relevant structural and mechanical engineering services, energy modeling, and other outside consultants. Once your design modifications have been finalized, we’ll aid your General Contractor in submitting for any permits, and move towards a Construction Services contract with your GC.
Step 3: Collective engaged by your General Contractor

Once you are engaged in a Construction Services contract with your General Contractor, your General Contractor can then hire Collective Carpentry as a subcontractor to perform the fabrication, supply, and installation services that best fit your customized design. The first prefabrication deposits are due, and the process of preparing for prefabrication starts in earnest.
Step 4: Prefabrication Design Review

Now that Collective is engaged by your GC, we will move through our Prefabrication Design Review process, incorporating any changes from your design process into a detailed, precision 3D model of the building’s structural framing, insulation, air & weather sealing, and window and door elements. Upon signoff by your GC, we will reserve you a place in our production calendar and begin procuring the materials for your building envelope.

Projects utilizing a standard Collective Home design* benefit from a 10% fabrication discount.

*Utilizing a standard design implies no more than 20 hours of site-specific design time required and no other modifications to the building envelope or structure.
Step 5: Fabrication

While windows and doors are ordered well in advance of panel fabrication, we aim to complete fabrication of your panelized building envelope just-in-time: while site work is being performed by your General Contractor to prepare the ground, install the foundation system, and often install the main level floor or slab on grade. However, depending on the timeline for installation, we may produce panels well in advance of the delivery to site, in order to manage other production timelines and be on time for your install. We invite you to see some of the progress through sharing a digital file of the production progress.
Step 6: Delivery & Installation

Once the panels are produced, the windows & doors are ready to be shipped, and the site work is complete, we send our installation crew to your site, receive the panels, and install all panels, windows & doors, and other site-installed structural components (think exposed glulam beams and douglas fir posts). In a matter of days, your home will take shape and the structure will be just about ready to start seeing roofing, siding, and interior finishes installed. A final walkthrough with the GC concludes our scope.