For Owner-Builders

The Collective Home platform offers a compelling solution for owner-builders who want to build a high performance home without the risk and time involved in designing and executing the structure, insulation, and air and weather control layers.

In addition to purchasing the prefabricated building envelope from Collective Carpentry, owner-builders can either work with outside collaborators, or directly with Collective Carpentry for design modifications, structural engineering, windows & doors, delivery, and installation. The owner-builder manages all sitework and foundation, as well as follow-on trades like plumbing, electrical, mechanical, roofing, siding, drywall, and finish carpentry.

**While it’s not impossible for a first-time owner-builder to manage the process of incorporating a prefabricating building envelope to their home construction – and coordinating all of the local trades required to do the work on time and on budget – we find that most owner-builders looking to build with Collective have significant building experience and/or industry connections.**

OUR PROCESS

Our process can be distilled to five simple steps:

Step 1: Meet to review the project

Meet with us to tell us about the timeline of your build and any design modifications you’d like to make. Talk to us about the permitting process, how you’d like to build the foundation/basement/slab, and clarify any information you need to budget your build.
Step 2: Define design and building services scope

Define the design, engineering, and construction services you’d like to engage us for, including for any additional structures such as a garage or ADU. Once we’ve understood what you would like us to design and fabricate, we will present you with a proposal for design services and/or a proposal for fabrication and install services.
Step 3: Design Customizations & Prefabrication Design Review

Upon signing a Design Services contract and/or a Construction Services contract (simulataneously or in succession), you’ll work with our in-house designer to finalize your design customization requirements, approve the architectural and structural drawings, and then follow the process through to the prefabrication design review, where we’ll triple check that the architecture and the prefabrication shop drawings are free of conflicts, and are ready for production.

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 4: Fabrication

We schedule fabrication once the prefabrication design review process is complete. 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: during the time you are preparing the ground, installing the foundation, and often putting in place the main level floor or slab on grade. However, depending on the timeline for installation, we may produce panels well in advance of hte delivery to site, in order to manage other production timeliens 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 5: 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 concludes our scope.