When you choose to work with a design-builder, you’re adding a whole construction department to your team that’s dedicated to completing a turn-key project as if it were their own. Turn-key in this instance includes initial concept through design, construction, and a 1-year warranty program.
To your team, you’ll add an architect, estimator, project manager, project supervisor, project assistant and promoter.
Phase I – Preliminary Design
Your architect meets with you to complete a needs analysis to craft your building design, which will fit your exact needs while being aesthetically pleasing and unique. During the Preliminary Design Phase, he also does regulatory checks to make sure you can build what you want on your site.
Following Phase I Preliminary Design, your estimator will coordinate a smaller pool of bidders to secure a quick, estimated, ball park price. This first phase will provide a budgetary number that you can take to your financial institution for approval. By getting this early pricing, you’ll know if there are tweaks that need to be made in the Phase II Design.
Phase II Detailed Design
Once design elements are agreed upon, your architect finalizes the plans with the necessary detail to build the building. In the meantime, you’ll meet with your new project manager who’ll plan the schedule with you all while having your end date in mind. He can work backward from the final occupancy date to schedule necessary milestones. He’ll also be evaluating the plans at various stages of design to check for constructability and value engineering (in other words, how the plans will translate during construction or if there are more efficient materials or applications that should be substituted).
Then, your estimator will coordinate with multiple subcontractors for each trade in your immediate area including any that you request, as well as those across Michigan, so that you receive excellent bid coverage resulting in the most competitive price. Your project assistant works with the estimator to contact invited sub contractors prior to the bid to gauge the necessary level of bid coverage or re-evaluate the bid strategy.
Once the bids are in and your project manager and estimator make their selections for the subs who’ll provide the best value to your final construction team, your project assistant begins interacting with subs and collecting their documentation that will protect you from various issues that could arise. Her efforts will shield you from lawsuits, paying double, taking on liens, or insufficient insurance troubles to name a few.
Phase III - Construction
Your project manager, along with your project supervisor, then rallies your subcontractors in a pre-construction meeting to review the project details and make clarifications. He checks to make sure that they have the appropriate materials and quantities selected for your project and will support the schedule requirements.
During construction, your project supervisor is on-site 100% of the time. In conjunction with your project manager, they are monitoring the subs work for quality, safety and timeliness. Your project assistant is processing the expenses while the project manager is also reviewing your budget. Your architect monitors the work for quality control and is available for clarification when needed. Additionally, your project promoter is taking progress photos to include on social media and is available to coordinate ground breakings, ribbon cuttings, or press releases when requested.
Phase IV - Warranty
Once construction is complete, your construction department will be with you, not as regularly, but still available for another year to help with any warranty issues that could arise as you try out your new building.
We are your full-service, all-inclusive team. There’s no need for you to coordinate with all the different entities, monitor subcontractors, or scrutinize over each bill. We’ll work behind the scenes to do it all for you and keep you openly updated along the way until we turn over the keys to your new building. Adding Wolgast as your design-builder and construction department will allow you to focus on your business-what you do best, while we focus on building your building-what we do best!
