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Design-build, service by service

What actually happens at each stage — and what it costs in 2026 — so you know what you're buying before the first consultation.

Custom Home Design-Build

From raw lot to front door under one contract. It starts with feasibility — what your lot, your jurisdiction, and your budget will actually allow — then moves through architecture, engineering, and permitting with the builder pricing every decision as it's drawn. No bid-day heartbreak, no finger-pointing between architect and contractor.

Typical 2026 range in major metros: $200–$400+ per square foot for design and construction; semi-custom from ~$150/sqft, high-end architectural work past $500. Land, site work, and utilities ride on top.

Feasibility firstOne contractPriced as it's drawn

Best suited for

  • Owners with a lot (or hunting for one) who want one accountable team
  • Anyone burned before by plans that bid over budget
  • Builds where the site — views, slope, sun — should drive the design

Worth knowing

  • Door to door, plan on 1.5–2 years: 4–10 months design and permits, 10–16 months construction
  • The budget conversation happens in month one, not at bid day — that's the whole point of design-build

Whole-Home Remodeling

The house you own, reimagined top to bottom — layout opened up, systems (electrical, plumbing, HVAC) brought to current code, kitchens and baths done once and done right, and a finish schedule that reads like one house instead of five remodels stacked over 30 years.

Typical 2026 range: $100–$250 per square foot depending on scope and finish level — a 2,500 sqft home lands roughly $250K–$600K for a full transformation. Structural moves push the top of the range.

Layout & systemsOne orchestrated passLive-in or move-out plans

Best suited for

  • Great location, great bones, floor plan from another era
  • Owners choosing between moving and remodeling — run both numbers
  • Houses with deferred everything that deserve one comprehensive fix

Worth knowing

  • Remodeling whole-home beats moving when the land is the value — and in these metros it usually is
  • Living through a whole-home remodel is possible but phased; moving out is faster and often cheaper overall

Additions & ADUs

Square footage that looks like it was always there: primary-suite additions, second stories, great-room extensions, casitas, and backyard ADUs. The design half matters double here — rooflines, proportions, and materials have to marry the original house, and the permit path (especially for ADUs) varies wildly by city.

Typical 2026 range: additions $300–$600 per square foot; detached ADUs commonly $150K–$400K all-in depending on metro, size, and utility connections.

Seamless rooflinesADU permit expertiseRental & family flex

Best suited for

  • Families who love the neighborhood but need one more bedroom
  • Multi-generational households planning a casita or ADU
  • Owners eyeing ADU rental income where cities allow it

Worth knowing

  • ADU rules changed fast in CA, AZ, CO, and UT — what was illegal in 2020 may be by-right now
  • Additions price higher per-foot than new construction; tying into an existing structure is the expensive part

Architecture & Plans

Concept design, full construction documents, and plan review — including the increasingly popular middle path: buying a stock plan you love and having it adapted to your lot, your codes, and your life before you break ground. A few thousand dollars of adaptation prevents six figures of regret.

Typical 2026 range: architectural design runs 5–12% of construction cost full-service; stock-plan adaptation and review from $3,000–$15,000; standalone construction documents priced by scope.

Concept to CDsStock-plan adaptationPermit-ready sets

Best suited for

  • Owners starting with a stock plan that needs a real architect's pass
  • Anyone who wants design nailed down before committing to a builder
  • Projects needing permit-ready documents, fast

Worth knowing

  • A stock plan is a starting point, not a permit set — foundations, energy codes, and wind/snow loads are all local
  • Design fees feel expensive until you price one framing change-order mid-build

Bring us the lot, the sketch, or just the itch

Tell us what you’re dreaming about — our design-build professionals for your metro follow up within one business day.

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