Starting from Scratch
When you’re building a new house, you have the opportunity to make something truly beautiful and unique. This can be both exciting and overwhelming by turns. You may know exactly what you want, have a few disconnected ideas, or just have a piece of land to start with. You want help identifying opportunities and liabilities, help tying things together and filling in gaps. We can help.
Pre-Design
Getting to know you and the land
When Greyhaven Designs is brought in to look at a project, we prefer to begin by meeting on site. We want to see what you see, learn what inspires or worries you about the land, and catch whatever vision you already have. We also need to receive our own impressions: if we end up working together, you can expect us to spend hours on site.
The other thing to explore is you. Whatever is built must “fit” your life and should prioritize the features you need or want in a house. This is when you share stories, Pinterest boards, photo albums, pictures or addresses of homes you like, and whatever else we can use to close in on what you’re wanting. To see an example of what we’re wanting to know, click here to take our new customer survey.
Proposal
After getting to know you and your site, Greyhaven will make a proposal. This will include a list of spaces with approximate dimensions, a list of features desired, a brief description of the house’s style as you’ve defined it, a target project cost, and a design cost estimate with an allowance of hours to be spent on each stage. If this suits you, you’ll sign a contract and pay a deposit.
Design
Layout
We begin by using a simple layout tool to group and roughly dimension spaces with the specific site and solar orientation in mind. To see two more examples, click here and here. This allows us to quickly shift things around and discuss the pros and cons of different options without wasting time having to move walls and roofs.
Massing
Once layout options have been narrowed, we may show you some rough 2d and 3d models of the layout, to see the building proportions and shape. To see the pictured example in 3d, click here.
First Draft
Once the layout is decided, it’s time to draft the plans. This is where we locate and dimension everything in increasingly fine detail. This is an exciting stage because the dream starts to come more and more into focus!
Estimator Input
By this time (if not before), the input of a builder or cost estimator should be sought to help guide decision making. If staying within budget while getting what you want most is a tight rope walk, think of accurate estimating as a balance pole that helps you stay upright. Greyhaven will have someone we suggest if you don’t have someone you prefer already, but you should always seek the advice of your builder if you have one selected.
The cost estimator should give an estimate of cost to build with a set of finish allowances for you to keep in mind. With a clear idea of the costs involved, you can then fill in as much detail on the plans as you wish.
Finishing Up
Individuals and builders will differ in how specific they like the plans to be. Some will want to have an electrical sheet and others will prefer to define that on site after framing, for example. Greyhaven will make recommendations or referrals for any needs that may arise during or after design.
Time to Build!
If you need a builder, Greyhaven is capable of making a referral or even supervising the construction ourselves through a partnership with Bruce Upchurch Homes.
