The Art (and Science) of Estimating Home Construction Costs
A1DesignBuild is a designer and builder of homes in Bellingham and Whatcom County, Washington. We specialize in everything from home remodels to complete high-performance home builds, and our over 70 years of providing excellent service to the community assures that your home project gets done right - each and every time.
Justus Peterson has been a valued member of the A1DesignBuild team for quite awhile. Today, he helps clients truly understand the cost of a job, before they embark on a project. Here’s what he had to say about the process:
Back in 2000, I was looking for a new job and I showed up to interview here with Rick, the former owner. I’d been working that day, so I showed up in filthy clothes and apologized for my appearance. I remember his first thing he said to me was that it would be weird if I'd shown up in a suit for a construction job. That’s when my journey started, we used to call it a labor position, and I just built from there.
Today, I’m the estimating and contracts manager at A1DesignBuild, so I help take the hard work of our designers and convert it into the hard work of our field staff. From the conceptual level to the completed design, I help price things out so the client knows what they are going to get working with us.
What I find really attractive about estimating is that it allows you to really sink your teeth into understanding the design of the project from every aspect, whether it's labor and materials, or subcontractor conversations. It’s about really explaining the scope of work and really trying to understand the ideas behind what we're trying to do for the client and how the inner workings from design to construction really happen.
“I remember the first thing Rick said to me was that it would be weird if I’d shown up in a suit for a construction job. That’s when my journey started.”
Why Estimating is so Important to a Client
Estimating is especially important to the client because understanding what a project will really cost helps them make their dream a reality. If we don't estimate properly, if we don't give the full attention the project deserves and just throw some guesses about what it will cost, our clients may not be able to move forward. Or if they do move forward, they’ll be sorely disappointed when costs exceed the estimate.
If we're realistic, transparent, and upfront about what the potential costs are for their project, it's going to make the client more comfortable, they're going to understand the process better, and I think ultimately they enjoy the start to finish of a construction project more because they see what's coming. Communication is the key to that.
I think if you’ve come from the field side of things, of having been out there actually involved in construction, it gives you a greater understanding for the estimating process as a whole. At first, I definitely underestimated the skill, attention to detail, and effort it takes to apply math and the contractual elements so that we can be accurate with a project estimate. Some things, even now, it's really hard to get your head around because every project is so different. But we’ve gotten really good at it.
Justus - Our fearless Estimating and Contracts Manager
What I like about working at A1DesignBuild is the freedom that you get here, the freedom of education, the freedom of experience and expression, the support you get from each part of the company. Everybody here is working and competing for one another as opposed to competing against one another. We're really a cooperative, and this empowers every project we embark upon.
This collaborative approach benefits the client because we don't have a need for aggressive sales tactics to sell projects. We don’t cut corners on our estimates to get the jobs. The process is transparent, it's open, it's honest, and we encourage our clients to travel through the entire estimating process at their own pace and asking lots of questions. We listen, and then provide answers.
Because we’re truly a co-op, we can all focus on trying to get better for our clients, not necessarily always trying to get better for our bottom line. I think that's clear in our principles. It’s a different methodology.
This process allows for the client's vision to come to fruition because of the cohesive nature of what we do. We work together from start to finish. So the end result is understood clearly from the completion of design through to the completion of construction. That brings me a lot of satisfaction.
Want to learn more about what it takes to successfully get a project off the ground, in a way that still protects your sanity? Then contact us.