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Architectural Design

You have been dreaming about the perfect house. The home you have always wanted. A home that reflects your lifestyle and makes your life more convenient and organized. Well your dreams start here…….. at David & Goliath Builders, our professional Architectural Design and building team strives to make the home designing and building process fun and exciting! We operate under the philosophy that everyone deserves a home that reflects their own unique sense of design. After all, it is one of the largest investments you will make in your lifetime. We work to spark your creativity as well as our own creativity. It will be fun, exciting and most of all enjoyable. We want everyone to have a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when we turn over the keys to your new dream home. In order to do this, we believe it is very important to set the expectations ahead of a time. The following is an outline of our unique Home Designing and Building Process.

DESIGN AND BUDGET

The first meeting with clients will include an extensive discussion about all the architectural design and budget considerations. We also spend a great deal of time going over the standard building material specification (i.e. type of windows, siding and shingles, etc.) The following information is necessary for this meeting: lot information including subdivision deed restrictions, a survey of your lot or a plot of the subdivision, an idea of what you can spend on building your new home, an idea of what your time frame is for beginning construction of your new home, and design ideas which may include pictures of things you like. Often at this meeting the client looks at the floor plans of homes we have already designed to help them focus on their needs and desires. The goal is, that by the conclusion of this meeting, we have obtained enough information to begin a rough floor plan so the architectural design department can begin drawing.

EXECUTION OF A DESIGN AGREEMENT

By the second meeting, our architectural design department will have proposed floor plans prepared. At this meeting we present a proposal to design and build your new home based on our first meeting and the proposed floor plans. We then draft a Design Agreement outlining the customer’s goals and budget. Upon the execution of this Design Agreement, we will proceed to draw further more detailed drawings, on our state-of-the-art, three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) system.

REVIEW OF MORE DETAILED DRAWINGS

As the house begins to develop, it may take several meetings to refine the plans. These meetings are crucial. The customer will begin to see their house evolve with each meeting. Things that will be worked on include, but are not limited to, the exterior elevations, refining the floor plan with many details, placement of windows in relationship to your furniture placement and other factors, cabinet layouts, floor coverings, building materials to be used, placement of plumbing fixtures, etc. The drawings will be analyzed along the way to be sure they are meeting your needs. Especially so budget decisions are being met.

WORKING DRAWINGS AND SPECIFICATION REVIEW

By this meeting the house plans will be finalized. A detailed specification document will also be completed. This document will outline the price of the home and exactly what is included in that price. This document is so detailed it lists for example, model numbers of plumbing fixtures, the type of cabinets, the kind of furnace, etc. At this meeting everything will be discussed in great detail in preparation for drafting a Building Construction Contract.

IF YOU CHOOSE A MODEL WE HAVE ALREADY DESIGNED OR BRING IN YOUR OWN PLANS

It should be noted, that if a model is chosen that we have already designed or if you bring in your own custom plans, this process may not be as extensive. It is rare that a client doesn’t make any change at all to a floor plan, but it does occur once in a while.

EXECUTION OF THE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT

At this meeting, the plans and specification will be gone over for the final time in detail to make sure that everything is exactly the way the customer wants it. The final working drawings will also be complete. All of these documents will be signed and executed. They are necessary to begin the construction loan process and they will need to be submitted to the loan officer. In many cases, this information will also need to be submitted to the developer of the subdivision where the lot is located for final approval and in some rare cases to the municipality where the home is being built.

CUSTOMER SELECTION SHEETS

At the execution of the Building Construction Contract, David & Goliath Builders will give the customer our New Home Construction & Maintenance Guide. This guide will hold all the information on your new home and guide you through the process. It includes a very thorough and extensive system to help make the construction process easy and exciting. There are many choices to be made, from colors of exterior building materials to carpet, vinyl, tile and countertop choices. In addition, we provide the professional design services of our award winning interior designers at our private selection center, to help with making these decisions.

CONSTRUCTION LOAN PROCESS

After a contract is signed, the customer will proceed with the construction loan process. Usually the customer has already begun this process by getting a pre-approval so they know how much money they can spend on their new home. At this point, the bank will need a copy of the blueprints, building construction contract and specification document. They will then order an appraisal on the proposed new home and a loan application will be submitted. This will include ordering of a title commitment, obtaining a certificate of builders risk insurance and running credit checks on both the customer and the builder.

BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION

After the construction loan has been closed, we will then proceed with the following:

Survey: A survey of the customer’s new home plotted on their lot will be ordered. This is a required and necessary legal document. We will consult the customer to be sure their new home and rough driveway cut are where they would like them. After these decisions have been made we will have the new house staked out on the lot.

Lot Developer Approval: Once we have obtained the final survey it will be necessary, in some cases, for several copies of the survey and blueprints to be given to the developer of the subdivision. The developer will approve these items by stamping them. In some cases, the developer may request some modifications. If this is an issue it will be promptly addressed. This step is only necessary if the new home is being built in a subdivision.

Septic Permit: If the home requires a septic system, we will need to apply for a septic permit before we can obtain a building permit.

Heat Calculations: Calculations on the heating system in the new home will be done by the manufacturer of the furnace system. This step is necessary to apply for the building permit, because the building inspection department needs to see that the home is in compliance with the Uniform Dwelling Code for the State of Wisconsin.

Application for Building Permit: When all the above items have been completed we will have all the necessary materials to apply for the building permit. Once we take this information to the building inspection department and apply for the building permit, it may take anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks before we get the permit. In the mean time, we will schedule the hole to be dug.

Application for Electrical/Gas Utilities: With our assistance, the customer will apply for installation of electric and gas utilities to be installed at their new home.

CUSTOMER MATERIAL AND COLOR SELECTIONS

Once the basement is scheduled for excavation, it is at this point it will be necessary for the customer to concentrate on completing their material and color selections. This will be done in our exclusive selection center with several easy and fun meetings.

BASIC ORDER OF CONSTRUCTION

With some variations depending on jobsite and weather conditions, the following is a list of the basic order of construction:

  • Customer Material/Color Selection Sheets #1-8 should be completed and turned in
  • Hole dug
  • Footings poured
  • Basement constructed
  • Steel beams set in basement
  • Waterproofing installed on the outside of foundation
  • Backfill foundation
  • Rough carpentry construction of home
  • Customer Material/Color Selection sheets #9-17 should be completed and turned in
  • Utility installed (gas, electric, water/sewer laterals, septic or well)
  • Roofing/Shingles installed
  • Mechanicals rough-in completed (Heating, Plumbing and Electrical)
  • Basement and garage slabs poured
  • Siding installed
  • Insulation installed
  • Drywall installed
  • Millwork delivered and painting & staining conducted
  • Finish carpentry crew install wood flooring, cabinets, and all finish millwork
  • Underlayment installed at vinyl and ceramic tile areas
  • Countertops installed
  • Vinyl and ceramic tile installed
  • Built-in appliances delivered and installed
  • Light fixtures delivered and installed
  • Mechanicals completed
  • Wood flooring finished
  • Carpeting installed
  • Appliances that are not built-in are delivered and installed
  • Finishing touches completed
  • Occupancy scheduled
  • At the time of final occupancy, we will conduct a thorough walk through inspection with the customer to be sure that all expectations were met. We will also answer any questions the customer has about their new home.