Aww, Labor Day weekend. Three days of camping in the San Juan islands, cooking over an open fire, playing fetch with your favorite golden retriever on the beach… Well, It would have been great. Early last week we decided to cancel our weekend travel plans and instead power through on the foundation work. In other […]
Even though the sliding barn doors were installed several months ago, we still had a few tasks to complete. First, door stops. A day or two before our big party we installed a stop inside the track above the bathroom door. This prevents the door from sliding too far in one direction, blocking access to the handle from […]
Bobcat weekend, take 2. Two weekends ago we dug out around our basement foundation to prep for new drains. A hose leak in the bobcat slowed our progress, but this weekend we were back at it, faster and stronger. Digging out around the basement was the first step, the second was to dig two trenches on each […]
Chezerbey is two! Last year, we celebrated our one-year blogiversary by talking about the things we hoped to accomplish in the upcoming year, both around the house and for the blog. Looking back, we’ve made some good progress: Aside from the obvious, we had some goals for our blog too: 1. Revamp the blog: We’re still using the […]
Back in May we talked about all the issues with our yard. Now that the deck is more or less done (still need to put the finish on it before the formal reveal), we’ve moved on to fixing our house’s drainage. And you know what that means – it’s bobcat time! So last weekend we rented […]
An architect is a qualified professional that not only designs your home or remodel but acts as your advocate throughout the entire process. A good architect will listen, they’ll be honest about how much things cost and how long things take and they’ll use their years of expertise to navigate an onerous permitting process, help vet potential contractors and be there for you during construction. If you don’t have an architect, that work is either done by you or the builder and compromises and sacrifices will inevitably happen.
This depends largely on the size and scope of the project and where you’re located. In some jurisdictions it’s easy and straightforward to get a permit, in others it can take 6 months to a year or longer. We usually advise clients to budget 3 -6 months for design for smaller projects and 12 months for larger projects. Permitting timelines can extend those estimates. Construction can take 4-6 months for small remodels or 16-18 months for custom homes.
Absolutely! We love to see what clients like (or don’t like!) and we’re used to gleaning the important info from all sorts of media – photos, sketches, diagrams – we’ve seen it all!
Maybe – this really depends on the housing market and how much time you have before you make an offer. It also depends on the property itself. If you’re looking at a house with a steep slope, we may advise that a geotechnical and structural engineer make their own evaluation. This can add more time based on people’s ability. We can usually make some basic recommendations based on our knowledge of the local codes, but it’s not a replacement for a more thorough feasibility study. If possible, we usually recommend that people make an offer contingent on a more thorough analysis. What we don’t want to do is give you a rosier outlook only to find that there were some unexpected issues with the property.
Depending on the scope of the project, phasing can be a practical approach. However, we usually advise that homeowners do everything in one phase if possible – this not only takes less time but simplifies the permitting process and is a more appealing process to contractors. When you phase a project, you have repeat mobilization costs that create a more expensive project in the end than doing it all at once. We’re happy to talk through phasing options though as each project is unique and sometimes it does make sense.
Yes! For us, interior design is an integral part of our process. We enjoy working with homeowners to think about their homes holistically and have extensive experience in all aspects of the design process.
In our experience, successful projects have homeowners that are engaged but trust us and the process. They ask questions and are clear communicators. They make timely decisions and speak up if something doesn’t feel right. They’re transparent about budget and schedule constraints so there aren’t missed expectations.
Say hello. Tell us about your project.