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When we bought our house, most of the walls were a drab, off-white color. During our first demo project a few years ago, we expected that we’d find layer upon layer of paint over the plaster walls, but what we didn’t anticipate was the four to five layers of vintage wallpaper under the plaster! As the mystery […]
It’s been almost a week since we did a post, but not because there is a lack of activity here at chezerbey. There’s just not a lot of visual difference to get excited about. So we thought it might be a good idea to start weekly progress posts – a summary of what we’ve done the […]
Now that the walls and ceiling are gone, it’s easier to visualize what the future space is going to be like. On demo day we joked that it was looking more and more like our Sketchup model, so I thought it would be fun to do a quick overlay to show how we’ll go from bare […]
Friday, April 2nd Kyle and I took some time off work to prep for the big event. Our friend Dustin came over and we finished moving out furniture and pulled the “temporary” trim around the new windows. A few finals shots of the kitchen, before its demise. (The greenboard above the sink was a temporary patch […]
This Saturday we are having a party…a demolition party. It will be like a barn raising, except the opposite. And when you’re demolishing the main habitable spaces of your home (while living in said home), there’s a lot of preparation involved. In fact, we have spent the last couple of months getting ready for this epic […]
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.