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Phases to a Beautiful Home
Our process consists of 8 phases of your next custom home or renovation. Clarifying each phase of the process ensures our clients have a pleasant, rewarding experience. The process of building a custom home, addition, or major renovation often involves many moving parts. With good planning, good listening, and good communication, your project will be built smoothly and completed on time, with each phase running smoothly.
PHASE 1
Initial Inquiry & Discovery Call
- Ocean Home Services will contact you within 2 days of your inquiry
- We would like to better understand what is important to you, your vision for the project, rough timeline and budget expectations/project feasibility
- We will also discuss with you your expectations about working with our team and determine if we would be a good fit for each other.
PHASE 2
Complimentary In-Office Consultation
Typically, this meeting lasts approximately 60-90 minutes. An experienced member of our team will discuss with you your desires and the scope of work for your project, location and site characteristics, estimated budget costs and expected project duration.
- We want to get to know you and discuss any ideas you have for your space and what's important to you so that the home fits your family's needs and lifestyle.
- We will explain the Ocean Home Services and our process in more detail and prepare you for the next step. By discussing and agreeing on the scope of work and budget, we determine if we are a good fit and should proceed to the next step.
PHASE 3
Onsite Meeting & Preliminary Construction Estimate
We will come to your home to take initial measurements and assess the available space. We will then review all information from the consultation and provide a detailed initial estimate for your project, which will be discussed at a follow-up meeting in our office. If this estimate meets your overall expectations, we will discuss next steps at this meeting and make any necessary scope/budget adjustments, if necessary. The detailed initial construction estimate is $499.00 and includes:
- A detailed line item construction estimate
- Preliminary site measurement
- General Scope of work document
- Estimated project duration
This usually takes us approximately 10-15+ hours and we typically charge $95/hour for our consulting services. This is essentially a $1500 value of $499.00 which will be applied to the project and deducted from your final price if you select us as your contractor.
At the end of this phase we will decide whether to take the next step and sign a concept design agreement.
- **Important Notice** – This is just a rough estimate. These are not actual prices, just estimates based on our previous experience and similar projects. There are still many unknown factors at this time that could affect pricing.
- The construction costs are given in an estimated price range. This includes elements such as foundations, supporting structures, heating and ventilation technology, masonry and other special works. In order to obtain a more precise construction plan, a conceptual design is required.
PHASE 4
Conceptual Design Agreement
During this phase, you can expect detailed communication from our team regarding questions and updates on the design and progress. This is an interactive process and your response speed and detail will impact the overall duration of the design process. We come to your home, take detailed interior/exterior measurements and begin the design work. The design progress will be discussed with you via email and video conference or in our office. We provide state-of-the-art 3D renderings to give you a good visual representation of the planned work, rather than the standard 2D views provided by most construction companies.
- We present you with 2-3 proposed floor plans for your approval. Minor/ major changes are welcome at this stage to suit your wishes and needs..
- 3D Renderings of the proposed floor plan
- Finalized presentation drawings ready for Pre-Construction stage
PHASE 5
Pre-Construction Agreement
Once the concept phase is complete and a budget is reached that is acceptable to you, the design process can move into the pre-construction and detailed planning phase. During this phase, we will look to finalize the interior elevations, selections/finishes, and materials so that they can be incorporated into the final design and budget for the project. Final construction drawings include the following items:
- Site plan, floors, foundation and basement plans
- Detailed technical drawings
- Heat loss calculations and heating design
- Committee of Adjustment schedule if required
- Permit submission to the applicable city building department
- Interior design Package including any elevations/shop drawings
- Interior finish schedule including all selections, finishes and material take-offs
- Electrical & Lighting Plans
PHASE 6
Final Budget
At this point, we have finalized the design, renovation, and construction budget. If you would like to make any final changes/upgrades, we will do so now. In this step, we firmly commit to working together during the construction phase of your project through the signing of a final budget proposal and construction contract. We immediately begin with the following points:
- Once your budget is finalized and the contract is signed, we will schedule the project for production onto our online Project Management platform.
- Finalize any outstanding selections/finishes from our checklist with deadlines so you know exactly what to do and when making arrangement for Ministry of Labor requirements
- Existing landscaping, Interior/Exterior job site and tree protection as required
- We will walk you through a demonstration of how to use your online Project Management Client Portal
PHASE 7
Construction Begins
Shortly before construction begins, we will hold an onsite kick-off meeting with you, the Project Manager, and your Construction Manager. We will briefly review any expectations we have from you during the build and clarify any last-minute details that need to be discussed. You will meet with the Project Manager and Construction Manager weekly to discuss the progress of the project, our requirements of you, and any relevant information based on each stage of work.
- You will also receive weekly updates from our Office manager via your own dedicated Online Project Management Portal
- Weekly reports update you on what was completed during the week, and what will be worked on in the coming week
- You will also receive live updates, photos and videos so you can follow the progress of the project, change orders and updates to selections via email as they occur during the process in real-time
PHASE 8
Project Completion
When the project is considered substantially complete, you will be asked to attend a Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) with Ocean Home Services to inspect the project and identify any defects that need to be corrected or completed. We will promptly make final corrections to the defects. Most major renovations and custom homes will experience settlement and moisture issues due to the nature of the work. This usually occurs within the first 6 months of moving into the home. Rest assured, we have your back with our 2-year worry-free warranty. We pride ourselves on building long-term relationships and want to be your builder for life!
- All deficiencies will be listed in a PDI report and shared with our Site Supervisor and construction team and/or Trades for their immediate action
- You can be confident that should anything arise we are there for you
- After completion, you will be asked for final approval and sign off
- Sit back and enjoy your new space with friends and family!