Early in the design process, we create an estimated line-item budget for the project. We don’t share every little item in our budget (do you really need to know or care how much is budgeted for silt fence…do you even know what silt fence is?) However, for items where the homeowner’s decisions can have a large impact on price, such as appliances, flooring, cabinets, etc., we share the allowances that we have included in the budget. These allowances should make sense to you, the client, and any discrepancies between the allowance and expectations should be raised early on. Before products are selected, we try to make an educated guess on what product costs will be, based both on input from clients and past similar projects. Sometimes our educated guess may be higher than what the client has envisioned, or the opposite can be true as well, where the client feels our allowances are too low for what they desire. We aren’t mind readers, so communication is key to ensure a successful outcome.
I’m sure we lose jobs to competition, because we do our best to establish a realistic budget that truly reflects the scope of the entire job and the quality of workmanship, and materials desired. Sometimes these numbers can seem shockingly high, especially for someone who has never undertaken a large project, or it’s been several years, or they are getting pricing from contractors who aren’t necessarily putting much thought into what this unique project will require. While we don’t want to lose business, we’d rather be honest from the get-go rather than establish budgets that look appealing but are inadequate to execute the plans with the quality expected. It’s cliché, but you get what you pay for and one should be wary of a budget that seems too good to be true. It probably is.
From the very beginning of the design process, we listen to what our clients value and design a complete package to meet those needs. Our budgets and allowances are intended to be inline with the level of quality expected. Don’t just take our word for it though. Take the time to shop at selected vendors to make sure allowances are adequate before signing a construction contract. Ideally, any allowance items will be selected before reaching the construction contract stage to eliminate any surprises. Every client is different, and we offer as much or as little assistance as needed in making these selections. If allowances are too low, either the overall cost of the project will have to increase, or other features will have to be reduced in cost to maintain the overall budget. It is important to have a handle on this before construction begins. If making selections or validating allowances is left to determine after construction begins, it leaves a lot of room for misunderstanding and frustration that neither the designer, builder, nor client want to deal with.
Avoid costly surprises and determine your selections or at least confirm allowances are adequate before signing a contract. If your builder hasn’t shared allowances or exact specifications with you, that should be a big red flag and you need to verify that information before signing a contract. At Custom Dwellings, our goal is to minimize surprises and only have job costs go up if the client requests additional work or knowingly chooses products beyond their allowance.