Architect Blog

Most Colorado homeowners approach a construction project focused on the initial quote. The more consequential question, however, is how close that number will be to the final invoice. That gap, and what determines its size, is where the comparison between design-build vs design-bid-build becomes a financial decision rather than a procedural one. These two delivery methods are not simply different ways to organize a project. They operate on fundamentally different cost logic.

In the Summer of 2000, I designed and built a new custom home for my wife and I in The Palisades, just up the hill from my home town of Santa Monica. When we became residents of this special town, we participated in community support, such as me with the PaliHi Student Mentorship program and my wife for (13) years on the Fourth of July Parade Committee. But even a quarter of a century ago, designing fire resistant materials into the construction of our home, such as a Cla

The Owner of an 8,000 sq. ft. lot in Broomfield, Colorado has an existing 2,000 sq. ft. building and business operating. They propose to have an additional new 2,000 sq. ft. added onto the existing building, along with remodeling of the existing structure as well. Their estimated construction cost of the new concrete block building, to match the existing structure, is about $300/sq. ft., or $600,000. The existing structure will require about $200,000 of renovations. For now,