The Design-Build Steps to Success

Marrokal Design and Remodeling uses a six-step design-build process to carefully assess the client’s needs and ensure that the project is run smoothly so that the end result exceeds their expectations. It’s this unique strategy that puts Marrokal Design and Remodeling ahead of the competition.

Here are the steps: 1. Project Programming/Budget Development, 2. Field Measure/Inspection of Existing Conditions, 3. Preliminary Design Meetings, 4. Construction Agreement/Building Specifications, 5. Product Selection/Design of Finish Materials, 6. Building Permit Phase. For a detailed look at these six steps click here.

An excellent indicator that the design-build process is working comes from clients who’ve experienced it. “This is our second major remodel in 20 years with many smaller remodeling jobs in between. We have followed the history of the other major contractors in San Diego and interviewed many over the past years and no one even comes close to what Marrokal can design and deliver... no one!,” write La Mesa clients, Mike and Mary Marmolejo, in a letter expressing their thanks to the company.

Notes like that one are not the exception but rather the rule. It seems this nationally recognized and award-winning company is constantly receiving praise for its work.

“Our sincere gratitude to Senior Design Consultant, Jim Dyjak, and his design team, Project Designer, Scott Hall, and Interior Designer, April Worrell, who came up with ideas we never thought of. Jim even managed to get us back some of our lost view by moving our kitchen, rearranging windows, enlarging sliding doors, and repairing the adjoining sun deck. The new kitchen is our absolute favorite with its nine-foot island (aka: the sushi bar). We look forward to many get-togethers with family and friends—they'll see firsthand what high-quality work Marrokal Design and Remodeling does,” writes homeowner, Marilou Seki from Point Loma.

Room Additions Are Rewarding but Also Tedious

With the economy today the homeowner should think of adding a room rather than go through the process of buying a new home when the need arises. Especially if your home has the floor plan you like and it is already decorated to your tastes. It would actually be cheaper to add a room than buying a new home. And you could make the room the size you want instead of having to accept a home that has rooms either bigger or smaller than you like.

When building room additions the first thing you need to do is buy a building permit. All states and most all municipalities require building permits when adding a room or doing any carpentry work on your existing home. You will also need to know how deep the frost line is because you'll have to pour a concrete footer for the foundation to sit on, and it has to be below the frost line. The person you purchase the permit from should tell you how deep to pour the footer. That too will need to be inspected. You can pour the concrete up to the floor level for the foundation or use blocks on top of the footer. Your choice.

Building room additions is not an easy job. There are many aspects of adding a room, or rooms, that must be considered and planned for. For the person who is comfortable performing carpentry work, you can build your own room. But there are a few things to consider when building an extra room.

The Cost of a Room Addition

Most customers have a pre-conceived idea of how much their room addition will cost. The truth is that most customers guess the price of their addition to be 50% to 80% of the actual cost. A standard room addition will initially run 100.00 per square foot up to 150.00 per square foot with the size and design being the variable. There have been quite a few additions be in the 200.00 plus per square foot range.

The bases for the difference in square foot price has many variables, being existing home structure and design for tying in the new addition, complexity of the roof design, what the exterior of the existing home is made of and finally what the interior of the addition will have in it. There have been customers that decrease the size of the addition to bring the price down but when the project is so small, there is a point at which decreasing the size makes no difference.

It takes a certain amount of effort to start and run a project and also to meet minimums for subcontractors and suppliers. The plus for small additions is to increase its size will have a very small effect on the price. Typically we refer to a small size being 150 square feet or less with these being in the 200.00 per square foot price range. The 100.00 to 150.00 dollar price range usually works in the 300 square foot and above in size. The price also increases with the square footage price with the adding of exterior projects such as porches, decks and landscaping packages. This of course does not add to the square footage of the project but does drive up the square footage price. This pricing does not include any bathrooms or kitchens with it, as this is its own project inside the addition.

Making the Most Out of Adding a Room

There will more than likely come a time in a persons life that they will need to consider the possibility of adding room additions to their home, this will more times than not allow a person to expand and gain a little extra room in their home. These can be on a small scale, or can be on a much grander scale depending on persons particular needs.

There are also dozens of reasons why a person will consider this type of expansion, the most likely option, is that they are looking to add a room for a home theater or expand a current room to make it larger. The most common type of expansion involves the living room; there will either be an additional one built or the current one expanded.

Before you leap and make this decision, you need to first make sure that you are prepared for this type of remodeling to be done to your home; this will involve a lot of time and expense to be invested in this and will also involve you having to rearrange your life to accommodate the expansion.

There needs to be a clear plan that you will need to make sure that you have in place, this will as a result allow a person the chance to consider carefully the changes that they are looking to make. Get a program that will allow you to draw out what a particular change will look like when applied to your home; this will let you be sure before work begins.

The Hard Part! Comparing Bids!

This may be the hardest part of the entire process but it is also the one that has the biggest rewards.  After you have received all the information from different home remodeling contractors you are ready to find the one that is best for you!

This is where your initial homework starts to pay off. Each estimate your receive needs to be in writing and it should have a specific scope of work that mirrors the information that you provided them. And in most cases the estimate will have more detail. If the Contractor's estimate is vague and lacking specific details relating to the work, this is a Contractor that you may want to pass on. If you accept an estimate that does not specifically describe the work that the Contractor is proposing to complete, you are leaving yourself open to costly "Change Orders" at the discretion of the Contractor. It's not a good position for you, as a homeowner, to put yourself in. So keep in mind, it's your responsibility as a homeowner to make sure the Contractor has a complete understanding of the work you want completed and it must be conveyed in writing on the estimate.

Once you have established that each estimate is for the same scope of work, let's now look at each price. When it comes to remodeling, the saying "You get what you pay for" is a good guideline but it definitely doesn't mean that a more expensive bid is your best choice. For example, you could have (2) bids that are somewhat higher than your budget and a lower bid that may be a little less than your budget. Most of us would automatically consider the lowest estimate initially but we have to figure out why that Contractor's bid is much lower than the other two. Below are some questions you need to ask each bidder.

- Did the Contractor omit a portion of the scope of work? If so, have them revise the estimate.
- Does the Estimate include having the Contractor prepare architectural drawings, if necessary?
- Are they using lesser quality materials (paint, cabinets, tile, etc.)?
- How long will it take to complete the work?
- Are they insured with a General Liability policy?
- Can they provide a minimum of 5 to 10 references from previous projects?
- Are permits necessary and if so, is the cost included in the estimate?
- Is the Contractor willing to let you visit several of their jobs?
- What type of Warranty does the Contractor provide?