Home Construction Management

When you already have the plans

Many owners come to us with a finished set of drawings from an architect or designer, sometimes with that designer still involved. They do not need a new design. They need someone to take the plans and run the job: schedule the work, manage the trades, deal with the town and tell them what is going on.

That is what construction management covers. Steve runs the build under his unrestricted Massachusetts Construction Supervisor License, the license that covers structural work on one and two family homes. You keep your designer and your plans. We handle the site, the people on it and the communication back to you.

How the arrangement is set up, whether we hold the trade contracts or you do and how fees are structured, gets written into the agreement before work starts, so everyone knows who is responsible for what.

Construction management also suits owners who want a hand in choosing some of the trades, or who have a relationship with a cabinet shop or tile setter they want to keep. We can work with those people, fold them into the schedule and hold them to the same standards as everyone else on the site.

Scheduling trades and booking inspections

A house is built in an order that does not bend much. Excavation and foundation, framing, then rough plumbing, electrical and mechanical by their licensed trades, then rough inspections, insulation and its inspection, drywall, trim, finishes and the final. When one trade is late, everyone behind them waits. Most delays on a poorly run job come from trades showing up to work that is not ready for them.

We build the schedule, confirm trades ahead of their start, make sure the work before them is finished and book inspections with the town building department at the right moment. When an inspector asks for a correction, we get it done and rebooked rather than letting it sit.

Weather, lead times and inspection availability all move schedules. When something slips, you hear about it from Steve along with what it affects and what we are doing about it.

The site gets kept too. Debris goes into the dumpster at the end of the day, tools get put away and open work gets covered against weather. A clean site keeps people safe, keeps materials in good shape and tells every trade walking in that this job is run carefully. It also keeps the neighbors on your side, which matters on a long build.

Our job is to build what was agreed, to keep it on track and to keep you informed every step of the way.

Materials, deliveries and lead times

Windows, doors, cabinetry, specialty tile and some fixtures can take many weeks to arrive, and a missing item can stop a job cold. We review the plans and selections for long lead items early, get orders in when the information is final and track them until they arrive.

Deliveries get checked against the order when they land, not when they are being installed. Wrong sizes, damaged boxes and missing parts are caught while there is still time to fix them. Materials on site are stored off the ground and out of the weather, and finished goods like cabinets and trim stay protected until they go in. When a delivery is short or damaged, the supplier hears about it that day and you hear about it from us the same day.

We also handle the material questions that come up mid-job. A discontinued tile, a window size the supplier changed, a fixture that does not fit the vanity the designer drew. When that happens, we bring you and your designer the options and what each does to cost and schedule, and order nothing until you choose.

Reporting progress and costs to the owner

The reason Steve started this company was years of working for builders who did not tell their customers what was going on. On a managed job, reporting is the work. You get regular updates on what was completed, what is scheduled next, which inspections passed, what is on order and what decisions are waiting on you.

Costs get reported the same way. You see what has been spent against the plan, which items are running over or under and why, and what is under contract but not yet billed. Changes are written up before they are built, with what they do to the price and the schedule, and you approve them first.

If something goes wrong, such as a failed inspection, a damaged delivery or water damage found when a wall is opened during a renovation, you hear about it promptly with a proposed fix. Nobody learns about a problem from an invoice.

Photos are part of the record. Before insulation and drywall go up, we photograph the walls and ceilings so you have a picture of where the plumbing, wiring, blocking and framing sit. Years later, that file saves someone from cutting into the wrong spot to hang a picture or add an outlet.

Working with your designer, not around them

When an architect or designer is involved, construction goes better if the builder treats them as part of the team. Questions about the drawings go to them in writing, and their answers get recorded and shared with the trades. If the field conditions do not match the plans, we bring it to both you and the designer before work continues. That paper trail keeps the job honest and helps if anyone needs to look back later at why something was built the way it was.

We will also tell you when something on the plans will be hard to build or likely to cause trouble later, and offer an alternative for the designer to review. The final call stays with you and your designer. Our job is to build what was agreed, to keep it on track and to keep you informed every step of the way.

When the house is finished, we walk it with you and your designer and write up a punch list of anything that needs attention. Each item gets fixed and checked off, the final inspection is booked and you receive the paperwork the town issued along the way, so the record of the build stays with the house.

See the rest of our homes work, or browse the gallery for rooms we have finished.