Commercial · Design-Build
One contract. One number. One team to hold accountable.
The traditional way to do this is to hire an architect, finish the drawings, then find out what it costs. That works until the bid comes back forty percent over and you spend two months cutting scope out of a design you already paid for.
Design-build puts the design and the construction under one contract, with us pricing the thing as it is being drawn. You get a real number at the point where changing it is still cheap. Industry-wide, bringing a contractor in during schematic design saves eight to fifteen percent on hard costs against the same project value-engineered late. More usefully, it means the number you are given early is the number you end up paying.
What You Get
Preconstruction, before anything is committed
This is the work that happens before a shovel moves, and it is where the money is either saved or lost. This service suits projects with real scope to them — for straightforward suite work, our tenant improvement service is the better fit and costs you less.
- Feasibility review before you commit to a site or a lease
- Budget estimating at each design milestone
- Constructability review of drawings in progress
- Value engineering while changes are still cheap
- Long-lead material identification and procurement planning
- Realistic permit timeline for the jurisdiction you are in
- Trade contractor selection and prequalification
- A single contract covering design and construction
- One point of accountability for the finished result
How It Runs
From first walk to close out
Define the Problem
What the space has to do, what it can cost, and when you need to be in it. Before anyone draws anything.
Concept & First Budget
A design direction and a real cost range attached to it. If those two do not agree, this is the cheapest moment to find out.
Design Development
We price as the drawings develop and flag anything that is about to get expensive while it can still be changed.
Fixed Number
Drawings finished, scope locked, a firm price you can plan against. No bid-day surprise.
Build & Close Out
Same team, same accountability. Nobody gets to blame the drawings, because we priced them.
Before You Ask
Licensed for commercial work at any size
A KB-1 Dual combines the B-1 General Commercial and residential building classifications. It carries no project size limit, commercial or residential.
AZ ROC #354046 — KB-1 Dual
Bonding & insurance detail →Common Questions
Design-Build FAQ
What is design-build, in plain terms?
One contract instead of two. Normally you hire an architect and then separately hire a builder, and when something goes wrong each points at the other. Under design-build you hire us, we bring the design team, and there is one party responsible for the result.
Do I still get an architect?
Yes. Design-build does not mean unlicensed design. It means the architect works under our contract instead of a separate one, so the design and the budget stay in the same conversation from the start.
Can I bring my own architect?
Yes, and we often prefer it if you already have a working relationship. We come in for preconstruction alongside them, price the drawings as they develop, and build the result. You get the budget discipline without changing designers.
When should I bring you in?
Earlier than feels natural. The most useful conversation is usually before you sign a lease or close on a site, because that is when knowing the real number can still change your decision. By the time drawings are complete, most of the cost is already locked in.
Is this worth it for a small project?
Often not, and we will tell you. If you need a suite built out to a standard layout, our tenant improvement service does the job with less process and less cost. Design-build earns its keep when the scope is genuinely undefined or the project is complex enough that a late redesign would hurt.
Also Commercial
Get Started
Tell us about the space.
Send us what you have — an address, a floor plan, a lease you are about to sign. We will walk it, tell you what it involves, and put a written itemized number in front of you. We respond within one business day.
Mon–Fri 9am–4pm. After-hours work scheduled as needed.