Anyone can promise a beautiful result. The only thing that reliably produces one is what happens during preconstruction: the design resolved, the costs itemized, the materials selected, and every decision documented so there’s nothing left to interpret. That work is the difference between a project you enjoy and one you endure.
Our plans and estimates show you exactly what your project will look like, how it will function, what it will cost, and how long it will take — before you commit. No guessing. No “we’ll figure it out on site.” The number we hand you when design is done is the number that holds.
Our simple, but powerful design-build approach to construction offers you:
Smooth, efficient delivery, a transparent and honest process, and creative solutions
Outstanding communication
A united team working towards one common goal and vision
Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do. We collaborate with you as the homeowner and as a creative team for a successful design-build project.
From the moment we first meet you, we provide you with a warm, friendly, exceptional experience. We ensure consistent communication, strive for a high level of trust, and respect and value the investment you’re making. We don’t take our job lightly and don’t lose sight of why we’re doing what we’re doing.
The care of you and your home are our priority.
Preconstruction is where the project actually gets decided. Design, budget and schedule get resolved before demolition, so the number we hand you is one we can stand behind.
It starts with allowances, and ours are real. They come from projects we completed within the last year plus current market rates, not a dollar per square foot placeholder. Through rounds of design and budgeting, those allowances become defined costs with selections made and documented.
That is why we do not give quotes. A number without this work behind it is a guess, and you find out it was a guess in month four.
If you are working out your timing, we wrote more about when to start planning a North Shore renovation.
The cost of permits and project management is part of your build agreement. Both are line items with numbers next to them, the same as any trade.
“Included” means you are not buying them separately and you are not getting surprised by them in month three. It does not mean free. Project management is what you are paying for when a team plans the work, coordinates every trade and vendor, issues dimensions off approved shop drawings, receives and inspects deliveries, schedules inspections and keeps you informed. It is how you get the work you are paying for at the quality you are paying for.
Permits sit in the build agreement rather than in preconstruction on purpose. Preconstruction ends with your documentation and a construction services agreement to sign, and you are free not to sign it. If you decide not to build, we never submit for permits, so you are never charged for them.
Ask a dealership what a car costs and the first thing they do is ask you questions back. What kind. What features. What packages. How and where you drive. Kitchens are the same, and an honest answer starts with what we are actually building.
A pull and replace, where cabinets, counters and backsplash come out and go back in the same places with semi-custom cabinetry and a standard tile backsplash, runs closer to four months on site. It often does not need the same permits either. A full gut with the layout reconfigured, or the kitchen moved somewhere else in the house, with custom cabinetry, slab counters and a slab backsplash, refinished floors, a new lighting plan and plumbing running to new locations, can be nine. Six months is a fair middle for a typical interior renovation. Add three to six months of preconstruction before any of it.
Lead times are the reason. Cabinetry runs eight to twelve weeks from order to delivery, and custom cabinetry, windows, specialty tile and some appliances can run eight to twenty. A slab backsplash roughly doubles your countertop install. Those clocks start during planning, not after demolition.
If someone quotes you four months flat, they are making specific assumptions about scope, selections and permits. Ask what those assumptions are, and check that each one matches the kitchen you think you are getting.
Two related reads: how long a North Shore renovation really takes, broken down by project type, and the best time of year to renovate on the North Shore.
