During our initial contact with the homeowner, we listen carefully to your needs, and gather some general information. Your wants and needs will stimulate specific project questions, the answers to which allow us you to give us some specifics regarding the project you have in mind.

Once we finish gathering the initial contact information, we schedule a no-charge consultation appointment (about 1-2 hours) with you at your home.

Every one involved in your project should attend this meeting. This not only includes the homeowner(s), but also their children!

At consultation we will take photos of:

• your home
• your lot
• and the area involved in the proposed project

We discuss:

• Design criteria
• Structural considerations
• Window/door styles and brands (as appropriate)
• Cabinetry and countertops (as appropriate)
• Bath fixtures and ceramic tile
• Options to be considered

The Initial Site Visit is your opportunity to assess Lynch Design | Build as well.

You will learn that Lynch Design | Build is sensitive to your concerns about security, construction dust and debris, communication, and the all-important issue of safety. We treat your home as if it were our own.

There is no charge to create the Budget/Estimate.

This feasibility tool allows homeowners to have a benchmark for or on the project budget.

We will schedule a time to meet with you for this meeting.

In most cases, the project’s final cost ends up within a plus or minus 10% range of the original estimate.

The range may vary due to:

• The age of the home
• Hidden structural features of the home (that may not become apparent until construction begins)
• The existence of factors such as high level of detail
• The complexity of the project

If you’d like, we’ll attach a list of our references with names and phone numbers of homeowners in your area where we have worked on similar projects or projects that have some reference to yours.

After several days, we will give you a follow-up phone call to discuss the estimate.

When you accept the Budget/Estimate, you give Lynch Design | Build the “go ahead” via a Design Agreement, and the Design Phase now begins.

Our designer combines site photographs, project photographs and concept sketches, and with the help of a sophisticated software program, produces a visual digital design rendering that allows the homeowner to see what their finished project will look like – usually with options and suggested variations to consider.

The benefit of this, of course, is that you do not have to depend on your imagination. Our digital rendering allows you to see things from many different angles.

Working together, we will review with you the new floor plans and elevations, and analyze them for space planning, suitability and construction feasibility; the best ideas are redrawn and reviewed again.

Once both you and we are satisfied with the concept, we print preliminary drawings. At that point, we schedule a meeting at your home for our trade contractors to review the project. At that meeting, they are given a copy of the plans, and may ask questions about your home. This important step gives our clients the opportunity to speak with representatives of the trade contractor companies we engage to work on your home.

Also at this time, you, as the homeowner will select all components and items to be ordered (some commodities have long order times!). Lynch Design | Build will then obtain specific price quotes as needed from siding, framing, HVAC, plumbing and electrical contractors. Depending on the complexity of the project, consultation with a structural engineer may be required.

Once quotes are received, we compile the information into a report that includes the following:

• The Project Specifications Sheet. This document contains details such as the calculation of allowances, footing definitions, structural data, HVAC needs, plumbing, electrical, finish components, etc. This document is generally several pages long.
• The Project Budget. This document divides the project into a construction payment schedule.
• The Construction Agreement contains legalities and reviews the permits pertaining to the project. Its content outlines the protections for both the customer and Lynch Design | Build.

At a pre-construction meeting, Lynch Design | Build and the homeowner will review all documentation together again and decide upon a forecasted start date. Other topics covered at this meeting may include (as appropriate to the project):

• How you should prepare your house for remodeling
• Setting up a temporary kitchen (if necessary)
• Location of the portable toilet
• Location of the material staging area
• Location of the debris/dumpster
• Dust control
• Home security and project safety
• Children and pets.
• Parking for our construction crews
• How production schedules and working hours will impact your family
• Payment schedules
• Delays incurred and why
• Job signs and permit box locations

Also at this meeting we will discuss the project with your family, so everyone knows what to expect.

Remodeling can be stressful, particularly for small children, and especially if the area being remodeled is a kitchen, bath or bedroom. The workmen, noise and dust can be a very real annoyance.

We understand this and will do our part to make a minimal impact on your life and your schedules. We make extensive use of drop cloths, plastic room dividers, shoe covers and vacuums – but remember: sheetrock and plaster dust are difficult to completely control. We will provide special plastic carpet covers where construction traffic is likely.

There are many other precautions that both the contractor and the homeowner must take to ensure a project where frustration is minimized.

When construction is ready to begin, Lynch Design | Build will draft a production schedule that is shared with all parties involved. Then the real work begins! Remodeling is exciting. Making design choices is creative and absorbing. It is rewarding to turn a dream into reality, but at times it also can be chaotic, messy and challenging.

Lynch Design | Build never lets a homeowner operate under the illusion that a remodeling project is a “walk in the park.” Let’s face it – remodeling creates a major disruption in your family’s lives.

Although Lynch Design | Build will take precautions to minimize the overall level of stress, in our experience even the most even-tempered homeowner will find that a home remodel taxes the emotions!

That’s why good communication – and hiring a contractor who is sensitive to your expectations and needs – can make the experience exciting, fun and rewarding.

The construction process continues through completion of the project and of the final punch list. Workmanship matters! Although Lynch Design | Build strives for perfection, everyone knows that small details will inevitably need attention. That is the reason behind the final “punch list”. Created at the end of the project by the homeowner with the project manager, the “punch list” contains items or tasks that need repair, adjustment or completion.

Here are some typical “punch list” items to check for:

• Painting flaws
• Caulking flaws
• Missing hardware or hardware needing adjustment
• Trim flaws or missing pieces
• Inoperable electrical fixtures and outlets
• Plumbing fixtures that need repair or adjustment
• Appliances that need adjustment
• HVAC controls that need adjustment

Upon completion of the “punch list,” the final payment is due; this payment initiates the one-year standard warranty. Lynch Design | Build guarantees our quality of workmanship will exceed the Home Builders Residential Construction Performance Guidelines as published by the National Home Builders Association.

Lynch Design | Build has a reputation for customer satisfaction that we intend to uphold. That’s another reason why we will at periodic intervals check in with you to make sure your project, now complete, continues to meet and exceed your expectations.

Plus, we will remind you when your warranty periods end is approaching, and specifically advise you to check things that are covered to make sure everything is exactly as it should be.

Thank you very much for your interest in our services.