There are many entities that function like general contractors with the primary responsibility in any construction project is to facilitate the general contracting of a client’s project from start to finish orc, while orchestrating all the labor, material and equipment.
Through various methods of collaboration and mediation, general contractors work through the conceptual design ideas with the design team and any issues of the house’s constructability.
From the design phase to project delivery, the general contractor should be conducting business in the best interest of their client and project goals.
Each project has its special needs and challenges that are attributed to the emotional aspects of having personal property built or renovated.
This article will look at the unique challenges and needs of the different types of new home construction, home remodeling and historical restoration.
We are general contractors offering a variety of Houston new construction and remodeling services
New Home Construction Contractors
New home construction is conducted by house builders that operate in the general contracting model.
There are several different ground-up delivery methods utilized by your Houston general contractors to integrate their services into the needs of their client.
These 3 delivery methods have various advantages and disadvantages to the client, depending on their needs.
Bid to Build – This is a traditional process of the owners directly hiring architects or home designers and having Houston builders bid the plans when complete.
This home delivery model has proven to not always represent the owner’s best interest. The bid to build method of home building can lead to change orders resulting from design errors and omissions.
This method can often lead to friction between designers and building contractor over issues resulting from the owners unfavorable or disappointment in the finished product outcome.
This is due to each separately being accountable to the owner but independent in their responsibilities in providing their services.
Design Build – The design build method of project delivery has gained a greater amount of acceptance due to the benefits for the owners.
This process involves the owner hiring the general contractor as sole responsible party to the owner for the entire project.
The general contractors develop a design team through directly hiring the architect and engineers for the home’s plan design and construction documents.
To learn more about this approach visit; https://www.marwoodconstruction.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Buy-or-Build.pdf
The advantages of this process for the owner are numerous. They include that the owner maintains greater control of the design process, the owners have one person responsible for the entire process and the process allows the owner to manage the home construction budget more time effectively.
This method also allows the owner to benefit from the design value engineering efforts that results from positive design collaboration.
Project Management – The project management method of home construction provides the owner a higher level of direct control over the entire project.
It allows them to make the decisions over the process, materials and contractors that they would like to work with.
The general contractors represent the owner as project manager responsible for the day to day construction affairs, the administrative responsibilities and cost management of the project.
The owner acts as the project executive making the strategic and important project decisions.
The owner accepts the majority of the total construction cost risk in this method. This process is attractive for owners that want to remain in control of the entire process of the house construction but do not have the time or staff to execute the required on site and off site task necessary to execute the project.
In effect the owner is carrying out the role of the builder through the efforts of the general contractor.
Major Home Renovation Contractors
When it comes to home remodeling or home renovation, the 3 delivery methods previously discussed apply as well.
Construction documents and a home design plan are required to be prepared to execute construction.
The degree of these documents can be as extensive or less depending of the scope of work for the home renovation or home remodeling project.
Whole Home Remodeling – There are many things to consider prior to undertaking a whole home renovation.
The design process starts with a well documented as built drawing of the existing home. This includes mapping critical underground plumbing and essential mechanical requirements.
This document serves as a template for the balance of the home design changes.
Whole home remodeling projects present some serious challenges for owners and Houston general contractors identifying and reserving for unseen problems that can materialize during construction.
If the proper expectations are not developed before these types of issues are discovered, they can erode the trust between building contractors and owner.
Kitchen Remodeling – Kitchen remodeling presents a unique problem for owner and building contractors because there are so many choices and decisions to be made, that it can be overwhelming to the owner if the selection process is not well managed and organized.
Kitchen remodeling are one of the most popular remodeling projects and one of the most expensive home remodeling projects.
After the construction budget has been agreed upon, it pays to start the selection process with the most expensive components and work yourself down in the order of expense.
This priority allows you to discover a number of things early in the process of design.
First that the allowance created for each component will be sufficient. Secondly if you fall in love with a particular product that significantly changes the kitchen design theme, it is best to discover this earlier than later.
The Houston builders can facilitate the entire selection process if the owner does not have a decorator.
Bathroom Remodeling – Major bathroom renovations can be challenging because they are like an iceberg.
So much of the cost associated with a total redesign is unseen by the untrained eye.
When the owner elects to relocate the position of toilets, tubs and showers, this usually means that much of the bathroom floor will require demolition and replacement for the underground waste lines.
When relocation can be redesigned to accommodate the new floor plan, the results will have less impact on the length of time and the size of the budget.
Care must also be taken when not replacing plumbing fixture values and attempting to match plumbing trims to old values.
This will usually end up being more expensive then if the owner would have completely replaced them. More information on bathroom remodeling visit our link.
Home Addition Contractors
Garage Conversation – Garage conversions are a large category in the home remodeling industry.
They can span the DIY paneling the garage and furnishing it with a pool table and big screen TV to adding a second floor living quarters above the garage. We will discuss the later scope.
Care should always be taken when considering modifying or expanding the envelope of the existing structure.
It is always worth the effort to inspect your deed restrictions, the property survey and local building enforcement department for restrictive covenants that could sink your project before the Houston builder can begin.
Room Addition – Room additions are also a cottage industry and come in many project shapes and forms.
We will discuss major home additions that require a higher level of design skill to blend with the house’s architectural continuity.
The blending of existing space with the newly appointed space requires many variables and a much greater skill level then designing from scratch.
There are structural concerns to evaluate like matching roof lines and foundation jointing, to carefully evaluate.
Existing infrastructure HVAC capacity and plumbing underground are also factors that require to be assessed.
In major home additions, care should be taken to calculate the electrical loads to determine if the current service can meet the homes new demands.
Read more about room additions by following this link; https://www.marwoodconstruction.com/home-additions/
Repurposing Space – Repurposing space may be the most challenging of all the home renovations.
It requires a deep understanding of structural framing and redistributing of loads. The architectural demands are for opening up room areas by removing walls and raising ceilings.
These demands can test the best of home designers and Houston builder’s expertise.
Repurposing space can overcome an owner’s largest complaints of an existing home. It is often difficult to see the potential in a space when there are walls and windows that restrict your imagination.
General contracting with competent design build general contractors is well worth their fee for the contribution that they can make in revitalizing your space.
Historical Restoration Contractors
Historical Restoration is a very specialized art form of home renovation. There can be various degrees of historical restoration required in a project.
The strictest form requires varies product components to be specifically fabricated to match existing pieces. This process is time consuming and expensive.
More common is a demand for a hybrid model of historical restoration. This is a process of restoring specific features and completely replacing severely damaged component systems and replacing them with a like kind cost effective substitute.
If properly planned and executed the hybrid method can enhance the authenticity of a historical restoration.
These are the home construction industry sectors that justify and requires a qualified and competent general contractors, custom builders and remodeling contractors to be hired if you want the best outcome.
The more complex the project, the more the need for an accredited professional general contractor.
Conclusion
General contractors in Houston provide a wide range of construction services.
They are well suited for these various skills because they have the resources for properly facilitating and managing your project.
As accredited professionals, look for a general contractor that has the proper insurance, experience with the type of project you are designing and is like minded in their approach toward their building process approach.
