Design-build contracts are a fantastic way to keep a construction neat and collaborative throughout the process. They encourage open dialogues that prevent you from going through multiple people to determine who’s responsible for what.
But that does beg the question: what is a design-build contractor actually responsible for? Here’s what you can expect from your contractors when you opt into one of these unique project delivery systems.
About Design-Build Contracts
Design-build contracts are a dream for those in project management because there’s so much less to actually manage. Design-build entities are a single point of responsibility — everything accomplished during the project will go through this entity, including sub-consultants or specialty trades.
You plan your specifications with the contractor so they can keep to your time and budget requests. But there’s only one contract for the entire project. In traditional project delivery systems, the project owner often juggles contracts between designers and contractors, leading to miscommunication, delays, and even potential litigation.
What a Design-Build Team Does
While the responsibility for the project’s overall success is ultimately shared between the project owner and the design-build contractors, the design-build team is responsible for most aspects of a project. They’ll see the project through from start to finish, walk you through the design, help you choose materials, and finally put it together through construction.
A design-builder is different from an independent contractor in that they work directly with the designer as one unit. This makes both the construction and design phases much smoother since communication and expectations are clear from the signing of the contract.
It also often means the construction team will complete the project faster since there won’t be delays from communication errors or misunderstandings.
It also informs more innovative design; because the construction and design teams work together, they fully understand what they can accomplish at the site, and they relay this information to you. If this goes up against your project’s vision, the team is responsible for finding a satisfying solution to move forward.
But best of all, any necessary changes are almost always made during the planning phase, thanks to the careful, calculated nature of design-build contracts.
Rather than finding out at the worst possible moment that a contractor needs to change something the designer has planned, the owner signs off on the final design, and all parties are on board.
See the Difference of Design-Build Contractors in Denver and Colorado Springs
Commercial projects can be enormous undertakings, requiring you to balance more than you should have to. And this only gets more tenuous the more people you add outside the initial project agreement.
You can make things easier on yourself and avoid these issues by using a design-build contractor that will handle all aspects of your build and act as a point of contact for any changes, concerns, or adjustments.
Hammers Construction in Colorado Springs can help deliver on all of your project’s needs. Our design-build teams are flexible and collaborative, giving you the opportunity to be only as involved as you want to be and letting our professionals handle the rest. Contact us today to get started!