THE 6-STEP PROCESS

UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS – 6 EASY STEPS

Understanding each customer’s desires for their custom home and building it efficiently allows us to contract each home with a focus on craftsmanship and value. Canalfront offers a simple Design-Build process following these six steps:

Step 1: Initial Meeting / Consultation

The free initial consultation meeting is an opportunity for you to share your ideas, budget range and questions with our team. It’s an opportunity to learn more about the Canalfront process and how we can help bring your vision to reality. This is also an opportunity for us to understand your lifestyle, how you entertain, your unique design style, and the nature of your homesite.

Once you are ready to move forward, we will prepare a proposal for Step 2.

Step 2: Preliminary Feasibility Design & Estimate

This phase begins with an initial meeting with the Design Team to further share your design ideas. You can choose from our full in-house Design/Build capabilities or can use from a third-party set of plans acquired from an architect or online resource.

After a review of your site and survey work, we define the zoning considerations and other unique features prior to starting the preliminary design. All along, you will have opportunities to review and provide feedback on conceptual design development. The preliminary design will include scale floor plans and elevations including 3D renderings to help you visualize everything about your new home. Typically, this process takes three to five meetings which can be in person or virtual via Zoom. Once the preliminary plans have taken shape, we conduct a level of finishes questionnaire.

With the plans and questionnaire, we can provide a comprehensive and realistic cost analysis at the end of Phase 1. This is the unique advantage of the Canalfront Process. Most builders and architects can’t provide a realistic budget without a complete set of plans and selections, or they push you to an early contract with unrealistic allowances that result in expensive change order overruns throughout construction. With the Canalfront Process, you avoid the financial uncertainty that gives so many builders a bad reputation and turns home building into a nightmare for the consumer. We take the time to educate you.

Step 3: Final Plans, Selections & Bidding

With an agreed preliminary plan and budget, your Design Team will begin finalizing your plans by working with our partners, designing the floor systems, and sourcing structural engineering and mechanical layouts, all while looking for value engineering options.

Also during this phase, your Canalfront Project Manager will guide you through the selections process while working with our valued trade vendors and partners. While there are literally hundreds of selections to be decided on, our team has a proven process of guiding you through the selection process to make it fun! Unlike many other builders, we strive to finalize all selections prior to final bidding. This allows us to eliminate almost all allowances and provides you with a true accurate final build cost prior to signing the final contract. The advantage to you is that your contract price is a realistic fixed price and not one full of allowances. Whether intentional or not, many builders’ allowances included in their contracts don’t align with the client’s expectations of finishes which results in costly change orders causing budget overruns. Additionally, having selections completed in advance of the start allows you to sit back and enjoy the build process while also eliminating construction delays.

Once all selections are finalized along with the plans we begin the bidding process with our vetted trade partners. Once bids are reviewed for accuracy, we move to Step 4.

Step 4: Specifications Presentation & Final Contract

Our final specifications are very detailed. On average, it is about 23 pages outlining phase-by-phase the proposed scope of work with selections made by you in Step 3. Likewise, our final construction plans are more detailed than most. Combined, this level of detail provides the blueprint for a successful build and clarity to everyone of what is included in the final price.

At the time of the specification presentation, we will share the final “Fixed Cost” to build your home. To learn more about the difference between Fixed Price versus Cost Plus Contracts, click HERE (coming soon!)

Once the build contract is signed, we immediately finalize all necessary permits prior to breaking ground.

Step 5: The Build

Now that all the preliminary work is done, the excitement can begin. Whether you are local or building from afar, our cloud-based construction program will keep you involved and informed during the entire building process. You will have access to your plans and personal selections, budget, approved change orders, and all communication with the Canalfront Team.

During construction, you will work closely with your Superintendent as well as your Project Manager. Regular appointments and site meeting consultations will be scheduled with our team during the build. Because we put so much detail and planning into our pre-construction process, our building cycle is efficient; usually between 7 to 9 months with most homes, while larger and more detailed homes make take up to a year.

Step 6: It’s all yours! Move in day! (warranty follow-up)

As construction concludes, your Superintendent will schedule a Pre-settlement Orientation review of the home so you can understand how it works and operates. Usually a week after this orientation, we can finalize everything and hand over the keys.

We take pride in our homes and want you and your family to be as proud of your new home as we are. At Canalfront Builders, we offer customer care follow-up inspection at two months after moving in and again prior to the 1-year anniversary.

Any additional service items in need of attention can be requested through the cloud-based construction program. You will also be enrolled in a third-party warranty program through the 2-10 Buyers Home Warranty.