Jenny Slingerland
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jennyslingerlandParticipantHi Jenny!
You 100% have to have the .dwg (cad) file! If you have trouble getting the cad files from the architect directly have the builder help you get them. Some architects are very protective of their designs, but you have to have them to be successful. If I don’t hear back from the builder, sometimes they get busy and it may take too long for them to respond, I have reached out to the client via email and cc’d the architect and builder and said….Hi Bob & Mary,
I’m excited to get working on the designs of the home and to prepare the drawings and documentation needed by the builder to execute our designs. In order to do this I need to have the .dwg or AutoCAD file from the architect. If you could please let Adam the Architect know that it’s okay for me to have the files to work on your project, that would be a great help! I have cc’d him on this email to make the process faster.
Thanks so much!
jennyslingerlandParticipant@gina.caulkins @sherial.starr Great question! Yes, you can absolutely outsource it. I would just make sure to have a few examples on each category to get them started. That way they have an example of what they need to include. You will want to have someone double check their work or give it a look yourself. I tried to outsource this once and it did not go well we had to re do many of the entries. Now I have a non-designer member of the team do it and it’s great. Just make sure the person is very detail oriented.
jennyslingerlandParticipant@gina.caulkins I think your plan above is great! It allows you to get everything over to the builder and then you can focus more in depth on the cabinetry. Before the project starts make sure to ask who he likes to work with and that you or the builder gives the cabinet company(s) a set of plans and ask them to bid the job as shown. This gives you a no-frill, basic budget and then you can build from there and get more specific with designs and layouts with all the bells and whistles. It’s good to have a starting number to work with so you aren’t over budget before you even begin. You’ll find the prices of cabinet companies can range from fair to absurdly expensive.
Our cabinetry elevations are good for reference for the builder, but the countertop installers will want the cabinetry drawings and will do field measures to make sure they have enough material, etc.
Thanks for your answers as well @camie.anderson!jennyslingerlandParticipant@giovanna.perot-averill Yes! We always show the client the scope of work so they see the amount of selections that we will be making. We also add it to the contract as an addendum so they can always refer to it if they need to. It protects you too, because they may say, “You said you were going to select “x,” and you didn’t.” Then you can refer to the scope of work (which they will have in their contract) and say, “I’m happy to do that for you, it wasn’t apart of our original scope of work, so we will charge our hourly fee of $__ /hr for that new selection.”
I wouldn’t attach the estimated hours per item because they will say, “I cannot believe it will take you X amount of hours to select a countertop.” You DON’T want to have to defend how you spend your time by saying something like, “I have to drive to and from the slab showroom, find the slab that works with the other selections we made, get it put on hold with your GC, let them know it’s there, have them reach out for pricing and get back to me with pricing before I can even put it in the finish schedule.” They will knit pick your time if you break it down for them. Somethings just take time and they won’t ever really understand it.
jennyslingerlandParticipantThat is the second slide. Slide #17 is just the intro page with the title for that block of slides.
Slides 17-22 Were the slides that we were supposed to finish in week #1 but didn’t get to.
Slides 23-45 are week#2 slides.Next week we will do #46-61
We don’t start over at slide #1 each week. It’s one large document that I break up into weeks. Does that make sense?
jennyslingerlandParticipant@lauren.cabral Honestly, those are my most productive meetings. It shows the homeowners that we are there for them, to meet their needs whilst staying in “budget,” even if there isn’t officially one yet. It also shows the builder/GC that you are a team player and that you want to make this a good experience for all. Even when budget is determined by the builder, I will still sit down with the builder and homeowner to express my feelings of where I think we can meet those numbers and where I feel we may need more $$ to meet the client’s expectations.
I cannot tell you how many builders will budget for an entry level tract home when they’re actually building a $2m+ custom home for their client. That’s why we’re here because at the end of the day, if you give the client the look they want and it’s $100k’s over budget, YOU look bad, not the builder. Having the conversation up front lets everyone know that there are areas where you may go over budget to meet their wishes.
IF YOU CATCH IT EARLY ENOUGH IN THE PROCESS the builder can increase the budget for the construction loan and the client won’t have to come out of pocket in cash. If you don’t, the client will have to make a choice to pay out of pocket or take the less expensive option and not get what they wanted.
**BE THE DESIGNER THAT SHOWS YOUR EXPERTISE BY ADDRESSING THESE ISSUES EARLY ON. That’s why I have you create a budget for yourself before you make selections, so you can see if you can meet the budget with the look you want.
Hopefully that makes sense!jennyslingerlandParticipant@gina.caulkins @lauren.cabral Ugh! You guys, that sucks! I wish I had better advice than to “design down the middle,” but I think it’s the best way. I still think you should try to arrange a meeting where you, the builder and client all sit down together to discuss if the items in the budget
Communication is going to be key!
You can first start with the client and discuss their needs and wants. Is it $150 sq/ft water jet mosaic in the entry or $12 sq/ft marble pattern? Is it Subzero-Wolf or KitchenAid appliances? Waterworks ($4000) faucet or Delta ($600)? If you can get as much possible from the client, it may help you with your selections if you can’t get the builder to help you.
I think someone mentioned that they had even brought one of the contractors on to a project, if so, I would look for contractors who are willing to work with you on the budget and refer your jobs to them. You shouldn’t gift someone the job and then have to do all the work. Find someone you feel is a good fit and who is willing to work with you and the client to determine the budget. You cannot be expected to know what costs of lumbar, drywall, electrician fees, tile install fees, plumbing install fees, etc. are, but if you work together, you can determine a fair budget, one that reflects what the client is actually looking for instead of having to do it “in the middle,” if they have a larger budget, you’d be selling the client short and yourself and your portfolio short.
Hope that helps!
jennyslingerlandParticipant@christine.gairdner @colleen.slack @diana.simon Yes! They are supposed to upload that week’s slides after each class. I will reach out! I saw week 2’s slides, but not week 1’s. It’s after 5pm on the east coast, so it likely won’t be until Monday. I’ll try to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.
jennyslingerlandParticipant@erin.messner @farha.syed Great question! Keep track in what ever format feels best for you! Excel, Google Sheets, etc.
jennyslingerlandParticipantOh! The finish schedule! Yes, you’ll get that template when we talk about the finish schedule! 🙂
jennyslingerlandParticipantI hit send too quick on my response above. Hopefully that helps. Just go room by room and think of the selections you will need to make. If you keep a master you can edit it for each project.
jennyslingerlandParticipantThe spreadsheet isn’t a document I upload for class, but I can tell you how I create it. I use google sheets, each room has it’s own section. I have three additional columns far to the right. First column to far right: How many hours I think that item will take to select Second column: my hourly rate Third: the total of the hours x my hourly rate. Then I can hide those columns on the far right when I export for .pdf for my client. Then they have the pdf of all the selections I will be making for their project.
Kitchen:
Faucet
Sink
Countertop
Cabinetry style and color
Hardware
Backsplash
Flooring
LightingPowder Bath:
Faucet
Sink
Countertop
Cabinetry style and color
Hardware
Backsplash
Flooring
Lighting
WallpaperSide note for the kitchen : I will help clients with appliances if they need it, but typically it’s such a personal thing that they often do that on their own. But I will put it in the finish schedule for them when I get a record of it from the vendor or client.
jennyslingerlandParticipantHi Stacey,
Great questions!
It would be VERY alarming to me and my clients if the builder was not responding to me or to them. Do you have budgets so that you can continue making selections with the homeowners? If not, ask the homeowners for their budgets. I would have a talk with them about how worried you are that he is not responding. Do you need to tell them that your schedule is such that you need to be making decisions now, then you should. He’s hijacking everyone’s time at this point. He 100% should have responded to you by now. I would continue to reach out weekly to him with a call and email and make sure it’s documented so you have record of it. I’m hoping he doesn’t have a retainer from your client and they can look elsewhere, I would have major red flags if I were them. This is how your entire project will go I’m afraid.
Do you know who the architect is? I would send your edits to them and have them update the drawings. It’s early enough that they should be able to do it.
If your client is okay with the changes taking space from another room, then I say go for it. Just make sure they know.
Hope that helps!jennyslingerlandParticipantHi Jocelyn,
I’m so glad the class is helping you!
I put the spec sheets for lighting, plumbing, appliances, etc., behind it’s coordinating finish schedule.
Ya, the presentation is just the concept pages, so totally up to you if you want to add it or not. I promise they never look at it. 😉 haha. All drawings and elevations go under their individual tabs.
Great questions!jennyslingerlandParticipantHi Brianna,
I think one of the most important things to do is to ASK QUESTIONS! Don’t be intimidated if you don’t know something, ask! That’s why I encourage everyone to go to all the site meetings, so they can learn from the electrician, the plumber, the tile installer, the framer, all the trades basically. That’s how you’ll get the best education!
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