03 The process
Six phases, told the way they actually go.
Every builder publishes a process diagram. Ours comes with the parts diagrams leave out: what each phase costs, how long it really takes, and where projects usually go wrong, with what we do about each one.
The six phases
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90 minutes · no fee
The first meeting
Ninety minutes at the studio: your brief, your site if you have one, and real numbers in plain English. What homes like yours have actually cost, and how long they actually took.
- A frank conversation about fit, in both directions
- Regional cost-per-square-foot ranges, said out loud
- A written summary of what we heard, within the week
The honest part
We take on eight homes a year. If the fit isn't right (budget, style, timing or chemistry), we'll say so at the table and suggest two or three builders we trust. About a third of first meetings end exactly that way, on good terms.
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4 to 6 weeks · fixed fee
Feasibility & budget alignment
Before design begins, we make sure the project can exist: a site walk, a zoning and utilities review, and a first budget built from your brief and our last five years of real cost data.
- Site and zoning findings, in writing
- A first budget, honestly a range of about ±15%
- A schedule outline from design start to move-in
The honest part
An early number is a range, not a promise. Anyone who gives you one confident figure before design exists is guessing at your expense. Our range narrows at every checkpoint that follows. That is the point of the process.
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4 to 9 months
Design & documentation
Schematic design, design development and construction drawings, with our estimator pricing the scheme at 30, 60 and 90% so the design and the budget never drift apart. You'll never fall in love with a house you can't afford.
- Schematic design you can walk through and argue with
- Priced estimate checkpoints at 30, 60 and 90%
- Permit and construction drawings
The honest part
Design takes longer than anyone expects, and rushing it is the most expensive mistake you can make. A month saved in drawing often comes back ten times over as change orders in the field. We won't rush it, even when asked nicely.
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3 to 5 weeks
Pricing, allowances & contract
The full line-item budget, the allowance schedule and the contract: cost-plus with a fixed fee and an open book, or a fixed price from complete drawings. We explain both until your questions run out.
- A line-item construction budget you can actually read
- An allowance schedule set from your real selections
- Contingency stated plainly: 5% for new homes, 10 to 15% for renovations
The honest part
Allowances are where budgets go to die. A teaser allowance ($40 a square foot for stone that really costs $90) keeps a low bid low until it's too late to leave. Ours are set from selections you've already made with Sofia, which is why our final invoices look like our contracts.
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10 to 20 months
Construction
The same superintendent from footings to keys, an owner walk every Tuesday, monthly open-book draws, and change orders priced and signed before the work proceeds, not after.
- A weekly owner walk with schedule and budget on page one
- A monthly draw with every invoice visible
- Written, pre-priced change orders. No verbal approvals.
The honest part
Permit reviewers, weather and a tile shipment from Italy are outside anyone's control. Solana Point lost six pour windows to a marine winter. What we control is telling you the same week we know, with the recovery plan attached. Bad news early is a service. Bad news late is a betrayal.
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Move-in + 12 months
Closeout & the first year
A zero-item punch list is the goal; a short, dated one is the reality. Then you and the house get a first year together, with us on call and two scheduled visits to catch what settling reveals.
- A systems walkthrough and a real owner's manual
- 60-day and 11-month warranty visits, booked at closing
- A 2-year systems and 10-year structural warranty, in writing
The honest part
A new house moves in its first year. Wood shrinks, joints tick, a door will stick. That's physics, not a defect, and pretending otherwise is how builders and owners fall out. The 11-month visit exists because we expect the list, and we bring the caulk.
The money, plainly
How we charge, without the fog.
Design and preconstruction is a paid, fixed-fee phase, usually 4 to 6% of construction cost, quoted before you commit. Construction runs either cost-plus with a fixed fee and a fully open book, or at a fixed price from complete drawings. Both are real options. We'll explain the trade-offs until your questions run out, and the journal post below is that explanation in writing.
- Design & preconstruction
- Fixed fee, 4 to 6% of construction, quoted in writing before you commit
- Regional construction cost, 2026
- $520 to $780 per sq ft for new custom homes · $280 to $450 per sq ft for whole-house renovation
- Contingency, stated in every budget
- 5% for new homes · 10 to 15% for renovations, set by what discovery finds
- Change orders
- Priced, written and signed before work proceeds. No exceptions in 22 years.
Begin
See where your project sits in this process.
The fit check places you: which phase you'd enter, what the first meeting covers for a brief like yours, and whether we're honestly your builder.
The studio: studio@hartwellhomes.example · +1 (555) 019-2400