Before Design: Planning and Development Phase Consulting Could Save You Time and Money

It's easy to get excited about a new project.

You start imagining the possibilities. You picture the new kitchen, the addition you've always wanted, the ADU in the backyard, or the custom home you've been dreaming about. So you do what seems like the logical next step: you hire a designer or architect and start drawing plans. But there's a problem we see all too often.

The plans are completed. The design is exactly what the homeowner hoped for. A significant investment has already been made in design and architectural work.

Then the project is priced for construction, and the homeowner discovers that the project they designed isn't possible within their budget.

At that point, they may have to abandon the project altogether, scale back their plans, or go back to the designer and spend more money revising the design. We've seen this happen more than once, and it's one of the reasons we have created our Planning & Development Phase consulting service.

What Is the Planning & Development Phase?

The planning and development phase is an early stage of a project that takes place before full design and construction. It's an opportunity to explore your ideas, understand your property, identify potential challenges, and develop preliminary cost information so you can make informed decisions about what comes next.

At Walker Building Company, we often work with homeowners who know they want to make changes to their home or build new, but they aren't sure exactly what those changes should be or how their ideas fit within their budget. Instead of immediately committing to a single design direction, we can help explore the possibilities and compare options with an emphasis on cost. The goal isn't to create a finished set of plans. It's to help you understand the project well enough to decide which direction is worth investing in so that when you do engage with a designer or architect, you feel confident that the design will match your budget.

Why Understand Cost Before Design?

Design is an important part of any building project, but it is also an investment.

Depending on the size and complexity of a project, homeowners can spend significant time and money developing plans before they ever have a final construction price.

The challenge is that it's difficult to know exactly what a project will cost until it has been fully designed and priced. But that doesn't mean you have to move through the entire design process without any understanding of the potential investment.

Preliminary cost estimates can help you establish a realistic range and compare different options before committing to a specific design. For example, imagine you're considering several possibilities for your home:

• Remodel the existing kitchen and living spaces

• Add square footage to the home

• Build an ADU

• Complete necessary exterior or structural maintenance

• Combine several of these improvements

You may have a set amount of money available to invest, but you don't yet know how the different options compare.

Planning and development can help you explore those options and develop preliminary estimates that give you a better understanding of the potential investment involved. That information can help you decide where your money will have the greatest impact before you spend money developing detailed plans for a project you may ultimately need to scale back or change.

Sometimes the Right Project Isn't the One You First Imagined

One of the benefits of looking at a project early is that it gives you room to consider alternatives.

One of our clients were trying to determine how best to invest in their existing home. They already had plans that were created several years earlier that had been put on hold, and they had new ideas they wanted to explore. As their youngest child prepared to leave for college, they were interested in renovating their home to support their next phase of life while also ensuring the home would be low maintenance in the years ahead.

We prepared estimates for several different renovation options to compare. At the same time, we recommended that they have a home inspection completed so they could better understand the maintenance and repair needs of the property.

This process gave the homeowners the confidence and the information they needed to make decisions about what they could realistically afford and which projects made the most sense to take on.

Now they are working with their preferred designer to develop the construction plans based on what work they need to do, want to do, and can afford.

What Can Be Explored During Planning and Development?

Every project is different, and our consulting is customized to the needs of the client and project, but depending on your needs, the planning and development phase may include exploring:

• Your goals and priorities for the property

• Different project options or scopes

• What may be possible on the property

• Potential site or property constraints

• Existing conditions that may affect construction

• Necessary maintenance or repair needs

• Preliminary cost estimates for different options

• Potential challenges that may need further investigation

• The likely steps involved in moving forward

• What information you may need from a designer, architect, engineer, or other professional

  
  

The goal is to help you move from "We have an idea" to "We understand our options."

Who Is This Phase For?

Planning and development can be especially helpful if you find yourself saying:

• "We know we want to do something, but we're not sure what."

• "We have several ideas and need to figure out which ones make the most sense."

• "We don't want to spend money on design until we have a better idea of what we can afford."

• "We have a budget, but we're not sure how to prioritize it."

• "We have a home that needs work, and we need to understand what it needs before deciding how to invest in it."

This process can be useful for homeowners considering:

Custom Homes

If you're thinking about building a custom home, planning and development can help you begin thinking through the property, the scope of the home you're considering, and the investment involved before moving into full design.

ADUs

If you're considering an ADU, there are several questions to answer before investing in design. Understanding the property, the potential scope, and the preliminary cost can help you determine whether an ADU is the right investment for your needs.

Major Remodels and Additions

For larger renovations, it can be difficult to know where to begin. You may have several areas of your home that you'd like to improve, but a limited budget. Planning and development can help you compare options and determine how to prioritize your investment.

What Happens After Planning and Development?

The planning and development phase is not intended to replace the work of a designer, architect, engineer, or other specialized professional. Instead, it helps you arrive at that next stage with a clearer understanding of your goals, your options, and the potential investment involved.

Once you have a better idea of the direction you'd like to take, you can move forward with greater confidence into design and the next stages of your project. In some cases, you may decide to move forward with the original idea. In others, you may choose a different option. You may decide to phase the work over time. Or you may discover that the best investment is to address maintenance and repairs before taking on a larger renovation.

All of those can be successful outcomes.

Good Projects Start With Good Decisions

A planning and development phase isn't about having every answer before you begin.

It's about asking the right questions early enough that the answers can actually influence your decisions.

Before investing in full design, it can be valuable to understand:

• What's possible?

• What will it take?

• What might it cost?

• What does the property need?

• And, given all of that, what makes the most sense for us?

Understanding those questions early can help you make better decisions about your home and investment.

If you're considering a custom home, ADU, addition, or major remodel and aren't sure where to begin, we'd be happy to talk through your ideas and help you determine what the next step might be.

Start by scheduling a free 45-minute phone consultation.

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