From first sketch to bid-ready documents
Watch how a custom home evolves: design fee concepts, weekly architect collaboration, design development, construction documents, and a thorough bid. Press play, or jump chapters at your pace.
Interactive walkthrough
Industry design phases (schematic design, design development, construction documents) meet our owner-led design-build path—including weekly meetings as plans evolve.
Chapter 1 · Week 0
We start with how you live, the lot realities, budget comfort, and coastal constraints—before anyone draws a room that will not fit freeboard or lifestyle.
Tip: Use the chapter buttons or arrow keys. Play auto-advances through the story while coastal video plays as atmosphere. Prefer less motion? Step manually—autoplay respects reduced-motion settings.
Next step
Initial design fee for floor plan and elevations—then weekly collaboration as plans evolve to bid-ready documents.
Industry phases · Our path
Architects often describe five core phases after pre-design: schematic design, design development, construction documents, bidding, and construction administration. We map those phases onto a design-build relationship that starts with a clear design fee and ends with a bid you can trust.
Industry sources (including AIA practice guidance) emphasize that design starts by defining goals and requirements with the owner. On coastal lots we also fold in FEMA zone, freeboard, height caps, and access—so the program is buildable in Pinellas, not only beautiful on paper.
Schematic design produces study drawings—commonly site plan, floor plans, sections, and elevations—for owner review. Our initial design fee focuses that energy on the floor plan and elevations you can react to before authorizing a full architect and engineering package.
As schematic and design development advance, firms typically schedule regular owner meetings—often weekly or biweekly—to collect feedback and keep decisions moving. That cadence is where the “perfect design” is negotiated: room sizes, elevations, materials, and coastal details refined in sequence—not in one overwhelming review.
Design development deepens the approved schematic: fuller dimensions, structural approach, and coordination with major building systems. Industry practice treats DD as the bridge between “looks right” and “can be built and priced.”
Construction documents are typically the largest share of architectural effort. They specify materials, details, and dimensions so building departments can review and trades can bid without inventing scope. Incomplete sets create fictional low bids that explode later.
Once documents support real trade numbers, we assemble a thorough bid—typically about 30 days at most. Permitting can often start during bidding. After the proposal, you may compare other builders freely; you own your plans.
Explore
Read the plain-English guide or download the free owner checklist.
Cadence that creates better homes
Great custom homes are not designed in a single reveal. Architectural practice guidance describes iterative review: schematic options, then development, then documents—with the owner approving major moves before the next fee-heavy phase.
In a design-build setting, those meetings also keep the builder’s constructability and cost sense in the room. That is how weekly collaboration prevents “beautiful drawings nobody can afford” and “cheap bids that skip coastal detailing.”
The design fee produces early floor plan and elevations. Once direction is solid, we obtain a clear quote for the full plan set and engineered drawings required for permitting and accurate bidding.
Read: Design fee explained →Why sequence matters
Owners ask
During active schematic and design development, plan on a regular cadence—often weekly or biweekly—so feedback is fresh and decisions do not stall. Exact rhythm depends on project complexity and owner availability.
Schematic design explores layout, scale, and form for approval. Construction documents are the detailed drawings and specifications used for permitting, bidding, and building. Design development sits between them, adding dimension and systems coordination.
When the document set is complete enough for real trade scopes. We typically assemble a thorough bid in about 30 days at most once documents support pricing. If you already have a full plan set, bidding can start after our constructability review.
Yes. Plan ownership stays with you. After bidding you may compare other builders—we do not hold plans hostage.
Free PDF: Design Fee Owner Checklist—questions to ask before you start design.
Download checklist