Stage 1: Site Selection If you are looking for a lot, Crescendo Builders may be able to assist you. We may have inventory or access to a building site that suits your needs. Most importantly, we can analyze the site to identify special features or concerns that affect the design of your home or the budget. Using the Homesite Checklist, which can be found in your “Homeowner’s Manual,” Section 4: New Home Design and Selections as a guide, and working in conjunction with a team of design professionals, we will compare the possibilities for the site to your lifestyle and consider how the shape, size, angles, and massing of materials will effect your home design needs to a particular site. Stage 2: Program Development Many of our clients find it helpful to assemble a scrapbook of sketches, photos, equipment model numbers, samples, and color chips to document and convey your ideas for your new home. Gather notes and ideas for each room or area of the home considering your family’s lifestyle today and in the future. Take into account your family’s hobbies, work, and daily activities. Complete the Design Details Form included in your Homeowner’s Manual, Section 4: New Home Design and Selections. Determine the approximate size of your new home including the number of bedrooms, parking spaces in your garage, and an estimated budget for your new home. Crescendo Builders will work with you and a team of design professionals to help you refine your ideas, set priorities, and formulate a written workable program within your budget. Stage 3: Schematic Design Using your written program, a team of architects will develop rough sketches called schematics drawn at an 1/8” scale. These drawings reflect your program requirements and our discussions about style, size, and layout. These rough sketches show you how your home might be placed on your lot and suggest a front elevation. During this meeting the design team will review sight lines, focal points, traffic patterns, and potential furniture layout. In addition the design team will walk you through the home, reconfirming that the schematic design meets the needs of your family’s lifestyle. Stage 4: Preliminary Design Incorporating your comments from the schematic designs, the design team refines the 1/8'' scale floor plans and front elevation and develops the balance of the elevations. During this meeting the design team again reviews sight lines, focal points, traffic patterns, and furniture placement and the placement of windows to help you visualize how your home will feel. Stage 5: Design Development Incorporating your comments from the preliminary design, the design team redraws the home, typically at 1/4'' scale. These larger drawings show more detail in both the floor plan and elevations incorporating structural design, window placement and size, cabinet sizes, and exterior materials. In addition the design team will review for your approval an outline specification describing the major material components of your home, including your finish materials. This meeting will include the review of the 1/4'' drawings, an outline specification, and a discussion of the impact of any revisions to your program and budget. Incorporating the changes you requested, the design team uses these 1/4'' drawings to complete the construction documents. Step 6: Construction Drawings/Bidding Process Using the approved 1/4'' drawings and outline specification’s the design team completes the construction documents and detailed specifications. These detailed drawings and specifications are used to obtain a building permit, bid the project to subcontractors, and obtain a construction loan. If you decide to proceed, these documents become a part of the Construction Agreement.