The Northcape Advantage
With over 32 years of designing and building custom homes in the Lake Sunapee area of New
Hampshire, Northcape Design/Build has a reputation for craftsmanship, attention to detail,
and for creating homes with enduring value and classic New Hampshire
appeal. From new construction to historic preservation, room additions
to major renovations, we understand and appreciate the value of your
investment. Our team of professional designers, builders and craftsmen
is committed to creating homes with exceptional quality which reflects
that understanding
How Do We Get Started?
Whether you contact us by phone, email or through our website contact form, we will call you to discuss your project and schedule an appointment for you to meet with Everett Pollard, the owner of Northcape Design. We will prepare a meeting agenda from our notes for you to review and approve.
Everett can meet you on your property or at our office in Sunapee to go over all the questions that you have regarding your project. He will listen carefully to your vision for the project, ask questions and evaluate the feasibility of the different options that you have. He will answer all of your questions regarding Northcape Design and leave you with a Design Questionnaire to fill out.
Based on the information from the meeting and your answers to the Design Questionnaire, Everett will develop a preliminary design program of your project. This will include a list of your requirements and an estimate of the relative size of the project. Using all of this, Everett will put together a very rough estimate of the budget required to actually construct your project. The estimate will be based on a comparison project that we have completed recently and is roughly similar to your’s.
At the second meeting, we will discuss the differences between the initial budget estimate and the actual amount that you would like to invest in your project. Often, we can arrive at a compromise target budget by modifying the design program requirements. This creates a solution that will fit your needs and be achievable at the level of investment that you are comfortable with. Up to this point in the process, there has been no cost to you. We are very concerned that the project that we design for you is also the one that you can afford...before we start!
What is the Design Process?
Once a target budget has been determined, the next step is to sign the Design Agreement. This is a very simple agreement that lays out the total design cost, the charge for reimbursable expenses and the 50% rebate when we enter into a Construction Contract with you.
Conceptual Design
The designer reviews the design program and examines the existing building or site parameters. Preliminary space planning evolves into conceptual floor plans with frequent review by the client. This process can take some time as the project starts to take shape. Once the building form and general floor plans are agreed upon, the process goes into Design Development.
Design Development
In this phase, the design is refined with building components fully determined and dimensions becoming increasingly more accurate. Structural, electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems are determined, and most product selections such as doors, windows, roofing, etc. will be made. This phase requires a lot of work on the part of the homeowners to assist the designer with the product research and make the decisions and selections necessary to prepare for the next design phase, Final Plans and Construction Documents.
Final Plans and Construction Documents
This is the phase where most of the drawing is actually done by our draftsman. Dimensioned and notated floor plans, site plan, sections, elevations, details, window, door and finish schedules are produced, supported by written specifications identifying products and materials for construction. This is also the phase where we request that potential trade contractors and suppliers review the plans and give us feedback on the best and most cost-effective strategies for all elements of the construction. When the plans and specifications have been reviewed and approved, we request the final pricing from our trade contractors and suppliers.
Trade Contractor Bidding and Contract Documents
Our Construction Coordinator manages this process. He issues requests for proposals (RFP’s) to trade contractors with scopes of work, plans and specifications. We choose the trade partners that we work with for a variety of reasons including price, but more importantly for their high level of experience, quality, cooperation and communication. Some have been working with us for over twenty years.
Each proposal is carefully reviewed to assure it’s conformity with the plans and specifications. We also use this process to make final revisions to the plans and specifications as we discover improvements that can be made. Once all of the proposals have been received and reviewed, we prepare the Construction Contract with the final total fixed sum and the Schedule of Payments. These are presented to the Owners for signing and we start construction!
What is the Construction Process?
Project Management
Your designer and your project manager will work together throughout the construction of your project to ensure that it is constructed in accordance with the intent of the design and to resolve any issues that arise. But it is your project manager that spends a portion of every day at your project to work on your behalf with our trade partners to assure conformance with the plans and specifications. He supervises the work as it proceeds, reviews all completed work and must approve that work before any trade partner is paid.
Your project manager will keep you informed about your project via phone, fax and email, and will send you regular updates and photos of the progress. He is also available to discuss any areas of concern you might have. Our firm is accustomed to working long distance with our clients, many of whom live out of the area. We have completed projects with clients as far away as Germany, France and even Hong Kong!
Our company utilizes an advanced web-based communication system designed specifically to give our clients an accurate, continuous flow of important information during, and even after, the entire design/build process. This system provides real-time 24/7 access to your specifications, plans, selections, allowances, progress photos and other documents from anywhere you have an internet connection. The calendar displays approval deadlines, scheduled meetings and other important design and construction dates. To see how this works, please take a tour: http://www.buildertrend.com/video.html
Site meetings will be arranged with you as required to discuss the different phases of construction and scheduling. Our team is always available during regular business hours and occasionally on weekends if necessary. We look forward to your important involvement as a team member and encourage your questions and appreciate your input.
Construction Allowances
Some item costs can not be determined exactly until they are completed. A good example is an artesian well. There is simply no way to know how much casing will be needed to reach ledge or how deep the well needs to be to find that fissure that contains the water. We will include an estimate of the cost in the allowance, but the final cost will be based on the actual work completed.
Customer Selection Allowances
At the time of contract signing, certain decisions will not yet be finalized; this is customary. The estimated prices for such items are provided for in the contract and designated as Allowances. An example of this is floor finishes. During the design phase, we will identify the type and quality of flooring for each room and will have budgeted accordingly for you. There will be time during construction for you to make the final selection of your floor coverings. The allowance amounts are established based on our discussions and are as realistic as we can make them. The final price for an allowance item will depend on your selection of that item and can be less...or more!
It’s important to note that all purchases of allowance items must be arranged through your project manager. Many items need to be ordered with fittings or accessories that a home owner might not realize are necessary. Some items require specialized or authorized installation and this would need to be arranged. Often, your project manager will need to know the exact installation requirements such as ductwork for venting, gas piping locations and electrical wiring size and location far in advance of the delivery. Your project manager also needs to arrange the delivery of each purchase with the knowledge of when this item will be needed avoiding costly off-site storage or damage from on-site storage. Finally, products that are provided by one of our contractors or suppliers will be warranted by them, not the home owner.
Schedule
As we start construction we will discuss a general construction schedule. The construction schedule is an important part of the construction phase. It controls the flow of people and materials on the job site. It also indicates when certain decisions you must make are required, allowing us enough lead-time to maintain the flow of the job.
Added Value Agreement
Some additions and changes during the construction process may be inevitable. If one is requested, we will prepare an Added Value Agreement. This agreement will reflect the added administrative costs to prepare and oversee the change, as well as direct labor and material costs and any time extension that may be required to complete the contract. If you decide to proceed, the Added Value Agreement must be signed prior to having any work started. To minimize changes, it is important to make as many decisions as possible during the design phase.
Substantial Completion
At the time of substantial completion of the work, we will do a walk-through of the project with you to create and sign a final punch list of any items that may need to be completed. In actuality, we strive to not have any punchlist at all!
Your home will be professionally cleaned prior to your move-in date and your project manager will be there to answer any questions that you might have.
Project Completion
It's time to celebrate! The moving van has left and you can now start to enjoy your new or improved home. Is this the last time you will see your Northcape Team? No...
Follow Up
Our one-year warranty starts on the date of substantial completion. To ensure your satisfaction, we will contact you after six months and one year to see if you have any issues at all. Steve Gerald, our Warranty Manager will make sure that everything is taken care of.
Customers For Life
We are proud to have completed multiple projects over the years for many of our customers and we also offer a Handyman Service for the convenience of our former customers. Our Warranty Manager is available to complete small repair projects or routine maintenance for you; anything that you may not be able to do yourself or just don't want to do. Once you become a customer of Northcape's, we would like to keep you as a customer for life!