DESIGN-BUILD

Award-winning Designs & Craftsmanship

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Design Build Services in Maryland, DC, Virginia, and Florida

Over the past several decades, FineCraft has had the pleasure of working with some of the greats in Architecture and Design: Donald Lococo Architects, MUSE Architects, Anne Decker Architects, GTM Architects, Marika Meyer Interiors, Ballard & Mensua Architecture, Balodemas Architects, to name a few.

If you have plans from an architect we welcome the opportunity to bid on your project; however, if you don’t and would rather our smooth and feature-filled design-build approach, continue reading to get a comprehensive understanding of FineCraft’s Design-Build Process.

First things first: Schematics-Only Contract

We first schedule a complimentary design-build appointment (at least 45 minutes long) and go over your scope in person. The purpose of this initial visit is to ascertain the rough ballpark for construction and the design intent so we can provide you with a proposal in the form of our schematics-only contract. This would be the first engagement with us. At the end of the schematics-only phase you will have the scheme you want and our preliminary estimate for the construction phase.

After that, we would embark upon a design-build contract where we dive deeper into the design (Design Development) until we have the permit set. With this in hand, we’ll be able to provide you with a detailed estimate for construction. Then we submit for a permit and once gotten we get going with the build phase after the preconstruction meeting.

Within the Schematics-Only contract you’ll get:

Construction ballpark (at this stage it will be our professional ‘guesstimate’)
Actual cost for the schematics service (Schematics are drawings that show high-level illustrations of existing and proposed areas)
Concluding with our Preliminary Estimate for construction
Within the contract we’ll also include information on what the Design-Development costs are for the next phase.

Styles

We can provide any style of construction and finish that you desire. Whether you want traditional, contemporary, farmhouse or modern – we’ll design what you desire.

SELECTIONS

You’ll be introduced to our Preferred Vendors by our Selections Manager who is tasked with helping you with your main finish selections such as cabinets, vanities, tops, appliances, electrical and plumbing fixtures, windows and exterior doors, etc.

In addition to the importance of selecting each item comes the importance of ordering each in the proper sequence. Sequencing is just as important as the selection of your items, and our Selections Manager will help you with this so your process is smooth and stress-free. Watch this video to learn more about the Selections Manager and the selections process.

Have individual questions about Selections? Select the video you have a question about below and get your answer.

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Design-Development

Once we’re done with the Schematics phase and you’ve received the Preliminary Estimate the next phase is Design-Development. This is where we dive deep into the design. This includes structural, MEP (mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing details) – essentially the important details needed to pull the building permit. This may also include 3D renderings such as these here to give you an immersive experience.

Final Estimate

Once we have the plans ready for final pricing we’ll provide you with what we call our Final Estimate. This will be a detailed estimate of the project (and is what we base the milestone payments of your project on)

Preconstruction Meeting before Construction starts

Before construction begins we’ll have a preconstruction meeting to “set the baseline”. This means we elaborate on how we work, hours of construction, where the dumpster will go, the placement of portable toilet, areas that may be off limits, etc. Essentially we inform you about the construction process and go over the “do’s and don’ts”.

Preferred Vendors

Our list of Preferred Vendors includes some of the leading companies in the industry with reps who are well versed in their particular niche such as WeatherShield from Quality Window & Door. Though our Preferred Vendors are tried and true you may propose any you’d like us to consider using.

Hear what homeowners are saying about their experience with FineCraft

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Serving Greater DMV & FL

Complimentary Zoom
or in-home consultation

★★★★★ 5/5

AWARD WINNING & HAPPY CLIENTS

★★★★★ 5/5

"FineCraft recently renovated our basement family room, bathroom, and bedroom. They transformed a boring, dark, subterranean basement into a beautiful light-filled, walk-out family room. In addition to renovating the bathroom and upgrading the bedroom, they also created a project room. The results are stunning. Their organization and attention to detail resulted in a large scale project that moved smoothly, despite involving the skill of several tradesmen, all of whom are on staff with FineCraft (no subcontracting challenges). We could not be happier with the results!"

"I have used FineCraft Contractors, Inc. on several occasions and I highly recommend using them on your next project. FineCraft does very high end work with prices that are reasonable compared to the industry. The management team, their organization of projects, keeping customers informed, happy and satisfied before during and after the project is complete is the best. I will definitely continue to use them and will refer them to anyone in need of a good contractor."

"FineCraft Contractors is by far, the most professional, caring, competent company we have used to work on our home. They completely restyled our 1940's Cape Cod 1st floor, as well as completed other outside improvements with magnificent results. From start to finish we always knew what was going on with our project. All of the folks on the project were absolutely the best - and they all stayed on the job until it was finished. As with older homes there are usually surprises when making changes to the floor plan. Our team anticipated those possibilities and problem-solved with us to accommodate our wishes. We felt that FineCraft truly cared about us, our needs, and our home and we could not be more pleased. We truly feel part of the FineCraft family!"

"I hired FineCraft to handle a gut renovation of an 1890s townhouse in downtown Washington, DC. The property was an absolute mess and had been abandoned for 20 years. Finecraft were able to retain the front facade while constructing a new modern home with what was left of the old bones of the home. It turned out beautifully and is true to the architect's design. It was delivered on time and mostly on budget. I would recommend them to any other property owner in similarly situated historical/renovation jobs."