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How we build
One contract, one team, from the first meeting at the building department to the keys.
Design-build means the people who will build your home are in the room when it is designed. Cost and buildability get settled on paper, where they are cheap to change, instead of on site, where they are not.
The process
Three phases. The same people in all of them.
Feasibility and concept
Every project starts with a feasibility review with the building department, before a line is drawn in earnest. What can be built on this property: the zoning, the setbacks, the easements, the allowable area, whether a variance is realistic, what the HOA or a historic overlay will ask for. On a hillside, the soils report and the hillside review come in here too.
Mike settles the concept with his design partners and the structural engineers, with you at the table. The result is a design that the city can approve and the budget can carry, and a first cost picture built from it. The structure itself, wood frame, steel, concrete or insulated concrete forms, is chosen here too; the four systems are compared on their own page.
- Zoning, setbacks, easements and allowable square footage
- Variances, HOA and HPOZ requirements
- Survey and soils report where the site calls for them
- Concept design and a first line-item cost picture
Construction documents and approvals
Once the design direction and the cost are agreed, the architectural and structural sets are prepared and submitted to the Building Department. Plan check corrections are handled by the people who drew the set, with the contractor who will build it reading every sheet.
While the set is in review, the designer works with you on finishes and materials, inside the budget, so the selections are made once and made well. Before you sign the construction contract you hold a fixed, line-item scope, the schedule, and the point at which the price locks.
- Architectural and structural drawings to the Building Department
- Plan check and corrections, hillside and coastal review where they apply
- Finishes and materials selected with the designer, within budget
- A fixed scope and schedule before the construction contract
Build and project management
Mike pulls the permit as the contractor of record and hires the trades. Juan Frias, our superintendent, is on the site every working day. Keith Marlow holds the schedule and the job cost. Inspections are coordinated, quality is checked at each stage, and the site stays organised and respectful of the street it is on.
Every change is documented, priced and approved by you in writing before the work happens. At the end, Michael Guarino completes the punch list so the house is handed over finished, not nearly finished.
- Permit pulled by the contractor of record
- A superintendent on site daily, the family walking it through every phase
- Inspections, schedule and quality control managed under one roof
- Change orders in writing, before the work
Your project, on your phone
You will never wonder where the project, or the money, stands.
Every client has a private project portal, updated as the work happens. It is the same record the office runs the job from, and it is what keeps a build on the number that was quoted.
Live schedule
What is happening this week, what comes next, and what moved.
Budget in real time
Costs tracked against the original bid. No end-of-job surprise.
Selections and change orders
Approve finishes from anywhere. Every change priced and signed before the work.
Daily photographs and invoices
Watch the house come together when you are away. Review and pay online when you are ready.
The portal supports the relationship. It does not replace it. Christine still calls, and Mike still walks the site.
Who is in the room
The same names, from the first meeting to the last inspection.
No hand-off to a salesperson at the start, no rotation of project managers in the middle.
- Mike Ross, builder of recordEvery phase
- Christine Ross, your point of contactEvery phase
- Design partners and structural engineersPhases 1 and 2
- Keith Marlow, schedule and job costPhases 2 and 3
- Juan Frias, superintendent on sitePhase 3
- The trades Mike hiresPhase 3
In a client's words
Mike Ross, owner of Addition Building & Design, kept all the sub-contractors on time & in budget! All items of concern were addressed promptly, courteously and professionally.Ken W. · Sherman Oaks · addition and whole-house remodel
Questions about the process
What clients ask before they sign.
One contract covers the design, the engineering, the permit and the construction. The people who will build the house are in the room when it is designed, so cost and buildability are settled on paper rather than discovered on site.
You see a line-item scope before the construction documents are finished, and a fixed scope with the point at which the price locks before you sign the construction contract. Every change after that is priced and approved in writing before the work happens.
Then we start at phase two. Your architect stays the designer of record; we take the set through a constructability and cost review and step in as the contractor of record. Building from approved plans.
Juan Frias, our superintendent, is the daily presence. Mike Ross walks the site as the contractor of record. Keith Marlow holds the schedule and the job cost. The trades are the ones Mike hires and has worked with for years.
Yes. Every client has a private project portal with the live schedule, the budget against the original bid, selections, change orders, daily photographs and invoices.
Private Consultation
Begin with a conversation.
We take on a select number of significant projects each year. If you are considering a custom estate, a hillside build, or a full transformation, we would be glad to walk the property with you.