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How we work
Design-build homes in Charlotte.
The designer and the builder are married, literally. Kate designs the home, Connor builds it, and the budget is on the table before the first drawing. That is what design-build means here, and it is the only way we have ever built a house.
The difference
Why the order matters.
In the usual sequence you hire an architect, pay for a full set of drawings, send them to three builders, and learn the number. If it is too high, the drawings go back to the architect and you pay to make the house smaller. Design-build reverses it: you tell us what you want to spend, we tell you what that buys on your lot, and Kate designs inside that number with Connor pricing it as she goes.
It also changes who answers the phone. On a Blue Arrow home three people make the decisions, and you can reach all three: Connor on how it gets built and whether the site is on schedule, Kate on what it is made of and how each room works, Matt on the trades and the punch list. There is no layer between you and the people deciding what your house is made of.
How it goes
Five steps, one firm.
- 1. DiscoveryWhat you want to live in, what you want to spend, and what the lot allows. A written budget range before anyone draws.
- 2. DesignKate designs the home with you. Drawings, finishes and a line-item budget you can read, priced as it is drawn.
- 3. Pre-constructionPermits, engineering, and a fixed schedule. You know the price before we break ground.
- 4. BuildConnor on site with trades we have built with for years, and we name them. A pre-drywall walk with you before anything is covered. A written update every week.
- 5. HandoffPunch list, warranty, and a builder you can still call.
Proof
Designed and built by the same people.
Questions
What does design-build mean?
One firm designs the home and builds it, under one agreement, with the designer and the builder in the same room from the first meeting. The alternative is design-bid-build: hire an architect, finish the drawings, then send them to builders for bids and find out what it costs. Design-build puts the cost conversation at the start instead of the end.
Who does the designing?
Kate Murphy, in-house, with you. She has stood in the framed room before she draws the kitchen, and she sources every material and finish herself. If you already have an architect, we build from their drawings and are glad to.
What does it cost?
Our builds run from about $600,000 for a townhome-scale residence to $2,000,000 for a large single-family home, land not included. You get a written budget range before design starts and a line-item budget before it finishes.
Why does design-build cut change orders?
Because the decisions that usually become change orders (the window package, the tile, the cabinet layout, the HVAC runs) are made and priced while the design is still on paper, not after the drywall is up. You can still change your mind; it just costs what it costs, and you know that before you sign.
Where do you build?
Charlotte's in-town and established neighborhoods: Optimist Park, Belmont, NoDa and Camp North End for townhomes; Sedgefield, Barclay Downs, Eastover and Myers Park for single-family. Your lot or one we help you find.
How long does it take?
Less time than a design-bid-build project of the same size, because the planning happens before we break ground and the schedule is fixed at the start. We hold to it.
Contact
Tell us about the house.
Lot or no lot, drawings or none. A first conversation costs nothing and we will tell you plainly whether we are the right builder for it.