Don’t make a million-dollar mistake.

In construction, even minor errors can be costly. And they add up quickly if you’re not careful.

We know you’re excited to start building, but rushing to the ground-breaking ceremony before you’re ready will catch up with you later. It’s critical in any project to get all of your ducks in a row.

That’s why due diligence is so important.

In The Dow Smith Way, the first step is Vision Collection, in which we get all of the key people at the table to discuss needs and set expectations. Right after that, we move into Pre-Construction Services, which begins with due diligence.

Due diligence includes:

• Finalizing site location (or size of addition and renovation)
• Geotechnical and Phase 1 site reports
• Preliminary site plan and master plan
• Preliminary floor plan
• Preliminary elevations
• Initial discussions with government officials
• Construction budget with an allowance for site work

As you can see, a lot of work has to be done before we can really get to work.

If you don’t start at the start, you can rack up expenses that will wreck your budget.

What Are Pre-Construction Services?

Pre-Construction Services are everything that has to take place prior to getting a building permit and starting construction. There is a lot of work that has to be done to get to that point. Dow started the company 30 years ago and we have found through the design-build method that having us as the design-builder involved in pre-construction services is really critical to a project getting started on time.  

We've taken the approach as a design-builder that we need to be involved in design and pre-construction services as much as we are allowed and the client will let us. Our desire is to be involved as early as possible in the process—even when a client is starting to dream about their next steps.

What Are The Components Of Pre-Construction Services?

If we’re talking about the components involved in pre-construction services, it's probably best to talk about the product. So the product of pre-construction services is really a good set of contract documents, which includes construction documents (site plans, floor plans, structural drawings, etc.) that are complete enough to get a permit. This also helps us get a good vision of what the client needs, wants, and desires for their building.

Why Is It So Important For Clients To Share Their Vision As Early As Possible?

Think about it this way: Pre-construction services are about due diligence. Most all big decisions or transactions involve a due diligence period. It is a time to take a vision from the client’s thinking onto drawings to discern if this vision is feasible. Due diligence, if done properly, will either confirm the client’s vision or inform them that moving forward can be a costly mistake.

On more than one occasion, we have performed a pre-construction service package and the client realized that what they were thinking was not going to work. They spent a few dollars up front but avoided spending major dollars that would have resulted in a building that they could not afford or would not have met their needs in the long term.

Are There Red Flags That Can Come Up During Pre-Construction?

The traditional method of construction is to go hire a design team, draw the drawings, and then go find out what it will cost. Well, that’s not working. We've seen it many, many times where businesses and churches and medical facilities have a nice, large, expensive set of drawings and they never get built … or they have to be redrawn, which costs even more money.

We've had to solve $1-million problems in design because we had to go back with their design team and redesign it or provide value engineering alternates. It is painful. It costs them time, and time is money. It's frustrating for them.

Many times, clients will get designs that they can’t afford. So it’s best to have all parties at the table: the design team, the owner, and the contractor who knows what it’s going to cost.

We’ll design something they can afford, which obviously is most important because if you can’t afford it, you can’t have the chance to build it. Pre-construction services help build the foundation of a relationship for a successful project.