Our Process
Greenwald Cassell Associates is both a Design/Build firm and a General Contractor. This means that we can either design and build your project, or build plans previously designed by others.
Design/Build:
Design/Build is the process where Greenwald Cassell Associates is both the designer and the builder of your project. To set up a free design consultation with Roger Greenwald, BSc Architecture, click here to email him. Roger will call you today to discuss your project and set up a meeting at your house. During this meeting, different design strategies and solutions will be evaluated and discussed, and the relative costs of the different approaches will be analyzed.
The Greenwald Cassell team performs a complete measure-up of your property, analyzes zoning and other relevant issues, generates a set of accurate measured floor plans and elevations. During this process, your design discussions with Roger continue. Once the Existing Condition drawings are complete, Roger Greenwald personally designs your project.
After the project design has been presented, discussed, adjusted, and initialed, the job is ready for a hard estimate. Once the hard costs are finalized, you have the option of moving forward into the construction phase. The construction contract is signed, permit drawings are produced. Construction begins shortly after the permit is approved.
During construction, Roger Greenwald and your Greenwald Cassell project manager personally direct the job. You will meet with Roger at regularly scheduled weekly site meetings. Roger communicates with you daily, and is always reachable by email or by phone. It’s a very personalized service, and one which delivers our clients the highest quality of workmanship in the most efficient and expedited manner.
Advantages Generally Associated with Design/Build:
- The design fees required to arrive at the hard cost are a fraction of the cost of traditional fee-for-service Architecture.
- There is one single point of responsibility. The client is never caught in the middle between the architect and the builder.
- Roger Greenwald is both your designer and your builder. Roger meets with you at regularly scheduled weekly meetings throughout the job, personally directing the Greenwald Cassell project manager and subcontractors. This shortened chain of command means that questions, concerns, changes, and solutions can be addressed quickly and efficiently, shortening the critical path of the job.
- The job is designed with Roger’s intimate knowledge of direct costs. The incidence and scale of budget overruns is radically reduced.
- Construction costs tend to be lower with Design/Build, because of the integration of design and construction.
- For examples of Roger Greenwald’s designs see photos at left.
General Contracting:
If you already have architectural plans, Greenwald Cassell will bid, and build your plans. Our reputation for quality, responsiveness, and reliability has been well established in the DC Metro Area for over 25 years.
Completed, Full-Bid Documents:
These are plans which are ready to submit for permit, with all floor plans, elevations, sections, foundation plans, sections, and details already complete, plus, full specifications, including kitchen, bathroom, and lighting selections made and compiled by your architect. If you have Complete, full bid documents, you are ready for a bid. Estimates take between 10 and 15 working days to complete.
Completed Construction Documents Requiring Further Specification:
These are plans which are ready for permit submission, but which are lacking some or all of the finish selections (kitchen, bath, lighting, tile, etc) needed for an accurate bid. Greenwald Cassell Associates, Inc. can provide you with a list of needed decisions which you can make with your architect or Greenwald Cassell Associates will guide you through the specification process.
Conceptual Plans:
These are generally floor plans and elevations, lacking some or all of the necessary framing plans, foundation plans, electrical plans, structural work, and site plans needed for the permit process. Generally, specifications are also lacking in these cases, and Greenwald Cassell Associates, Inc. will negotiate with you an appropriate fee for the completion of your plans.
Whether your needs are for a Design-Build firm or a General Contractor, join the many hundreds of satisfied Greenwald Cassell customers. Call Greenwald Cassell today at 703-734-9164, or email us for more information .