When navigating your new home search, one of the most important tasks is making sure you gather the correct knowledge needed to make an informed decision. Understanding the building “language” and what your builder is saying can instill confidence in your home search.  Your partnership with a builder spans several months and using this knowledge to your advantage is extremely beneficial.

With that said, let’s take a few minutes to break down the steps within the P&D Builders Design Process- Conceptual Drawings, Preliminary Drawings, and Construction Drawings. These 3 Phases of Architectural Drawings allow us to transform ideas into a tangible reality.

First, we take the time to discuss goals for your home and listen to how you use the space you currently live in. Perhaps you are a growing family searching for more space, or an empty nester looking to downsize. Discussing this upfront provides us with information we need to design the home best suited for you and your family.

After our initial discussions, we begin the first step of the design process - Conceptual Drawings (often referred to as “concepts”).  Concepts provide two-dimensional layouts for a home. They illustrate an overhead layout of the floor plan and present potential options for your home.  We work together to alter the plan based on your feedback. Once we are satisfied with the layout of the home, we move onto the next phase in plan design.

Next, we use our conceptual design to develop Preliminary Plans (often referred to as “Pre-lims”). Pre-lims provide a 2-dimensional floor plan layout and an exterior elevation of the home. The Pre-lim plans allow us to shape how the home will look from the outside. We collaborate with each other to match the home to your style and taste. Exterior materials, dimensions, and style can be combined to create the perfect look.

During the final stage of plan design, we create Construction Drawings (often referred to as “CD’s”). This final step in plan design produces an architectural plan that we use to build the home. This includes everything from truss drawings to framing layouts. This stage includes every detail of the home, thus requiring the most time and resources to develop. Therefore, our goal is to have the home design finalized once we begin creating Construction Drawings.

After we complete Construction Drawings, our production team will sit down with every homeowner and review their plans. We confirm that the home design is finalized and review any last-minute changes. Once we conclude this meeting with our homeowners, we release the plans to our team and we begin building your home!