Ready to get started on your project?

Here is a break down of our process.

The Initial Consultation

Once you have contacted our team we will organize an initial consultation with you. This may be a site meeting or take place in our office depending on your project.

During this meeting, we'll take the time to understand your vision for your project. We'll chat about your specific goals and discuss your budget constraints, as well as the functional requirements you have in mind. We can start to explore your preferences in terms of styles and aesthetics as well as provide a general overview of the design process and discuss your timeline expectations.

Pricing & Contracts

Once we've had a chance to understand your project, we'll provide you with a tailored estimate for our services. You can choose between a quote for concept plans only, or a more comprehensive package that includes full working drawings ready for building consent submission.

To give us a more accurate idea of the project's scope, it would be helpful if you could share any relevant documents you may have, such as property files, survey plans, geotechnical reports etc. However, this is not strictly necessary. We're also happy to assist you with gathering any required information if needed.

If you're satisfied with our estimate and want to move forward, we'll send you a contract to review and sign. To secure your project, we'll also require a deposit. Once the contract is signed and the deposit is received, we'll get started.

Site Meeting / Site Measure

Before we dive into the design process, we'll typically schedule a site visit to get a firsthand look at your property. This is especially important for renovations, as we'll need to accurately measure your existing home and gather other relevant information.

For new builds, we'll assess the site's characteristics, including sunlight exposure, existing infrastructure, and any potential challenges. Taking photos will also help us visualise the project and make informed design decisions.

Concept Plans

With all the necessary information in hand, we'll start creating your project plans. We'll begin by generating site plans and any required existing building drawings. Then, we'll develop initial design concepts that align with your project brief.

Once we have a concept ready, we'll share it with you for review. We may provide more than one design option. Depending on the project's complexity, we might schedule a meeting or phone call to discuss our design approach and explore any potential changes. During this stage we will also be checking the zone rules for your site and making sure we are compliant.

We know this is an exciting time, so take your time reviewing the design concepts. We've included some room in our estimate for changes, but too many changes can add up. So, it's best to think carefully and avoid changing your mind a lot, where possible.

That being said, we are happy to invest extra time and effort upfront to create a design that truly meets your expectations. By taking our time, we can ensure that the final product is exactly what you envision. Rushing the process could lead to compromises or a design that doesn’t fully satisfy your needs, which could result in costly changes later on.

We will keep you informed about the progress of the design phase, including how many hours we've spent so far. If we are spending a lot of time on requested changes and it looks like we'll need more time than we initially estimated, we'll let you know right away.

Transitioning to Working Drawings

Once you’re satisfied with the design concepts and ready to move forward, we will get you to confirm your approval in writing. It’s crucial to understand that any changes you request after this stage will require additional work and consequently, additional costs. To avoid unnecessary expenses, it’s important to finalize your design preferences at this point.

Working Drawings

The working drawings stage is the final step in the design process. It's where we create detailed, technical plans that give builders and contractors all the information they need to build your project. These plans are essential for obtaining consent and ensuring a smooth construction process.

During this stage, we'll work with other experts like truss designers, structural engineers, fire engineers, and geotechnical engineers. You might also need to make decisions about suppliers for things like insulation and wall linings. We can help you with these decisions, or your builder might have preferences for certain products.

We will always discuss additional costs with you before we engage other specialists and can obtain quotes for their services on your behalf.

Supporting documents

We’ll prepare all of the supporting documents that council requires, like specifications, certificate of title and product information. We may also require your signature on some of the forms, including an owner approval form.

Building Consent Submission

Once the plans are complete we will send you a copy to review. When we are ready to lodge we will send you an invoice that will include our final fee along with the deposit that the council requires when submitting an application. We will submit the application on your behalf acting as your agent during this process.

Requests For Further Information ( RFI”S)

Council will send our plans to several different departments to review and establish compliance. They will often ask us for clarification on different aspects of our plans or to provide them with additional information

Building Consent Approval

Once Council have processed the application and received any additional information they require, they will grant the building consent approval and provide us with a stamped set of plans and documentation, which we will send to you.

Now that your plans have been consented its time to bring your vision to life!

We will provide support to our clients and their construction team if and where required once the building work starts.

Have questions about our process? Please feel free to contact us for a more in depth conversation. We also have a Q&A page for commonly asked question.