DYLAN
Project TYPE:
Single Family Detached Home
Scope:
2,500sqft 2-StoryHome with 1,000sqft Finished Basment 5 Bed / 4.5 Bath
Location:
West Valley City, Utah Weston Field & Evans Park Communities
COMMUNITY:
OUR CLIENT’S DESIRE AND CHALLENGES:
To build out their production home library of plans, add new product to meet design guidelines and improve the quality of their construction documents
case study
Let us show you how we developed and updated 20 standard plans with design options for one of our home builder clients in 1 year while reducing their overhead costs by trimming their architectural team from 4 drafters to 1 architectural manager.
The first thing we did was to spell out their unique “Builder Standards.” What are builder standards? They are your unique construction practices shown and implemented on your construction document sets. From foundation design to standard framing plate heights and waterproofing practices it is important for your drawings to reflect exactly how your home is going to be built.
Interested in the building standards that some of the Nationwide Home Builders are utilizing to keep their costs down? Set up a time to meet with our lead architect and see how she can help to build your set of standards to meet your budget.
Step two was to define our technology. The future of construction documents is in BIM software, but there is a lot of misinformation regarding the utilization of Revit in residential drafting. In this case our client had a long-term goal of being at the forefront of technology, but needed help in the implementation of the software.
The benefits that BIM has brought to their team:
3D review of the architecture. Typically, your marketing and purchasing team members are not well versed in reading 2D plans nor do they need to be. We were able to provide design revisions and make changes to the architecture in real time for quick design collaboration.
Less coordination errors between floor plan, elevations, roof plans. If a change is made in plan view, it automatically updates in all other views. This is time saved and quality control implemented.
All plans saved to the cloud and the ability for everyone to always access files. Revit’s collaboration tools allow our client’s architectural manager to see a change that needs to be made, give us a simple phone call or email, and our drafting team can make the change right away without any need for file exchange.
Plan options are included in one file and can be turned on and off as needed for site-specific plot plans.
Color and material options are saved into the same file and renderings are completed. Any changes made in the field are addressed to one file and renderings are automatically updated.
Step three is the implementation stage of the builder standards onto the construction document sets. This was completed in phases.
Phase one was to delete any access information that was outdated from the plans
Phase two was to define what information was important to each plan sheet so that we would eliminate duplicate information and the chance for errors.
Phase three was to expand the drawing set to cover everything that the local building departments require for plan check.
Phase four was to coordinate the architectural detailing and specifications with the client's purchasing department so that the specs matched what was being purchased and installed.
Phase five was to define how consultant backgrounds were generated and exactly what information was released to reduce confusion and save time in revisions while coordinating with our engineers
Step 4 is to rest assured during construction that your plans are designed the way you intend for them to be built. Save money in year two when plans can be reused at alternate sites. Spend more money where it counts in design and interior finishes. Have a thoughtful plan moving forward that continues to evolve with your construction practices while homes are built better in every new community.