Consulting
for Homeowners
need some extra help?
We love helping people plan, design and complete projects on their homes and land. Every project is unique, and even more unique is all the people doing them. We are completely flexible in the way we support folks. We offer services that include, but certainly are not limited to, budgeting for your project, creating and pricing material lists, estimating time, and scheduling all the various phases of the project.
If you’re planning a small project, have a lot of skills, but just a few questions, perhaps just an hour of consulting will do the trick. We can build material lists for you to pick up, lay out a step by step plan of completion, and give you lots of tips to make sure things go smoothly. For medium to large sized projects, this generally involves building a gantt chart, lining up contractors, setting deadlines for when products need to be ordered and keeping the gantt chart up to date as the project progresses.
Because this is not a common business model, some people have a hard time understanding exactly what our assistance on a project could look like. We’ve included examples below to give people a more tangible way of thinking about our consulting services. During our 15 minute introductory call, we will come up with an individualized plan that best suits you and your particular needs.
examples
The Weekend Warrior
a small project
The Chicken Coop
a medium project
The Tiny Home/ ADU
a large project
Home Addition/ Remodel
an extra large project
Think small projects such as raised garden beds, closet shelving or small fencing. With things of this scale, I can help you over a 1 hour zoom call to plan, prepare and budget for the project. Obviously, the time it takes will greatly depend on your experience and skillset, as well as how much support you want to have during the process. I can help you make a complete material list. If you’re in an area that home improvement stores have online ordering, I can even help you make the entire order. This alone can prove to be extremely helpful. The less experienced DIYers often spend more time driving back and forth and wandering around the store looking for materials than they do actually working on the project. I can also give you directions and details on the installation and implementation side as well. If you get hung up during the project, we can meet again to resolve any issues and help you hit the final completion point. If you schedule a FREE 15 min introductory call, you can tell me more about your project and your skills so I can let you know how I can help, and give you an estimate of the time it will take us to set you up for success.
Think medium projects such as chicken coops, small sheds, fencing, or small bathroom remodels. With things of this scale, we can help you over a few 1 hour zoom calls to plan, prepare and budget for your project. We can make full material lists and step by step instructions. We will help you understand the order each task should be completed to make the project as efficient as possible. Once you’ve begun your project, we can meet again weekly or biweekly until it is complete to help you troubleshoot any issues you might encounter.
For a project of this size, it is recommended to set up consulting support as a weekly 1 hour zoom call. It’s best to begin at least a month before your project begins, but we’re happy to jump in at anytime. We can help in the planning phase of the project with design help, budgeting and scheduling. This will be built into a gantt chart that you will have a master view only link that will take you to the most current version at any time. It will help you know what you should be working on as well as which materials you need to pick out, source and have purchased by certain dates. It will also let you know when certain phases need to be completed that you may be hiring outside help for. This lets you schedule contractors in advance which is key in this environment. We can also help you work through any construction aspects that you may be unfamiliar with.
When doing a home addition and or remodel, it’s best to begin the planning phase long before the project begins. In our area, in order to build an addition, plans must be drawn by an architect and then sent to an engineer. Once both of those steps are complete, they can be submitted to the city or county for final approval and permit issuance. Generally, the process from the time you start talking to the architect/designer, until the permits are issued is around 6 months. If you’d like to use us as your “GC”, it’s best if we start well before that.
In the beginning, we will talk about your general plan and goals. We’ll learn about you, your various skillsets (EVERYONE has various skillsets that apply to construction) and what you’re hoping to achieve with this project. We can help you decide if you want to design it completely yourself, have some type of part time help, or hire a designer. Once you’ve made that decision, we can help you vet and decide who to hire, if desired.
In order to complete any sizable project, you must be well organized. We can assist you in scheduling and budgeting your project. We will build a gantt chart that creates a task list in chronological order with each tasks’ estimated and actual costs. A calendar will be created that can shift future tasks if a previous one takes shorter or longer than anticipated. This will give you a step by step program to follow to ensure the success of your project. We can then meet weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc. depending on your preference and capabilities. Each time we meet, I will update the gantt with the progress that has been completed and we will discuss the next steps of the project.
ready to schedule a call?
If you are interested in working with us for support on a project, please schedule a free 15 minute introductory call. We’ll take a look at what you have planned and see how we can best support your endeavors.