Our process,endtoend.
A project moves through six stages at Elevations. The first three are about getting the design right. The second three are about building it. The same team carries both halves.
Two contracts. No three-bid shopping.
Most remodels start with one contractor giving you a price against another contractor giving you a different price against a third contractor giving you a third. The drawings are usually wrong. The selections are usually missing. The numbers are usually meaningless.
We don't work that way.
Every project begins with a paid Design Phase contract. We draw the architecture, design the interiors, specify every selection to the manufacturer SKU, and produce a target construction budget you sign off on. When the design is locked, the project converts to a Construction Contract built off that scope. No rebidding. No three-bid theater. The number you sign is the number you pay.
It's the structure that lets us hold a standard.
A clear path, drawn before the first nail.
Most of what goes wrong on a remodel is decided before construction starts. We spend our time on the early stages so the back half is uneventful by design.
- 01
Discovery Call
A complimentary phone consultation. We talk about the home, the scope, the timeline, and the budget. The goal is mutual fit, not a hard sell. If the scope isn't right for us, we'll say so on the call.
Typical questions: what's the home doing well, what's failing, what does life inside it need to look like a year from now. If the budget and the scope don't line up, we'll tell you that here, not three weeks in.
- 02
Design Consultation
A $250 on-site walkthrough with our principal. Ninety minutes in the home, with the people who actually do the work. The fee is credited in full to your project if you move forward.
The fee isn't about the money. It's a commitment filter. The homeowners who book us get our principal personally for ninety minutes on site, not a salesperson with a fold-out brochure.
- 03
Design Phase Contract
The contract that turns the conversation into a project. We commit to architectural drawings, a complete interior selection package specified to the SKU, and a target construction budget. You commit to seeing the design through.
This is where most contractors hand you a quote. We hand you a contract for the design work itself. The price for the build is locked at the end of this phase, not the start.
- 04
Construction Contract
Once the design is locked and the selections are specified, the project converts to a Construction Contract built off that scope. The price is the price. Change orders happen when you change your mind, not because we missed a line.
No three-bid shopping. No rebidding. No surprise change orders at framing. The drawings are buildable because the firm that drew them is the firm that builds them.
- 05
Build
Permits, framing, mechanical, drywall, finish. One project lead on site. Weekly check-ins on your calendar. A single point of contact end to end. The subcontractors are people we've worked with for years.
The job site is clean. The schedule is shared. You can stop by any time. If something changes, you hear it from the team that drew it.
- 06
Delivery and Walkthrough
Final inspection, punch list, professional photography, written warranty. We hand you the keys, and we're still on the phone if something needs adjusting.
Most of our follow-up work comes from clients who finished a project and called us back two years later. That's the bar.
Four phases, one project.
Architectural plans drawn by the studio that builds them.
3D renderings of every major space, signed off before construction starts.
In-progress photography so the project reads as a continuous story.
Finished work, photographed on completion.
Calm, accountable, unsurprising.
A well-run remodel is boring on purpose. The drama lives in design, where it belongs. The build is where we deliver on it.
One team, drawing through delivery
The same firm that draws the project also builds it. No re-bidding, no architect-versus-GC arguments, no plans that can't be built as drawn.
Principal on every project
We stay deliberately boutique. Our principal is on the first call, the design consult, and on site through construction.
Specified before priced
Every selection is specified to the SKU before the construction price is signed. Change orders happen when you change your mind, not because we missed a line.
Before you call.
Why two contracts instead of one?
The first contract pays for the design work, which is the part most contractors skip or do badly. By the end of the Design Phase, you have buildable architectural drawings, a fully specified interior package, and a real construction number. The Construction Contract is signed off that. It's the only way to hold a price honestly.
Can I get a free quote first?
No. The complimentary phone consultation is free. The on-site walkthrough is $250, credited to the project. We don't drive around giving free bids that get rebid against two other contractors.
What does the $250 include?
Ninety minutes on site with our principal. A walkthrough of the home, a scope conversation, a target budget discussion, and a written follow-up. If the project moves forward, the fee is credited in full to the Design Phase contract.
How long does the Design Phase take?
Most projects take six to ten weeks in design before construction starts. Kitchens and single-room scopes can be faster. Whole-home remodels and additions often run twelve weeks or more.
Will my project price change after I sign the Construction Contract?
Only if you change the scope. The Construction Contract is built off a locked, fully specified design package. Surprise change orders during the build are the symptom of a thin design package, which is what the Design Phase is built to prevent.
Start with a conversation.
A $250 in-person design consultation with our principal, credited in full to your project. Most decisions about a remodel are made in the first sit-down. We treat it that way.
Last updated: May 2026