How We Work

Key aspects
Integrated.

At Highland Ridge, we're design-build remodeling contractors. The design-build remodel allows all key aspects of your project to be integrated within a single team. This approach eliminates finger-pointing and ensures the vision you started with equals the home you end up with; your vision stays perfectly intact, down to the smallest detail. In addition to improved communication, leading projects with our in-house design services allow us to develop your project in-depth and ensure precise, well-planned, and streamlined execution of your vision. We believe the success of a project relies on solid planning and a team that works together to achieve your project goals.

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Here’s how we will guide you through the remodeling process:

Step 1 - Let's Talk

During this phase, we’ll get acquainted to see if we are a fit for each other. Since you are reading this document, that process is already underway. We’ll do a deep dive into your vision and make sure that we “get it.” We’ll talk about your budget in relation to your vision, consider possible options and explain how financing or payments to us work. We’ll talk schedule, your role in the project and what you can expect from us. We’ll be unfailingly honest — telling you what will be fun — and what won’t. And we’ll leave you with a complete guidance kit full of useful information to help you understand not only who we are but also how projects like yours works.

Step 2 - Range of Cost

After our initial meeting, our estimators will get to work on creating a range for what we think your project will cost. For now, it will be just that - a range. In order to give you a true accurate project cost we will have to go through the design process, in order to develop the exact details of your vision. There are many things that can affect your final price, including project scope, selections, and finish materials. Until we work through the design, any number we give you wouldn’t be a true reflection of what you want.

Step 3 - Develop Your Project

Once you have reviewed your range of cost, if you would like to move forward we would enter into a “Professional Services
Agreement” or PSA. This contract allows us to begin the design process, and to develop your project into a detailed plan that will assure a quality and complete project at a guaranteed price. Entering into a PSA does not obligate you to enter into a
Construction Agreement with us, and you will own the results of the design work produced during the PSA.

Step 4 - Construction Agreement

With all or most of the results of the PSA work in hand we will meet with you to talk through the project. We will take all the time you want to be comfortable and confident. We’ll go over the scope of work, project plan, progress payments, timelines, logistics and concerns. We will now have all the information to provide a guaranteed price for your project, you will have signed off on the design and selections. We will provide an Agreement for our mutual signatures. We will go over and explain every detail of our Construction Agreement.

Step 5 - LET'S BUILD!

During the building phase, we will handle all the details of ordering materials, scheduling, project over-site, and coordination. We will diligently keep you up to date on progress and issues. No matter how carefully we plan your project
together you will probably want to make some changes along the way. We're prepared to cheerfully accommodate any
changes you want to make. Our Agreement will explain how costs associated with your changes will be handled. During the
completion phase, we will meticulously inspect to ensure that the craftsmanship level has been maintained throughout the
project. We will do a final review meeting with you to answer any outstanding questions or concerns you might have. We will
do a final clean-up to the highest standards possible both within the project and anything on the property that we touched.
Finally, you will benefit from our industry-leading three-year warranty on our work.

Step 6 - Enjoy!

Enjoy your transformed home! Thank you for letting us guide your remodeling journey!

FAQs

The Professional Services Agreement allows our team to develop your project for construction. We’ll work with you to create a design, develop plans, make selections & more. Doing the pre-construction homework up front prepares us for a much smoother construction process overall.

We develop your project from point A to point B. We work with In-house of independent designers, architects and engineers to create a special one-off remodel. You’ll only pay the general contractor for services rendered and have an ally you can count on throughout the process.

Remodeling can be dusty and noisy during construction. We do our best to minimize the effects of construction. If you are remodeling a single bathroom or kitchen we can set up a temporary area for you to cook during the remodel. If we are touching multiple areas in your home we recommend vacating during construction. If you have nowhere to have peace and quiet a remodel can get tiresome quickly.

Buildertrend is a cloud-based project management system that helps us coordinate and communicate during your remodel. You’ll have your very own website where we’ll store documents, photos, specifications, schedules, current financials, and more.

We use both in-house and specialty subcontractors to complete your remodel. Some trades like electrical, plumbing and mechanical require special certifications and licensing.

There are plenty of ways to cut corners to create a lower price. Competitive bidding rewards the lowest price and offers absolutely no advantage to good workmanship. We prefer to do things the best way. “Best” means, in our opinion, the most effective combination of price to performance – getting the most bang for your buck.

We’ll get to work building out your project website. We’ll set up a meeting to walk you through your project website and how everything works. We’ll prepare shopping lists, production schedules, subcontractor bids and more. Once we have our bids back and selections made our team will prepare a complete job book and contract for you to review.

Yes, a 3 Year Warranty. When we decided upon the warranty to offer to our clients, we had two main objectives. One was the importance for us to offer an industry-leading warranty to show our clients just how much we stand behind our work. The second was to look at our warranty from our client’s point of view. And offer something that would make you feel at ease knowing that your investment is covered well into the future.

We Take Pride in Our Work

We believe that we use the best construction practices, best materials available and we hire the best employees that take great pride in their work. Because of this, we can offer a remodeling industry-leading 3 year Warranty on our craftsmanship

Checking in on Your Investment

We provide a 3-year Warranty on craftsmanship and manufacturer’s warranty on products. To help ensure everything is perfect, we will come back after 3 months to check in with you and address any possible issues that may have surfaced. Additionally, after 11 months, we will come back and do a complete home inspection before product warranties expire, so we can address any additional concerns that may arise.

Integrated Warranty Claims

Clients can use our integrated online software to track any warranty issues you may have so we always have a complete list of things that need to be done and nothing slips between the cracks.

The Best of the Best

While we truly hope you never need to use our industry leading 3 year Warranty we hope it helps you find comfort in the fact that you are working with a team that strives to be the best of the best. It’s our goal to not only provide the highest quality projects but to offer a truly unique and outstanding customer experience throughout the construction process.

The typical 3-bid process is highly flawed. Usually, homeowners find the process too confusing and leave the homeowner carrying too much of the risk with too. Worse yet, the project outcome may end up inconsistent with your vision, the estimated price, or the promised delivery timeframe. It does not need to be that way. At Highland Ridge we use that better way. We call our process “Homeowner First.” This is a process that lets you learn, understand clearly and then try before you buy.

We move some key parts of the process to the front - before you sign a construction contract. This allows you to get to know us while allowing us to intimately understand your project. The 3-bid method requires an unacceptable, often intolerable, leap of faith on your part. Key questions that affect cost, project details and project time frame are never clear, the result is that an estimate is seldom better than just a guess and a totally inadequate basis for making smart decisions.

At Highland Ridge our Homeowner First process will provide a detailed proposal showing design, a complete scope of work, an informed project timeline and, perhaps most valuable, a firm, guaranteed price. The Homeowner First process does not create new work or incremental cost – it resets the order of things in a way that works in your favor. We do charge for this “Pre-Contract” process, but it's things you would have paid for anyhow in a final Agreement. You have no obligation to do your project with us and you own ALL the results of the process. Homeowner First gives you the information you need to make a great decision when you need it – not after you have signed a construction contract.

In the big picture, our Homeowner First method will save money & avoid unpleasant surprises.

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