Praxis | Santa Fe, New Mexico

THE PRAXIS PROCESS, STEP-BY-STEP: Please contact architect and builder Gabriel (Gabe) Browne by email (gabriel@praxisdesignbuild.com) or by phone (505-473-7766). He will be delighted to discuss your needs for architecture and construction services.

An architect or general contractor and a construction client who agree to work together on a project begin a business relationship that could very well last months, if not years. The foundation of such a relationship, first and foremost, must be one of trust, if it is to work to everyone’s mutual benefit.

What follows is a narrative that describes what you can typically expect if you decide to employ PRAXIS to design or construction your project. We hope it is the first stepping stone down that path of harmony.

THE DESIGN PROCESS, STEP-BY-STEP:

The PRAXIS process begins with the initial phone call or email exchange. Gabe will ask you to describe your project in the broadest terms. These preliminary consultations are free of charge and you are under no obligation whatsoever to commit to anything during these initial explorations of your project.

If Gabe feels PRAXIS can be of service to you, and if it is agreeable to you, a meeting will be arranged if you reside in New Mexico. If you live out of state, even overseas, a phone conference or Skype meeting, with or without video link, will be scheduled.

If you already own a structure you wish to remodel, or if you have already purchased vacant land, a visit to your property will be a first priority. If you need to acquire a building site, Gabe will be happy to show you around Santa Fe and vicinity to help you narrow your focus concerning desirable locations.

Sightlines, terrain, drainage considerations, water availability, access, potential, historic review and zoning restrictions are all part of this tour. Gabe can also help you with specific parcel selection that meets your desires, needs and budget, although PRAXIS itself does not buy and sell property for our clients. (If you desire it, Gabe can suggest local real estate professionals he has worked with in the past who can assist you with this.)

If at this point all parties are interested in proceeding, only then will Gabe discuss drafting a design services contract which formalizes your relationship and outlines the design fees involved. We will work with you, either billing by the hour or, if you prefer, on a fixed-fee basis, in which we quote you a price covering the entire design process so you know from the get-go what your total architecture costs will be. Typically, our design fees average about $25 per square foot.

Now the fun of designing a project begins in earnest. Design typically involves four distinct phases:

1. SCHEMATIC DESIGN: This can best be described as the back of the envelope phase. In broad brushstrokes, you and the PRAXIS design team will explore any and all possibilities. We solicit your fondest wishes for living space, as well as your most cherished fantasies, from light and lighting to expansive spaces and cozy nooks. We’ll imagine kitchen features, bedroom and bath luxuries, garage and storage spaces, airy portals and gracious patios. (The selection of specific models of fixtures comes later.) Ideas, practical to outlandish, can be proposed and examined. Practical matters such as spectacular view opportunities, privacy issues and solar exposures, among many other considerations, are carefully examined and, if you so choose, incorporated into your project design. You’ll watch your future home or business gradually take rough form in the midst of considerable brainstorming. Because your needs are unique as are the dictates of your property, no two PRAXIS designs are alike.

2. SCHEMATIC COST ESTIMATE: We believe dollars and cents calculations of schematic design are as essential to sound architectural practice as good design. A design that exceeds your financial capability to build it is architectural malpractice and quite simply does not happen at PRAXIS. Not only will we never let the design misalign with your budget for construction, we guarantee it. We perform a detailed line-by-line estimate of your schematic design to be sure what we sketched out on paper can be built within your budget. If any PRAXIS design diverges more than three percent from your PRAXIS schematic estimate, we will make any design adjustments necessary to get the project back on budget at no additional cost. This design step is essential for your peace of mind.

3. DESIGN DEVELOPMENT: Using the assumptions agreed upon in steps one and two, you and the PRAXIS design team then fill in the details. This phase makes the spaces comfortable, beautiful and durable. Plans are drawn to scale and colors, materials, fixtures and appliances are pinned down, all in close consultation with you and your taste. Passive solar features, mechanical devices, insulation, structural members, cladding and windows are all selected. Modeling software will allow you to walk through your new home and visit every virtual room and closet. You can watch the sunlight track through your virtual living room as the day progresses and appreciate the views out the picture windows before a single shovel full of dirt is turned. Any fine tuning of the design takes place prior to the conclusion of design development.

4. CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS: You can now step back during this phase of design, take a deep breath and relax a bit. This the phase when the drawings are prepared that a general contractor will need to build your project as we all envisioned it. A list of project specifications is also written to go along with the drawings. These documents contain all the information governing authorities require to address building code and historic review issues. Although the general contractor of your choice will submit these documents to obtain a building permit, PRAXIS will stand by its work and make alterations should some detail fail to pass government muster.

The design contract between you and PRAXIS will contain no language obligating you to use PRAXIS’s general contracting arm to build what we design. The plans we prepare can be built by any experienced builder, so you are free to seek bids from any general contractor. Having said that, we would be honored should you choose to use PRAXIS construction services. Who better to build your project than the firm that designed it?

THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS, STEP-BY-STEP: Please contact architect and builder Gabriel (Gabe) Browne by email (gabriel@praxisdesignbuild.com) or by phone (505-473-7766). He will be delighted to discuss your needs for architecture and construction services.

1. EXPLORATION AND CONSULTATION: If you selected someone other than PRAXIS ARCHITECTS to design your project, our initial discussions will start with a description of your project in the broadest terms. Gabe may ask you for a set of your construction documents, which should include the architectural plans as well as a detailed list of the project specifications (what you and your architect decided to incorporate in your design that cannot be fully described merely by looking at your drawings).
   
   Gabe may ask what you budgeted for the project. You may share this information or withhold it at your discretion. He poses this question simply to ensure the amount you wish to spend is not unrealistically low, beyond our financial capability to build it. These preliminary consultations are free of charge.
   
   If Gabe feels PRAXIS can be of service to you, and if you also wish to proceed, a meeting will be arranged if you reside in New Mexico, a phone conference or Skype meeting if you live out of state, or even overseas. Gabe will explore the scope of the project and your expectations in much greater detail at this time. A visit to your property usually proves useful as well. If you express interest in continuing to work with us, and we you, we start addressing specifics.

2. OUR BID: Whether you are a PRAXIS design client or made your initial contact with PRAXIS beginning at the construction phase, our team will complete a detailed, line-by-line cost estimate for your review at no cost to you, along with a detailed description of the work involved. We will seek bids from our subcontractors that we will incorporate into this calculation. We also spell out in concrete terms how much we hope to make in profit building your project. This will be our bid to you. If you are seeking competing bids, you should do so at this time.

3. DRAFT CONTRACT: You will also receive the first draft of our standard construction contract. This document can either be a fixed-price contract based on our cost estimate and markup, or one that calculates the cost of the work as it progresses, based on the actual charges for labor and materials, plus a markup, called a time and materials contract.
   
   A fixed-price contract spells out the total contract costs before the project begins, including any alternates that you choose to include, but does not include any change orders.
   
   A time and materials contract makes no prediction about the total cost of the project, but ensures what you pay for is in large part what you get. The choice is yours. (All PRAXIS clients to date have opted for a fixed-price contract.)
   
   The contract spells out our obligations to you, and your commitments to PRAXIS. We urge all our clients to read this document carefully and ask us questions. (Some of our clients feel better if their lawyer reviews it.) We consider a contract as much an informational tool as a legal one, to bring you up to speed on what to expect in the months to come.
   
   Finally, the contract also includes by reference a description of the work to be done in detail, called the scope of work. This includes copies of the plans and a detailed list of work to be done, called project specifications.

4. THE AGREEMENT: We discuss with you any adjustments to the scope of the work and the charges involved at this point. Any additions or subtractions you wish to make are dealt with at this time. If other general contractors are submitting bids, we urge our clients to review all bids carefully to ensure all estimates encompass the same scope of work so you can make an informed and accurate price comparison.
   
   If all seems in order and you choose to proceed with PRAXIS as your general contractor, we will request the following from you: Your signatures on the contract; a deposit payment, typically 10% of the total contract price; and a simple signed and dated letter of authorization giving us permission to proceed with your project.

5. PERMITS: If we haven’t already done so, we will submit your architectural plans to the appropriate authorities for the necessary approvals. Fees incurred during this process are typically included in our bid.

6. YOUR INSURANCE: We will also help you acquire construction insurance, called builder’s risk insurance, which we will ask you to pay for directly as an additional cost not included in the contract. This policy covers any losses to your project prior to completion. (You would be wise to also lay the groundwork for standard homeowner’s property insurance coverage which covers any loss after construction is complete.)

7. OUR INSURANCE: PRAXIS maintains all the necessary insurance protection. We carry and keep current general liability insurance ($2M/$1M) as well as workmen’s compensation coverage. We also maintain an errors and omissions policy through our architecture company and a New Mexico contractor’s $10,000 surety bond. Please call for explanations of how these various coverages protect you and your project from losses.

8. CONSTRUCTION: Most of our clients derive great pleasure watching their project take shape, whether it be a home, a business, new construction or a remodel. We urge you to keep tabs on the work as it progresses and call our office, or speak to the PRAXIS site foreman, the moment any issue comes up that you feel needs to be addressed. (If you live out of state or overseas, we will be happy to email you on a weekly basis project photos we take as routine for our own records.) You will also be busy selecting the appliances and/or fixtures that appear as allowance items in the contract that define much of the personality of your new home or work place. Meanwhile, we will keep you informed of all developments. We will seek your input or consensus when decisions need to be made.

9. ALLOWANCES: Most of our estimates or bids include money set aside for construction known as allowance items. The cost of these typically run the gamut because they are so dependent on your personal taste and pocketbook, making it hard for us to pin down a predictable price. Allowances typically encompass features such as cabinet hardware, door hardware, bath fixtures, plumbing fixtures and light fixtures. But they can also represent money set aside for services. Expenditures for allowance items are tallied and settled at the end of the project, with spending in excess billed to you or leftover allowance money refunded back to you.

10. CHANGE ORDERS: Despite our best efforts, unforeseen issues and problems that change the scope of work and its cost will crop up during the course of most projects, particularly when it comes to remodels or restorations where difficulties can lie hidden from view by existing construction. Client second thoughts about what they wish to include or exclude in their project can also generate a change order. Because a change order is in fact an addendum to the original contract we all signed, these changes require negotiation, followed by a document describing the work with space for signatures to make it official.
    
    Most change orders involve extra cost, but they can also be zero cost or credits to our customers. Our goal at PRAXIS is to keep to a minimum the number and cost of change orders by performing a thorough project analysis of what it will take to build a your project before the contract is signed.

11. PROGRESS PAYMENTS: We will submit to you monthly requests for payment. These requests come in the form of a list of tasks, the same list we included in your estimate, with notations indicating the value of the work for each item that has been completed. The total amount requested is the sum of these line-by-line calculations and reflects a percentage of the project that we expect to be completed by the approximate date the payment will be made, minus any previous payments. These monthly requests for payment are ongoing until the contracted work is substantially complete and the full contract amount has been invoiced and paid. These pay requests also incorporate charges or credits brought about by change orders that have cropped up since the previous payment request.
    
    The entire process is much easier to understand after the first request is made and you can see for yourself how all moving parts mesh.
    
    We appreciate prompt payment by our clients, which is critical for compensating our subcontractors in a timely fashion, as well as our suppliers and the PRAXIS staff. If you hold a mortgage, we will appreciate any assistance in smoothing the movement of money with your banker.

12. COMPLETION: As work on your project comes to an end, we will focus your attention on a few final steps. We request a final inspection from the governing authority. A certificate of occupancy is usually issued on the spot if our work passes statutory muster. This allows you to legally move in, although you may choose to delay if there is more detail work needing to be done. If you are working with a bank, they will want to know when this point in the project has been reached.
    
    Usually just before or just after the certificate of occupancy is issued, PRAXIS will also notify you when we consider your project substantially complete. This means that we consider the work is finished as outlined in the contract. It also signals that the time has come to accompany you on a walk through and walk around. During this tour of the property, we compile a punch list of items that do not meet your expectations, nor ours, All defects are noted by us and are placed on a schedule to be fixed.
    
    We also issue you a final payment request for the unpaid contract price. This request may also include an allowance reconciliation, plus any final charges or credits for change orders. Based on the number of remaining tasks detailed on the punch list, most of our clients prefer to hold back a percentage of the final payment until the punch list work is complete. This hold-back figure will be determined through mutual agreement and is a customary and expected by PRAXIS.

13. POST-PRAXIS: Because all of us at PRAXIS will have worked hard to earn and maintain your trust during the months of construction, it makes no sense to compromise that hard-earned confidence at the end of construction. So we take your concerns outlined in the punch list seriously and make every effort to complete the work to your complete satisfaction and in an expeditious manner. And our warranty to you is not empty words. Ask any former PRAXIS customer. After we have packed up our tools and left you to enjoy your new home or place of business, we will return without delay to address any problem you may have with our work for one year following completion.

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