Ep 01 - Who is Bluebird Design & Build

In todays episode we talk about who Bluebird Design & Build is as a company, the people behind it and why we went into business. We will also discuss what we hope to achieve with the podcast. We hope you enjoy.
If you have any topics you would like us to dicuss please contact us at info@bluebirddc.com.au

Transcript

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(00:03):

Welcome to building with Bluebird, the design and renovation podcast brought to you by Christian Case and Jeremy Thomason directors of Bluebird design and build highlighting the dos and don'ts of renovating or building your dream home. This podcast will give you the insider's guide to the home building journey, as well as interviewing other industry specialists, Christian and Jeremy bring their knowledge and expertise to the table for you. The people now let's get into this episode and if you enjoy, please like share and subscribe.

(00:33):

Welcome to episode one who is Bluebird and what we do. I'm Christian Case. I'm one of the directors here at Bluebird and I've got business partner here,

(00:41):

Here. I'm Jeremy Thomason. Christian's business partner.

(00:45):

Yeah, that's it. I look after the design and office team, we're a design and construct company, meaning that we do all the in-house design. And also we've got Jeremy side, which is all the construction. So we manage from the beginning all the way to the end of your project. Feasabilities we get in contact with the right people, if you need to find the site and then get the design sorted, and then we hand it off to the construction team to start construction,

(01:11):

And we'll take it from there.

(01:14):

Bluebird design and build. We started seven or eight years

(01:17):

Now. Eight years in August. Yeah.

(01:20):

Right. So yeah, August to 2014, we started, I had my own engineering company and design company. We were sort of running things on our own. Jeremy had his carpentry.

(01:31):

Yeah. I was a carpenter and builder. So doing residential jobs, smaller style jobs at the time decks, small extensions, things like that, all the normal stuff that new builder is go out and start doing, and then started to get busier and busier. And we combined our businesses to create Bluebird and then jobs just sort of got bigger and bigger. And that's where we are today. That's how we sort of got into the design and build model.

(01:58):

So the reason we merged was there was a lot of cross paths. I was doing a lot of the prelim and on ramping of the design and engineering. And then I was teaming up with Jeremy to build it. So a lot of similarities in companies, even though we were separate and we were just working together so much. So it only made sense to, to streamline the whole process and work together. Because at that point in time, when we started, we didn't believe that a lot of people were doing that. It was everyone was working on their own and not working together. And it just, it wasn't a collaborative effect that wouldn't work correctly. And there was just a really clunky system. So we joined up together and started managing the whole process because a lot of people just were lost and didn't know where to start and didn't know what to do first. And yeah,

(02:42):

It is, it is a very confusing process. Whether you are thinking about renovating or trying to find out the information of what you need to do first, who you need to talk to. There's a lot of consultants involved and there aren't that many places that you can just go to somewhere. That's got a holistic approach to just manage everything for you, keep it all in one shop. Yeah.

(03:03):

And there's a lot of incorrect information out there as well. I've found there's a lot of Facebook groups and a lot of

(03:10):

You love those

(03:11):

Facebook groups. Yeah. I love them. The, um, there's other podcasts and YouTubes and all that sort of stuff. And a lot of the information actually incorrect unless you're a builder or a designer when being in the industry, then that's the only way you're actually gonna get the correct information.

(03:26):

Yeah. Again, that's why we combine. So we can sort of help to steer people on the right path and make it as efficient as possible.

(03:34):

So in the office, we've got another building designer and then another interior and all three of us work together in terms of projects altogether, we have meetings about every project to get different views and opinions because we've all got our own specialties. I've been in construction now close to 17 years. First seven to eight years was that of engineering and working for consultancies. So I've got a pretty vast knowledge of, of different construction methodologies. And then moving more into design in the later part of my career in construction, then moving into building with Jeremy, I've learned a lot more about pricing and it's how we sort of started out that I was doing a lot of the pricing in the beginning and Jeremy was on site managing those things. So we, we bring a, a pretty vast knowledge and experience to the company, which I think's really helped and made our processes a lot quicker and easier for us and a lot more accurate

(04:25):

That's one of our main goals is understanding pricing in design so that we can produce plans that are within a close range of a client's budget. Cuz that's obviously a huge problem in the industry at the moment that if you go to a building designer or an architect, you'll end up with a set of drawings that may not be able to be built because the actual cost is so far outside of a client's budget. So we do case studies every time we finish a job to accurately understand the, the costing of different types of jobs and construction method. So, and then we apply that to new designs when we're starting a new job. Yeah. That's

(05:06):

A massive one. We've over the last seven years, we've seen a lot of projects, not actually go ahead, we've received drawings. And then the client gets it priced and it's quite deflating for them. So they've spent six to 12 months on this design process and it's just, it's heartbreaking to

(05:20):

See and already pictured themselves like living in that design. And then when they do start getting prices back from builders, they're just heartbroken. So it's not a nice thing to be a part of. We've seen that a lot. We've had client meetings where their architects couldn't keep their costs in

(05:37):

Line. Yeah. And I think that all comes back to the communication in the industry because building and design is so closely related. It's crazy that more teams don't work together. That's why we've brought it in house to make sure that we can deliver something that's on, on your budget. But it's also gives you your dream home, but also being realistic at the same time.

(05:57):

Yeah. And that comes with a bit of tough love through the design process.

(06:00):

Yes. We're a little bit different to other design companies where a lot of guys will sell the dream and everything like that. Whereas we'll be like, oh you can't, you can, you can have whatever you want. You can have whatever you want. We can, we can build the greatest thing on earth, but you've gotta be able to pay for it. Yes there's, there's, there's that little elephant in the room where you can't end up finishing your build. You end up like grand designs where half the homes don't get finished. So basically that's why we started Bluebird designer build because we wanted to make that process a lot easier for everybody. And it's supposed to be enjoyable. You're designing your dream home and building your dream home. It should be fun. The old age, old thing of you everyone's dreading building and you hear horror stories. It shouldn't be like that. It's quite an easy process. It

(06:42):

Is. If you get all of the steps, right? Correct.

(06:46):

Yeah. So that's basically our goal as a business is to streamline everything and work more efficiently with between the design and the construction team. That's it. And I, is

(06:56):

That about it for this

(06:57):

Episode? I think so next episode will be tackling four phases of the bill process. We think this is the most efficient and correct way to do it. People have their own opinions on it, but for us, this has really worked out well in streamlining it and creating less hassles.

(07:11):

And uh, where can everyone catch us on the line?

(07:15):

Uh, we're on Instagram, Bluebird underscore DB, and then obviously our website, Bluebird dc.com.au And then where else can they find us? Where was just jump driving around? Yeah. Driving, driving around, grab us on the website. So hopefully you'll tune into next week's episode and go from there. See you then.