StreamHome Construction Podcast

The Balance of Input: Navigating Your Role in Home Construction

• Alex Kosley • Episode 3

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How Involved Do I Really Need To Be In The Design Process? Can I Just Show Up At The End And Say, “Nice Work”?

Are you unsure about how involved you should be in your home construction project? We dive into the intricate balance of client participation in design and renovation. This episode challenges the common misconception that you must either micromanage every detail or completely disconnect from the process.

Our expert hosts break down different styles of client involvement—from hands-on, detail-oriented approaches to more laid-back expectations, where the design team takes the reins while you observe at a distance. Our discussion includes key insights on establishing clear communication right from the start, ensuring that your aesthetic preferences guide the project effectively, without compromising timelines or overall quality. 

Utilizing advanced tools, clients can stay plugged into their projects remotely, making it easier to manage busy lives while still feeling engaged. We also ponder the media’s influence, asking if you can hope for a perfect HGTV-like reveal even if you take a backseat. 

Tune in to understand just how much—you can—and should—be part of your home's design journey. Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave us a review to help us continue to bring valuable insights to our audience!

To learn more about StreamHome Construction visit:
https://www.YourStreamHome.com
StreamHome Construction
719-644-6777

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Stream Home Construction Podcast, where we take your project from conception to completion. Hosted by Licensed General Contractor Alex Kozley, we cover everything from accessory dwelling units to commercial construction in the greater Colorado Springs area. Whether you're dreaming of a new ADU, planning an office upgrade or tackling a major renovation project, we've got the expertise to guide you through it. Let's get building.

Speaker 2:

Thinking about handling over the blueprints and disappear until they are revealed? We get it, but just how much input should you have in the design process? Or the blueprints and disappear until they are revealed? We get it, but just how much input should you have in the design process? Let's talk about where your involvement matters most. Welcome back everyone, tony Hill's co-host slash producer back in the studio with Alex Cozley. Alex, how's it going?

Speaker 3:

I'm doing great, and yourself, tony, awesome.

Speaker 2:

So, alex, how involved do I really need to be in the design process? Can I just show up and hit an end and say nice work.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it's a great question. It's one of the most common questions we get. I think every client we work for asks that same exact question and the short answer we always give them is you can be involved as much or as little as you want. Some clients love to be hands-on. You know they want to pick every material, review, every drawing be a part of every decision. That's great if that's how you like to be involved in the project. Others prefer to give us their vision, set their budget and trust our team to execute, only checking in at key milestones, which works great for us as well.

Speaker 3:

The beauty of working with us as a design build team is that we adapt your preferred level of involvement. Our process is built to keep you informed and comfortable, whether that means regular check-ins and deep dives into details or just big picture updates as we go. And, that said, the most important thing is that we start with a clear understanding of what the client wants, their goals, your must-haves and any deal-breakers. Make sure that we're starting out the project on the same foot, so to speak. We guide our clients through key decisions early, so there's no surprises later, but once we have that foundation in place, if you'd rather sit back and let us handle the details. You can absolutely do that and, yes, you can't show up at the end and say, nice work, because we prioritize our customer service and the ultimate product is going to be excellent, whether you're there watching us or whether you just come at the end to collect it.

Speaker 3:

The same thing really applies to our construction process. We work with many clients that are out of town, out of state or even out of country while we're constructing their project. Our suite of software tools allows us to stay connected with clients in different parts of the world and parts of the country and the state Remotely. They can view progress on their project via daily logs which show photos of progress logs everyone that was on the site as if there was any delays. So we have a lot of tools in place that help a client can stay plugged in with our projects, but not necessarily be there every day, but just kind of checking in at their leisure. So that's one other way in both the construction and the pre-construction process where a client can stay involved, but not necessarily, you know, checking in with us in person regularly, you know checking in with us in person regularly.

Speaker 2:

If I disappear until the end, will I still get to feel like I was on HGTV show, or will my house?

Speaker 3:

just have a mystery theme. That's great, that's funny. If you disappear, we'll probably have some other questions we're going to need to figure out, like call the police, nurse, anyone knows where you are. But I get the spirit of the question that if you're just not paying attention to what we're doing, how are things going to turn out? And that kind of harkens back to my previous answer, where we're committed to delivering excellently on a project.

Speaker 3:

And if we're lacking information and we need to make some decisions on our own at times and it's clear from the client that that's going to be acceptable, we will do that. Keep things moving forward, because not only is a beautiful product a great sign of success for our clients, but also sticking to our timeline and budget are also really important. So you know, if we feel the need to keep a project moving, even though we may not have all the feedback from a client, you know we can do that. But again, the principle is that we're not cutting corners. We're building and designing your project the same, whether you're there watching or not, because we're committed to that quality and we're committed to deliver an excellent product regardless of the circumstances that we're in.

Speaker 2:

So is there a Goldilocks level of involvement Not too much, not too little, but just right.

Speaker 3:

I would say so. We see, on the low involvement side, risk for a client is that they might not get something that they wanted, or might get something that they didn't want because they weren't involved enough in some decision-making and design processes. On the other extreme, you can be involved too much and the most detrimental effect potentially could be from that is just slowing the project down and not giving it the room to work. A lot of times we have to work through an issue and we'd rather work through it internally in our team and then bring it to the client where, if a client comes in the middle of that process when an error or an issue is discovered, it can sometimes get convoluted because they might think there's a major problem going on where it's just a small issue that needs to be figured out through some engineering or something like that, and getting involved and worked up potentially about a situation can slow things down.

Speaker 3:

One thing that kind of ties this all together, I'd say, is just being able to have the whole project scope and check with the client along at key milestones during the project scope so that we make sure. Ok, here's where we are. At this point we need to at least get your approval as much or as little as you want to look through it and dive into the details, that's fine, but we do need to get these key milestones checked off in order to move through the process to the next step. So yeah, there is a good Goldilocks level of involvement and it probably gives us a little room to do our work. But don't give us so much room that we're kind of left wondering what you want, where you want to go with the project and make sure you're there for those key decisions.

Speaker 2:

Okay, If I let you guys make all the choices, am I going to end up with a house full of contractor favorite beige.

Speaker 3:

We're not typically set free and just designing projects on our own. Our clients are usually very involved. However, we obviously have a lot of experience in designing spaces and are familiar with modern design trends and all those things. We even are designing some model ADUs now that will really showcase some modern and transitional type of designs that we think are going to go really well. So, yeah, we're confident. Our design team has lots and lots of experience and, whatever you end up with, if we were left with all the decisions, I'm confident that you would be left with a beautiful, ergonomical, functional space.

Speaker 2:

Love it, Alex. Catch you on the next episode.

Speaker 1:

Have a great day, you too too. Thanks, tony, we'll see you. That's a wrap for this episode of the stream home construction podcast. Ready to bring your vision to life? Snag a free on-site consultation by visiting our website at wwwyourstreamhomecom, or call or text us at 719-644-6777. Until next time, let's keep building your residential and commercial dream in the greater Colorado Springs area.