Concept
The first step in building a home comes with the decision or realization that you cannot find exactly what you want, where you want it, in an existing structure. At this point, there are two primary options: build a new house or renovate an existing house. Alley Tech Homes™ will help you to evaluate the aspects of size & features, examine time commitments, and financial responsibilities if you should decide to build. If everything is agreeable and the decision is made to build, the next step is to find the right location.

Land
Searching for the perfect lot can be difficult and time-consuming. We will work directly with you to evaluate the feasibility of your land selection for building.  The real expertise that we have to offer is the ability to take your budget, wants and desires and turn them into a unique floor plan well suited to your needs. We are able to examine the land for ease of building, topography, potential construction problems and possible limitations. Our experience in building over the years enables us to pass on to you our hard earned lessons and opinions, which can save you some serious headaches and cost overruns later.

Design and Floor Plans
Once you have settled on the place to build, it is time to move on to the Design Phase. There are two distinct ways to approach the design phase, both of which can produce the same results if you hire firms with experience. The differences will be evident in service and expense. The first option is to hire a firm that does both design work and construction. This is commonly known as "Design/Build", and is what Alley Homes™ represents. With this option, you lose having an architect as your representative and the associated cost; at the same time, you gain the ease of having a single contact for the duration of the project, you have a party responsible for not only the design aspects of your home but also takes responsibility for the ultimate price to be on budget. You gain the expertise of a company that knows not just how to design a good plan but how best to design it to keep costs down. 

The second option is to hire a licensed architect or Home designer to work with you on the drawings and specifications for your home. When hiring the architect/designer, you are hiring him or her to represent you in the Builder-Owner relationship. This is generally referred to as "Full Service" architecture. The design professional joins with you in the building process from design concept to completion. If taking this course, we highly recommend that you hire this professional as a participant in the entire process. It is important that those responsible for the design aspects remain involved. Although we are willing to work with plans from another designer or from an architect we do insist that the plans and specifications are complete and the designer takes responsibility for his work. If this is not the case we will insist on redrawing the plans ourselves to insure they are accurate and buildable. Whichever path you choose, we want to be a part of the design process. If working with your architect, we can still provide consultation on cost issues and pragmatics, or "field technology." It is our opinion that the building team and the design team should join forces from the very beginning. This helps to ensure that lofty dreams do not burst the financial bubble. Design, budget, and pragmatics go hand-in-hand. 

Where does the actual design start? With YOU! Your lifestyle, your preferences, your needs.... Pictures, sketches, written and verbal ideas will all help in getting started. The number of bedrooms, bathrooms, living areas, work areas, room orientation all of this information is provided by you. Conceptual drawings are completed first, along with preliminary specifications. Once the concept is worked out with regard to size, number of rooms, and style, the working drawings are completed along with final specifications. From the beginning of the design phase, budget is a major consideration in creating the plans and specifications. Construction costs are estimated in very broad terms in the beginning; the margins are narrowed after the conceptual plans are completed, and a contract price is given after the plans and specifications are finalized. At each stage, alterations can be made to achieve the desired budget costs. Alley Tech Homes™ can give you the average cost to build per square foot but it can be a meaningless number without a great deal of clarification. Does it include garages, driveway, landscaping, Well/Septic, decks, patios, different floor covering costs, style/species of trim and doors, cabinets quality, plumbing fixtures quality? All of these things make a difference in cost and vary from one project to the next depending upon our clients' preferences. What is good quality to one customer can often be sub standard to the next. Every project is priced according to the materials, labour, fees, and the amount of supervision, which will be required to complete that particular project by the plans and specifications.

Financial Considerations
Once we’ve agreed on a concept, the project will be prepared into phases. We will begin implementation starting with the first phase – You won’t have to make any payment to us. However, a deposit covering the total cost of the first phase will be made with a designated bank. Subsequent payments will need to be made based upon various stages of construction being started and completed. 
Payments shall be made only after completion of each phase. 

Contracts
The contract is the binding agreement between you and Alley Tech Homes™. Our Customer Construction Contract is an exceptionally detailed document designed to represent your home on paper. It includes the Limited Warranty, Specifications, and Selection Sheet. The level of detail in the contract is important to minimize any misunderstandings. We want you to read the entire document, ask questions and understand everything it says before you sign it. This is your home and we will build it according to what the contract says. 

Change Orders
During the process of construction, circumstances may arise which necessitate changes being made to the plans or specifications. When this occurs, a Change Order will be issued to authorize those changes. Changes to the plans or specifications will not be executed without the changes and the associated costs agreed upon by both parties, in written form. Even when the change being made is a "no-charge" item, documentation of such is still necessary and will be handled no differently. 
Changes are natural and should be expected. 

Selections
One of the early steps in the building of your home will be making selections. This will involve choosing the style, color, brand, finish, etc. of many of the items that go in the house. Included among these items are cabinets and countertops, appliances, ceramic tile, carpet, vinyl flooring, light fixtures, paint colors, bath and door hardware, and wallpaper. At Alley Tech Homes™, we are very proud to offer our clients the benefit of "one-stop shopping" for many of these items right in our office! We have an extensive array of samples and catalogs from different sources from which you may choose. Our objective is to make this step of the process as convenient and efficient as possible for you. In order to maintain the flow of construction on your home, it is critical that the selection process be completed within the timeframe specified in your contract. Delays in selecting finish items often lead to delays in the completion of the project. Again, we will work with you to remain on schedule.

The Construction Phase
This can be the most exciting phase of the entire building process. Finally, the pieces begin to fall together into something tangible. We will keep you informed about the details of your project. 

Site Visits
As the property owner, we want you to be very involved in the construction of your home. We encourage you to make visits to the job periodically and observe its progress. Except for casual conversation, we ask that you not communicate with the workers regarding the job to prevent interference which can lead to costly delays. When you need to ask questions or request changes, please communicate with our office. It can be helpful to schedule your visits so that the Construction Manager can join you; this will permit immediate responses to your questions or concerns. 

Communication
All roads have bumps and potholes, and the road to building your new home is no exception. We have worked hard to alleviate as many potential problems as possible, but glitches do occur from time to time. When such things happen, we will deal with them in a professional manner and will work to resolve the situation as quickly and with as little interruption in construction as possible. Communication is key to most successful relationships. As a standard practice, we make every effort to maintain detailed written records of all decisions made which affect the construction of your home. Please feel free to ask questions at any time along the way. We will attempt to always provide you with prompt, courteous, and knowledgeable answers, and you can expect us to be open and honest with you at all times. 

Home Owner Orientation
One of the most important components of our customer service program is the Homeowner orientation. Typically just before move-in or shortly thereafter, we will spend a couple of hours going over your new home and making you familiar with its features and important maintenance issues. 

Builder's Warranty
All of our clients receive a one-year or an optional two year limited warranty on their homes.  This warranty covers defects in most materials and labor used in the construction of your home. In addition manufacturers offer extended warranties for various lengths of time on individual products. We are also happy to assist you with any problems or questions that come up as the years go by regarding your home. Please refer to the warranty statement for details. 

Your Continued Satisfaction
Our desire to maintain open communication with you continues after your move-in. We would rather not build your home than end up with an unhappy customer at move-in. We will be sending you a survey after you have had time to settle in to your new home and we want your honest comments and suggestions for improvement. As time passes, if you find your housing needs changing, we would be happy to build for you again. We also appreciate any referrals of friends and relatives to us for their building needs. We understand that the best advertising we can have is Happy Customers and we want to add you to our long list.