Before design
Where the Money Actually Goes
Owners are surprised by the same four line items on nearly every project, and all four are visible before design starts.
Bring the drawings at whatever stage they are. An honest range and the decisions that move it, before anyone quotes.
The four that surprise people
None of these is hidden. They are simply larger than owners expect, and they are decided early.
- Site and ground works — dewatering, foundations, drainage, seawall. On waterfront lots this can rival the house.
- Envelope and glazing. Impact glass at the areas modern designs want is frequently the single largest line.
- Systems — full automation, generator, elevator, pool, dock, marine-grade HVAC.
- Finishes, where allowances and reality diverge most sharply.
What does not move the number much
Square footage, past a point. Adding area to a house you are already building is comparatively efficient — the site work, the systems and the envelope details are largely already committed.
Which is why the useful early conversation is about ambition rather than size. A slightly smaller house with the three rooms that matter done exceptionally will cost less and satisfy more than a larger one finished evenly.
The honest range
We will give you a range with the three or four decisions that will move it, and we will not give you a single precise-looking number against an unresolved design.
A precise number at concept stage is a number designed to win the job, and everybody in this industry knows it.
FAQ
Common questions
- What does luxury construction cost per square foot?
- A range too wide to be useful without the site and the drawings. Anyone quoting one before seeing both is guessing.
- Is a bigger house proportionally more expensive?
- Less than people expect. Site work, systems and envelope details are largely committed already.
- What is the biggest single line?
- On a waterfront Florida house, frequently the glazing or the ground works.
- When can you give a real number?
- When the drawings support one. Before that we give a range and the decisions that move it.
Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.