Hudson Valley Preservation, a remodeling partnership located in Sherman, has fit its design-build program to make clients”™ home projects interactive on all fronts.
The integrated design-and-build program incorporates 24-hour, Web-based communication offering an alternative for homeowners disenchanted by a traditional design-and-bid system.
Founder and managing partner of Hudson Valley Preservation Mason Lord describes the approach as holistic, joining client, design and builder.
“Often some of our best clients have been through the general contractor process before and know how much of a headache it can be, and that”™s why they come to us,” said Ward.
“If you”™ve worked with someone and hated the experience, why would you want them back to do something on your house?”
Hudson Valley is adamant that not a single nail is driven until the client sees what he or she is getting in price and construction time.
“It”™s very difficult for the normal person to understand their home from a bird”™s-eye view, which can lead to costly changes ”“ there”™s a huge need for communicating design,” said Lord.
For years, Lord, a 26 year veteran of the industry, watched designers and builders having to decipher each other”™s work and the lack of synergy in the process.
The design forum utilizes a computer program called Chief Architect, the Internet, conference calls and the ability for multiple parties to use separate computer mouses simultaneously.
“The time for changes can be very frustrating and painful and people who aren”™t sure if the builder listens or didn”™t get it, but with the use of the program it”™s clay. We make the changes right in front of you,” said Lord. “So after a two-hour meeting the work has been done and speeds the process up.”
Dan Ward, managing director of mergers and acquisitions at UBS, was able to build an office and sanctuary, that he calls ”˜the Bat Cave,’ at his Candlewood Lake home, with the help of Hudson Valley”™s design forum. He was able to stay abreast of the building progress from as far away as his office in London.
“Because I”™m on the road so much and unable to be up there, I”™m real impressed with the technology that HVP brought to the table,” said Ward. “They used the go-to meeting system with the designer, builders, my wife and I, all in different places watching things being changed in real time. It was very responsive in that manner. It”™s a great example about how you”™re able to act remotely. From an engineering point of view, we could get pretty comfortable with them. Considering the face to face constraints, everything was up front.”
“The online forum is a tool; the reality is it”™s a team that you buy,” said Laura Lurcott, HVP partner, client relations and project facilitator. “For someone like Dan Ward who”™s unbelievably taken in many directions, he still has a vested interest and still wants to be very involved. Though this is not his area of expertise, this allows him to be very involved as well as to be miles away and know what he”™s getting.”
The third HVP partner is Dave Seegers, who acts as the company”™s production coordinator.
Hudson Valley Preservation begins its process by talking with the prospective clients about their goals, examining the existing buildings and properties, identifying practical solutions, and exploring whether the projects are in sync with financial expectations.
“They were really involved with making sure my boat could fit and they also linked the two structures together,” said Ward. “The reality is these guys designed the whole thing. They gave me lots of options and I was able to say yes and no.”
After the layout of the project is formulated, sessions begin with an interactive presentation that includes drawings, a timeline, final costs, details on how the project will be completed and who the team is.
“For busy people, the remote option works very well; a lot of the work that happens when we present is immediate,” said Lord. “They can make changes in front of all the parties involved. It gives them a chance to see opportunities and understand their house better.”
Clients have 24-hour online access to their projects in addition to weekly meetings with their HVP advisor and also are able to submit pictures that are in order chronologically and post concerns as they arise.
“I don”™t think I could have done this project without them; this was really the only option that would have worked for me,” said Ward. “If it were anyone else who was less active and less high-tech, I would have driving up on weekends and wasting my time and I didn”™t have to do any of that. They post pictures online nearly every day so there was no question of what”™s going on and if the work is being done. They give you comfort and peace of mind.
“I can say for sure, I”™ve never found this kind of comfort from everyone else I”™ve worked with,” said Ward. “It was a very thorough process. They really wanted to be interviewed. They posted pictures and interactive updates and called weekly. I told them I hate surprises and they handled everything with the town all the variances that we needed. From start to finish I felt comfortable.
“The best evidence of my comfort with them is that immediately upon completion we engaged them for another project,” said Ward.
HVP offers a two-year warranty and inspects the work every three months and pays to fix anything that”™s not working.
Hudson Valley Preservation is also licensed in New York”™s Putnam, Dutchess and Westchester counties.
