Your Dreamie Remodel Plan gives you a concept design and budget that makes the rest of your remodel journey more efficient. Your plan sets clear expectations with partners, which means fewer surprises or costly revisions.
Here’s how to use it to move forward with your remodel.
One question we frequently hear: do I need to hire an architect if I already have a Dreamie Remodel Plan? If you need permits for your remodel, the answer is probably yes. However, you should be able to save thousands by skipping the up front exploratory design process that an architect usually does.
Typically an architect designs in 3 phases:
1) Schematic/Conceptual Design, known as SD,
2) Design Documentation, known as DD, and
3) Construction Documentation, known as CD.
Dreamie has taken care of the first step, SD, which should save you about 1/3 of the total fees your architect will charge.
DD and CD consist of adding additional views and detail, like ceiling plans, electrical plans, and additional measurements for your contractor.
Dreamie gives you architectural files in Revit, an industry-leading CAD software. Your architect can save a ton of time—and lower the fees they charge you—by starting with the plans Dreamie has created. (Revit files can also be converted to other formats if your architect uses different software.) Be sure to let them know they’ll be doing less work for you and should charge lower fees.
Note that if your project is not too complex, you may also skip an architect and simply have a draftsperson create the permit-ready plans.
If you don't need permits, you may also skip straight to hiring a contractor.
A Dreamie Remodel Plan enables you to get detailed bids from a contractor before you spend tens of thousands of dollars on an architect. General Contractors are experts in building things, not designing them. The Dreamie Remodel Plan provides clear direction on the design scope of your project and should be more than enough for them to come back with a bid for the work.
Contractors will always want to see the house themselves prior to giving a bid, but you can also share your plans with them ahead of that appointment so they can familiarize themselves with your home, the existing layout, and what you want to do.
As you review actual bids from contractors, use the estimated construction costs within your Dreamie Remodel Plan as a tool to validate whether the project cost that the contractor has shared is within an acceptable range. Dreamie cost estimates are not designed to predict “actual” cost, but rather serve as guidance for you, the homeowner, in knowing where to pressure test a GC’s cost assumptions and to keep them honest. Knowledge is power!
An interior designer can help you pick all of the finishes in your remodel. While it seems simple at first, there are many decisions to be made—flooring, cabinets, lighting, mirrors, paint, faucets, etc—all with different styles and brands. You can give your Dreamie Remodel Plan to an interior designer so they can understand your remodel and help make selections that your contractor will install.
If your project requires structural changes (e.g., moving walls), you likely will need to hire a structural engineer. You can send the Dreamie remodel plans (including the Revit files) to the engineer to work from. The engineer may also do additional follow-up with your architect.
