evoDOMUS

For many people, the idea of building a home causes nightmares. Designers who are not tuned in to their client's needs, unreliable contractors and schedule and budget overruns are just a few of the concerns. Here's why building a home with evoDOMUS is so much more convenient.

Watch the construction of an evoDOMUS home below:

The process has a number of defined stages:

Choosing the right piece of land is the beginning of the journey to your new home. Roads leading to your lot need to be at least twenty-five feet wide, with no tight curves or severe slopes. We will also need to know about any obstacles such as power lines or large, low tree branches which might interfere with our delivery vehicles.

If you are unsure about a certain property or need help deciding among a handful of possibilities, contact us to discuss your options or to arrange a site visit. Depending on our availability, this service is free of charge except for our travel expenses and does not commit you to anything further.

If financing is necessary, we highly recommend talking to your lender before you enter into a design contract with evoDOMUS.  If you need assistance finding a lender who is familiar with the particular disbursement schedule needed for modular building, we are happy to give you some recommendations.

This is also a good time to have the topographical and geotechnical surveys performed by local third-party engineers, as these are necessary before we can proceed.

A typical project does begin with a site visit. A representative from evoDOMUS will meet with you at your lot and evaluate the project’s general feasibility. We will review your budget and discuss what you want in your new home. This consultation is free of charge except for reimbursement of our travel expenses. Once you are comfortable the next step is for you to sign our design agreement, which includes a retainer fee of $15,000 - $25,000 (amount dependent on the size of the project). The retainer will be credited toward the purchase price of your home.

The next step is code and zoning research, which happens as we are working with you on the initial designs. Once we have an introductory set of drawings, we run the job through our estimating department. (At this point we are making assumptions about specifications and finishes.  Your final material choices will be nailed down a bit later.) This initial cost estimate will include numbers for site preparation and foundations and basement or crawl space. The estimated cost should be close to your final price, but the finish choices you make during the next phase and any unforeseen requirements in the permitting phase can necessitate changes. (Local labor costs and conditions can also have an impact on the final cost of your home.) Once we have a good set of initial drawings that everyone is happy with, and the preliminary cost estimate, we move on to the next stage in the process.

Once we have an agreed design, and a comfortable estimate for the price of your home, the next step is to sign a second contract with you for the engineering, detailing, and specification phase of the project. At this point we require a second payment of $50,000 to $90,000, depending on the size and complexity of the build. This allows us to draw up the architectural details and interior and exterior elevations of the home, finalize the design of the kitchen, the bathrooms, and the mechanical and electrical systems, and put together an engineering package. At this stage it is advisable for you to have a local contractor selected.

During this phase you will come visit us at our Cleveland showroom to discuss and decide on your specifications. This is an incredibly exciting stage, when evoDOMUS will assist you in making the many important decisions that will personalize your new home. Wall colors, floor coverings such as hardwoods or stone floors, tiles, bathroom fixtures and appliances, your heating and a/c system, built-in furniture, even door handles and electrical are chosen at this time. Once your choices are made, your sales price will be adjusted to include any changes or upgrades selected during the final specification process.

With all decisions made we can then finalize the engineering documents and construction drawings and pull in bids from local contractors for the portion of the work that must be done in the field.

The third phase of working with evoDOMUS begins after you have chosen a local builder. You will now sign one contract with evoDOMUS for the remainder of our services and the cost of the modules and other materials. You will sign a separate contract with the local builder for the services provided on-site. On our end we can then submit drawings for the building permit application, and hopefully will receive your permit within a few weeks. But please bear in mind that permitting times can vary greatly from one community to another.

evoDOMUS’s professionals oversee custom fabrication of your home in their controlled production facility. This off-site manufacturing is where the experienced specialists in the factory excel over other contractors. Every component — walls, ceiling, roof panels, stairs, etcetera — is manufactured in a dry and controlled environment. This protects your valuable house from the elements and allows us to deliver excellent quality. An additional benefit is that the majority of the work is already completed when the modules arrive on site!

As we are working on the off-site production of the modules and foundation panels, your site will be prepared for the delivery of your evoDOMUS home. This includes ensuring adequate access, site clearing, excavation, installation of foundation elements, bringing in utility connections and any additional site features included in the design. This concurrent work cuts the overall construction schedule by up to 4 weeks.

The modules will be delivered and assembled once the foundations are in place. Then your local contractor will need to connect the house to the utility lines, sewer or septic, perform some interior touch-ups, apply the exterior cladding material and install the heating/AC appliances. Depending on the configuration of the home they may also need to install some flooring and/or the kitchen cabinetry. Approximately 4-6 months from the setting the foundations your home will be ready for handover, depending on the size of the home and complexity of the design.

We usually include a budget for driveways and decks in our estimate but not soft landscaping or plantings. This is commonly done by a local landscaping specialist, but it is important to set some money aside for these purposes.