Our Process
Custom Home Process
Having a custom home built can be an overwhelming task. Having a reliable team to oversee the process can make it seem effortless. At Pacwest Builders we have assembled some of Central Oregon's top professionals in the industry and believe our greatest strength lies in our ability to work as a team. From conception to the completion of your custom home, remodel, or commercial project, you will be able to rely on the Pacwest team to lead the way and to help you make smart decisions throughout the entire process. With in-house architectural design, interior design, and project management, Pacwest is able to ensure that every project stays on budget and turns out as planned. In addition to helping you create the home of your dreams, we stand behind our work and make sure any customer service or warranty issues are addressed promptly.
Architectural Design
Our in-house architect, Spencer Williams, leads the Pacwest building design team. Spencer graduated from The University of Oregon School of Architecture and has had the pleasure and good fortune of working with Steve Van Sant since 2005. Steve Van Sant brings with him 35 plus years of the finest quality custom home design experience. They have designed in most developments in Central Oregon including Pronghorn, The Highlands, Broken Top, Crosswater, Awbrey Butte, Awbrey Glen, Sunriver, Widgi Creek, Eagle Crest , Black Butte, Sunrise, Tetherow, as well as projects in other parts of Oregon and California. They formulate a design concept based on your building site, programmatic requirements, desired aesthetic, target budget, and architectural design standards of your particular development. Approaching your design from multiple angles helps to ensure that no opportunity is overlooked and no detail is missed. Having the ability to review current pricing with the construction side of the company gives them a leg up on independent architects or designer, who have more trouble accurately predicting current construction costs in our ever-changing market, which can lead to blown budgets before even breaking ground on your project.
The architectural design team is consulting with the interior designers early in the process, but after the preliminary design is established is when they really get involved in the project. Our lead interior designer, Kristy Yozamp, is very good at picking up on the aesthetic you’re going for and providing options that work with your budget and vision for your home. Kristy and her intern, McKenzie Hughes, work with our clients as much or as little as needed to help make selections ranging from large items like appliances and plumbing fixtures down to the details like cabinet hardware, furniture, and even artwork. They help our clients make selections at showrooms in Bend and Portland to make sure everything fits with your desired aesthetic and budget. They also work closely with our clients, subcontractors, and vendors to make sure everyone is on the same page and you’re getting the most bang for your buck without surprises.
Interior Design
Construction
Our operations manager, Tye Farnsworth, provides current cost information to the architectural design team as the design evolves to keep the project on budget, but the bulk of his work starts after the preliminary design is established. At that point, he creates a preliminary budget based on realistic allowances and current job costs. Any necessary adjustments are made to the design and then he waits until final, build-ready, construction documents are created. At this point we’re ready to assemble final number and break ground. Whether it’s Tye or Rex Gatton, project manager, running your job, you can rest assured that they will be paying attention to the details and making sure that everything is done per plan and that you’re not paying for any work that hasn’t been performed or materials that haven’t been delivered. We’ve worked with many of the same subcontractors for years, which simplifies things since they know our expectations and we know their strengths and weaknesses. Finding the right sub for a job and managing them well is critical and often makes the difference between a job that is on time and on budget and one that runs over in both of those categories, which isn’t good for anyone involved. We also employ a full-time clean up crew, headed-up by Brad Moltas, to ensure that all of our job sites stay clean, which not only looks good, but helps keep everyone safe.
With the team we have assembled, we feel that we can best manage project costs and client expectations. Beyond the people that you work with on a daily basis, described above, we have the best financial team in the market. Our controller, Joanie Cooper Pence, watches all of the money coming in and going out, ensuring that you don’t pay for any services that haven’t been performed or materials that haven’t been delivered while also making sure that our subcontractors and vendors are paid in full and on time. Tracking costs and verifying that they don’t fluctuate between quoting and invoicing is essential to making sure that budget expectations are met and that you aren’t paying more than you should be. Having a team member responsible for this aspect of the work allows everyone else to focus on their jobs to keep everything moving forward smoothly, knowing that nothing is slipping through the cracks.
Accounting
Unlike many builders, we are not finished with a job when we hand the keys over. Our relationship with our clients continues for years after we finish building their home and we stand behind our work longer than required by Oregon law to ensure that your home continues to perform for you long after you have moved in. If any issues arise on homes we’ve completed, it is our first priority to address those issues, making sure it is taken care of as quickly as possible so our homeowners don’t have to worry about it.