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The Design Intent Program

Your drawings leave. Your reputation doesn't.

Hand off the build. Not the relationship.

For greater Phoenix designers and architects. Design-build remodeling since 2001.

Book Coffee with Scott

 

The Moment

You find out when you see it.

You walk the job on a Thursday. The niche is in the wrong bay. The reveal you drew is gone, replaced with a bullnose someone had on the truck. Tile ran to the ceiling on one wall and stopped at the soffit on the other.

Nobody called you.

Now you have a conversation to have with your client, whose money paid for it, about why the space is not the one you designed. You did not make that decision. You will answer for it anyway.

  • The substitution nobody mentioned until it was installed.
  • The call that went to your client instead of to you.
  • The field problem that came back described as a design problem.

Every designer has a version of this story. Most have several.

 

The Honest Part

Something on every project needs a decision nobody planned for.

We are not going to tell you our projects run without surprises. In over 25 years, none has. A wall opens up and the framing is not what the drawings assumed. A fixture goes discontinued between specification and order. The slab is out of level by an inch and a half.

The unexpected was never the problem. The problem is that the industry never decided who answers when it shows up.

Design-then-bid leaves roughly half the decisions on a remodel unassigned. Not undecided. Unassigned. Nobody was ever given the job. So they get made in the field, by whoever happens to be standing there, under time pressure, choosing the fastest visible path.

That is the villain here, and it is a process, not a person.

When a decision belongs to no one, it lands on your drawings. And when the finished space does not match the design, the drawings are what everyone looks at.

We published the full version of this argument, written for homeowners: Is your project ready for a fixed-price proposal?

 

The Structure

Two agreements. One team.

Half One · Your Client Stays Yours

The question most designers want to ask and mostly do not: are you going to take my client?

No. And not because we promise not to. Because of how the work is set up.

Your agreement

You and your client. Design, specification, and design oversight through completion. Your fee, your scope, your relationship.

Our agreement

Us and your client. Construction, schedule, trades, and the fixed price. Our scope, our accountability.

Neither of us is a subcontractor to the other. Two firms, one homeowner, and the homeowner keeps both of us.

Two agreements, one team The homeowner holds one agreement with the design firm for design, specification, and design oversight, and a separate agreement with Hochuli for construction, schedule, trades, and the fixed price. The two firms are linked as peers, with neither reporting to the other. The Homeowner SIGNS BOTH AGREEMENTS YOUR AGREEMENT OUR AGREEMENT Your Design Firm Design Specification Design oversight through completion Your fee. Your scope. Your relationship. Hochuli Design & Remodeling Construction Schedule and trades The fixed price Our scope. Our accountability. Agreement with the homeowner Collaboration between peers, not a reporting line Two agreements, one team The homeowner holds one agreement with the design firm for design, specification, and design oversight, and a separate agreement with Hochuli for construction, schedule, trades, and the fixed price. The two firms are linked as peers, with neither reporting to the other. The Homeowner SIGNS BOTH AGREEMENTS YOUR AGREEMENT OUR AGREEMENT Your Design Firm Design Specification Design oversight through completion Your fee. Your scope. Your relationship. Peers, not a reporting line Hochuli Design & Remodeling Construction Schedule and trades The fixed price Our scope. Our accountability.
The homeowner signs two separate agreements. One with your design firm, covering design, specification, and design oversight through completion. One with Hochuli, covering construction, schedule, trades, and the fixed price. The two firms work side by side as peers. Neither is a subcontractor to the other, and neither reports to the other.

Half Two · Your Design Stays Yours

You have had a design changed without being asked. Something got substituted, simplified, or quietly dropped, and the first you heard of it was when you saw it.

We will not tell you nothing ever changes on a remodel. Things change. A product gets discontinued, a cost comes back higher than anyone expected, a wall opens up and the framing is not what the drawings assumed.

What we will tell you is who decides.

The only person who gets to simplify your design is you.

  1. We call you before anything changes. Not after.
  2. If something has to come out for cost or constructability, we bring you options and you decide with your client. We do not value engineer on our own.
  3. You are in the room for every decision that touches your design.
  4. When your client asks what something costs, we answer in front of you, not behind you.
  5. We do not solicit design work from your client. Not during the project, not after it.
  6. The relationship goes back to you at the end. Your client's next project should be your project.

 

How We Work Together

Every stage, every fee, published.

You will not get a proposal from us without a paid engagement, and we would rather say that here than surprise you with it later. Pricing a set of drawings well takes real hours. Pricing them badly helps nobody, least of all your client. Every fee below credits forward into the project.

Five stages, every fee published An ascending set of five stages with published fees that credit forward into the project. Stage one, the Instant Number, no cost. Stage two, the Feasibility Walk, 250 dollars. Stage three, Plan Review, one percent of projected construction cost with a 2,000 dollar minimum. Stage four, the Firm Proposal, two percent with a 4,000 dollar minimum for a complete set or four percent with an 8,000 dollar minimum when open items still need closing. Stage five, Build, under a remodeling agreement at a fixed price. EVERY FEE CREDITS FORWARD INTO THE PROJECT 1 2 3 4 5 The Instant Number No cost The Feasibility Walk $250 credited forward Plan Review 1% of construction cost $2,000 minimum credited forward The Firm Proposal 2% / $4,000 minimum or 4% / $8,000 minimum Build Remodeling agreement Fixed price in writing Stage Four is the only fee that moves. Complete set 2% of construction cost, $4,000 minimum Open items remain 4% of construction cost, $8,000 minimum The more complete your set, the less this costs. That is deliberate. Five stages, every fee published Five stages with published fees that credit forward into the project. Stage one, the Instant Number, no cost. Stage two, the Feasibility Walk, 250 dollars. Stage three, Plan Review, one percent of projected construction cost with a 2,000 dollar minimum. Stage four, the Firm Proposal, two percent with a 4,000 dollar minimum for a complete set or four percent with an 8,000 dollar minimum when open items still need closing. Stage five, Build, under a remodeling agreement at a fixed price. EVERY FEE CREDITS FORWARD 1 The Instant Number No cost 2 The Feasibility Walk $250, credited forward 3 Plan Review 1% of construction cost, $2,000 minimum credited forward 4 The Firm Proposal 2% / $4,000 minimum for a complete set 4% / $8,000 minimum if open items remain 5 Build Remodeling agreement, fixed price in writing Stage Four is the only fee that moves. Complete set 2% / $4,000 minimum Open items remain 4% / $8,000 minimum The more complete your set, the less this costs.
Five stages, every fee published, and every fee credits forward into the project. Stage one, the Instant Number, no cost. Stage two, the Feasibility Walk, $250. Stage three, Plan Review, 1% of projected construction cost with a $2,000 minimum. Stage four, the Firm Proposal, 2% with a $4,000 minimum when your set is complete, or 4% with an $8,000 minimum when open items still need closing. Stage five, Build, under a remodeling agreement at a fixed price. Stage four is the only fee that moves, and the more complete your set, the less it costs.

Stage One

The Instant Number

No cost

Five online estimators and published pricing across every project type we build. Hand your client a real range in your first meeting, before anyone draws anything.

Kitchen Estimator Bathroom Estimator Whole-Home Estimator Addition Estimator ADU / Guest House Estimator
See full pricing

Stage Two

The Feasibility Walk

$250, credited forward

One hour at the property, before you draw. What is possible, what will be expensive to attempt, and where the investment lands. Written recap within two business days.

Book the Feasibility Walk ($250)

Stage Three

Plan Review

1% of projected construction cost · $2,000 minimum · credited forward

You bring the set. We check it against what it takes to build, and tell you exactly what is still open. You leave knowing what is missing, whether or not you build with us.

Stage Four

The Firm Proposal

2% / $4,000 minimum, or 4% / $8,000 minimum

If your set is complete, the Firm Proposal is 2% of projected construction cost with a $4,000 minimum. If open items still need closing, we close them with you: 4%, $8,000 minimum. Every Firm Proposal opens with a plan check, and if a set does not pass, the fee converts to a Plan Review and your client pays only the difference.

The more complete your set, the less this costs. That is deliberate.

Stage Five

Build

Project

Remodeling agreement, fixed price in writing, and you in the room the whole way.

There is no Project Development Agreement in this path. That rung exists for projects our in-house team designs from scratch. You are the design.

 

How It Starts

Working together takes three steps.

1

Have coffee

Twenty minutes, no pitch. You see exactly who you would be putting in front of your client before you ever bring us a project.

2

Bring us a project

We price it in stages, and you stay in the room for every decision that touches your design.

3

Build it as drawn

We hand the client back to you, and your name goes on a space that matches your drawings.

Book Coffee with Scott

 

Meet Your Builder

I have been married to my designer for over 25 years.

Scott Hochuli, Founder, Hochuli Design & Remodeling Team. Runtime 1:35.

Read the transcript

If you design homes for a living, you already know the moment I'm about to describe. You walk the job. Something is already built and it's not what you drew. The reveal is gone. The niche is in the wrong bay, or the tile layout or cabinet trim details changed, and nobody called you. Now you get to be the one to explain that to your client whose money is paying for it. You did not make that decision and you're going to have to answer for it anyway.

I know what that cost you, and I didn't learn it from a seminar. I've been married to my designer for over 25 years. Lorrie brings me ideas that shouldn't work. A ceiling detail nobody has framed before. A cantilever with no obvious way to hold it up. My job, our entire career, has been to figure out how to pull it off. I've never once wished I could simplify or change one of her ideas. But rather, I wished I had more time, better framing, and a supplier who returns calls. But that's a different thing altogether.

So here's how this works. When you bring us a project, you keep your agreement with your client. We hold ours. Neither of us works for the other one. We call you before anything changes, not after. If something has to come out for cost, we bring you options and you decide with your client. We do not solicit design work from the people you introduce us to. And the only person who gets to simplify your design is you.

And if that sounds like the way you would want to work, the whole program is on this page, every stage and every fee. Or let's grab a coffee together. 20 minutes, no sales pitch, just coffee and a chance to get to know one another.

Lorrie brings me ideas that should not work. A ceiling detail nobody has framed before. A cantilever with no obvious way to support it. A material used somewhere it was not meant to go.

My job, for our entire career, has been to figure out how to pull it off.

That is the whole reason this program exists. I did not learn to respect designers from a seminar. I learned it standing in a kitchen at seven in the morning with a drawing in my hand, working out how to build something I would never have thought of.

I have never once wished I could simplify or change one of Lorrie's ideas.

I have wished I had more time, better framing, and a supplier who returns calls. That is a different thing.

So when your drawings show up here, they get treated the way hers do. Not as a suggestion. As the point.

Scott Hochuli

Founder, Hochuli Design & Remodeling Team · Author of Crush Expectations · Arizona ROC 173428

 

Mutual Fit

This is not built for every firm, and we would rather say so now.

This works well if

  • Your projects start at $50,000 and up, or fold into something larger
  • You want to stay involved through construction rather than hand off and exit
  • Your clients care more about the finished result than the lowest number
  • You would rather have a real price late than an optimistic one early

This is not the right fit if

  • You need drawings priced at no cost
  • You are collecting three numbers to hand your client the lowest one
  • You want the builder to execute silently and stay out of design conversations
  • Your client's investment range and the design are still far apart, and nobody wants to say so

We take on a limited number of projects a year so that Scott is personally involved in every one of them. That is a deliberate ceiling, not a growth stage. If we are not the right team for a project, we will tell you early, while you still have room to bring in someone else.

 

What The Industry Says

Ask the people who have watched us work.

Homeowner reviews tell you whether a project turned out well. These are from people who were on the job: a designer, a fellow contractor, and a trade partner. They saw how decisions got handled.

“

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Highly recommend the team at Hochuli Design for your next remodel. The CEO, Scott is a pleasure to work with and is extremely professional. Great company to work with!

Jillian M.

Interior Designer

“

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

As a fellow professional in the remodeling industry, I've had the opportunity to observe the work of Hochuli Design and Remodeling Team, and they operate at a very high level. Their team communicates well and pays close attention to detail. I have a great deal of respect for their team and would confidently recommend them to anyone looking for a trusted remodeling partner.

Christian R.

General Contractor

“

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Hochuli Design & Remodel hired me as a subcontractor for a kitchen remodel in Gilbert. Devan is a total professional and such a joy to work with! The kitchen remodel was beautiful. I couldn't recommend this company enough!

Jamoe

Subcontractor · Gilbert Kitchen Remodel

Design-build remodeling in greater Phoenix since 2001 · Arizona ROC 173428, verify at azroc.gov · Five NARI Contractor of the Year awards · Best of Houzz · 4.9 stars across 100+ reviews · Past president, Greater Phoenix NARI · Allied ASID on staff

 

Common Questions

The Questions Designers Ask Us Most

Straight answers. No runaround.

  • Because Lorrie is one person and she is booked. Our in-house team designs projects that come to us without a designer. When you bring us a project, you are the designer. We do not reassign your project internally and we do not pitch design services to your client.

    It also runs the other way. When a homeowner comes to us without a designer and our own calendar is full, that project goes to a partner firm.

  • No, and not because we promise not to. You hold your agreement with your client. We hold ours. Neither of us is a subcontractor to the other, and the relationship goes back to you at the end.

  • Yes. Pricing a set well takes real hours, and pricing it badly helps nobody. Plan Review is 1% of projected construction cost with a $2,000 minimum, and it credits forward.

    You leave knowing exactly what is still open in your set, whether or not your client builds with us.

  • We call you. Not your client. We bring you what we are seeing, what it would take, and what the alternatives cost, and you decide how to handle it with your client. We do not simplify your design on our own.

  • That conversation happens with all three of us in it. We show where the money is, you decide what protects the design, and your client makes the call with both of us in the room.

    What we will not do is take cost out quietly and let you find it at the walkthrough.

  • Kitchens, bathrooms, whole-home remodels, additions, and ADUs across greater Phoenix, Scottsdale, and the East Valley. Projects start at $50,000, or fold into something larger.

  • Coffee. Twenty minutes, no pitch, so you know exactly who you would be putting in front of your client before you ever bring us a project. You can book a time below.

 

Let's Start With Coffee

Coffee with Scott

One builder. Your design. No surprises.

Twenty minutes, no pitch. You see exactly who you would be putting in front of your client before you ever bring us a project.

Scott Hochuli, founder of Hochuli Design and Remodeling Team
You'll be meeting with Scott Hochuli, founder. Hochuli Design & Remodeling Team
 

Prefer to reach out directly? Give us a call at 602-451-0323.