Building a custom home is a unique and deeply personal experience. At OceanBlu Design Build, we guide you through every step with a meticulous and transparent design-build process that ensures your vision becomes reality. From the initial consultation to the final construction, our method is designed to deliver a resilient, aesthetically stunning, and highly functional home that meets your lifestyle needs.
Charting the Course
Design Time
At OceanBlu Design Build, the journey to your dream home begins with our Introduction Meeting, where we take the time to understand your vision and lifestyle.
Prior to this meeting, we provide a brief questionnaire designed to help us get to know you better. Questions include how you plan to live in your home, which features matter most to you and your family, what your hobbies and interests are, how many bedrooms and bathrooms you envision, and what your ideal home size is.
This meeting is your opportunity to share your ideas, goals, and inspiration. Feel free to bring reference materials, images, or sketches to give us insight into your unique preferences. The more we understand your vision, the better we can bring it to life.
To make this process as convenient as possible, we offer the flexibility of in-person or virtual meetings. Using advanced technology, we ensure seamless communication throughout the design process.
Before moving into the Conceptual Design Phase, we’ll need access to your property and a site survey. Once the Design Agreement is signed, our team will begin crafting a custom home design that reflects your aspirations and lifestyle.
Anchoring the Vision
Conceptual Design
At OceanBlu Design Build, the Conceptual Design phase is where your custom home’s vision begins to take form. Using straightforward diagrams, we outline the basic layout of your home, addressing both your specific needs and the requirements of the environment, including local regulations. This phase establishes the flow and functionality of the space.
During this stage, you’ll also start shaping the home’s aesthetic by selecting preferences for cabinets, appliances, flooring, tile, and plumbing fixtures. Before moving into the Schematic Design phase, we provide a preliminary Box Drawing of the projected floor plan. This ensures all requested spaces are accounted for before we delve into the details of the interior and exterior design features.
Preliminary Charting
Schematic Design
At OceanBlu Design Build, the Schematic Design Phase is where your vision takes shape. Our team collaborates closely with you, leveraging our expertise in design and environmental factors to create a concept that aligns with your goals while meeting all federal, state, and local regulations.
We integrate key structural and safety features into the design to help you achieve optimal insurance rates. For example, we design roof systems with secondary water barriers, specify the strongest roof deck attachments, and ensure the roof is securely tied from the truss to the pilings. Each floor’s exterior walls are constructed using durable masonry, ensuring long-term resilience.
By this phase, you’ll have approved the preliminary layout of your home. We then refine the floor plans to define room sizes, utility placements, and amenities. We’ll also discuss the placement and orientation of your home to maximize functionality and aesthetics.
Your feedback is crucial as we finalize the size and location of spaces, both inside and out. This includes decisions on exterior features like balconies, porches, pools, landscaping, stairs, and railings.
Our team will also guide you in selecting a design style that reflects your aesthetic preferences. You’ll receive a series of rough sketches that outline the project’s general shape, site arrangement, exterior design, and room layouts, giving you a clear vision of your future home.
Rigging the Details
Design Development
During the Design Development Phase, we build upon the feedback gathered during the Schematic Design Phase to refine and expand the design concepts. As the most in-depth part of the process, this phase is where your vision truly begins to take shape.
Our team utilizes advanced 3D modeling to provide a comprehensive preview of your home’s final spatial layout. This includes the exterior shell—complete with windows and doors—and the interior floorplan, showcasing room flow and functionality.
With this realistic visualization, we collaborate closely to address any design changes you’d like to implement. As the phase progresses, we also present detailed exterior elevations and high-quality renderings to ensure every element aligns with your expectations.
At the conclusion of this phase, you will formally approve the design. This approval finalizes all homeowner revisions, allowing our team to proceed with the technical and engineering details in the next phase of the project.
Construction Charts
Construction Documents
Once you approve the design, we transform all the ideas, discussions, and refinements into comprehensive construction documents. These detailed plans serve as the blueprint for building your dream home, ensuring every element aligns with the design intent.
At OceanBlu Design Build, we specialize in creating resilient waterfront homes. Our process goes beyond minimum code requirements, incorporating reinforced piling foundations and complete concrete masonry construction on every level. These measures ensure your home is ready to withstand even the most challenging coastal conditions.
Your site plan will detail key elements such as seawall location and height, home elevation, pool placement, neighboring property elevations, and site-specific drainage requirements. Using the geotechnical report, we determine the optimal piling depth, providing a solid foundation.
Additionally, we engineer a home-specific energy calculation based on orientation, insulation, and the use of glass throughout the design. This calculation guides the selection of energy-efficient appliances, lighting, and HVAC systems, ensuring your home is as efficient as it is beautiful.
During this phase, our team meticulously examines every detail to ensure nothing is overlooked. While this step can be time-intensive, it’s crucial to delivering a home of exceptional quality. Your patience during this process is greatly appreciated, and we share your excitement as we finalize the details that will bring your vision to life.
Treasure Chest
Budget
At OceanBlu Design Build, we utilize your construction documents to secure accurate pricing and obtain the necessary permits for your home.
Your budget is meticulously detailed, accounting for every material—from concrete blocks to structural steel—ensuring every aspect of your build is covered.
We actively seek engineering solutions to maximize value and efficiency while anticipating and addressing potential challenges. This includes close collaboration with trade partners, engineers, and city officials to evaluate all options and streamline the process.
Before construction begins, our Estimating Department delivers a comprehensive, all-inclusive budget based on your plans, specifications, and selections. We then meet with you to review the budget in detail, providing full transparency every step of the way.
Steering the Voyage
Construction Administration
At OceanBlu Design Build, we bring extensive experience in construction to ensure your vision is brought to life with precision and care.
Our design team conducts regular site visits to collaborate closely with the build team, addressing concerns as they arise and providing additional documentation or drawings as needed to achieve the ideal realization of your design.
When you partner with OceanBlu Design Build, you gain a dedicated team that ensures your dream home becomes a reality. With expert craftsmanship and a commitment to excellence, we take pride in creating homes that stand the test of time.