How the work runs
Five phases, and you always know which one you are in.
The walk, the proposal, the build, the finish, the handover.
Los Alamitos, California
Most of what goes wrong on a build goes wrong in the gaps. Between the drawings and the framing. Between the proposal and the invoice. Between what was decided in April and what gets built in July.
You will not be watching those moments, and you should not have to be. What you should be able to do, on any Tuesday, is name the phase your job is in, say who is holding it, and point at the thing that comes out of it.
That is all this page is. Welch & Wandsworth is a California-licensed general contracting firm, led by two principals. More than 120 homes across the greater Orange County and Los Angeles area, and only a few of them at a time.
The five phases
What happens, and who is holding it.
Phase one
The walk
Before there is a proposal, Jason and Benjamin walk the job with you together. They look at the site, the structure and what the work will involve before any numbers are discussed.
What you have at the end of itA thoroughly reviewed job, an agreed scope and everything needed to move into the proposal.
Phase two
The proposal
We price the job line by line, so you can see where the money is going before work begins. Allowances are clearly marked, and we set out the expected project timeline and payment schedule by stage, so you know how the work and payments will progress.
What you have at the end of itA detailed proposal with the scope, costs, allowances, timeline and payment schedule clearly laid out.
Phase three
The build
Both principals are on site while the job is being built. You have their direct numbers from the first walk.
What you have at the end of itTwo direct numbers, and both owners on the job.
Phase four
The finish
Before we call the job finished, we check it against the plans, specifications and agreed finishes. Every detail is reviewed, and anything that is not right is corrected before handover.
What you have at the end of itA home that has been checked, corrected where needed, and finished to the standard agreed at the start.
Phase five
The handover
Once the work is complete, we walk the finished job with you, close out any final items and hand over the permits, warranties and project documents.
What you have at the end of itA completed job, the documentation that goes with it, and a clear record to keep for the future.
Phase two, in detail
An itemized proposal is not a longer proposal. It is a proposal you can argue with.
Most proposals arrive as one number with a paragraph under it. There is nothing in that you can test. You cannot tell which parts are settled and which parts are still a choice, and when the figure moves you cannot tell what moved.
Ours arrives line by line. Allowances are named as allowances rather than folded into the total, so you know where you still have a decision to make and roughly what it is worth. Change one and you can see the line it changed.
Ask any builder you’re talking to for a proposal you can hand to somebody else without redrawing it.
On a rebuild it matters twice over, because the next person to read your proposal is an adjuster. A proposal that has to be re-cut into a carrier's format is a week gone before anybody has picked up a tool.
Both owners are on the job.
Jason Welch takes new construction and site work. Benjamin M. Davies takes interior design and finish. Both have been in construction in the United States since 1992, and they have worked together since 2006.
Jason and Benjamin lead every project from the first walk through construction. We take only a few homes at a time, which means both stay directly involved in the work. You have direct access to them throughout the build.
Proposals, invoices, scheduling and project coordination are handled through the office. Jason and Benjamin remain responsible for the build and the work on site.
Meet Jason and BenjaminYour architect stays yours.
Most firms in this market hand you one contract that covers the drawing and the building together, with their designer at the front of it. It is a real model and it suits some clients. It is not what we are.
We are a general contractor. You bring the architect and the designer you chose, and we build what they drew. If you have not chosen yet, we will tell you who we have worked well with, and the choice stays yours.
Twelve firms are named by name in our project releases, because the people who drew these houses belong on the record with us.
Read the releasesOn a fire rebuild the phases are the same. The decisions land earlier.
Chapter 7A is settled at framing, not at final inspection. Venting and eave detailing are decided when the frame goes up. Deck assemblies are decided before the deck is ordered. Every one of those sits inside phase three, and left to the end each one becomes a change order and a delay.
The Altadena page walks each standard in turn, with the section it is permitted against, what it looks like on a job, and the point in the build where it has to be decided.
The Altadena fire rebuild pagePhase one starts with a walk, and it does not cost anything.
Tell us what you have. A lot, a set of drawings, a house that burned, or a kitchen you have been thinking about for three years. Jason and Benjamin will come and look at it with you together, before anyone talks about a number.
Start a conversation