FAQs

Home new construction is a process that can take as long as a year or as long as three years, depending on the size and characteristics of the house. Many lots in Chicago’s North Shore Area are unusually shaped, making some of the work difficult and forcing the construction of several stories. Also, the waterlogged terrain is a major impediment to the general contractor and extends construction time.

Integrity Construction Consulting has its base in Wheeling, but we provide our services in Glenview, Chicago, Northbrook, Evanston, Highland Park, Deerfield, Winnetka, Glencoe, Lake Forest, Park Ridge, Wheeling, Barrington, Northfield and Buffalo Grove. Occasionally, we also appear in Waukegan, Kenosha and Milwaukee.

A good custom home builder is an advocate for the homeowner as well as an integral and collaborative member of the design team. Take a look at our most frequently asked questions. They work with the homeowner and design to team to help establish a realistic budget for the project and then monitor the cost and scope through the design and construction process.

Yes! The extra time and money spent on designing, building, and settling into your custom home, will be worth it if you plan to make it your home for years to come.

Absolutely! We work with many realtors and are contacted by homeowners who want to sell their home directly to us. In our market, typically the most difficult part of the entire building process is identifying and successfully purchasing a lot that suits your ability to build your dream home within your budget. Integrity Construction, Inc. has the inside track to lots for sale – pre-market listings and immediately when good properties become available.

With your vacant plot of land, you‘re free to build your own house. That is, as long as you‘ve received the proper approvals from your local municipality, including permits to build, approval of the size and placement of the structure and confirmation that the home plans meet local zoning and code ordinances.

The lot size will depend on the dimensions of the home you want to build.  Each jurisdiction has its own rules regarding lot coverage (how much of the lot the house and driveway can cover) and setbacks (all jurisdictions require the house to be a certain distance from the front of the lot, the sides and back). We will do a lot feasibility study on a lot you currently own or are interested in purchasing.

Integrity Construction Consulting, Inc. (ICC) plays a lead role during the pre-construction phase. During this phase, we will:

• Attend all team meetings addressing any issues with the construction documents, technical aspects of construction means and methods and ongoing cost estimates and scheduling updates.
• Process trade requisitions (ICC) will organize at length a specific list of qualifications, clarifications and operating rules for inclusion with the bid documents to all bidders including methods and procedures that all subcontractors will follow to coordinate their work on site).
• Organize bid packages and spreadsheets (after submitting the bid documents to potential contractors, (ICC) will coordinate and collect bids from said contractors).
• Prequalify bidders (ICC) will organize bid lists identifying qualified subcontractors in each trade based on experience, price, quality of workmanship, local availability and knowledge, attitude, financial capability technical and engineering expertise and current workload) and submit such lists to the client project managers for review and approval
• Develop detailed spreadsheet listing all bidders and items of work being purchased resulting selection of the true lowest bidder.
• Assist in negotiations between low bidders
• Create an approval letter which lists the terms of the selected award, final status of bidders, ICC’s estimated cost for the work being awarded and any qualification variances within the contract document

When building a custom home or starting a remodeling project, the first ideal step is to interview and select a custom home builder as an important member of the team. Although not critical, this is best before engaging with an architect and design team to start laying out a concept and specific plans. Having your builder on your team, reviewing plans and preliminary designs with a keen focus on cost controls and value engineering selections can make the design process efficient and effective, while avoiding future delays and/or costly design rework. One thing that is important to understand is that we are not a cookie-cutter home builder. Many home builders will replicate the core design of their homes over and over again, making only minor changes each time. This helps to keep costs down to a certain extent, but the result is a lot of “custom” homes that look almost exactly the same. We, on the other hand, build our luxury homes for our client’s unique tastes using unique design elements for the area that they live in. You can rest assured that if you work with us, your home will truly be one-of-a-kind.

IntegrityConstrutcionConsutling,Inc. (ICC) will continue to play a lead role during the construction phase. During this phase, we will:

• Create the job schedule
• Provide cost control
• Project phase management
• Oversee project safety
• Provide quality control throughout project duration
• Change Order Control

Job schedule

An essential management tool of any construction project is the job schedule. The accuracy and management of the job schedule determines both the pulse and vitality of the project. ICC follows these prime objectives of the project scheduling system.

• Identifying a method of achieving objectives by developing a flow of work.
• Conveying said flow of work the entire project team
• Monitoring and updating the schedule as necessary to achieve objectives

Once the flow of work is developed, we further break it down into three different schedules:

• Master Schedule – usually done in a simple bar chart form providing a “big picture” look at the total project and forms the basis for subsequent scheduling .
• Detailed Trade Schedule – provides a 5-clay, 10-day or 30-day breakdown of all the required upcoming trade tasks in efforts to prov ide the job site staff a “look ahead”.

Cost Control

After the value of the project has been identified and the owner has accepted the estimate, ICC will monitor construction costs versus the approved estimate. From this point, all funds will be carefully and continuously compared to the approved estimate, which will be communicated between ICC and the owner.

As the project nears completion, ICC will work with the construction team to insure orderly project closeout and transition from construction to actual use.

Quality Control:

We with the owner and architect will conduct all final inspections and monitor the project per project guarantees.

Documentation Control:

ICC will monitor receipt of all operational manuals, “as built” drawings, permits, affidavits and other required documents.

Financial Closeout:

ICC will review and process all final payments and insure receipt of all release of lien certifications.

Project Turnover:

ICC will direct the owner in the operation of the new building. We will assist the owner in evaluating systems performance in the critical break-in-period.

As the project nears completion, ICC will work with the construction team to insure orderly project closeout and transition from construction to actual use.

Quality Control:

We with the owner and architect will conduct all final inspections and monitor the project per project guarantees.

Documentation Control:

ICC will monitor receipt of all operational manuals, “as built” drawings, permits, affidavits and other required documents.

Financial Closeout:

ICC will review and process all final payments and insure receipt of all release of lien certifications.

Project Turnover:

ICC will direct the owner in the operation of the new building. We will assist the owner in evaluating systems performance in the critical break-in-period.

Changes can certainly be made during the construction process, but depending on the nature of the change, it may cause added expense or delays. In general, things like moving the position of a window are not a problem. However, when it comes to moving a load-bearing wall or changing the size of the home, it will be more complicated. Also, the difficulty of making a change depends on how far along the project is. For example, changing the type of finish at the last minute would add more to the cost of the project than making that change early on. That being said, our clients routinely request changes during the building process, so we are used to working them to make sure that they are satisfied with the finished home.