Design-Build Civil Construction
Under design-build you hold one contract and one party is accountable for both the drawings and the work. On civil projects that removes the most common argument in construction: whether a problem is a design issue or a means and methods issue.
We deliver design-build civil work with engineering partners under our contract.
One contract, one accountable party
Design-bid-build separates the party who drew the work from the party who builds it, and puts the owner in the middle of every disagreement between them. On civil work, where conditions are buried and the drawings are always an approximation of the ground, that middle is an uncomfortable place to stand.
Design-build moves that boundary inside a single contract. When a condition differs from what was drawn, it is our problem to solve rather than yours to arbitrate.
Where design-build fits civil work
- Water and sewer infrastructure, including pump stations and transmission mains
- Storm drain and water quality facilities where the treatment approach is still open
- Grading and site development where the design can follow the constructability
- Roadway and drainage improvements under an agency's design criteria
- Remedial and corrective work where the fix has to be engineered before it can be built
- Projects where schedule compression is worth more than design control
Our experience with it
We delivered the Olivenhain Municipal Water District pump station, fore-bay tank, and Water Main Extension No. 144 under design-build. Water district design-build in particular requires that the district's standard specifications and design criteria be genuinely incorporated rather than referenced, because the district inspector will enforce their standard regardless of what the design-builder drew.
What the owner still has to do
Design-build does not remove the owner's work, it changes it. The criteria you set define what you receive, and vague criteria produce the cheapest compliant interpretation. Decisions also have to come faster, because design and construction are overlapping. An owner with a slow approval process gives back the schedule advantage and adds change orders.
The independence rule still applies
Where we are the design-builder, we are not also your construction manager. Owners on design-build projects should retain independent cost and schedule capability precisely because there is no competitive bid after award to validate the price. That side of our practice is available to you on other projects, and on this one you should hire someone else for it.
Design-build scope
- Design criteria review and validation
- Engineering through partner firms
- Permitting and agency submittals
- Constructability driven design decisions
- Guaranteed price development
- Self-performed civil construction
- Subcontractor procurement and management
- Materials procurement and long lead management
- Testing, commissioning, and startup
- Agency inspection and acceptance
- As-built documentation
- Warranty and closeout
How we run this work
Every scope is bid against real quantities and built to the governing agency's standard.
Criteria confirmation
A written confirmation of what we understand you to be buying, before design starts, so the interpretation is agreed rather than assumed.
Design submissions
Progress submittals at agreed milestones for your review against the criteria, with comments tracked to resolution.
Guaranteed price
A price established once the scope is understood, with the basis documented by drawing, specification, and assumption.
Integrated schedule
One schedule covering design, permitting, procurement, and construction, showing where owner decisions sit on the critical path.
Single point accountability
One party responsible for the design and the work, which removes the design versus means and methods argument entirely.
Complete closeout
As-builts, testing records, warranties, O and M information, and agency acceptance under one contract.
Questions we get on this scope
Do you employ the engineers?
No. We deliver design through established engineering partners retained under our contract. You hold one contract with us and we carry the design responsibility.
Is design-build always faster?
Usually, but it depends on you as much as on us. The schedule advantage comes from overlapping design and construction, which requires faster owner decisions. If your approval process is slow, the advantage evaporates.
Should we still hire an independent estimator?
Yes, and we will say so even though it means someone checking our number. Under design-build there is no competitive bid after award to validate the price, so an independent owner side estimate is the only check that exists. Hire a firm other than ours for it on that project.
Can public agencies use design-build?
Many can, under statutory authority that varies by agency type and project value. The applicable code section, procurement method, and prequalification requirements differ between cities, counties, and districts, and confirming that authority is the first step.
Get a bid on design-build civil construction
Send us the plans, the specification, and the schedule you are working to. We will tell you whether we are the right contractor for it and what it will cost.
Send us the project
Tell us the site, the scope, and the deadline. Initial consultations carry no fee and no obligation.