A process that answers the hard questions before they cost money.

A short, structured conversation about what you want to change, what has to stay, and roughly where the project sits in scale and investment. It is where we establish whether Monarch is the right fit for what you are planning — an honest read early is worth more to you than a booked visit that goes nowhere.

• What you want the finished home to do differently
• Approximate scope and investment expectations
• Timeline and any fixed dates the project has to respect
• Whether all decision-makers can take part

We look at the space in person. Existing conditions — how the house is built, where the structure and services run, what the site allows — decide most of what a project can and cannot become, and they are far cheaper to understand now than after a wall is open. You leave the consultation with a clearer picture of what the work involves and what the design stage would look like for your project.

• Walk the spaces the project touches
• Read structure, systems and site constraints
• Separate what is straightforward from what needs investigation
• Outline what the design and preconstruction stage would involve

Before detailed design begins, we frame the project: the probable scope, the decisions that will drive its cost, and a realistic early investment range. This is the alignment step. A number that arrives here is a planning range, honestly labelled as one — enough to decide whether to commit to design, not a quote for unscoped work.

• Draft the probable scope of work
• Name the decisions that will move the budget
• Establish an early planning investment range
• Confirm the project is worth taking into design

You leave with: A defined direction and an early investment range to decide against.

This is where a project is actually resolved. Field measurements, developed layouts, material and fixture selections with their lead times, structural and systems planning, permit strategy, and pricing gathered from the trades who will perform the work. Where a scope requires licensed design professionals, we coordinate with architects and engineers and build to their documents. Preconstruction is professional work with a deliverable you keep — the set of decisions and documents any competent builder would need — which is why it is a stage of the engagement rather than an unlimited free estimate.

• Field measurements and existing-condition documentation
• Developed layouts and design direction
• Material, fixture and finish selections with lead times
• Structural, systems and permit planning
• Coordination with architects and engineers when required
• Scope priced by the trades who will build it

You leave with: Drawings, a written scope, resolved selections, a construction sequence, and a price that describes that specific project.

Design and preconstruction is a defined, chargeable stage — scoped and quoted for your specific project during the consultation, so you know what it involves before you commit to it.

The developed scope, the schedule and the construction investment come together in a single agreement. Because it is built on real measurements, resolved selections and trade pricing rather than a guess, the number describes the project you actually chose — and the surprises that usually arrive during construction were converted into decisions during design.

• Scope, allowances and selections confirmed in writing
• Construction schedule and sequence agreed
• Construction investment finalized against the developed scope

You leave with: A construction agreement whose scope, schedule and price describe one project.

Construction runs against the plan. Trades are sequenced so they are not working over each other, inspections are built into the schedule rather than discovered, and you have a single point of accountability for the work. Changes are handled deliberately, in writing, with their cost and schedule impact understood before they happen rather than reconciled at the end.

• Sequenced trade execution under one point of accountability
• Regular communication and site management
• Quality control at each stage
• Change management in writing, priced before it proceeds

The project closes deliberately. A punch list is worked to completion, final inspections are passed, and the handover tells you what was installed and where things like shutoffs and panels are. Completion is a defined end, not a slow fade — you know when the project is finished and what you are receiving.

• Punch list worked to completion
• Final inspections and approvals
• Closeout documentation and final walkthrough

You leave with: A finished project, closed out, with the walkthrough and handover complete.