Introduction
Choosing how to build your project matters just as much as choosing who builds it. Most homeowners assume "hiring a contractor" is a one-size-fits-all process, but there are actually two different ways a construction project can be structured: hiring a general contractor to build from plans someone else already designed, or hiring a design-build firm to handle both the design and the construction under one roof.
The model you choose affects your timeline, your budget predictability, and — most importantly — who you call when something doesn't go as planned. If you're planning a remodel, addition, or custom home in the Portland area, understanding this distinction before you hire anyone can save you months of delays and thousands of dollars in change orders.
What Is a Traditional General Contractor?
A general contractor (GC) is the person or company responsible for managing the construction phase of a project — labor, subcontractors, materials, permits, and the day-to-day job site. In the traditional model, a homeowner typically hires an architect or designer first to complete drawings, then brings those finished plans to a general contractor for bidding and construction.
This is often called "design-bid-build," and it means two separate companies — the designer and the builder — are involved, usually with two separate contracts.
What Is Design-Build?
Design-build combines design and construction into a single contract with a single company. Instead of hiring an architect, then shopping those plans to contractors for bids, you work with one team from the first sketch through the final walkthrough.
We use the design-build model at De Marco Builders, so the same team that designs your project is the same team building it — no handoff, no finger-pointing between separate companies if an issue comes up.
Key Differences: Design-Build vs. General Contractor
| Factor | Design-Bid-Build (Traditional GC) | Design-Build |
|---|---|---|
| Contracts | Two (designer + builder) | One (single firm) |
| Accountability | Split between two companies | Single point of accountability |
| Timeline | Design finishes before bidding starts | Design and pre-construction can overlap |
| Cost surprises | Common once bids come back | Reduced — pricing informs design in real time |
| Communication | Homeowner relays info between two teams | Homeowner works with one team |
Timeline: Why Design-Build Is Often Faster
In the traditional model, your architect finishes the drawings before a contractor ever prices the job. If the bids come back over budget, you go back to the drawing board — literally — and the whole process restarts.
With design-build, pricing and constructability get checked throughout the design phase, not after it. That's part of why our design-build process uses critical path scheduling, which can move projects up to 10 times faster than the industry average. Critical path scheduling means mapping out every task in a project — permitting, framing, electrical, inspections, and so on — and identifying which of those tasks directly determine your finish date. Tasks that don't affect the finish date can often run in parallel instead of one after another, which is where a lot of the time savings comes from. Design and pre-construction planning happen the same way: in parallel instead of in sequence, which cuts out a lot of the back-and-forth that sets traditional projects back.
Cost Predictability: Fewer Surprise Change Orders
One of the most common complaints homeowners have about construction is unexpected costs showing up mid-project. These usually come in the form of a change order — a written amendment to the contract that changes the scope, price, or timeline of a project, often because something wasn't fully accounted for in the original plan. With a traditional contractor, those surprises often happen because the design wasn't checked against real-world costs before construction started — something gets discovered (or something was never fully priced) and a change order follows.
Design-build reduces this risk because cost, materials, and design decisions are worked out together from the start.
Accountability: One Team, One Number to Call
This is the part homeowners feel most directly. Under a traditional GC model, if there's a conflict between what was designed and what can actually be built, the architect and the contractor can each point at the other. You're stuck in the middle.
With design-build, there's no one else to point to. One team designed it, and that same team is building it — which means one company is accountable for the outcome, start to finish.
Is Design-Build Always the Better Choice?
Not necessarily — it depends on your project and priorities. Working with a traditional contractor can make sense if you already have a designer or architect you love and simply need someone to build to their exact plans, or if you want to competitively bid the construction phase across multiple contractors after the design is locked. Design-build tends to make more sense when you want a faster, more predictable process and prefer one point of contact managing the whole project.
Common Questions About Design-Build
Does design-build cost more than hiring a GC separately?
Not typically. While every project is priced individually, design-build often reduces costs elsewhere — fewer change orders, less redesign work, and a shorter overall timeline, which lowers carrying costs like financing and temporary housing.
Can I still have creative input on the design?
Yes. Design-build doesn't mean less say in your project — it means your design ideas get checked against real-world budget and buildability earlier, so you're not redesigning later when a bid comes back too high.
Is design-build only for large projects like custom homes?
No. At De Marco Builders, we apply the same model to remodels, ADUs, and additions, not just ground-up custom builds — any project benefits from having design and construction planned together from the start.
How De Marco Builders Approaches Design-Build
As a licensed general contractor serving Portland and the surrounding area since 1996, we built our entire process around the design-build model — for custom homes, remodels, ADUs, additions, and commercial projects alike. That means:
- One contract, one team — from first design conversation to final walkthrough
- Critical path scheduling — designed to move faster than industry norms
- Transparent pricing — no hidden fees, no upfront deposit required
- A 100% on-time completion track record across more than 1,400 completed projects
Conclusion
Whether you're planning a custom home, a whole-home remodel, or an ADU, our design-build team can walk you through what the process looks like for your specific project — timeline, budget, and next steps included.
Request a Free Quote and let's talk about what design-build could mean for your project.
