1. In a Design-Build contract the building owner has the advantage of knowing the engineering and construction prices prior to contract agreement.
2. In a Design-Build contract there is no change order due to unforeseen conditions unless it is initiated by the owners outside of the contract. The industry trend is a 15% to 30% of the contract price in the form of change orders to be added to the original contract price during the course of construction. In the middle of the construction with a regular construction contract, the owner often has no choice but to accept the change orders.
3. In a Design-Build contract the owner will know the inclusions and exclusions of the contract prior to signing the agreement.
4. In a Design-Build contract the owner does not need to pay additional fees to the engineer for the Structural Observation in addition to the third party, Special Inspection fees.
5. In a Design-Build contract, the job will proceed faster. If any detail change is required during the course of the construction, they will be done on the spot without delay. There is no need to make an appointment with the architect or engineer for the answer which will cause delay and stopping the construction.
6. In a Design-Build contract the owner will eliminate the cost of printing in order to receive a construction estimate from other contractors.
7. In a Design-Build contract the owner saves time by not coordinating with the architect, engineer and a job walk thru prior to receiving the construction estimate.
8. The architectural and structural consulting companies do not have an accurate concept of the cost of the construction. In order to protect themselves, they usually provide a high estimate (some times as high as two or three times) to the City Official at the time of plan submittal, which results in the owner paying several thousand dollars more than necessary for the permitting.
9. In a regular construction contract when there may be a dispute, the contractor will blame the engineer and the architect and vice versa.
10. In a regular contract, most of the architectural and consulting firms have a short list of the contractors, which they work with and recommend them to the owner for construction. Standard industry practice shows, any consulting architectural and structural firms recommend a pool of contractors, they also may benefit from the contractors for their recommendations.