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The Compass · IBG’s Design + Build Process

Most builders give you
a checklist. We give you a compass.

Seven phases, one path, from the first thing you read to the day, years from now, you still call us first. Every phase closes the same way: with something in writing.

Read the paper Start your journey →
PHASE 07 · LIFETIME PARTNERSHIP · NO END DATE · FOR AS LONG AS YOU OWN THE HOME · A 45-DAY CHECK-IN · AN 11-MONTH WALKTHROUGH · ANNUAL TOUCHPOINTS COMMUNICATION TRANSPARENCY EMPATHY SERVICE NESW 01 02 03 04 05 06 07
  1. 01EducationBefore we ever talk.Cost guides and the evaluation workbook, before you pick up the phone.See the document↓
    Led by
    The whole team
    Opens with
    The Real Cost Guide
    Closes with
    Your five answers
  2. 02DiscoveryOur first conversation.Sixty minutes at your home with a principal. We listen first, then walk the house.See the document↓
    Led by
    A principal
    Opens with
    Your first call
    Closes with
    The Discovery Summary
  3. 03DesignBringing your vision to life.Plans, every selection, signed off in writing before each stage advances.See the document↓
    Led by
    Your design lead
    Opens with
    The Design Brief
    Closes with
    The Selections Sign-Off
  4. 04Pre-ConstructionFrom signature to site.The contract first. Then permits, orders and a locked schedule before demo day.See the document↓
    Led by
    Your project manager
    Opens with
    A signed, fixed-price contract
    Closes with
    Materials on order, home protected
  5. 05BuildOn the ground, on the record.Your project manager on site. Inspections passed before the work moves on.See the document↓
    Led by
    Your project manager
    Opens with
    The Build Schedule
    Closes with
    The Friday Update
  6. 06DeliveryThe walkthrough, the keys.We pre-walk the home first, so the punch list you see is short.See the document↓
    Led by
    Your PM, then your service contact
    Opens with
    Our own pre-walk
    Closes with
    The Close-Out Package
  7. 07Lifetime PartnershipFor as long as you own the home.A 45-day check-in, an 11-month walkthrough, then annual touchpoints.See the document↓
    Led by
    Your service contact
    Opens with
    The 45-day check-in
    Closes with
    An annual visit, for life

The Proof, In Writing

Seven phases. Seven documents. Read the one you would hold.

Every phase closes with something in writing, and this is what it looks like. Pick a phase: each page is drawn the way you receive it, for an illustrative home.

Icon Building GroupThe Builder Evaluation WorkbookPhase 01 · Education

For you, before you call anyone

Five questions. Ask every builder.

Write down what each one says, and whether they will put it in writing. Including us.

Sample pageYour copy
Use it
Before your first call
Filled in by
You
Icon’s answers
Printed, so we can be held to them
Document
BE-01 · Phase 01

01The five questionsIcon’s answers are printed

AskIcon, in writingBuilder 2Builder 3
01Do you publish your prices?Yes.The Real Cost Guide, online, no email gate.
02Is the price fixed before demolition?Yes.One number, signed before the first wall comes down.
03Are selections priced before I sign?Yes.Every one, chosen in the Selection Studio.
04Who writes to me every week?Your project manager.Every Friday, in writing.
05What happens after the keys?We come back.A 45-day check-in, an 11-month walkthrough, then every year.

02Your five answersCount what you got in writing

Icon5 of 5
Builder 2__ of 5
Builder 3__ of 5
Why we print our own answersA promise you can hold up at the kitchen table is worth more than one you heard on the phone. If we ever fall short of these five, this page is how you hold us to them.
Icon Building Group · BE-01 · Illustrative
Icon Building GroupThe Discovery SummaryPhase 02 · Discovery
Prepared for

The Hartwell Residence

Kitchen, family-room wall, pantry and mudroom — what we heard, what it will take, and what happens next.

Walkthrough
Day 0 · sixty minutes in the house, with a principal
Issued
Day 5 · in writing, as promised
Prepared by
A principal — an owner of the firm
Document
DS-0421 · Rev A · chapter 02 of your build binder
You are here Phase 02 · Discovery Our first conversation.
01What we heardIn your words, ranked
  1. 01“Two cooks, one island, and a Sunday crowd — the kitchen is the whole reason we called.”
  2. 02“Open the wall to the family room. We are not giving up the pantry to do it.”
  3. 03“A real mudroom off the garage. The back hall has never worked.”

What we did not hear: a deadline. We asked. “Right, not fast” — and we have planned to that.

02Scope as we understand itRead it the way we will build it
Kitchen · fullFamily-room wall · structuralPantry · relocatedMudroom · newBack hall · reworkedPowder room · refresh

One bearing wall comes out; everything else is finish and flow. Nothing in this scope touches the second floor. In the Real Cost Guide’s terms, this is a multi-room / full-floor project.

03Your investment rangeAnchored to published numbers
ScaleThe published band, end to end
$200K$300K$400K
Published bandMulti-room · The Real Cost Guide
$150K$500K
Your range today IllustrativeOne walkthrough — not a quote
$260K$340K
In DesignTrades bid the final drawings
Narrows here
At the Selections Sign-OffEvery choice locked and priced
One number · fixed
What moves it up
  • Behind the walls. A 1964 house: wiring, a galvanized supply line, or asbestos found at demolition. We test and document before we price.
  • The beam. A longer span, or a footing under it, if the load path says so.
  • Finish level. Frameless European boxes and slab stone sit at the top of the kitchen tiers.
What brings it down
  • Keep the stack. Move the pantry, not the plumbing.
  • Semi-custom cabinetry in the Premium tier; quartz over slab.
  • Existing windows stay; the second floor is untouched.

Where the numbers come fromThe Real Cost Guide multi-room band and its kitchen tiers (Premium $120–185K, Luxury $185–290K); what comparable Icon kitchens with a structural opening have cost; one honest read of your house. A range we will defend, then narrow.

04Where the dollars goShares of your range · illustrative
Cabinetry & millwork24%
Carpentry, drywall & paint17%
Structure & the bearing wall15%
Countertops, tile & flooring13%
Plumbing & fixtures12%
Electrical & lighting11%
Permits, protection & site8%

Design and construction are both inside the range, as they are in every published band. Each share becomes a priced line in Design, with the trade’s bid behind it.

Icon Building Group · DS-0421 · Sheet 1 of 2
05Priced separatelyOutside the range, on purpose
  • Appliances — you choose them; we plan around them and install them.
  • Windows beyond the kitchen wall — a house-wide decision, priced as one.
  • The rear deck — an addition in its own right; we will range it if you want it.
  • Hazardous-material abatement, if testing finds any — sized before contract, never buried in an allowance.
  • Furnishings, window treatments, art — yours, always.
06What the house told usExisting conditions · 14 photos on file
GARAGEPOWDERSTAIRBACK HALLKITCHENPANTRYFAMILYROOMMUDROOMMOVESBEARING · 14 FT030711EXISTING · FIRST FLOORNOT TO SCALE
Sketched at the walkthrough · circles mark photos on file · tan = bearing wall · dotted = the opening · brown = what moves
  • Structure Photo 03 — the kitchen/family-room wall is bearing. A flush beam keeps the ceiling clean; the engineer sizes it for the 14-foot span.
  • Systems Photo 07 — 200-amp panel with room for the kitchen circuits. The kitchen stack moves with the pantry — or stays, and saves.
  • Age Photo 11 — built 1964, so asbestos and lead are assumed present until tested. Documented and priced before contract, never after demolition.
  • Permits — structural work means a village permit and a stamped drawing. We file it, and the review time is in the schedule.
07Our candid callFit · Go / No-Go
Go

This is work we do well, in a house that can take it. The next step, when you are ready and not before, is a Design Agreement — design work only, priced on page one. If the fit were wrong, this page would say so.

Nothing owedThis meeting cost nothing and commits you to nothing. Keep this document either way.
08The road aheadTimeline · realistic, not optimistic
03
DesignDesign Agreement, Phase 1 then Phase 2: concept → development → the trades bid your final drawings → the Selections Sign-Off, every choice locked and priced.
Published6–17 wksHartwell est. 12–16
04
Pre-ConstructionA signed fixed-price Construction Contract → permits filed, orders placed, schedule published → home protected.
Published6–10 wksVillage review inside it
05
BuildThe Build Schedule → a daily log you can read and a written update every Friday → the Completion Walkthrough.
Published6–32 wksHartwell est. 16–20
06
DeliveryThe keys, the Close-Out Package, and a 1-2-10 warranty in writing — one year on workmanship, two on systems, ten on structure.
ThenNo end date45 days · 11 months · yearly

Published durations are the Real Cost Guide’s; the Hartwell estimates are illustrative. Your written schedule is published at contract, and the date we give you is the date we plan to.

Yours to keep — whether we build it or not.
Prepared by
A principal, Icon Building Group · Hawthorn Woods, IL
Delivered to
The Hartwell Residence · Day 5, in writing
Icon Building Group · DS-0421 · Sheet 2 of 2
Icon Building GroupThe Selections Sign-OffPhase 03 · Design

Prepared for

The Hartwell Residence

Every choice made, bid by the trades who will build it, and priced. Signed before any contract.

IllustrativeThe Hartwell Residence
Issued
End of Design · Rev C
Prepared by
Your design lead
Bids
Every trade, on the final drawings
Document
SS-0908 · Phase 03

01Every stage, signedNothing advanced without it

Concept · signedDevelopment · signedFinalization · signedSelections · this page

02Your selections, lockedChosen in the Selection Studio

RoomSelectionTierStatus
KitchenCabinetry · painted maple, inset doorsPremiumLocked
KitchenCounters · quartzite, eased edgeLuxuryLocked
KitchenHardware · unlacquered brassPremiumLocked
Family-room wallBeam · flush, painted to the ceilingEngineeredLocked
PantryShelving · white oak, openStandardLocked
MudroomFloor · zellige, with a bench in limewashPremiumLocked

03From a range to one numberThe same bars as your Discovery Summary

DiscoveryDay 5 · the range
DevelopmentNarrowed by the drawings
This pageOne fixed number
What happens nextThe number on this page becomes one fixed price in the contract that opens Pre-Construction.

04Signed

S. & T. HartwellThe Hartwells
Your design leadIcon Building Group
Icon Building Group · SS-0908 · Illustrative
Icon Building GroupThe Pre-Construction MemorandumPhase 04 · Pre-Construction

Prepared for

The Hartwell Residence

From signature to site: what is ordered, how your home is protected, and who to call.

IllustrativeThe Hartwell Residence
Contract
Signed · one fixed price
First day on site
Confirmed, in writing
Prepared by
Your project manager
Document
PM-0914 · Phase 04

01Ordered before anything comes outMaterials first, then demolition

ItemStatusWhy now
Cabinetry · painted mapleOrderedThe longest lead in the job, so it goes first
Quartzite slabsTagged and heldYour slabs, not “similar”
AppliancesOrderedThe cabinet maker builds to their exact sizes
Beam · engineeredOrderedStamped drawings, filed with the permit
Zellige tileOrderedOn site before tile week, not during it

02Your home, protectedAgreed with you, room by room

  • Floors covered from the garage door to the kitchen.
  • A sealed dust wall at the family room, with a zip door.
  • One way in for crews, through the garage.
  • Your upstairs untouched, and a bathroom that stays yours.
  • A swept site at the end of every day.
  • Your space, respected: we plan the work around how you live in the house, and keep the disruption as small as we can.

03Permits and inspectionsBefore the first day, not after

  • Building permit issued, posted at the front window.
  • Inspections booked at every critical stage; the work moves on only after each one passes.

04Who to callNames and direct lines on page one

Your project managerAnything on site, any day
Your design leadA selection question
A principalAnything you feel is not right
Icon Building Group · PM-0914 · Illustrative
Icon Building GroupThe Friday UpdatePhase 05 · Build

Week 06 · Friday

The wall is open.

The Hartwell Residence, from your project manager, as every Friday.

IllustrativeThe Hartwell Residence
Schedule
On track
Changes this week
None
Needs you
One decision
Photo log
Updated in your portal

01This week

  • The beam is in. The family-room wall is open, as drawn.
  • Framing inspection passed on Thursday, first visit.
  • The pantry wall is framed in its new place.

02Next week

  • Plumbing and electrical rough-in, kitchen and mudroom.
  • Rough-in inspection booked for Friday.

03What we need from you

By WednesdayPendant height over the island. Your design lead has put two options in the portal. We need one before the electrician sets the boxes.

04Where we areThe build, start to keys

DemolitionStructureRough-inWallsCabinetsTile & finishPunch list

Every Friday, whether or not anything went wrong.
Your project manager

Icon Building Group · FU-W06 · Illustrative
Icon Building GroupThe Close-Out PackagePhase 06 · Delivery

Prepared for

The Hartwell Residence

Everything about how your home was built, in one place, handed over with the keys.

IllustrativeThe Hartwell Residence
Handed over
With the keys
Warranty
1-2-10, in writing
Prepared by
Your PM, then your service contact
Document
CO-1203 · Phase 06

01The walkthroughEvery item closed, signed by you

Punch listStatus
Pantry door strike, adjustedClosed
Touch-up paint, mudroom benchClosed
Grout haze at the backsplashClosed
Island pendant dimmer, swappedClosed

We walked the house on our own first, so the list you walked with us was short.

02In the package

  • The signed completion form
  • Your warranty, in writing
  • Every selection: maker, colour, where to reorder
  • The paint schedule, room by room
  • Manuals and registrations for every appliance
  • Photos of the open walls, before drywall
  • The trades who built it, and how to reach them
  • The keys

03Your 1-2-10 warrantyIn writing, from the day of the keys

1Year

Workmanship and materials.

2Years

Plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems.

10Years

Structure.

Icon Building Group · CO-1203 · Illustrative
Icon Building GroupThe 45-Day Check-InPhase 07 · Lifetime Partnership

Prepared for

The Hartwell Residence

We came back. Here is what we checked, what we found, and when we are coming again.

IllustrativeThe Hartwell Residence
Visit
Day 45 after the keys
By
Your service contact
Next
The 11-month walkthrough
Document
LP-045 · Phase 07

01What we checkedFixed on the visit where we could

CheckedFoundDone
Doors and drawersPantry door rubbing at the headPlaned on the visit
Caulk and groutA hairline at the backsplash cornerRe-caulked
The new beam and ceilingNo movement, no cracksNoted for the file
Heating and coolingFilter dueChanged
AppliancesAll registeredConfirmed

02The calendar from hereNo end date

Day 45This visit
Month 11The walkthrough, before year one closes
Every yearAn annual touchpoint
For as long as you own the homePriority service and a direct line

03Your direct line

People who know your home, on the other end of the phone.

Icon Building Group · LP-045 · Illustrative
The finished Lake Bluff kitchen: skylights over a dark island, and the woods through the window

The paper is how it stays this calm.

Educate. · Collaborate. · Create.

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