Design-Build
Done Right.
Most home projects fail at the handoff between designer and builder. We eliminated that handoff entirely.
Direct Answer
Design-build is a construction delivery model where one team handles both design and construction under a single contract, giving you earlier budget certainty, fewer change orders, faster decisions, and single-point accountability. Wexler operates as a design-build contractor across Toronto and the GTA.
The builder and designer work together from the first sketch.
In the traditional model, a homeowner hires an architect, goes through a full design process, then takes those drawings to a builder for a price. By the time the builder is involved, expensive decisions are already locked in — and "constructability" problems get discovered during construction, when they're most costly to fix.
Wexler's approach is different. From the first design meeting, our team is in the room with your architect and interior designer — catching problems before they become change orders, ensuring budget reality is part of every design decision, and eliminating the coordination gap that causes most project overruns.
The result: a smoother process, a more accurate budget, fewer surprises, and a home that reflects your vision rather than the compromise that emerged from a fragmented team.
Why it works better
One point of contact
Your builder and designer are working as a coordinated team from day one. No phone tag between professionals who haven't spoken. No discoveries mid-build that one party didn't know about.
Budget accuracy earlier
When the builder is in the room during design, cost reality gets introduced before decisions are locked in — not after. Clients get a realistic budget at the design stage, not a shock at tender.
Fewer change orders
The single biggest driver of change orders is design details that are impossible or extremely expensive to build. Early builder involvement eliminates constructability surprises before they become expensive problems.
Faster decisions
In a traditional model, every question requires three-way coordination. In design-build, you ask one team. Decisions that take weeks in a fragmented process take hours.
Better outcomes
Homes designed and built by integrated teams perform better, look better, and have fewer issues because the people who drew it and the people who built it were solving problems together from the start.
Accountability that can't be diffused
In traditional models, problems get blamed on the other party: the architect says the builder didn't follow the plans; the builder says the plans were unbuildable. In design-build, there is one team responsible for the result.
Design-Build vs. Traditional
| Our ApproachDesign-Build | TraditionalDesign-Bid-Build | |
|---|---|---|
| Budget certainty | Early, reliable estimate before design is complete | Budget often not known until tender — sometimes 30–40% over |
| Coordination | Integrated team — one conversation | Architect and builder coordinate through the client |
| Change orders | Minimized by early constructability review | Common — design decisions often impractical to build |
| Timeline | Faster — no gaps between design, permit, and construction | Delays common during handoff between design and construction phases |
| Accountability | One team owns the outcome | Easy to deflect blame between architect and builder |
| Interior design | Integrated from day one | Often brought in too late, causing conflicts with construction |
Common Questions
Is design-build more expensive than traditional?
Not inherently — and often less so when you account for the cost of coordination failures, change orders, and budget surprises that are more common in traditional models. The perception that design-build costs more usually comes from comparing early-stage estimates (design-build) against post-design tender prices (traditional). Design-build's earlier budget certainty is a feature, not a bug.
Do I still need my own architect?
In a design-build model, the builder coordinates closely with the design team. You can bring your own architect, or we can recommend architects we've worked with successfully. What changes is the working model — the builder is in the room from the start, rather than receiving completed drawings after the fact.
Can design-build work for renovations, not just new builds?
Absolutely. Design-build is arguably even more valuable for renovations, where hidden conditions, structural constraints, and existing system limitations can derail a design that looks great on paper. Having the builder involved during design means these realities get factored in before you're committed to a scope.
See how integrated design-build changes the process.
A 30-minute conversation with Robby and Mark is all it takes to understand whether this approach is right for your project.
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