I help homeowners understand the feasibility of their projects and get them done.
I help you work out what your property allows, lay out the options along with estimated costs, and put together the scope and drawings builders need to price it and move forward. Then I can help you vet contractors and manage the contract and the build.
Send me what you’re thinking about and I’ll get back to you. The first call is free, and we’ll go through it and I’ll tell you what the work would involve and what I’d charge. No project is too small.
Adding an ADU
Say you’re interested in adding an ADU to your property. I can work out what your lot allows, walk you through the process for getting it approved, put together some basic design concepts, and estimate what it would cost before you commit to anything.
I took an ADU through the zoning and permit approval process on my own property, so I understand the requirements specific to building in Maine and where the applications get hung up.
The process.
Feasibility and permitting
I look at the zoning, setbacks, lot coverage and height limits that apply to your property, so you know what you’re actually allowed to build before you spend anything on it. I’ll also work out what permits you’ll need and how to get them.
Design options
A site plan, basic plans and sketches of the different ways to do it, with rough costs for each. This is also what a builder needs to give you a real price, and without it you’re getting guesses.
Project planning
What needs to happen in what order, who you’ll need to hire, and the materials and finishes you’re actually buying, which is where a lot of the cost sits and where budgets usually go sideways.
Contractors and contracts
I help you find contractors worth talking to, compare the bids that come back on the same scope, and go through the contract before you sign it. Maine requires a written contract over $3,000, and there’s a lot that belongs in one that usually isn’t there. How that works.
Project management
I can stay involved once work starts — scheduling, change orders, invoices, and checking that what you’re paying for is what actually got built.
You get it in writing. Here’s an example of a house where we looked at four ways to add space, and what each one would have cost.
Projects I work on.
If it makes the house bigger, moves a wall, or needs a permit, I can help with it.
- Additions
- ADUs and in-law units
- Dormers and attics
- Basement finishing
- Decks and porches
- Garages and outbuildings
- Kitchens and baths
- Moving walls
- Whole-house renovations
- Barn conversions
- Before you buy
- Projects gone sideways
If yours isn’t on the list, just ask.
Why I do this.
There’s a lot more to a successful project than just hiring a builder. There’s prerequisite work to understand feasibility — design, permitting, budgeting, scope and sequencing — that all needs to be worked out before you can get an accurate price and scope from a contractor.
Doing that work up front can prevent expensive changes, unrealistic bids, permitting problems and wasted time later.
I know how to navigate the different parts of a home project — contractors, contracts, permitting, design, budgets and schedules. I help you work through those pieces early so you understand what’s possible, what it’s likely to cost, and what needs to happen next.
I’m Kyle. I’m a mechanical engineer and spent 15 years as a director of engineering running capital expansion projects, and I went through all of this on my own house.
Tell me about your project.
Most people come to me with a project or two in mind. We’ll go through them together, and depending on what you need I’ll look at whether they’re feasible on your property, do the due diligence on the rules and permits, sketch out concepts, put real costs to them, and lay out an action plan for getting it done.
Send over what you’re thinking about and we’ll set up a time to talk it through. I’ll tell you what the work would involve, and if you want to go ahead from there I quote a flat fee before I start anything. No project is too small.