The AG Standard

Five phases, not two — how a project runs from the first visit to the warranty

September 13, 2026 · 2 min read

Most contractors have "sign the contract" and "start swinging hammers." Here is what happens at each of our five phases, who answers for it, and why two of them come before construction.

Five phases, not two — how a project runs from the first visit to the warranty

Ask anyone who has renovated what went wrong and it is always one of three things: a cost they learned about after it was spent, a date that kept moving, or the feeling that nobody was actually in charge.

All three have the same cause — starting construction before the planning is finished. So our process has five phases, and two of them happen before anyone lifts a hammer.

1. Discovery

Led by your Account Success Manager.

We come to the house before we talk about money. Your ASM — one person, from this first call all the way through the warranty — walks the home and listens to what you are actually trying to solve. Then they write a Feasibility Report. If we are not the right fit for the project, you hear it now, before you have spent a dollar.

2. Architectural Planning

The Planning Team executes.

Drawings; the mechanical, electrical and plumbing plans; structural and energy reports; and every permit the city requires — all finished before demolition. You approve the floor plan before anything moves.

Skipping this is the single biggest reason other projects blow their budget, which is why ours hold.

3. Selections & Final Design

Led by your Account Success Manager.

You see the room before it exists. Cabinets, stone, floors and fixtures are chosen with 3D renders, so you are looking at your kitchen, not a sample board. Then the budget, the schedule and the scope are locked. Once the build starts, nothing is a moving target.

4. Construction

Led by your Project Manager.

A dedicated Project Manager runs the build and holds an 8:30 AM team meeting every morning. Every stage of every trade is inspected against a written standard and photographed before it is closed up. You get daily updates from the PM in the app — what happened at your house today, the schedule, every time it moves and why, and the next two weeks — and a written weekly update from your ASM.

5. Closeout & Warranty

Your ASM, with the PM.

The final walkthrough is with you, against a signed punch list. Then a lien release from every subcontractor — written confirmation that nothing is owed to them, so none of them can ever attach a claim to your home. The workmanship warranty is issued in writing. And we stay reachable.

Why the order matters

Two planning phases before construction is what makes the other promises possible. It is why the final number matches the first one, why the date on your schedule has 5% of our money behind it, and why one person answers for your project from the first visit to the last.

Most projects go sideways because they start before they are planned. Ours are planned before they start.

The full standard, written down

Start a project

Tell us what
the house needs.

Send the address, a few photos and the rough idea. We will prepare a Feasibility Report before you have spent a dollar.