How we scope a custom build in a week

Most custom builds go wrong before any metal is cut, at the point where two people think they agreed on the same thing and did not.

Days one and two: listen and measure

We ask for the problem, not the solution, and we go and look at the place where the thing will live. Photographs and measurements beat descriptions.

Days three and four: draw and price

We sketch two or three approaches, cost each one, and remove anything that does not serve the problem. The scope document lists what we will build and, just as important, what we will not.

Day five: agree

One call, one document, one signature. After that, changes are welcome but they are priced as changes.