Design-Build or General Contractor?

In design-build, one contract covers both design and construction 1. The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA), an industry association that promotes the method, calls that the fundamental difference from methods that use separate contracts for design and construction 1. It describes design-build as a collaborative approach as well as a contract structure, and it names two common variations: two-step, where teams are shortlisted and then submit design and cost proposals, and progressive, where a team is chosen mainly on qualifications and design and cost are refined together toward an agreed price 1.

In the general contractor route, you usually hire a designer or architect first and then a contractor, each under its own agreement. The designer works for you. The contractor builds from those drawings under a second contract. The DBIA page does not name this method, and it describes all other delivery methods only as ones with separate design and construction contracts 1.

Both routes are legitimate. Neither is better in every case. DBIA says design-build brings less cost growth, less schedule growth, faster delivery and earlier knowledge of cost, citing research, but it gives no figures for any of these 1. Treat that as the association's position, because DBIA promotes the method. Its figures are about construction spending in general, not about a Minnesota kitchen.

With design-build, the builder's firm provides or manages the design, and you sign with that firm. Ask whether the firm uses one contract or a design agreement followed by a construction agreement, and ask to see both before you pay anything, because the design phase is where you have the least leverage.

With a general contractor, the designer works for you under your contract, and the contractor builds from those drawings under a second contract. You hold two relationships and the drawings are yours to take to other contractors, unless the designer's contract limits reuse.

Whatever the route, the construction contract has to meet Minnesota's rules. A licensee's agreement must be in writing, with a detailed summary of the work, the materials and the price or how it is calculated. The licensee must give you written performance guidelines before you sign, and signed copies of every document 2. Those rules apply to a design-build firm's construction agreement the same way they apply to a general contractor's.

The Attorney General's handbook advises that if a contractor offers architectural planning or structural design, you should confirm it is licensed by the Board of Architecture 3. The next section explains how that advice fits with the statute.

Minnesota requires a license or certification to practice architecture, professional engineering, land surveying, landscape architecture or professional geoscience, and to use the title "certified interior designer." Using those titles or implying those credentials without qualifying is prohibited 45.

There is a major exemption for houses. Minn. Stat. 326.03 lets persons advertise and provide consultation for, make plans for, or supervise the construction, enlargement or alteration of single-family homes and related outbuildings such as private garages. The same allowance covers two-family dwellings, farm buildings and temporary construction sheds 5. In plain terms, as we read the loaded text, a person without an architect's license is not barred by this statute from drawing plans for a one-family house remodel. We are not lawyers, and the page we loaded did not discuss exceptions that might apply.

Two other statutes point the same way. The residential contractor licensing statute exempts architects and professional engineers practicing their profession from the contractor license requirement, so a design professional does not need a builder's license to design 6. The architecture statute exempts contractors' shop and detailed drawings from the architect requirement 4.

Several things the sources do not establish. We could not load Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience and Interior Design guidance on residential design by builders. The Board's rule on when an architect or engineer is not required has a published purpose statement, but the part we loaded contains none of the actual thresholds 78. So we cannot tell you whether a city or the Board treats a second-story addition, or an engineered beam, differently.

Cities can ask for more. Plymouth says staff may require an architect or engineer to prepare plans for additions and new construction 9. Wayzata's plan review guideline requires a survey signed by a licensed surveyor or engineer for additions 10. A design-build firm that is not an architect may therefore use a subcontracted architect or engineer. Ask who that is and whether their fee is in your design price.

What to do with this. Ask the firm in writing who is drawing the plans, whether that person is a licensed architect or engineer, and who stamps drawings if the city asks for a stamp. If a firm calls an employee an "architect" and you cannot find a license for them, treat that as a reason to stop and ask, given the title restriction 4.

A design-build firm that builds is a residential contractor or remodeler under the licensing statute. Residential building contractors, remodelers and roofers must be licensed unless an exemption applies, and an unlicensed person may not present themselves as one for pay 6. Look up the license number on DLI's license lookup, and check that it begins with BC, CR or RR rather than IR 11.

The statutory warranties for home improvement work are the same either way: 1 year for workmanship and materials on other work, 2 years for plumbing, electrical, heating or cooling installation, and, for major structural changes or additions, 1 year for workmanship and materials and 10 years for major construction defects 12. The Contractor Recovery Fund needs a licensed contractor 3.

The lien notice rule is also the same. A contractor who will use subcontractors or suppliers must include the notice in the written contract, or deliver it within 10 days after the work is agreed, and you may hold back payment until 120 days after completion unless you receive signed lien waivers 13.

One difference to check: in the general contractor route, your designer is not a licensee under the contractor statute, so the Recovery Fund and DLI's contract rules protect you only as to the contractor 26. Your designer's contract is a private agreement, so read its terms on fees, reuse of drawings and what happens if you stop.

Design fees appear in a few forms, and the form matters more than the headline number. One consumer cost article (national, published in 2023) reports that architects charge by percentage of construction cost, commonly 5 percent to 20 percent with an average of 8 to 15 percent, and that a basic remodel billed by percentage will likely land at 10 to 20 percent 14. The same article reports flat project fees of $2,500 to $10,000 for a basic remodel, and hourly rates of $150 to $250 for a principal 14. It is a consumer cost site, not a Minnesota fee survey.

For a design-build firm, we looked for sources on crediting the design fee toward the construction price. A web search surfaced trade articles and remodeler blogs describing several approaches: separate design agreements, partial credit, full credit, and no credit with a non-refundable design fee. We could not load those pages, so we cannot cite the details or the frequency of each approach. That means we have no sourced figure for how often a fee is credited in Minnesota.

What we can say is how the arithmetic works under each approach, so you can ask the right question. A fee that is credited in full is subtracted from the construction price when you sign, so the design cost is absorbed if you build with that firm. A partly credited fee reduces the price by a stated amount or percent. A fee with no credit is a separate charge on top of the build.

The Attorney General's handbook warns about large upfront demands and says a small good-faith down payment is typical 15. A design deposit is a different thing from a construction deposit, but a large design fee collected before you see a price deserves the same scrutiny.

Three clauses to get in writing: whether the design fee is credited and how much, whether you receive the drawings if you stop after design, and whether another contractor may use them. The handbook says you should receive copies of all documents and change orders 3.

All figures in this section are illustrations, not quotes. Construction costs come from the 2025 Cost vs. Value report for Minneapolis, which lists job cost for midrange projects 16. Design fees are derived using the ranges from the consumer cost article 14. We assume the same construction price in both routes, which is a simplification, because a design-build price and a bid may differ.

The Cost vs. Value report does not say whether its job costs include design fees, so we do not know whether adding a fee double counts anything. Treat the sums as bounds for planning, not as predicted totals.

Example 1, minor kitchen remodel. Job cost in Minneapolis: $28,196 16. A design fee at 10 to 20 percent is $2,820 to $5,639 (28,196 x 0.10 and x 0.20). Separate designer plus contractor: $28,196 + $2,820 to $28,196 + $5,639 = $31,016 to $33,835. Using the flat range for a basic remodel instead, $2,500 to $10,000, gives $30,696 to $38,196 14. A $10,000 flat fee is over a third of this job, which is why a small project often does not suit a full architect.

Example 2, major midrange kitchen. Job cost in Minneapolis: $81,187 16. Design fee at 10 to 20 percent is $8,119 to $16,237. Separate designer plus contractor: $89,306 to $97,424. The flat range of $2,500 to $10,000 gives $83,687 to $91,187 14. Design-build with full credit leaves the total near $81,187 if the firm's construction price already assumes the credit. With half credit, you pay about half the fee on top: $81,187 + about $4,060 to $8,119 = about $85,247 to $89,306. With no credit, the total matches the separate route, $89,306 to $97,424. The spread between the most favorable and least favorable design-build outcome is therefore the fee itself, about $8,119 to $16,237 (illustration).

Example 3, primary suite addition. Job cost for a midrange primary suite addition in Minneapolis: $175,685 16. The article says new construction tends toward the low end of the percentage range, and does not say where additions fall 14. We use its overall 5 to 20 percent range, which gives $8,784 to $35,137, and a total of $184,469 to $210,822. At the 10 to 20 percent remodel range, the fee is $17,569 to $35,137.

What the example shows. The fee is a visible, separate number only if the contract makes it one. In design-build, the number may be folded into the construction price. Ask for the design fee and the construction price as separate lines in every proposal, so you can compare a design-build proposal with a designer plus a contractor on identical terms.

Permit fees are the same either way. As an illustration, Wayzata's 2026 schedule applied to an $81,187 valuation gives roughly $1,383 to $1,681, depending on which plan review percentage the city uses 17. See the permits guide for the arithmetic 11. A gap of that size is small compared with the design fee range above.

We found no sourced durations for design, bidding or construction of a Minnesota remodel, so we do not state weeks. Instead, here is how the stages stack, using the stage order and the sourced waiting periods.

Separate designer and general contractor: design (D weeks), then bidding by several contractors (B weeks), then permit review (P weeks), then construction (C weeks). Total = D + B + P + C. The Attorney General's handbook advises at least three written bids on a significant project and a detailed scope before you meet contractors, which is what B stands for 3.

Design-build: design and pricing happen with one firm (D weeks, with early price input), then permit review, then construction. Total = D + P + C, minus any overlap (O) if the firm starts ordering long-lead items or finalizing details during design. DBIA states that design-build gives owners earlier knowledge of firm costs and faster delivery, but gives no figures 1. Whether you save B weeks depends on your own willingness to skip competitive bids.

Sourced waiting periods you can put into either timeline: Plymouth says some simple residential permits are issued at application and other residential applications take up to five working days 9. Wayzata lists no review time and requires a survey, a tree preservation plan and other items before permits are issued, and incomplete plans are rejected without feedback 1018. A home solicitation cancellation window runs through the third business day 19. Lien holdback runs 120 days after completion 13. Statutory warranty notice and repair steps run in days and months, as the handbook lays out 15.

Fill the formula with each firm's own quoted weeks and ask them to put those weeks in the proposal. The comparison is then your arithmetic, not our guess. Ask each firm what starts the clock, for example, signed design agreement, deposit, or permit approval.

DBIA says design-build gives owners earlier knowledge of firm costs than separate-contract methods 1. In practice, ask the design-build firm when you get a fixed price, what the design phase costs, and whether that fee is credited if you proceed.

With a general contractor, you typically get bids after the drawings exist. The Attorney General's handbook says an unusually low bid can signal inexperience, cut corners or later price increases for unforeseen problems, and warns about cost-plus and time-and-materials pricing 3. That gives you competing prices on the same drawings, at the cost of finishing design first.

With design-build, you give up the easy chance to have several firms price one set of drawings. You also rely on one firm for both the design and the check on that design. You gain one point of contact, and a team that can talk about price while drawings are being made.

With a general contractor, you give up that single point of contact. You coordinate the designer and the builder, and when the drawings and the build disagree, you may sit between two parties. You keep the drawings, and the ability to take them to other contractors.

Use these to compare the two routes on the same terms.

• What is the license number, and does the name on it match the name on the contract? Look it up yourself 11.
• Design-build: what does the design phase cost, and is it credited if you build with the same firm? In full, in part, or not at all?
• Design-build: do you get the drawings if you stop after design, and can another contractor use them?
• Who is drawing the plans, are they a licensed architect or engineer, and who stamps drawings if the city requires it 49?
• General contractor: who coordinates the designer and the builder when the drawings and the site disagree?
• General contractor: will the contractor give a rough price before you pay for a full set of drawings, or only after?
• Who pulls permits, who schedules inspections and who pays each fee? Put it in the contract 15.
• What does the contract exclude, and who covers it? If you are comparing proposals, the bid-reading guide on this site applies to both.

Work through these steps in order.

• Step 1: do you already have drawings or an architect you trust? If yes, use a general contractor and bid the drawings. You own the plans and can get several prices 3.
• Step 2: if you have only a loose idea, ask both a design-build firm and a designer what they would deliver in the first month and what it costs, as a separate line 14.
• Step 3: is the project small, such as a minor kitchen? A full architect fee can be a large share of the job (see Example 1), so a design-build firm or a designer-builder with a modest fixed design fee may fit better.
• Step 4: is the project structural, such as an addition? Ask who is licensed to draw and stamp it, and check whether your city requires an architect or engineer 59.
• Step 5: if you choose design-build, require in writing the design fee, the credit, who owns the drawings, and when you will receive a fixed construction price 1.
• Step 6: if you choose a separate designer and contractor, require three written bids on the same drawings and compare them on the same scope 3.
• Step 7: whichever route, look up the license, read the contract against the statute, and get permit duties in writing before you sign 211.
• If a firm will not state the design fee, the credit and the drawings ownership in writing, treat that as your answer.

Ask every firm which part of the project they will not be responsible for, then decide who covers it. This page is an AI research draft pending expert review and is not legal advice.