Six phases before a board is cut.
Preconstruction is where an iLevel home is really built. By the time we break ground, the vision, the budget, and every material decision are already settled.
We build your house twice.
First on paper. Then in real life. iLevel was founded by a mechanical engineer who watched too many homes in the Black Hills go sideways. So every build runs the way an engineering firm runs a project: documented, sequenced, and visible from anywhere you are.
The Golden Gate took fourteen years of planning before a single rivet was set. We bring that same discipline to every custom home.
From idea to permit-ready, with nothing left to surprise you.
Your Vision
We start by listening. The way you want to live in the space, the rooms that matter most, the moments you want the house to hold. Not every detail at once, just a shared understanding of the home you are trying to build.
Project Overview
Ideas take shape. We identify the priority details, refine the direction of the project, and confirm it reflects the way you actually plan to live. This is where the home goes from idea to concept.
Timeline & Budget
We outline the budget holistically and evenly, so no part of the home is left out of balance by short-sighted planning. Schedule, financing milestones, decision deadlines, all laid out in one document.
Materials
Working from our in-house design model, we build a complete material list with proactive deadlines for every selection. Lead times tracked. Allowances set. Nothing waiting on a decision the week of install.
Documentation
Everything comes together into clearly communicated documents for every subcontractor and specialist on the build. Plan sets in Chief Architect. Markups in Bluebeam. The schedule and budget in Ressio.
Updates
A single-flow view of every vendor, sub-project, and decision, so the build stays transparent from groundbreaking to handoff. Daily logs, photos, 3D scans, and the same line-item financials you saw at signing.
A calmer build, from anywhere you happen to live.
One accountable team
Design, preconstruction, and construction held by iLevel from foundation to final walkthrough. No handoffs that drop the ball.
Full transparency
Every actual cost tagged, coded, and documented in QuickBooks before billing. Monthly draws on actuals plus the builder fee.
Built for remote owners
Most iLevel clients build from out of state. 3D Vista scans, daily logs, and a portal you can open from anywhere keep you in the loop.
What owners ask about the six phases.
How long do the six phases take before we break ground?
Four to six months on a typical Black Hills build, from the first discovery call to a signed contract with permits in hand. Lot complexity moves that. A flat in-town parcel with municipal utilities moves faster than a hillside acreage that needs soils work, a well site, and a long access drive. We give you a phase calendar in phase three so you can see the dates rather than guess at them.
Do we have to own the land before phase one starts?
No. Plenty of owners come to us with two or three lots they are weighing. Phase one is the right place for that, because we can walk each one and tell you what it will ask the build to do before you commit money to it. If you already own your land, we start from what you have and the site walk happens on day one instead of on three properties.
What if I change my mind about something in phase four?
That is exactly what phase four is for. Material selections are where opinions move, and moving them on paper costs an eraser. We track selection deadlines against lead times, so the answer is usually yes right up until the order goes in. Once a long-lead item is ordered, a change becomes a real cost, and we will tell you that plainly before you decide.
Who actually does the design work?
Our own design team, in-house, working in Chief Architect. That is why phases two, four, and five connect the way they do: the person drawing the plan and the person building the material list are on the same team, so a question about a beam or a cabinet run gets answered the same day. If you already have a designer you want to work with, we build from their drawings and run them through our model.
Can I stop after preconstruction without starting construction?
Yes. Preconstruction and construction are separate commitments. Some owners finish phase five, look at the real budget on real bids, and decide to wait a season or adjust the program. That is a legitimate outcome and better than finding out in month nine. The work is not wasted either, since the drawings and the pricing carry forward when you are ready.
Start preconstruction with iLevel.
Tell us about your land, your family, and the home you have in mind. Jason or someone on the team will be in touch within one business day.
