Start by selecting the NotchSB home you're interested in, or sharing your ideas for a custom approach, along with whatever information you have about your property. We will schedule a call to review the project, discuss your goals, identify any additional site information needed, and outline next steps. Following that call and a $5,000 Project Initiation Fee, we begin adapting your selected approach to your site.

Our starting price is based on a pre-designed NotchSB home using our standard building system, specifications, and finish selections. It includes the NotchSB building shell and bathroom pod package, along with delivery and installation based on our standard site assumptions. 

The standard price also includes allowances for local General Contractor costs. While we have made assumptions based on historic costs, construction pricing for locally completed construction can vary significantly. Importantly, you do not have to figure this part out on your own. As the project develops, NotchSB will work with you and your local General Contractor to define the complete scope of work and establish a comprehensive project budget before construction begins.

Yes. While NotchSB can provide individual components of our building system, our standard approach is to provide a n integrated package of walls, roofs, ad pod systems.

The NotchSB building system has been developed through multiple generations of projects to simplify engineering, fabrication, and installation while maintaining design flexibility and building performance. Using the complete system allows us to coordinate these components together and is the most efficient and cost-effective approach.

If your project requires only wall or roof panels, we can evaluate it as a custom scope. Additional engineering and coordination will be required to integrate NotchSB components with structure or assemblies provided by others.

For projects within our General Contracting service area around Belfast, Maine, NotchSB may be able to serve as the General Contractor for the project.

Outside of our service area, we will work with you to identify and vet a qualified local General Contractor, introduce them to the NotchSB building system, coordinate scopes of work, and incorporate their pricing into the overall project budget.

The owner contracts directly with the local General Contractor. NotchSB fabricates, delivers, and installs our building shell and bathroom pods and provides construction administration and coordination for our scope throughout construction.

A typical NotchSB home takes approximately 7 – 12 months from project initiation to move-in. Timing varies based on the site, home size, permitting, Owner decisions, local General Contractor availability, and our production schedule.

Typical project phases include:

1. Design, site coordination, & permitting: 1 – 3 months

2. Procurement & fabrication: 2 – 3 months

3. Delivery & installation: 1 – 3 weeks

4. Site work, systems & finishes: 3 – 6 months

Yes. Our pre-designed homes have been carefully developed and optimized for the NotchSB building system, so choosing the standard design and options is the most efficient and cost-effective path.

We can accommodate modifications or develop a custom design, including working with your architect or designer, but changes or a custom approach will affect engineering, fabrication, schedule, and ultimately cost. Design modifications and custom design services are provided on an hourly basis. We will review the anticipated scope and budget with you before proceeding with any work.

Yes. NotchSB can coordinate permitting and provides permit-level construction documents for pre-designed homes, as well as stamped structural and foundation engineering sets for both pre-designed and custom approaches.

Before we can finalize the location of your home, we require reliable existing-conditions information for the property. This generally includes a current survey showing property boundaries, setbacks, relevant easements and rights-of-way, existing improvements, wetlands, and adequate topographic information.

Depending on your site and local requirements, additional services may be required from a surveyor, site evaluator, civil engineer, wetlands professional, geotechnical engineer, or other qualified consultants. These third-party services are contracted and paid for separately.

If unusual permitting requirements, design changes, additional studies, or substantial coordination are required, NotchSB can provide additional support on an hourly basis.

Our standard foundation is a frost wall with an unconditioned crawl space. A full basement can be incorporated for an additional cost.

We can also adapt our system to certain pier foundations when appropriate for the site, although this typically requires additional engineering and associated costs. The NotchSB building system is not compatible with insulated concrete form (ICF) or slab-on-grade foundations.

Our homes are designed around simple, efficient, all-electric mechanical systems. Heating and cooling are typically provided by air source heat pumps, sized for the home’s high-performance envelope and local climate. 

Because our homes are built to be airtight, we also incorporate balanced mechanical ventilation using an HRV or ERV, providing continuous fresh air while recovering energy from the exhaust air.

Domestic hot water and other mechanical systems are selected based on the home design, climate, project requirements, and available standard options.

Our standard assembly provides approximately R-26 walls and R-53 roofs, paired with high-performance triple-glazed windows and doors.

For projects seeking higher levels of energy performance, we can provide up to R-40 walls and R-60 roofs for a more highly insulated envelope assembly. We can also evaluate alternative glazing packages as project goals and budgets warrant.

Yes. We offer a curated range of standard finish selections designed to work with each NotchSB home and its pricing.

If you would like to identify options outside of our standard selections, we are happy to explore them with you. Custom selections may result in additional design, procurement, material, or coordination costs, which we will identify with you before proceeding.