Welcome to Breakthrough Builders
Your building partner in California!
Breakthrough Builders provides specialized expertise in New Construction, Additions and ADUs
South Bay
Up to Morgan Hill and Santa Cruz
Peninsula
Up to South San Francisco
East Bay
Up to Hayward
Breakthrough Builders is more than just a homebuilder – We are leading the way in design, permitting and construction of high-quality homes that reflect the uniqueness people who live in them. The result is a homebuilding experience that is more personal, more collaborative, and more empowering than our homebuyers ever could have imagined. We cater to the Silicon Valley customer that is detail oriented, expects us to be reachable online, and wants regular status updates.
Our founder has over 17 years of construction experience, and over 20 years of high-tech corporate experience, with bachelor’s in EE/CS, and MBA in finance. We want to be the most reliable builder our customers have ever worked with, and we work hard to make sure our customers have a good experience with the process.
OUR SERVICES
Project Scoping
Defining the scope of a project is critical, because it determines complexity of the project, the regulatory involvement (e.g. permits, inspections, etc.), and the time and budget needed to complete the project. At this stage, it is important to determine what’s included in the project, as well as what is excluded, and all parties involved need to agree about the scope of the project.
After determining the project scope with the customer, we work with architects and various professionals (e.g. structural, civil, soils, sound engineers, arborists, naturalists, green planners etc.) to put together a plan that would meet the customer’s requirement, work through the planning / building process of the project city, and be buildable in the most cost and time-effective manner.
Contractors generally don’t get involved at this stage, because they can’t bill the client, since no construction has started yet. We work with you from the very start, because proper scoping helps cut through red tape and avoid surprises later on.
We work with architects and CAD drafters from the very start of the project, and we know how to save you money from the very start. Contact us to find out how we can help you.
Project Planning
Some cities pose challenging requirements for construction, and, if not understood and complied with, this phase of a construction project can take two years or more. Homeowners making mortgage payments on their lots are forced to wait, while cities go through their planning and building processes. Through proper scoping and design, we cut through a lot of the red tape, by designing a project that would not violate the city’s rules and regulations.
In general, the planning department makes sure the plans comply with their general plans, zoning ordinances, and city policies. The building department confirms that the architectural and structural plans comply with applicable codes for building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, and green energy.
The planning and building departments may require changes to the architectural, structural, and site plans, and our goal is to keep the process flowing, keep changes to a minimum, and design something that can be built within time and budget allocations.
Construction Planning
By this stage, we have received a building permit, with an expiration date. We start to develop a tight budget and lining up resources. The construction industry works on the concept of trades (e.g. electrical, plumbing, drywall, paint, roofing, etc.), and the State of California defines 41 trades. We work with high quality sub-contractors from each trade to build a budget for the client, and to determine the entire time-frame of the project.
While the client often has just the end result in mind, we determine the various steps that lead to that result, and we optimize every step for cost and schedule. We employ project management software and identify critical path items that need special emphasis and attention.
Construction Management
Once the work starts, we keep an eye on each trade to determine adherence to scope, budget and schedule, and to ensure quality of work. We are in the field every day to keep an eye on the workers and to make on-the-spot decisions that will keep the project going.
City inspectors want to make sure various stages of the project comply with building codes and city requirements, and we line up inspections with the city personnel, and we are onsite to meet them and address their concerns, if any.
If we encounter unforeseen issues at this stage, such as worker absences, material supply, weather issues, etc., we work hard to mitigate the risk and impact to budget and schedule, and to make sure the work doesn’t stop.
We provide regular updates to clients, based on their preferences.
Project Financing
We have relationships in place with various financial institutions and can recommend the best options to you. For “green” projects involving insulation, paint, roofing and solar, Federal and State rebates can reduce the cost of the project by 30% to 50%.
We can have your project financed through the PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program offered by various counties in the state of California – your investment in “green” projects is rolled into your property taxes. 100% financing, no out of pocket cost – the balance can transfer to new owner upon sale – no credit score requirement – no income verification – no debt to income ratio – low fixed payments – no prepayment penalty. Contact us for details.