FAQ

If you are asking this question, you are already behind schedule!

Most clients find out they need Design services too late in the development process and then discover they are far behind schedule.  It is important you find an architect at the conception phase of a project so you can make better timeline decisions and plan for the long road of design and construction. 

It takes Months, not weeks!

The time it takes to complete the design portion of the work can vary from as little as a few months to up to a year (or more). It depends on the complexity of the scope of work, how quick you are to make decisions, how quickly we can come to a design solution that meets your needs and any special permitting or regulatory hurdles we face.

We proceed in 'PHASES', not dates.   The faster we can receive your approval of completing each phase allow us to expedite your project.   If we try to skip ahead, we will most certainly need to back track to complete unfinished phases, which will lead to delays. 

Attempting to expedite a project will lead to delays!

Projects that follow our Workflow process tend to get completed faster than projects in which we try to expedite. You must have realistic timelines and prepare that your project will take longer to design than you want to be.  There is no 'SUPERMAN' design process!        

This depends on project size and complexity as well as the Contractor’s schedule and workload. You can expect it to take between 12 and 16 months for the average custom-built project from start to finish.

We recognize that designing your project can be an expensive endeavor and we will try to work with you to manage these costs.

A couple of things to prioritize when thinking about how to effectively control design fees:

1. Exploring more options, while a really enjoyable exercise for all,  will increase the fees get expensive quickly!

2. Be up front with your goals, likes and dislikes.  Architects thrive on critical dialogue so don’t be afraid to be direct and candid. Without an honest, open dialogue the process will take longer to arrive at something you’re happy with.

3. Match the size of your desired goals with your budget.  This keeps all parties working toward a singular goal. It’s much easier to work early on to define a realistic project scope of work that meets your budget rather than to try and remove money from an oversized project during the bidding or construction phase.  We advocate designing smaller, more energy efficient + affordable projects as a starting point.

4. Review all of our Workflow Phases and Steps, Terms and Conditions, and Policies.  Understanding how we work will keep our hours/fees down.  It is cheaper for us to do work and move forward rather than stopping work to spend time on creating timelines and updates.

While we love designing things, design is only one part of what we do on a project. There’s a lot of communication that happens behind the scenes.  We refer to this as 'project management' and its duties are spread across all of the phases of work.

For a project to run smoothly, communication between everyone – Owner, Contractor, Architect, Consultants, Other Agencies - is extremely important.  It is important that ALL parties follow our organized communication policies. These administrative processes are in place to make sure your project runs efficiently and on schedule.

The following will most certainly slow down your project!

1. Note reading your Service Agreement, Workflow, and other Policies we have provided:   All of our Workflow processes and terms are available and clients that do not read this information slow the project down so we waste time repeating or explaining the process.

2. Ignoring email communications:  There may be questions we need answered or tasks that you must complete, or approvals you must give that block us from moving forward.

3. Providing us information later in process.   If you cannot give us Spec Sheets, Shop Drawings, or other information on the project, we will run into a road block later in the project.

4. Hiding information or being dishonest about details, use, or progress of your project.  The Code and Local Authorities need to know what you are doing on a project.  If you cannot provide concrete decisions about your project,  it will confuse everyone involved on your project and no one will move forward.

5. Assuming we or you  know all the answers.   There are lots of processes, research, and communications required between many people and codes.   Answers to your questions may not be apparent immediately and after much research, we may find out the answer is not what you want.

We prefer to review your project and give you a quote based on your needs. Our fees vary project to project so we can give you the most reasonable fees for the services you need.

Expect anywhere from 1%-10% of your construction budget depending on project size and type.

Building Code and Local Laws require architects to ‘produce’ their own plans under their own supervision. Therefore, Architects are required to re-draw your plans. We provide more than just ‘drafting’, we review your project for code compliance, accessibility, and conflicts between mechanical, electrical, and structural systems. To fully understand your project the local authorities, rely on architects to provide professional-looking plans that provide a clear scope of work that complies to code.

The local authority relies on us to oversee the project and produce plans so they can understand the project. Even though your project may be small, the local authority may require more plans than you think you need so they can understand the scope of work. These plans may include electrical, hvac, and plumbing plans. This may be a lot of work to show you are doing very little work.

Architects are a service-based industry and may require multiple outside consultants and engineers. Each project is unique and requires a prediction of time and services needed.

We can work with you on a Lump Sum Fee, Hourly Fee, or Percentage based fee. We will try to work with your budget, however, depending on the market and project scope of work, the project may cost more than your anticipated budget. Please let us know your budget early on so we can try to offer you the minimum services that you need.

The law requires most projects (even small projects) to receive a building permit prior to starting construction. You would need to hire an architect to provide you with plans to submit for the permit application. Unfortunately, this may result in delays and additional costs for you to wait for your plans to be produced.

The Code and Law require a building permit. Failing to produce plans and pulling a permit could result in penalties, delays, and additional costs waiting for an architect to complete plans during the project. You will also be responsible for costs to ‘undo' or 'expose’ construction that is complete to show compliance with code or pass inspections.

As a property owner you are responsible for verifying your project is properly located on the site and complies to setbacks and local zoning laws to understand exactly where your project sits on the site, you will need a licensed Surveyor to provide exact boundary line locations. If you choose to build your project without a Survey, you will be responsible for costs and damages to relocate your project if it is built over the boundary lines or violates setbacks.

Keep in mind that our other Client’s may feel their project is more important than your project.

Although you may be in a rush, we start projects upon approval of service agreements. If a service agreement is not approved in a timely manner, other pending service agreements that are already approved will be completed ahead of your project. It is important you approve a service agreement quickly if you need to expedite the project.

We understand the importance of your deadline, however we will not be expected to work under extreme pressure, overtime, or stress. We will not promise or guarantee deadlines as many factors beyond our control could delay your project.

Most questions and RFI’s require additional research to find an answer. In the current digital/remote age, we require all questions and RFI’s to be submitted electronically to your project manager.

Attempting to text or call in your question will require additional time for us process your request. Verbal and text questions may get ignored, lost, or forgotten.