BEFORE THE ARCHITECT – GUIDANCE
MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (MFAQs) ANSWERED
ABOUT BEFORE THE ARCHITECT
FROM BEFORE THE ARCHITECT
" We see plans from others which are suggestive of subsequent construction. Our plans are directly preparatory to construction." Before The Architect
This webpage is for folks in a rush to learn about Before The Architect and have us consult on house design and construction, actually design a house, and draft house plans. What follows is a respondent e-mail from Before The Architect to a prospective client which e-mail explains -
 |
what we charge and what it can cost, |
|
how we do what we do, |
|
what in fact we do, |
|
what it is we need from a client prospect in order begin to do what we do, |
|
and why we do what we do. |
. . . . . . . . .
Dear Kris,
Fees: Our fees are based on hours worked - consulting, researching, drafting, designing, preparing to plot, plotting if it's from our shop - at the hourly rate for either of us, on the quarter hour. Mrs. AG most often is involved in researching and always in difficult design matters and then usually briefly. I do most of the consulting, some of the researching, and all of the drafting and plotting. We bill once a week - on Mondays - for the previous week's work (about which time spent is by advisory to a client during the course of that week usually by way of e-mail correspondence entries) payable within 5 days via check or PayPal. It is our understanding gained variously over the years that architects charges for new-builds range roughly from 10-15% of a total cost including their bills + construction cost for labor and materials. In major remodeling work, our fees can approach that lower end of 10% (principally for complexities of working out demo, wedding to existing, and relatively smaller costs all-in as compared to to-be-builts). For new-builds, by comparison, our costs tend to range around 5%, sometimes a little more, not often much less. That's still not an insubstantial sum, say, for $400,000 of house total cost (as defined above), mathematically that's $20,000. Could be more in some situations. For smaller houses, that 5% can run up a couple of % points. With size, that 5% is generally a reasonable basis for estimation. We note herewith, that other costs of design - truss work, other engineering advice or action, locally required approvals or stamps - are not part of our fees. For budget purposes, 5% would be tight but possible. A slightly higher number, say, 7.5% would not be imprudent, and should under "normal" circumstances provide a reserve possibly for savings or other, unanticipated distributions.
Note that remodel work is almost always more expensive than to-be-built on this percentage of total cost basis.
Work: We work on a revolving queue, based on actual work arrived for our undertaking, not being prepared for transmission or on its way. Our queue can be 6-8 clients tops, usually fewer. The depth of our queue is ours to determine prospective project by project. Turnover in our queues ranges from a few hours or days to a couple weeks, depending on the nature of work involved, the stage of design development, and the scope of a given project. For example, would that we had come upon a choice point for client consideration and decision, we might determine that point in very short order, convey it with appropriate background and decision tools (if needed), and allow those clients time to decide. On the other end, we may become deeply engaged in certain aspects of design for a given client - especially after the floor plans firm up - and work without stopping for days up to a week or two (very rarely longer). We most often work 7 days a week from early morning to late afternoon.
Work study preferences: We prefer both - 1. a listing or description of that which you seek and that which you do not seek, along with 2. one or more examples of plan sets and pics of that which comes close to your interests and intentions accompanied by notes specifically about what's good for you in the example(s) and what's not. As preparation, we also need a copy of the survey or site plan of the property on which we're designing.
Work output: Our plans for to-be-built properties usually include:
Cover sheet indexing bound sheets.
Specifications and stipulations in text form that can be 4-5 or more sheets, including standards for general notice (e.g., precedents of authority), job site standards of conduct, fastening, foundation, framing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, venting, finishing, etc. plus schedules for itemized surface areas involved, certain nationally-recognized design characteristics (e.g., basic wind speed, ground snow load, etc.), window and door schedules, interior and exterior finishing schedules, emergency egress schedule, illumination schedule, etc.
Details of 1 or more sheets - usually drawings - of foundation cross-sections, studies of framing alternatives of some sort if needed (e.g., soffit alternatives), cantilevers, stair details, tricky framing or finishing areas to highlight, unusual applications, etc.
Elevations, one for each major face and one for each face hidden or obscured by strictly orthogonal views.
Foundation plans - usually separately annotated and dimensioned.
Floor plans for each level, including basement or crawlspace and attic space, usually separately annotated and dimensioned.
Framing plans, more often than not for floors and ceilings and, sometimes exterior walls, and rarely interior walls, sometimes separately annotated and dimensioned.
Deck plans of framing if relevant, usually separately dimensioned and annotated.
Roof plan in plan view with pitches and parts labeled and with schedules for runoff drainage and passive venting.
Electrical plans for each level, including basement or crawlspace and attic space.
To-be-built plan sets roughly 2-3 dozen sheets. We prefer to publish on ARCH D (36"x24"). We only publish in black (and grays) on white opaque bond.
Remodel work usually requires fewer inputs and fewer outputs. Why, then, can costs be higher in percentage terms than for to-be-built work? Usually takes longer to iron out critical elements of what's already there before remodel - especially dimensions - and remodel costs total lots less than to-be-built costs relative to somewhat lesser time spent designing.
You inquired specifically about plumbing plans. In commercial and industrial work, yes. In residential work, rarely, in a conventional sense of isometric, annotated drawings. If a project includes a slab-on-grade application, we define floor drain centerpoints and proximate wall centerlines to over-floor drains related to not less than three points each at least one of which points (and often more) is based on footing elements (usually corners) so that a plumbing contractor can rough-in before slab placement with some confidence of accuracy. This is done in plan view. In all other applications, plumbers rough based on floor plans as far as we've ever encountered, freed up by crawlspace or basement space and open web, metal plate, wood trusses.
We do not do detailed HVAC plans, leaving that to HVAC contractors. (It's a career of itself.)
We also do not do complex low-voltage electrical design (e.g., entertainment, alarm, house control), because we don't know enough about it.
We do no rendering.
We can do some interior design work if requested.
No, our services are not inclusive of things found in a typical home plan. We do way more more in specifications and stipulations than anyone we've ever come across. We've never seen another slab-on-grade plumbing plan like ours (except one absolutely insane disaster). No one we know of schedules watershed runoff or venting. I cannot recall anyone else ever separating plans into annotated and dimensioned sheets for a given design element, but every contractor laying eyes on them appreciates their incremental clarity. We're more interactive than anyone of whom we've heard. We're more cautious and conservative than most. Etc.
So what? In order for a client to get quality design and, especially, quality construction from our plans, that client has to understand them, know what is what, know why, even to some extent, know how. If clients speak with a general contractor or subcontractors or visit their building site and cannot tell what it is their looking at or looking for, those clients' chances of getting used and abused in construction quality - read: safety, durability, convenience - rise immediately and never recede. Get a 4th quarter copy in .pdf of our 165-page "Home Design Standards-Home Building Standards" (see http://www.beforethearchitect.com/DC-HCDS.htm), and begin to gain a sense of that which you're about to engage in residential design and construction if you wish to engage it well and wisely whether it's with us or with others.
AG
· · · · · · ·
About Us ◊ jrp2h2000@yahoo.com ◊ 770-889-6964 ◊ Site Map