Answers You Need

A Residential Designer (sometimes called a Building Designer) typically focuses on single family homes, including multi-units like townhomes and duplexes. We provide the construction plans and help move a project from conception to obtaining permits.

Interior designers and landscape designers, though, are specialists in their own fields that you may also choose to use. We can and do overlap, but an interior designer will not draw foundations, and a landscaper will not coordinate with the truss manufacturer. Likewise, a Residential Designer will typically not match drapes or select plant species. We are here to design the home itself.

Simply put, mostly cost, from a home design point of view. And generally speaking, both must know the building codes. Both may share a passion for style. But an Architect usually works on larger structures such as Churches, office buildings, and skyscrapers, and will be familiar with cutting edge trends. A Designer normally focuses on smaller structures like homes (house plans), will understand traditional styles, and may be more in touch with local trades.

Furthermore, Architecture is a legal practice defined by the State and Architects usually come from a firm while Designers are very often independent or work in small offices. Due to the nature of being an architect, the costs of hiring one are almost always much higher than working with a Designer.

Not at all! We design all across the spectrum of residential needs, from simple one room additions and garage shops on up to large, elaborate homes in high-end communities.

No, consultations over the phone and by email are always free. Locally, a site visit is also free. If you’re further away then we can travel to meet you, but a fee will be required (though that fee is credited back if you contract with us). Consultations are usually brief, but then if you choose to hire us, a much more in depth interview will take place.

Think about how your daily life functions. Does your family like to cook? Do you entertain a lot? Or Never? Do you have pictures of homes and rooms that you think are just fantastic? Are there features in some homes that you just don’t like at all? If it comes down to it, what are you willing to compromise to stay in budget?

Experience has taught us it’s best to think of home features, like a breakfast nook or a game room or even skylights, in one of three ways: “Must Have”, “Maybe”, and “Must Not Have”. Try to make a list with three columns for each of those categories. It’s better to make those choices earlier.

We’ll also need whatever information you have about your property as well. A design interview usually takes up to 2 hours. This is what we’ll use to compare where the design is going with what you want from your new home or addition.

For new custom homes, we usually bill four times, each about a quarter of the total contract. The first quarter is due at contract signing, the second portion when the preliminary design has been accepted, the third part when drawings are ready to go out for truss and floor design (which are done by those providers), and the final bill is due when the plans are finished and ready for permits. For remodels or smaller structures such as ADU’s and shops, we charge either a two part or three part flat fee.

Invoices are always due at the time of issuance and payment is expected promptly. There are no rolling accounts. Checks or Zelle are preferred, but credit/debit is available with a 3% service fee.

We find that charging a flat rate fee is best for design. This takes the uncertainty of hourly billing or price per square foot out of it. And with this transparency our clients can see that we have no incentive to make their home more expensive. We come about our rate based on the scope and size and complexity of the project. Engineering or surveying and any other third-party fees are separate and payable directly to them, not through us. To find out how much your project will cost to design, contact us, and we’ll be happy to discuss it.

Maybe, depending on what is required by the jurisdiction or what is simply needed for the design of the home. Since your house and property are a unique combination, this would need to be discussed during consultation.

Square footage is listed as finished and conditioned space. So a 2000 sq. ft. home has 2000 sq. ft. including the thickness of the walls that is heated or cooled and considered livable area. An attached garage, porches, storage attic, etc., are simply included (so long as they are not too unusual) and not counted as extra for our billing purposes. Detached or accessory structures are billed as extra since they are independent structures.

For the purposes of permits and fees, each City or County has their own methods of calculation, and they vary widely. Sometimes the exterior walls might be excluded, or areas with ceilings under a certain height might not count, etc.

For privacy reasons, we usually can’t give out names or addresses. Sometimes a home will appear on the annual Tour of Homes and can be visited.

We prefer to be upfront and say that this is hard to determine. Your ability to make decisions is probably the biggest factor initially, and after the preliminary design is completed the trusses and floor structure have to be designed or verified by those providers, and their schedules depend on their workload. If there is an HOA or ARC review that will add time. And also when a survey needs to be done or if engineering is required. Lastly, even though the design is finished, the building permits can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to obtain depending on how busy the department may be, or what changes they may require. For these reasons and more, we recommend starting the design sooner rather than later once you’ve decided to build your home.

We also offer a word of caution; if any designer or architect says they can "get it done fast", be careful and ask questions.

Copyright is kept by us, and this is normal for house plans from any company. You essentially have the right to build the plan one time at your location.

You receive reproducible prints that you or your builder can use to make as many sets as needed for construction. The plans we release are typically PDF’s and are marked with the building site address as well as the Terms & Conditions.

Note that with rare exception we do not release or sell the original CAD files, but we do send out partial CAD files to industry partners like surveyors or interior designers when it is useful and necessary to them.

Of course. For everything from a license to build the same design more than once (like a stock plan), to subdivision planning with different homes sharing a common theme that your future buyers can choose from, we are happy to discuss a package deal. We can also assist with Architectural Review. And later on if a potential home buyer wants to make a change, that’s possible too. Just contact us to get started.