Existing Measurements

Unless your project is new construction, the existing conditions need to be documented. This means we usually need to come through and measure every wall, door, window, and other aspects that are already built. We also take photos and file everything in a way that will make it easier for us to design your project later. If you already have existing drawings of your project, this will save some time and money. If you don’t existing drawings, no sweat. The cost is usually around $3000 to measure and draft the existing conditions of a typical home, and the time we spend doing this helps us to get intimate with your home and understand more about it.

Permitting

After the engineers finish their scope of work, we incorporate their information into your architectural plans. We also add further detail and more drawings to the set of plans including a site plan, roof plan, building sections, window and door schedules, energy code calculations, construction details, and fill out the permit forms as required by your building department. Our approach is to keep the permit drawings as simple as possible, so the building department can review them more quickly. We purposely omit a lot of construction information, so the review process may go more quickly because the reviewers will have less to scrutinize.

Next, we setup an appointment with the building department to deliver the plans, and then we wait for them to be reviewed (which fluctuates from a few weeks to a few months depending on the climate). Once the building department reviews the plans, they typically request certain more specific information. We respond to the requests of the various departments until they eventually approve the plans and issue the permit.

Construction Drawings

Either after the permit is approved, or while waiting for the permit to be reviewed, we start creating your construction documents. These are very detailed and technical plans and a thorough list of specifications that your builder will use as a contract during construction to build your project. Whatever the construction documents say to build, purchase, install, demolish, etc, is exactly what the builder is required to do. For this reason, the more detailed the construction documents are, the more control you will have over the quality of your construction. If the plans are less detailed, you are enabling/requesting your builder to design those portions of your project (which is not fair to the builder who already has a busy job building the project).

Bidding

With a clear set of construction drawings and specifications, we send your plans out to qualified builders to get construction bids. As they prepare their bids, they will consult with their sub-contractors for accurate pricing such as plumbers, electricians, excavators, etc. They will commonly ask for clarifications or request permission to recommend alternate materials or methods. As we answer their questions, we communicate the answers with the rest of the bidders to ensure everyone is bidding on the same information for consistency. We also work with the builders in this phase to come up with cost saving strategies known as value engineering.

Once the builders have submitted their bids, we help you interview the builder and evaluate their numbers to ensure they have not omitted any aspects of your project. After deliberations, we help you select a builder, and construction begins.

This is the MOST IMPORTANT PHASE of the design process. As the general contractor begins construction, he or she must communicate your dreams to the laborers performing the work. This is communicated from you, to the architect, to drawings, to a general contractor, to the site superintendent, to a sub-contractor, to the employee swinging a hammer. The information gets lost and misinterpreted if not carefully coordinated. The information is also very technical, and there is A LOT of it. The information in the drawings and specifications was created by highly educated and experienced licensed professionals, and the laborers on site simply need guidance to understand it. Would you expect actors to make a movie by themselves without a director and with just a script in their hands? No. They need the director to rent a studio for filming, hire film crews, get props made, and train the actors on the “feeling” and “perspective” behind the words on the script. The architect is the director, and the laborers are the actors.

That is where we come in. With our expertise, and their craftsmanship, we work together for the common goal of ensuring your design goals are achieved. We administer regular meetings to review the completed work, discuss work to be fixed, materials to be ordered, and we troubleshoot problems before they arise. During construction administration, we rely on our own previous experience doing construction to ensure the theory on the plans and the realities of construction are consistent. We answer the phone calls and quickly come up with solutions as hold-ups arise, and we review the product orders for completeness, accuracy, and code compliance to keep your project on time, on budget, and with the highest level of quality.