STEP 1: [First meeting]
Come to our office with your idea book and if you have already purchased your property bring a copy of your lot survey and deed restrictions. At this first meeting, be prepared to discuss your project in great detail. Throughout the meeting, we will review your responses, and take extensive notes to ensure that your new home will not only meet your needs, but will also exceed your expectations. This first meeting usually takes about one hour. We will then review your information and present you with our contract. Also at this time I can give an approximate fee for the job. We will strive to remain as close as possible to this figure keeping in mind that projects change a lot during the course of completion. This fee varies from project to project and with the amount of changes required. We will also collect a deposit at this time.
An optional visit to your lot would be done at this point, before any time is spent drawing preliminary plans. If needed, the site would be evaluated for general conditions such as: slope of the land, positive or negative views, home location, special natural features of the lot, and the logical location of the driveway. Setback lines and easements will also be discussed. This meeting usually lasts thirty minutes to one hour.
STEP 2: [Design process]
After reviewing all of the information at our disposal, we will begin the preliminary design process. First, a preliminary site plan will be laid out to show the location of the setbacks and easements. Second, a rough sketch will be drawn on the site plan to determine the best size and shape for the lot. Next, a larger drawing will be started based on the information from your completed questionnaire and our meeting. Finally, when all the basic floor plans and elevations have been completed, we will contact you to come in for a review meeting.
STEP 3: [Second meeting]
At this meeting, we will present our interpretation of your ideas for discussion. We will have the sketches prepared and copies made for you to review. During this meeting, new ideas and changes will be discussed, and additional sketches may be drawn to reflect these new concepts. Copies of all the drawings will be given to you to take home and study, giving you ample time to examine and discuss all the information further. This should take about a week, which will give you enough time to organize your thoughts before the next meeting. A preliminary phase payment will be due at this time.
STEP 4: [Third meeting OR phone consultation / e-mail]
The ideas and changes discussed previously will be the subject of this meeting, as well as any new ideas that may have come to you afterwards. Again, new sketches may be drawn to reflect these new ideas. The front elevation will also be discussed during this time, along with ideas regarding the rear and side elevations. This review meeting may take one to two hours. You will again be given copies of the sketches to take home and examine.
By this time, all of the new ideas and changes will have been addressed; the remaining elevations will have been roughly sketched out; and the request for final working drawings will have been made. In some cases, though, STEP 4 may be repeated several times at your request, just to make sure you are getting everything you have requested.
STEP 5: [Optional]
When all of the changes to the floor plans and exterior elevations have been made, we will calculate the square footage. We will then make copies of these drawings and the site plan for your use in obtaining preliminary price bids from your builder and a bank set for the appraiser. It usually takes three to five weeks for this part of the process. Payment at this time depends on the amount of changes and time required.
STEP 6: [Finalize]
This is the final part of the design process; one could say the most important part. This is when you give us the go-ahead to start the final working drawings of your new home. All the drawings necessary to finish the project will be drawn, checked over, and updated as needed to get your plans to you. When we are satisfied that your plans measure up to our standards, we will have prints made of your home plans. We will provide you with a total of five sets plus a building permit set; the balance of the design fee will be due at the time of delivery and you deposit credited to the job. Additional sets will be run as needed, and you will be charged according to the number of sets requested.
Our Design Questionnaire has been developed to help you begin the design process needed to plan your new home, addition, or renovation. This document will focus on each area of your home and allow you to begin to make many design choices. The process of designing and building a new home will have you making hundreds of decisions before completion.