By Design

Custom Plans for your Home

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Steps in the Design Process

  1. Initial interview meeting:
    1. Meet at our office to discuss the scope of your project.
    2. Bring with you any ideas and pictures you may have that reflect the style/look that you want for your new home.
    3. Also bring a copy of your lot survey and deed restriction if you have already purchased your property.
    4. Extensive notes will be taken by us of things such as your budget, square footage requirements, design ideas, etc.
    5. This step usually takes around two hours.
    6. After the meeting, we will review your information and mail you a design agreement with our required fee.  A retainer of 50% will be required to initiate the design process.
  1. A site visit at the lot (optional):
    1. If needed, this would be done before any time is spent drawing preliminary plans.
    2. The site will be evaluated for overall lay or slope of the land, the location and direction of the best views and objectionable ones, potential home location, directions of the sun’s path across the property, sunny/shady/windy areas, trees to be saved, any special natural features noted and the logical entrance to property for the driveway.
    3. Setback lines and easements will also be discussed.
    4. This meeting will last between 30 minutes and one hour.
  1. We will then review all of the information compiled and begin the preliminary design process:
    1. First a rough concept sketch will be drawn on the site plan to determine the best size and shape for the lot.
    2. Then a larger sketch will be started of the ideas that first come to mind, a basic floor plan will be started and overlays of other ideas may be drawn to show alternatives.
    3. Generally all floor plan levels will be sketched and the start of a front elevation will be generated.
  1. Once the sketches are prepared and copies made a review meeting will be arranged to present our ideas to you for discussion:
    1. Additional overlay sketches may be drawn during this meeting as additional ideas and changes are discussed.
    2. A copy of all drawings will be given to you to take home to digest and discuss the information further.  This step should be a minimum of a week since it sometimes will take at least that much time for you to think of all the possibilities to discuss at the next meeting.
  1. The next review meeting will be held to discuss the changes made to the plans since the last meeting and any new ideas that came to mind after that meeting.
    1. Again, overlays may be drawn of the potential new ideas.
    2. The front elevation will be discussed along with any ideas about the rear and side elevations.
    3. The review meetings will generally take one to two hours.
  1. This may lead to another review meeting:
    1. Generally all the changes discussed to date will have been made to this point and all the exterior elevations will have been roughly outlined.
  1. Final preliminary plans:
    1. Once all the changes have been made to the floor plans and exterior elevations, the final square footage will be calculated.
    2. Copies will be made of these drawings and the site plan for your use in obtaining preliminary pricing from your builder.
    3. This gives you the opportunity to make sure that what you are still within your budget.  Also, the builder may have suggestions on things such as material changes that could help to keep the project within budget.
    4. This phase will generally take 3-5 weeks.
    5. The time spent in design and review meetings will be compiled and any additional money owed will be paid at this time.
  1. Construction Plans:
    1. When we get the go-ahead to start the construction plans, a second retainer of 40% will be paid to the designer to begin.
    2. All the drawings necessary to complete the project will be drawn, as outlined in the design agreement.
    3. After all these steps have been taken, prints will be run of the complete set of plans.  A total of five sets are provided to you at this time, which is included in the fee.
    4. The balance of the design fee will be due at the time of delivery of the plans.
    5. Additional sets of prints will be run as needed after this and will be charged according to the number of sets.