I have to disagree with a few of the comments made in the above postings.

1. I suspect that even in the county, you will need to submit construction documents for building permits, that indicates the floor plan ( existing and any modifications to it), electrical, mechanical and plumbing (this can all be indicated on the floor plan, but still need to be shown as new work). Usually, you will need to show a wall section, electrical and plumbing riser diagrams any foundation details involved as well as any code compliance elements (i.e foundation bolts, re-enforcing, exterior wall sheathing for any diaphragm requirements, uplift tie downs, etc., etc.). If you are removing load bearing walls, you'll need to show the new beams and the calculations going in their place. I would strongly suggest you check with your county building or permitting office to establish exactly what is needed. I have both designed and constructed projects (residential) in some pretty out of the way places and have yet to find where I didn't at least need a building permit for a habital structure.

2. There are some regions where even for a residential project (new or remodel) the Owner is required to submit drawings from an Architect that are signed and sealed for permits. A licensed Architect can sign and seal structural elements. In some regions a residential designer may do the drawings with the structural portions signed and sealed by a registered PE (structural).......some areas will accept any PE seal, however, most registration boards view this as unacceptable behavior on the part of the Professional (i.e. electrical engineer sealing structural drawings). In some areas no professional seal is required. Again, check with your local (county) permitting office to determine what you need.

3. If you aren't required to have signed and sealed drawings in your area for your residential project then a competent residential designers should be able to handle your needs..... and by competent I mean a proven designer who can include the necessary structural elements as well as the layout design. Check their references and previous projects.

4. "Record Drawings" are the drawings filed with the permitting office. Usually they keep a record set in the office for the inspectors and require an identical copy kept on the site during construction activities to record any deviations from the permitting set. Any deviations involving windows, doors, wall placements, changes to electrical, plumbing, structural elements, roof framing, etc., etc. should be conveyed to the building department. They aren't so concerned with changes to finishes.

5. What someone above posted as what "record drawings" are is actually "as-built" drawings. Your Architect or designer should do a complete and thorough as-built investigation if you don't already have a previous set of construction documents. If the as-built investigation is needed, and usually are, this information becomes the base of your new drawings and design.

6. There is nothing wrong with working with a designer/contractor. You as the owner set the scope of work for any phase of the final product. Don't allow someone to bullying you into furthering that scope if you're not ready to. If you do elect to use the services of a design/builder and you want to bid out your work, make it clear that you will require separate contracts for the design portion and the building portion. He can bid against the other bidders. If you elect to just negotiate a turn key package with him or her make sure exactly what the stipulations are to be included in the contract (i.e you will provide you relatives to do certain work, you will purchase materials based on his estimates, you will do some elements of the work yourself). The tricky part of doing your own work or hiring your relatives to do some of the work is your GC sets the schedule.........if you hold him up or your subs cause him delays expect to get hit with increased cost (change order for additional time).

Hope this helps.