8,000 s.f.? Where is the project and have you signed a contract with the architect yet?

LOL Macv I hear ya there... Ace good luck. Just ask lots of questions and be sure whats included. Be honest about construction budget and be sure your'e aware of the construction costs for the type of home you are planning and do your best to be sure the architect can design for that budget.

you should bring pictures/magazine tear sheets of exteriors and interior rooms/features that you like. if you want 8000 sq feet tell him you want 5-6000. that should land you in the right place. we asked for 6000 and we have just under 8000. it's been like that for everyone we know that's built! good luck.

Not sure if this is the first architect that you are meeting with but you should interview at least 3 firms to select the best fit for you. As a GC who does only very high end construction(when the economy is good) we have a lot of experience with owners and architects and would give you this advice. I built our home with the assistance of an architect and it has won a few awards, but I went through 6 kitchen designs before it was right. Understand from the beginning that the design process is long and you will spend a lot of time with your architect at both their office and onsite. They will be with you from start to finish and a project of quality will take between 18 months and 2 years to complete. Knowing this, make sure that you like the architect that you select. Also make sure you know up front who will be working on your project. Many times you meet with the principle who has all of the name recognition but end up with one of the junior architects actually completing the details and drawings. So don't fall in love with the boss and then find out you will be working with one or many of his employees.

One last word of advice from a GC....do not take pricing estimates from your architect. It doesn't matter how much experience they have, they always price at about half of actual construction cost. Budget is not a word that architects generally understand since their job is a creative one.

Good luck and feel free to contact me if you have any questions!!!

Thank you, everyone. Some very good advice. We are actually meeting with an architect that is recommended by the builder that we will be using. We asked him for the recommendation, but we are not tied down to using this guy if we aren't comfortable with him.

We've already generally talked cost with the builder. We will be looking at high end finishes. As for the sq. footage, we are in 6900 at the moment, so the 8000 is just based on an estimate considering what we'd like to add/change to our current situation.

It will be two story, but no basement. We are in Texas, so basements are not the norm. Too bad. I'd love one.

Next question, do most architects work with interior designers, or would we be better served to spend the money and hire one for ourselves. I"m hoping this is our forever home, and I really, really want to make sure we don't make any stupid design mistakes along the way.

Thanks again for all your input.

You make a very good point about having an architect recommended by a builder. There is someone on here right now trying to recover from that mess. Be sure architect is not code for residential designer. And if it is be sure that it is a good one (there are bad architects and great residential designers so the degree is not everything but it is an indicator).

I personally would be leery of using an architect recommended by a builder without interviewing others. In my experience, it seems to be the other way around (architect gives builder recs based on folks he has worked with).

Why this builder? Is this one of those things where you buy a lot and have to use that builder? Most folks select the architect and then choose the builder down the road. It is a process, and like some have said expect a well designed house to take months or over a year to get right. Most folks who use an architect also seem to bid out the builder from recs from their architect and others . . . not that you might not want to use this builder after all is said and done but I would not be comfortable committing to it before you have your house designed.

As far as interior designer, I think it is a wonderful idea to have someone on board from the beginning, if they are good at space planning. In fact, that is where the other poster realized her issues - went to an interior designer for furniture placement who drew attention to issues with the kitchen and then posted it on here which drew attention to other major architectural issues. Unfortunately, the foundation had been poured and so changes are limited.

I don't have one - wish I did because it all seems to be falling on me at the moment. Having said that, I have done some interior design on the side (no degree) and so has my mother (she is very good), but still I wish I had someone really good who could say - hate those stairs there, etc.

I have a hard time translating from floorplan to what the space will look like, and am strongly considering hiring someone who can make that transition for me!

Yes, we are locked into a particular builder. It's part of a master planned neighborhood. The builder owns the lot. He is not interested in selling the lot outright. We have researched him for several months. All reports are good. The best testimonial comes from my best friend. Though they didn't build with him, they purchased an existing home that he built. She has no complaints and says the home is well-built. We met with our realtor, who REALLY knows this market and has been selling here for many, many years. She assures us that this builder builds a good home. So, that decision has been made.

We met with the architect. It was a good meeting. It seemed like we were on the same page. He spent about 3 hours just chatting and making notes about what we want/need in a house. We haven't retained him yet, but we probably will.

So much excitement and stress involved in this process, right? We are preparing our current house to put it on the market this Spring. It's risky because, of course, a new build won't be ready for about a year. However, in this market, and the price range of our house, our realtor feels like it's a good idea to go ahead and put it on the market. The risk is, should it sell right away, we are looking at moving into a rental. We do own the house outright, so I'm not particularly stressed about selling right away, but we do have three boys, so I'm stressed about keeping it "show ready" for a long period of time. LOL

Enough from me, I'm rambling at this point. Just getting excited about the whole process, and glad to have found this forum for advice along the way.

"It will be two story, but no basement. We are in Texas, so basements are not the norm. Too bad. I'd love one."

I'm currently building a home in Dallas and it has a full basement. If you love one, why don't you get one? It's not impossible and not even that expensive, just unusual because the shallow frost line makes them a luxury and not a necessity.

If you are locked into using the builder who owns the land, how are you going to ensure you pay a fair price for the construction?

As soon as the plans are drawn, we will negotiate a price per sq. foot, though be assured, we've talked with the builder extensively and have an idea of what is to come. We talked with our realtor at length about what would be a good and fair cost of the home. This development has many homes already built and sold, so we will be negotiating based on those comps. We have not paid for anything yet. We will pay to have plans drawn up and then from there purchase the lot once we've agreed on a price to build with the builder. As long as he knows we are working on plans, he won't sell the lot to anyone else. Really, it's a pretty common way of doing it around here.