Design vs Architect Services

13 years ago

We are building our first custom home but have built the house we currently live in through a "subdivision" builder where we selected a floor plan, made a few customizations, and chose the design items from their limited selection. So while we have built a home before we are new to the custom process. We want to spend about $400k on construction of a 3000-3400 main floor master with kids bedrooms upstairs. After being advised by potential builders that some of the stock plans we were showing them were more complicated and be expensive to build (plus we would still want to make changes) I decided to start looking at more cost efficient home plans like those used by some "subdivision builders" in our area and found one that flowed how I want but would want to change the staircase and redesign some of the smaller areas like bathrooms, pantry, laundry, etc but the overall main rooms are what I want. However my husband feels we'd have to compromise on the exterior elevation with this plan bc we like traditional Georgians but this plan has a front protruding garage which is obviously not true to that arch style but I think we could make it work to look more like an addition if we mixed the materials, or go with a different arch style altogether like more of a neo- European style. This seems like a cost efficient approach, but then some builders have also recommended we work with an architect to draw up something from scratch to address my husbands concerns about exterior. And that is where I get confused bc I've been referred to designers/architects who charge anywhere from $700, $1 per square foot so prob $3-4k, and then $7500. And then I see references on here to people spending $20-30k. Huge price differences! We don't have a difficult lot and don't have a budget for a complicated design so our thought is to start working with the cheaper option of $700 and he has proposed paying about $200 up front for him to see if he can put together something conceptually from scratch that meets our floor plan as well as exterior wish list, and then if not moving to the plan I found as a backup. Explain to me if this is not a good idea or why we would need to spend 5 to 10 times that amount.

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Comments (2)

virgilcarter
13 years ago
Faulstr, your description is typical of that for many folks, I think. At the end of the day, only you can decide where your priorities for house design and how your budget will best match supporting them.

You've described the universe of house design options: from simply picking a stock sub-division plan with cosmetic options; to stock plans from a plan factor which almost always need changes to address functional needs, property conditions, climatic conditions, regulatory requirements and your budget; to semi-complete designs from a designer; to complete architectural design, bidding and construction administrations services.

Each of these approaches is very different in terms of quality, custom-fit, completeness and competency. It's one of those situations where one gets pretty much what one pays for.

The greatest indeterminate factor in this rather complex equation may be your husband and yourself, since it's you who have to fit comfortably with the choice you make and live with the responsibility for the choice(s) you make.

I can say, with some certainty, that you will not get a lot, either in width or depth, for $700, $1/SF, $3-4K, or in that range. How could any competent professional make a living and stay in business at those rates?

Your house's financial and emotional expense may be the single largest of your life. What sort of investment should make to help it be as successful as possible?

Good luck on your project.
sanveann
13 years ago
Faulstr, we were in the same boat as you. The cost of hiring an architect would have pushed our house back at least a year or more, an idea that was frankly unbearable. We're already bursting at the seams here!

We ended up going with a residential designer who came highly recommended by our builder and a couple of homeowners who've used him. We've been extremely happy with our plans.
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