First and foremost you should have a budget. That will dictate what can be done. Its not wise to have an architect start drawing plans without having a general idea of what you can afford. Do a little leg work on your own and approach the Building Department in your city or town to find out if an addition will meet all setbacks required on your lot. Then ask them what they will need from either you or the builder as far as plans, surveys and any other information the town will require for permitting. The more work you do up front the more money you will save in the overall scope. When you do decide to move forward after talking with the Building Department you need to be able to hand the architect or remodeler a Scope of Work Booklet or sheet. That way everything you want to do, in as much detail as you can without getting too technical, will give the professional a general sense of what you would like. Now, most likely what you think you can get for a dollar may be far different from what you will get for that same dollar. There is a great scale put out by Remodeling Magazine that you can download online called "Cost vs Value 2015" which will give you a general sense of actual costs for different projects and it it broken down into specific areas of the country. I hope this helps,

we did a lovely addition with "just" a contractor and draftsman because i knew what i wanted to build. measure out the size you want it to be out in your yard and tap a couple corner stakes into the ground for a solid visual, and PRINT OUT interior and exterior color shots of spaces you like. don't just have them on a tablet to show the contractor when he comes by, its better to put a piece of paper in his hand to look at and mark up together.

i think a contractor fears people who dont know what they want as it can be a time waster for him.

and if you dont know what you want or how big you want it to be, then hire an architect who can make suggestions to you.

Thanks everyone! We do have a budget and pretty much know what we want which is why I thought we could skip the architect fees...What I need is Property Brothers to come and take over! ; )

TV--- and TV budgets---- are pure fiction. Completely divorced from reality. Reality costs 2x what you think it will, and needs real design work on the front end. Remodeling costs more than new construction, so be sure your budget is grounded in real world costs. That could be one of the reasons that you have had no interest in helping you develop your project.

We added an addition to our cottage (now our home) a year ago. Found out ahead of time what the township would allow for lot coverage. Needed a minor variance. We had an idea as to what we wanted. Hired an engineer who drew up plans and revised them for us. He also went to the council meeting to discuss our variance. We could have done a lot of this. But he was local, knew what would be approved and he was able to "stamp" the drawings. He was worth every penny.