I'd ask her to bill you. Then you'll know everything you need to know.

In future, whether your family is like that or not, ask beforehand. Good business practices should extend to family as well.

I've asked her a couple of times. She's not talking. If it were that easy I wouldn't have posted my question here.

Assuming you know what restaurants and stores she likes, I'd mail / send her gift cards in $100 amounts... more than one.... keep going!! ;-)

I love it! I think I could send her $100 a month for many years, and maybe that would be ok. :-)

Seems acceptable in many instances, and more personal than a check... oh what if she likes wine, or fruit, etc.... buy a monthly mail package for her?

250 a day if she's family!!

Without pictures, it sounds like a pretty extensive and time consuming project. And, kudos to you for realizing this and insisting on compensating her rather than running with it!! For the sake of a number, and not knowing if she is with a firm of self employed I would say you are in the $7-$12k range. Depending on if she is pulling apart and redesigning all the components, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, etc..

I wouldn't go for the regular gift card idea. It's sort of paying, but not really anywhere near adequate compensation. I think I would let her know that you so appreciate her help, but that you would feel much more comfortable if you knew you were compensating her (at least somewhat) appropriately. I think it's fine for her to give you (and for you to accept) a preferential rate but it should at least be in the ballpark for her time and expertise.

If you've already asked several times and she won't say it could be awkward for her if you keep pressing because she may want to give this to you as a gift. The gift card idea is nice because she'll get them randomly and it will remind her how appreciative you were of the gift she gave you.

I think it is a good idea to just not ask anymore and find out what an architect in your area charges for the service and at least pay 1/2 of that amt. You best be aware our building codes are different than theirs and make sure she is also aware of that.

What about treating her to a vacation as an alternative to paying her cash? You could also pay for professional photos of the finished product for her to use for her business. I think architect fees are typically a percentage of the budget and vary based on work required, and experience. Houzz says 8-15% (without family discount of course!).

First thought, wow! You have a great sounding family treating each other, helping each other so refreshing. Love the vacation idea. Just to give you a base to go off of we did a 300,000 renovation our architect fee was about $7,500.

Cancer Floor's advice the most sound.

We are just finishing a 2200 sf new build in California. The architect bids for our project ranged from $7500 to $15000.

Totally disagree with Cancork pricing! We've discussed our new build with three architects and all have been under 30k. This is for a 4000 square foot new build in North Van BC.

I like the vacation idea...perhaps flights for her and her partner/family to visit you for the housewarming then continuing into a ski trip or cruise. If you offer the vacation and she sidesteps again, consider sponsoring her for a professional event, a scholarship in her name or a charitable donation to her favorite cause

Large international cash transfers can be difficult and expensive and then there are possible tax or currency regulations to consider.

So the consensus seems to be somewhere between $7000 and $70,000. :-)

Thanks for the good thoughts and advice, everyone.

perhaps she plans to bill you?

This project sounds more complicated than a new build. You have an old home, possibly in a historic district with all types of codes and rules, you're gutting part of it and adding an addition. Can you check with a designer in your town to see what they would charge for this? 30,000 sounds way too low.

The Ontario Architect's Association has a pamphlet that outlines what architects should charge in our area...it would like them to charge at least 12% of construction costs for full-service design.

While I would love to get even half of that, I've been chided by a true pro who charges waaaa-yyy more than that.

Somewhere around/between Cancork and Alison Sharpe are where you would land if you didn't have the family connection.

I recently did a similar deal for a relative (similar scale, complexity, budget, travel, etc...). I charged them a deeply discounted fee and we landed at probably about 3% of the construction budget.

Thanks BLDG.

How much ongoing input/involvement would I expect to get for 12%? CanCork mentions "project oversight" in the 10% number.

I estimate my cousin has done somewhere around 40-50 hours of work to get me as-built and designed floor plans with fairly detailed notes (e.g., where to re-use doors, tiled shower walls, some style notes). There are no internal elevations (so no millwork details or bathroom fixture specs), just floorplans--where stuff goes, not what it looks like.

12% of my budget is $84,000. If she's given me 50 hours of time that would be $1,680 per hour, so that 12% standard has to be for an architect who spends a lot of ongoing time through the course of the project. Since she is not local she won't be doing project oversight.

That said, she has great judgment and design sense, so I would really love to be able to consult with her along the way. I just want to make sure she's paid fairly.

She did mention to me that she works on a project fee basis rather than on a percentage basis, partly because she doesn't want to wait to get paid until all the invoices are tallied and partly because she doesn't feel like she deserves a percentage when a homeowner chooses insanely expensive appliances, finishes, or fixtures.

If I'm right about how much time she's spent I can probably come up with a good estimate using an hourly rate. Is $150 about right? That would get me to $7500. Maybe I'll send her a check for $10,000 as a starter. If she freaks out and sends it back I'll know I overshot. If she agrees it's a good start I'll know I need to keep going.

It sounds like you're working towards something workable.

Correct, the 12% (or 10%) would include "full-service" meaning being a part of the project from the beginning to end, doing the full Working/Permit Drawings, helping with some project management, some interior design, etc...

I wouldn't be surprised if your estimate of her time is a little on the light side, but $150/hour is decent and you've fattened it by bringing it up to $10,000.

So yeah, I think that would honour the work and the relationship really generously, and form a good basis for the rest of the project.

Thanks again BLDG. I checked out your portfolio. You've done some really beautiful work. I really appreciate your detailed responses.

You're very welcome, it's pretty cool that you're trying to ensure you're being a little bit over-gracious. That's likely what makes your family function so beautifully.

And thanks for the kind words!

The "full oversight" means that they are FULLY RESPONSIBLE for everything on the job site. They will offer "boots on the ground" service with multiple visits to the build per month (about once per week) and are able to answer the General Contractor's phone call IMMEDIATELY. That's "full oversight". That's the upper end of the 10%-12% range. If you cousin is out of town, then I doubt she would have this level of input/oversight. I used it to explain the HIGHER cost of a "full service" architect. For your situation, she would be more of a consultant and would warrant the lower percentage in the 5% range (or lower with family discount).

And BLDG have been extremely helpful with input. The 12% in Ontario "suggested" retail price for an architect is in keeping with the rest of N. America. Some areas are higher, some are lower.

@Alison...the cost of architectural fees are not set in stone. An architect who works a concept and then hands it over to someone else has a lower fee percentage than an architect who takes over full supervision of a job site (they become the OVERSEER of the General Contractor). That's when the 10% comes into play. There are many architects who create an design, get paid and hand over the blue prints without any more in put (or extremely limited in put) once the build gets underway.

I'm glad you were able to keep your architectural fees down into the 3% range. I'm sure you are in good hands with your General Contractor and his/her team. It is simply a different approach to billing and fee structure that each architect can choose (as is their professional prerogative). Good luck on your house.