The absolute worst tradespeople to work with are the “Ive been doing it this way for 30 years” ones. They are always the ones doing it wrong. And they get pissy and arrogant when you ask them about new technical industry developments, or new building codes, or doing anything outside their comfort zone of producing the same old stuff that was barely passable 30 years ago.

The best guys to work with are the ones who have been doing it 40 years, and are excited about industry developments, and who are taking classes to learn about it, and who belong to industry associations. Learning never stops. If someone does lose their enthusiasm for new, it’s time to find something else.

IF ARG can work you in, you’d be a fool to not jump on that. You need a real architect. That was a really terrible unlivable plan that would never be accessible for your parents.

I’m now trying to decide if it’s worth getting an Architect or it’s is okay to stick with an ex builder who’s has been doing drawings for 30 years

That’s why I asked you if were working with an architect or a designer in your other thread because if you said you were working with an architect, I’d have told you to find a new one. 😉

Now, do you need to hire an architect? No. Is it okay to stick with an ex-builder who’s been doing drawings for 30 years? If the plans you had posted were excellent, then I’d say, “Sure!” But those plans were not excellent, especially in regards to accessibility. In fact, I seem to recall that no elements of universal design had been incorporated into the plan. Did this fellow ask you any of the questions that we here on this forum asked you in order to customize the home to suit the needs of Randy Page and (maybe one day) of Randy’s elderly parents?

Sammy,

Thanks again my friend. Your comments and questions give me thought. The guy I choose did not sale himself as an Architect. He took an hour and had me jot down some things I wanted and asked for pictures that excite me about building . Actually, I never told him about my parents moving In. I considered this as Time passed. So thats on me. If truth be told I’m happy with basically anything but I want to make sure I’m making the best decision before I’m at the point of no return. Background: I’ll be the first person on either side of my family tree to build a home. I don’t have many resources to turn too that’s why I have utilized this form.

I actually contacted “ architectrunnerguys” because someone recommended them from my previous post but after they saw this post they wrote me back explaining it’s best if we wait and see how this thread played out. It’s seemed odd they were Scouting threads so I have decided to continue my search and keep moving forward.

Thanks again.

Thanks Amy,

I’m actually in Florence S.C. I’m super excited for your folks. I know you are very proud of them.

Flo mangan,

The land is very flat. My builder actual owns the lot I’m buying and has already built three other homes there. Yes the bathroom and kitchen are killing me. I’m planning on meeting with the floor plan guy Monday to fine tune some issues. He’s from the area is knows building codes and etc.

Thank you

Never ever use spam posters with nothing real to contribute but a suggestion to check out their amateur derivative McWork. No spamming @Amy Daugherty Go back to school instead.

ARG does stellar work. If you don’t want to take advantage of that, it’s a big loss for you. He’s been a member here and contributed good advice, for free, and not asking for any business. He’s never spammed the forum. He has gotten business, because he is good, people see that, and want something better for themselves. But they have to want something better for themselves, and want to ditch the terrible stuff their untalented plan creators drew.

@User, not following. Please elaborate.

Celadon,

Don’t misunderstand what I stated. I never said anything about scamming but scouting. I don’t understand what you mean by spam posters with nothing real to contribute. I don’t doubt they are possible good people but again it was odd them read a post then decided to back off because of it. If there was nothing to hide, why worry about me asking for reviews on their work. It’s not like we live in the same town or state. So it was Appropriate for research them.

None the less it my decision and when you don’t have a personal connect, all you have is Intuition and a gut feeling.
No love lost, just putting my experience out here to help and possible alerts others.

Sounds good. Then get a good kitchen designer who can help with both spaces. It’s all about inches and space management. Let us know how you do.

Flo mangan,

Yes sir. Thank you for your streamlined advice sir .

Amy,

Your perfectly fine and I feel you have positive and honest energy. Thank you for responding and offering your assistance. I actually visited you other pages. No apology needed, you were also very professional and polite in your approach.

Your future looks very bright.

Amy this site is not for you to pick up work. That's called spamming. Not appreciated by us regulars. I reported you on this thread and on one other I've seen.

Randy, If architectrunnerguy said that to you, it's because he reads all the threads and keeps up but he does NOT advertise at all. He is a true professional and while he didn't design my house, he did help me redesign my master suite area before my house was finished being designed. His suggestions made my master suite work so much more efficiently.

My guess is he wanted you to be sure you want to work with an architect before getting together with him. Although I'm just speculating.

Flo the problem with Randy's plan is that he might have his parents move in permanently and the plan suggested by the builder did not take into account his parents living with him.

Cpartist,

I totally understand and respect that. I was just taken at how quick it put me in pause after having set an Initial telephone conference. I’m not here to bash anyone or speak negative. I’m simply here looking for help from anyone who has additional knowledge that could help me on this journey. I’m fairly mew to this sight so if what Amy did is a violation I too understand that.

>1900-2100 square feet

Probably builder designer, to say correctly pick the individual you are comfortable working with and feel he will get you over the finish line. Check for retired architects too, etc.

>builder who’s has been doing drawings for 30 years

I do not know anything about SC, some areas plans can be drawn on the paper napkin. Not many details are required. Talented, responsive to you, does not oppress you like saying "No way" to every one of your suggestions.

BT,

Thank you

We tried the remote architect route and I would not recommend it. Well worth it to pay more to be able to sit in the same room as the architect and be able to brainstorm ideas and make sketches of small and large changes that you can immediately see the impact on other areas. Much easier to work through several ideas in this manner and quicker to work through ideas that sounded good, but weren't great after a quick sketch. We switched to a local architect and had a great experience.

I might consider going with a general contractor-led design/build firm. They'll have designers on staff to do all the plans--including the kitchen and bath layouts, interior finish selections, and specifications-- and you'll get it built by them, too. Usually these outfits charge very little for the upfront design work because they make their money on the construction. A loss leader, if you will. If there are any downsides to this, it would be that you don't get to pick your designer. They will assign one to you based on their current workload. If it's a new build, they'll bring in an architect or structural engineer to supplement the drawings, as necessary.

Update,

I met with my builder and ex contractor that’s drawing my plans and I’m very excited at the outcome of this collaborative approach. I was able to express my vision and together they came up with a concrete agreed upon plan to make it happen.

My builder has become a god sent who wants nothing better than to make sure I’m staying on budget, that I’m completely happy, and that from a builders approached I’m getting the best bang for my investment.

Thanks everyone for you input. I’ll keep you updated ( once lumber goes down 🤣🤣)

Post you house drawings to get some feedback in the design. Perhaps in a new thread.

I’ll do so once I have the updated ones.