Deciding to remodel your home or build your dream home is an exciting journey. However, it can also feel like a daunting undertaking. It is hard to know where to begin when faced with design, specifying materials/finishes, choosing consultants, permitting, bidding, and months of construction. An architect can help a homeowner visualize their dream project through thoughtful planning and guide them through these complicated steps, helping make the process less stressful and more enjoyable. At CJA, we are passionate about partnering with our clients every step of the way. From the initial concept to the finished design, we work closely with you to bring your vision to life while making the journey as seamless and rewarding as possible.
Our process includes several phases for custom residential remodels, additions and new construction. This article will give a brief overview of each phase of our process and will be discussed further in more detail in later articles.
Base Architectural Services:
Base Architectural Services includes the minimum required work to research, design, and document the project. This phase closes out with an issued permit. A permitted drawing set differs from a construction drawing set. A drawing permit package only contains the plans, sections, elevations, forms and calculations as required to demonstrate that the project will meet minimum building and land use code requirements. Some clients (usually builders and developers) will then work with their chosen interior designers, lighting designers, specifiers, and contractor to build the project. Base Architectural Services includes feasibility, pre-design, schematic design, and construction documentation.
Feasibility
The first phase of the project is to document the potential of the proposed site. During this phase, we seek to answer questions regarding the proposed site, such as:
What are the zoning limitations on building height, lot coverage, and floor area?
Is parking required or desired? How will it best be accessed?
How will the site topography and lot geometry impact the design?
Are there any trees on, or adjacent to the site, that will affect the allowable building area?
What is utility access to the site and are any utility extensions required?
Armed with answers to many of these questions, we can determine if your vision both aligns with what is allowed by code and makes the best use of the proposed site.
Pre-Design
After a successful feasibility phase, it is time to document the site, and the client’s goals prior to the design phase. The pre-design phase includes the following as required items: hiring a surveyor, engaging a geotechnical engineer for a soils report or pit test, ordering an arborist report, and measuring the existing building for as-built drawings. While these steps are being taken, we supply the client with a questionnaire to fill out. This document helps to quantify the client’s wants and needs.
Schematic Design
Now that the site has been documented, we’ve determined code-based restraints on the site, and the owner’s criteria have been defined, we can start design! We will work during this phase to generate plans, sections and 3D models to be reviewed in a client meeting. We typically present a couple of plan options in this meeting. From there, we continue to refine the plans and model, working back and forth with the client’s feedback until the Schematic Plans have client approval.
Construction Documents – Permit Documentation
Now that we have a client-approved schematic design package, we need to apply for permits. This is where we will spend the bulk of our time on the project. We will help you engage the required consultants which typically include a structural engineer, civil engineer and a landscape architect. We then provide these consultants with base drawings which they can use to do their own work, helping ensure each team’s designs are coordinated. While the consultants are busy working on their drawing packages, we continue to work on the architectural drawings and assembling the permit application package. Once all of the required forms, drawings, and other necessary materials are ready, the building permit application package is submitted to the city or authority-having-jurisdiction. From there, the permitting reviewers will review the submitted package and issue any comments to the design team. We will then respond to these comment rounds until the materials are approved and the permit is ready to be issued. With the permit ready for issuance, the Basic Architectural Services are complete.
Supplemental Services:
While the Basic Architectural Services address the required documents for permitting, additional work and documentation are typically required for construction. Based on the needs of the client, we provide these items on an a-la-carte basis. In some cases, our contractor or developer clients handle the supplemental services in-house. In other cases, our client may know of an interior or lighting designer they enjoy working with. The Supplemental Services available include full construction drawings, electrical plans and interior elevations, specifications, and construction administration.
Construction Set Documents – Full Construction Drawings
While there are certain drawings, schedules, and details that are necessary to receive a construction permit, they typically focus on the structural and main enclosure systems. Typically, in order to fully describe a design for construction and the detailed elements that make each home unique, additional documents are needed. This usually includes finish schedules, reflected ceiling plans, and numerous specialty details for custom interior or exterior elements.
Electrical Plans and Interior Elevations
Rather than leaving the final placement of lighting to the installer to get right, we work with our clients to prepare electrical plans showing light fixture, outlet, and switching locations. Once the building is framed, we walk the site with the client and electrician to verify the electrical fixture locations and resolve any potential conflicts.
Interior elevations show each wall of the interior of the building and note materials, adjacencies and transitions. This includes designing the client’s preferred layout for cabinetry, shelving, and closets, kitchen and bath tile patterns and alcoves, as well as any specialty casework throughout the home.
Project Specifications
While the drawings call out the size and locations of basic materials, the specifications define the quality, brand, model, and finish for the hundreds of products used throughout construction. We can help the client make these selections and document them in an outline specification document, which when combined with the drawing package, is used by the contractor to generate their bid for the project.
Construction Contract Administration
After all the hard work of documenting the project, it is finally time to see your home become a reality. It is time for construction! We will assist with bidding and contractor selection, and once construction commences, attend weekly construction meetings. We will also be available for owner and contractor questions as they occur. Finally, the contractor and architect perform a punch-list walkthrough at the end of the project to flag any corrections that need to be made prior to project completion. Now all that is left is to move in and make this house your home!