Architects of the DIS - a question por favor!

[shortbun]

So, I've found two homes I like. They're ranches and both have good amts of land behind them for an addition. I need a master suite with walk in closet and bathroom/laundry room/four season windowed room(like a Florida room)/deck and hot tub. What kind of architect do I need to contact to have them give me the 'hidden potential' and possibilities of both houses. The neighborhoods are similar and even with the addition(assuming 100K or lower) these homes would not become the most expensive house in the hood. The asking price of the homes is within 5K so I can't even decide that way. I assume architects do this kind of thing all the time but is it worth their time to come in and present? My intentions are honorable.

 

[nuttypretzel]

No architect will give you a free design like they do on the television show. You will have to pay for that service. An architect’s fee is around 10% of the construction cost. If you are looking at a $100,000 addition and remodel, then the fee will be $10,000. About 20% of the fee is design development which is what the show provides. You can expect to spend around $2,000 per home for those "hidden potential" designs.
Large design firms are probably not interested in your addition, so you need to look for a one-man shop or for an architect that does work on the side. Word of mouth is the best way to find someone good. Drive around and look for houses that are being renovated and ask the owners who they hired and if they are happy. Also you will need a good contractor. If you know of one ask them who they like to work with.

 

[BelleWDW]

Are there any Trade school around you?
I had the teacher of the CAD (Computer drafting) class draw my house plans-I found a set in a magazine I liked and he "tweaked" it-deleted porches-changes rooms around.

I still think that is a bigger addition than you realize-figure $100-150 a square foot to guess the cost.

 

[shortbun]

Are there any Trade school around you?
I had the teacher of the CAD (Computer drafting) class draw my house plans-I found a set in a magazine I liked and he "tweaked" it-deleted porches-changes rooms around.

I still think that is a bigger addition than you realize-figure $100-150 a square foot to guess the cost.

Interesting idea. I actually know one of the professors at Ohio State in their architect/design school. He used to be a solar architect-back in the 60's and 70's but the concept wasn't widely embraced so he began teaching. I'll contact him and ask for ideas re who to get for this job.

 

[barkley]

Are there any Trade school around you?
I had the teacher of the CAD (Computer drafting) class draw my house plans-I found a set in a magazine I liked and he "tweaked" it-deleted porches-changes rooms around.

I still think that is a bigger addition than you realize-figure $100-150 a square foot to guess the cost.

we used a grad student from the local landscape architecture program do the plan for our outdoor living space at our former home. she was thrilled to have the opportunity to do a design that she could actualy take photos of the progress and final product. it met our needs and she got credit for her class (plus she could use us for her portfollio)

op-check with the building and planning division that cover the areas for the homes you are looking at. the ability to do certain kinds of renovations and additions can vary greatly from place to place. where we used to live someone could have incorrectly looked at our lot and thought it was perfect for doing a large addition-it was, but it was against the building code (the large lots were built into a master plan with the city to create a certain look for the area and that look included HUGE distances between neighboring homes).

 

[shortbun]

we used a grad student from the local landscape architecture program do the plan for our outdoor living space at our former home. she was thrilled to have the opportunity to do a design that she could actualy take photos of the progress and final product. it met our needs and she got credit for her class (plus she could use us for her portfollio)

op-check with the building and planning division that cover the areas for the homes you are looking at. the ability to do certain kinds of renovations and additions can vary greatly from place to place. where we used to live someone could have incorrectly looked at our lot and thought it was perfect for doing a large addition-it was, but it was against the building code (the large lots were built into a master plan with the city to create a certain look for the area and that look included HUGE distances between neighboring homes).

We are tuned in to the restrictions, I hope. In both neighborhood, people have built large additions-added 2nd floors and nearly doubled the size of the home. That may NOT be a good indicator but we'll check just in case. Thanks for the great advice. We have good friends who just added a huge addition in one of the hoods two streets over; I'll ask them what hoops they jumped through and who they talked to b4 building. Just thought of this-duh! They no doubt had an architect.