HOME ADDITIONS

House Plan Additions and remodels

For additions it works better to make a site visit. I charge a trip fee for the visit

After discussing the project and taking pictures I write up a contract with the details and collect a non-refundable deposit and an electronic copy of the signed contract. This puts you in line to get a preliminary set of plans. Preliminary plans are the first draft put on paper for what we have discussed. It is rare for me to get exactly what is needed on the first set of drawings. Normally it takes about 3 hours to go from the preliminary plans to the final plans, but in some cases, it is more difficult to get exactly what the customer wants or after seeing the plans changes the size and scope of the project which results in more billable hours on the project. At least 90% of the time I am able to complete the plans within the estimated time on the contract. Once the balance due is paid the preliminary plans are released to the customer. While they are not complete, the preliminary plans often are detailed enough to get a budget price from your builder. I always at this point make it very clear that just because I have made suggestions or things have been discussed to get better use of the space, any changes have to be wrote down before I will make them.  The rule is “If it is not wrote down then it never happened”.

Sometimes at this point the plans are returned to me to make changes before working with the builder. Most of the time I make the changes and send out another set of preliminary plans without any additional payment. This is because normally I only have an hour or less invested in the changes.

When the plans are returned so I can produce a final set, I will find out if you want to have them engineered. I will find out if you want to work with one of the engineers I work with or use your own. If you use one of the engineers I use, then I will get a quote from them and produce an invoice for the engineering cost and any extra drawing time I have in the project.  Once that invoice has been paid, I will send the plans to the engineer to produce the redlines for anything that has to be added to the plans before they are willing to seal the plans for permit. I very rarely have the engineer do the red lines before the final invoice has been paid. The engineer fees are set by the engineer and will usually be between $500 and $1000. I simply cannot afford to have to pay the engineer before I have been paid first. I can however let you pay the engineer direct. They normally collect their fee when they do the site visit before any of their work is done.

Addition Plan Pricing
We charge $50 per hour for remodeling and addition plans. Most simple room additions will cost $500. If you are outside the greater Charlotte NC area, the process is the same except all discussions will be by telephone and email.