How long until the project is completed?

Design and construction will take anywhere from 1-2 years from start to finish. We have found design typically takes 8-12 months and construction takes 6-12 months for most residential projects. There are a lot of check points in the timeline and many of them require a choice that will have a lasting impact and require a bit of time. The biggest factors out of our control are the time it takes a client to make decisions and the permit review time required to obtain a permit. We are in this together and will try to be as efficient as we can to get a project completed.

See more information regarding the design process (Our Process) to understand the steps that take place during this time.

What will the design and permitting fees cost?

In addition to the construction cost, one should factor design and permitting fees into their budget.

All fees tend to track relative to construction costs. For example, a larger project will take more money to build, requiring more time for architects and engineers to document and the jurisdiction to review the project. Each project will break down differently based on many factors, but we find our design fees will track within 8-12% for a typical project.

The biggest factors impacting the fee are scope of work, interactions of design, design changes, and legal requirements. For example, if a project is relatively small, say simply a bathroom, kitchen, or deck project, our fees could track higher than 12% since there is a standard amount of work any project requires particularly with design development / permitting. The general rule is that cost savings apply as projects scale up, so a large remodel such as a whole house remodel will equate to the lower end of our estimates.

Other factors like permitting will fall within 2-4% of construction cost. Engineering will vary significantly based on the type of engineer (Geotechnical, Civil, Structural) and scope of work, but for budgeting would be good to assume 1-4% each.

Architecture firms will vary on how they charge, although many will be similar to our approach.

We bill our time hourly in 15-minute intervals and will provide fee estimate prior to any work taking place. The fee estimate for schematic design phases will be included in our proposal, and post schematic phases will be included in a later addendum. We will monitor our fee to make sure we are not exceeding the estimate agreed to. If we anticipate we will exceed our estimate, we will address it prior to find a solution.

We will invoice monthly for services executed and ask that the invoice be paid in 15 days. Our invoices will include a summary showing fee used against the contractual estimates. We will also include a detailed summary of everyone’s time with notes of what the time was used for to be transparent about our fees.