The Custom Home Design Process
(as we see it!)
If you're thinking about a new home, you should make a "wish list". It should include all the dreams you envision for your new home, even if some of them are beyond your budget. The list should include photos, sketches, magazine clippings and quite possibly floor plans of homes that you like. Once you have your wish list, identify the items that are a "must"; then the items which would be nice to have but you could live without and then the items that are probably dreams. This is considered the "reality list". Get this reality list organized so we can discuss your vision of your new home. It is also very important to have an idea of how much money you want to spend on your new home.
Step 1
Call and schedule an appointment at our Millersburg office. Bring your ideas in hand. If you have already purchased your lot, bring a copy of your property survey and any deed restrictions. Be prepared to discuss your project in detail. We will review your information, make copies and take extensive notes to ensure that your new home will not only meet your needs, but also exceed your expectations. The first meeting usually takes about one and a half hours. We will review your information and check residential and energy code requirements. We then mail you a contract with our estimated fee. Our fee is based on actual design and drawing time and varies from project to project.
A visit to your job site is recommended upon receipt of a signed contract, and before any time is spent drawing preliminary plans. The site is evaluated for general conditions such as: slope of the land, "best" views, special natural features of the lot, the logical location for the home and driveway. Any zoning issues and right of way easements will be discussed.
Step 2
After reviewing all of the information you have given us, we begin the preliminary design process. Using a survey plat we will generate a rough sketch of the site plan to determine the best size and shape for the home. After the basic floor plans and the elevations have been completed, we will contact for your first drawing review meeting.
Step 3
At the first review meeting, we will discuss our interpretation of your ideas that have taken drawing form. We will show you the sketches prepared for your review. Often new ideas and changes will be discussed, and additional sketches may be drawn to reflect the new concepts. Copies of all the drawings will be given to you to take home and review. Take time to organize your thoughts and any new ideas before the next meeting.
Step 4
The ideas and changes discussed previously will be the subject of the second review meeting, as well as any new ideas that may have come to you. Again, new sketches may be drawn to reflect these new ideas. The exterior elevations will be discussed. This review meeting may take up to two hours. Copies of the sketches will be sent home with you to examine.
Step 5
By this time, all of the new ideas/changes will have been discussed; the elevations will have been drawn (but not detailed); and the request for construction drawings will be made. We then make copies of the drawings for your use in obtaining preliminary bids from your builder and a copy for the bank appraiser.
Step 6
This is the most important part of the design process. After you have reviewed the preliminary pricing from your builder, you authorize us to start the final working drawings of your new home. All the drawings necessary to finish the project will be drawn and checked as necessary to construct your new home. Typically we provide a total of five sets of plans plus three sets for the building permit. Additional sets will be made available as requested at our standard copying fee.