One of the most frequent questions architects get asked is how much is this going to cost me and how long is it going to take? Projects can vary in size and complexity white a bit and their other factors to determine to true answer this but in this blog, I’ll do my best to explain what you can expect for your next construction project.
The time will vary greatly depending on where you live and how stringent the city/county building department are. Costs to build also vary by region for example, in a high velocity wind zone for a home located in Miami, FL could be vastly different from a home in the mid-west. Also if there is a homeowners association, architectural review board or historic board, it will add to the time and costs of the project. For the purposes of this blog, we will use a standard addition to a single-family home located in a non-historic district in Miami as a guide.
It takes decades of experience to fully understand the design process to make sure everything is accounted for and what the most efficient way of getting to a completed home is. We are a architectural firm located in south Florida in business for 22 years completing over 1,800 projects from additions to new construction. It is extremely important to get a well-documented set of drawings that specifies particular products and making sure that it is properly coordinated with the electrical component of the plans or other trades. Today, certain products are on limited availability and this pre-planning of selecting your finishes will save you and your contractor time and money. Most mistakes are make when the plans do NOT have information and it is left up to the contractor or owner. Pre-planning with a professional is valuable especially before something has to be removed in the field later because the decision was not made prior. This results in change orders and construction delays.
In order to get a construction permit from a set of plans there are 4 basic phases of the design process that must be accomplished.
- Schematic Design Phase
- Design Development Phase
- Construction Drawings / Engineering Documents
- Plan review / Permitting / Value Engineering phase
The first phase is schematic design. In this phase, we will learn of your budget, goals and objectives. We also learn of your particular lifestyle and who will be living in the home and how will it be used in the most practical manner. Code research is also performed so that we know what our site and building constraints are going to be. We then begin a layout and continue with a series of design schematics based on what you want and by adding some creativity as well! We will design various layouts and have meetings until we work out all the details to your exact specifications. These drawings consist of a site plan, floor plan and elevations. Although they are basic in nature, they provide the owner with an instrument to show a general contractor and get some preliminary pricing to determine if they should move to the next step.
The second phase is Design Development. Based on the approved schematics, a more detailed set of drawings are then developed. During this phase, we begin to take a hard look at some of the details of each particular trade such as the structural system, mechanical, electrical or plumbing systems. This will give the general contractor even more information to determine the cost of the project. It is a good idea at this point to talk to multiple contractors until you find one that you mesh well with and communicates well and works together with your architect as a team approach. Good communication throughout the project makes all the difference in the world!
Also being in financial control of the construction funds should be based on legitimate milestones inspected by your architect during construction. Contracts should be based on a time and reward system and punitive damages if they exceed the agreed upon time. Signing contracts with general contractors at this stage is not recommended unless it is design-build.
The third phase are the construction documents. These are technical drawings and calculations which contain the engineering that is required to obtain a permit. A structural engineer will review and design each column and beam while electrical and mechanical engineer will run calculations to ensure everything is within the building code parameters. A landscape architect typically begins their planting and irrigation plans and the civil engineer can begin the drainage design. These construction drawings will typically go thru 4 passes with the customer to ensure that every item is being looked at.
During this time, interior designer can begin with their design process yet it is not required to be finished before the completion of the shell. With the supply issues that we face today, some of the finishes you may want are not available or come with a long lead time. This is why hiring a interior designer to not only design the project but to write detailed specifications with real cost and manufacturer/supplier data can greatly improve the success of a project. Depending on which finishes are selected, it can affect something in the plans that needs to be coordinated BEFORE it is built.
Once you have your signed and sealed documents in hand, you as the owner can apply for a owner-builder construction permit. Additionally, a contractor or a permit expediter can help you with this process. The building department will review the plans, issue comments which the architect responds to and re-issues plan pages. Managing this organization of page revisions is CRITICAL and this is where typically where sets are not coordinated properly and then bids are based on old information. It is highly suggested to consult with your architect prior to commencement by planning a pre-construction meeting so that everyone involved in the project is on the same page.
Also you will want to verify that the estimates you have received get updated accordingly to the latest set of plans and all questions are ironed out. We enforce policies of verifying that the contractor’s price to the owner is whole and full and they have been to the jobsite and are aware of all existing conditions and the plans are in compliance with the scope of work.
The final phase is Permitting and Value engineering.
The permitting portion is described a bit above and the owner must pay all permit application fees, impact fees and such. The plans will undergo much scrutiny and you should take this time to begin your construction plan. For a proper way to run a construction job, all subcontractors should be selected and vetted. The general contractor can be selected and their contractors should have “days to complete” with reward clause and a damage penalty if it runs over. In our option since the plans should be specific the word “allowances” should not be really be in a construction contract. This allows the contractor to adjust numbers elsewhere if something got overlooked. The general contractor should also have prepared a GNATT construction schedule outlining the construction plan.
During this phase is also a good time to do any final value engineering on the plans. A meeting with your architect and the general contractor is encouraged to review the plans together and identify any cost saving areas or items.
Finally the building department will have approved the plans and all contracts have been reviewed and signed and the construction begins! Each job is very different in size and type so the time can vary greatly. Depending on where you are located there may be a LOT of inspections and this will add to the time significantly. As an example a new semi-custom 2 story 3,000 square feet CMU home located in Miami will take around 9 months with fastest of contractors but typically ends up around 14 months to turn over the keys for many reasons.
Again projects may be smaller or larger than others but using the same example above, the design phase should take around 2 months plus the construction drawings and engineering which take about 3 months. Permitting can take around 3-4 months depending on where you’re located. Projects typically can take up to a year to begin if there are no changes to the design while the plans are being drawn and the homeowner doesn’t start and stop the project during the process.
It typically takes a average of 24-28 months to complete a project based on a 3,000 square foot home.
