925-575-0629
Q. Do I need to hire a licensed architect to design my new home or addition?
- A. State laws regulate the practice of architecture and residential design. Residential
design is exempt from these laws and do not require a licensed architect to design your
home or addition. You should consider the qualifications of your residential designer.
Vintage Home design is a member of the AIBD a nationally recognized association of
residential building designers whose members are required to follow a strict code of ethics
set forth by it's governing body.
- Q, I recently visited a friend's new home that I really like. Can I copy their plans and build my
own house with them?
- A. Building plans are typically meant for one time use and are the intellectual property of
the individual or firm that prepared them. Unless you have permission from the author or
firm that prepared the building plans you would be in violation of copy right laws that are
in place to protect the author.
- Q. I want to build an addition on the side of my house and my building department has set back
restrictions that will prevent me from building it as large as I would like. Is there process to
remedy this?
- A. Typically we try to design within the building restrictions set forth by your building
authority. There are times when this cannot be achieved and your improvements will
require you to apply for a variance. For example, if your property lot size is considered
substandard in such a way that would prevent you from building as others have in your
neighborhood. You as a home owner have the right to enjoy your property as would your
neighbors enjoy their property. We would have the burden to convince your building
authority your proposed project is not extraordinary in comparison to your neighborhood.
Surrounding properties will be given a chance to review and comment on your proposed
project.
Q. We waited until the winter was over and now ready to build our dream home or addition. We
called several contractors to give us a bid for construction on our house. All of the contractors
told us we need complete plans before they will bid on the job. How long will this process take?
- A. It is not uncommon for a home owner to under estimate the complexities of the design,
engineering and permitting process before the first shovel hits the dirt. While small jobs
may only take one and one-half months from design to building permit, larger jobs can
take up to eight months and sometimes longer. It does not prove a good value to the home
owner to rush the design and compromise the overall potential of your home. Only a small
portion of time compared to the overall process is dedicated to the construction documents
themselves. The rest of the time is spent preparing the engineering which is done outside
of this office, then review and approval by your building department. Currently, most
structural engineers and building departments are experiencing heavy work loads.
- Q. OK, now it is Spring and you have convinced me it will take much longer than anticipated to
start work. Do I need to wait until next Spring for construction to get underway?
A. Not necessarily, many times your contractor can get your house weather tight and
ready for interior finish during the rainy season with only a few rain delays. (Winter of
2006 being the exception.)
Q. I have a design program I bought from my local home store. Can I do my own design and have
you finish the plans for permit approval?
A. We prefer to be your full service residential design company and provide you with
building plans from preliminary design to the finished construction documents. We have
prepared building plans from a home owner's designs in the past, but the overall savings
were minimal. I would encourage you to consider the benefits of working as part of the
design team rather than taking on the task of design by yourself. A good resource to help
you make this decision would be the AIBD.
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